Opera Boston’s Tancredi (final show the 27th) is exactly what Boston opera should be. Not a lavish star-studded production that’s recorded to be sold on DVD, or broadcast live to movie theaters; but an intimate relatively inexpensive production that showcases local talent and brings to the stage works that have fallen from favor. $30 or $50 (or $10 student rush) goes much further in Boston than it does at the Met in a theater that has less than a third of the capacity. Tickets for the Met’s HD live broadcasts at the Regal Fenway go for about $20; for $29 you can get an Opera Boston ticket that would set you back around $100 in New York.
For their first production of the season, Opera Boston sets Rossini’s Tancredi in 1930s Spain with fascist uniforms and (what appear to be) mafioso suits, a set that evokes medieval high-walled Sicilian castles and clean modernist architecture, fusing these influences into intersecting rectangles that shift like the walls in a 2D video game, and a preggy Amenaide! These updates by no means come off as superficial or tacky efforts to ‘invigorate’ a historical work. They suit well a libretto that, after all, was based on the 1760 Voltaire play Tancrède that set an 18th century tale of political unrest in the 11th century. Director Kristine McIntyre went for a Casablanca-esque backdrop to the libretto, that pits love against familial duty, the self against patriotism and politics in a climate with notes of intrigue and espionage. Amenaide’s pregnancy was added due to soprano Amanda Forsyth‘s actual pregnancy and, though it contributes to the depth of her character by complicating her plight and making her more woman than girlish victim; it creates some practical concerns, adding to the plot holes that already trouble the opera (and really all operas). An Amenaide with child dates Amenaide’s and Tancredi’s last encounter, and a conception date of only a few months prior to the begining of the action doesn’t fit reasonably into the storyline. Amenaide’s entire plight is her love for Tancredi (who returns in disguise from exile) and how she is effectively willing to die in order to protect his identity. One can’t help but question her ethics while she risks the life of her child for the safety of this man.
Tancredi is a breeches role written for contralto voice, the lowest in the female range and one that is quickly disappearing due to the limited roles written for it, the rareness of singers born with it, and the fact that it’s become less appealing to modern audiences than the tenor or soprano. As far also contraltos go, particularly for this role, Opera Boston was lucky to secure the services of Ewa Podleś, who cemented her reputation singing Tancredi on a 1995 NaxosTancredi release that also worked to bring the label out of the bottom of budget bin and onto the wish lists of serious collectors. Despite Podleś international celebrity and the strong association of her name with the role, the best performances were sung by Forsythe, as Amenaide, and DongWon Kim, as Orbazzano, as well as conductor Gil Rose, who sent those great Rossini thrusts flying all the way up to the back of the balcony. Podleś’ Tancredi sometimes seemed flattened by her exaggerated dramatic gestures and vocal ornamentation (despite her stating that she was going to cut back for the production and let Forsythe perform the bulk of the coloratura in this interview, pdf). Most in attendance, including myself, had high expectations of Podleś–typically when Boston gets international names from the opera world it’s not for an actual production, but a solo recital. But, she too often seemed a poor amplification of the character–like the marionettes used to act out Tancredi’s (off-stage) killing of Orbazzano.
Amanda Forsythe as Amenaide and Ewa Podleś as Tancredi (Globe)
Most of the emotional weight of the production came from Forsythe, whose transcendent soprano and dramatic sense brought so much depth to a role that can too easily become one of the a lackluster ingénue. For the aria, Di mia vita infelice…No, che il morir non é (Act II, Scene 2, No. 10), Amenaide sits in jail, condemned for treason and refusing to marry Orbazzano. Forsythe is chained to a wall on stage-left and lit from the side, her tall shadow projects onto the towering wall on stage-right. She sings of her innocence, both to her country and her Tancredi, who believes she’s cheated on him, but not of fear of her sentence of death or anger at the circumstances that have put her here, scorned by all she loves. We watch her with pity, the bright light across her face showing us each individual doleful expression as Forsythe holds her chain tenderly to her cheek, as if it were her lover’s hand. This is the beauty of tragedy.
A review would not be complete without mention of the chorus that serves as a metaphor, one well understood by this production, for the social pressures that afflict the characters. They’re constantly there, literally chiming in, reminding our characters of their political duty. They sing of Amenaide’s proposed diplomatic marriage to Orbazzano, while she sings of her Tancredi. While Trancredi sings of his love for Amenaide, they remind him (from off-stage) of his duty to his country, to let ‘honor and valour inspire’ him–he covers his ears like a madman trying to silence the voices in his head. They blend the themes of love and war; as they unpack china and crystal, singing of Amenaide’s proposed political marriage, they shift subjects to music about the glory of battle. When Amenaide’s pregnancy is exposed and she is believed to be sleeping with the enemy, they surround her and close in–it’s always the chorus exerting social pressure as a kind of political conscience of the characters, invading upon their internal struggles.
Isaura, Amenaide’s lady-in-waiting, has a ‘something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ line early in the first act, predicting the confusion and tragic resolution that will come. I think the opposite can be said for Opera Boston.
Just as an aside; they’re trying out a new titles system. Instead of projecting them above the stage, English titles are displayed on a pair of televisions in the upper boxes closest to the stage. I’m sure this is an improvement for most of the audience, as it’s certainly subtler than a projection system (after all you don’t really need to get every word), but it causes problems for those in the first few rows of the orchestra. About four rows back in orchestra-right I had to keep looking looking away from the action to read the English titles beside stage-left, as the screen above me was out of view. Again, they appear to be readable for most of the theater, but if this system sticks, it’s likely to drive some people back from the first 10 or so rows of the orchestra.
