BLOOnegin - Page: 1 of 1

By: Paul Joseph Walkowski
OperaOnline.us

THS STORY:
From the first moment she saw him, Tatyana was infatuated with the young Yevgeny (Eugene) Onegin. Unfortunately their first meeting didn’t go quite as planned. He was cold and disinterested in having a single relationship. Years later, however, this all changed when, at a ball, he noticed for the first time her elegance and beauty. It didn’t hurt that she married a wealthy Prince and was now a Princess herself. While she professed she still loved him, she turned a cold shoulder toward rekindling that love in deference to her vows to the older Prince Gremin. The table was now turned as Onegin realized his past mistake -- but it was too late.

WHERE I VIEWED IT:
The Shubert is a solid venue for opera, compact and cozy, which makes everything on the stage seem bigger than it is. Built in 1910, the Shubert is one of 40 theater halls that historically occu-pied a small sliver of land in downtown Boston. Opera fans enter through glass doors, welcomed by the warmth of deep-red, wall-to-wall carpets, sparkling mirrors, crystal chandeliers, brass ban-isters, spotless and bright, reflecting golden hues, and steep stairs to the balconies. It’s a beauti-ful theater, both elegant and pleasing to the eye and accessible to dining, parking and the sights of the city.

THE PERFORMANCE:
Any occasion when Stephen Lord and his wonderful orchestra set up chairs and perform in concert or opera is reason enough to enter a building and sit and listen, and last night’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s melodic, dramatic, communicative and deeply romantic “Eugene Onegin” was just one such occasion. The music is sweeping in its humanity and laden with enough emotional content to cast a spell and, done right, the spell is deep. It is hard to imagine an audience attending this wonderful opera and not being overwhelmed by the sheer force of this wonderful score, or not being appreciative of the ability of a conductor to grasp the moment and bring out the very best from the orchestra when nothing but the best will do. Maestro Lord did it last night, and the music added plenty of fuel to the magnificent performances we witnessed on stage.
Cast in the role of Tatyana, was Maria Kanyova, who made her debut with Boston Lyric Opera. This is a soprano who easily elicits our attention because her voice is – well – different, and that’s a good thing. It’s often the “difference” that distinguishes one singer from the other. Not all singers have that quality, even if all are technically competent. There is an element of controlled modulation that emanates when she sings that simply seduces our senses because of what it suggests. She is never loud. She doesn’t have to be. When she reaches for the top notes, she glides to them with just the right amount of tremulous vibrato, tone, smoothness and emotional content to cause ones brow to furrow from awe. Her aria in scene 2 of Act 1, sung from her bedroom, where, alone, she pours out her heart in wave after wave of youthful – and maybe even naļve verse for the man she just met – Onegin – rose to the level of an opera moment that lasted throughout the night. Moreover, she moved well on stage and her gestures were fluid and natural, making hers an outstanding performance all around. Brava!
Not in any particular order, but kudos must go next to tenor Garrett Sorenson, singing the role of Vladimir Lensky, Onegin’s friend. Lensky meets his death in a duel with Onegin in Act II. Next to Ms. Kanyova’s dramatic aria in Act one, this was probably the next most powerful moment in the opera. Angered that his friend Onegin flirted with his woman, Olga, Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel. Before the duel begins and he dies he sing a lament of his regrets and wonders whether his woman will even miss him. It was a glorious moment, made even more so by the passion and feeling Mr. Sorenson put into his performance. Bravo!
Cast in the role of Onegin (pronounced on-yay-gin) was Mel Ulrich. It was interesting to watch Mr. Ulrich tackle this more laid back role, as opposed to the virtuosic dynamic he exuded when singing the role of Stanley Kowalski in Andre Previn’s awful “Street Car” at the Washington National Opera last season. Mr. Ulrich has a clean, edgy baritone voice that was in some parts hidden last night in the role of the suave, caddish, Onegin. Yet enough of it came through to impress. He sang the role exceptionally well, was believable in the role of Onegin and commanded the stage when he was on it.
Mezzo-sopranos Elizabeth Batton in the role of Olga, Dorothy Byrne, singing the role of Madame Larina, Tatyana’s mother, and Josepha Gayer, singing the role of the nurse-maid Filipyevna, each delivered impressive performances that matched the dreamy mood of this atmospheric tale.
Tenor Frank Kelly, singing the role of the Frenchman, poet, Triquet, who tries to soothe the hurt feelings of Tatyana with a ridiculous poem, has once again demonstrated his versatility and subtle comedic charm in a role that called for good humor and someone who could both sing and act the part. Well done, Mr. Kelly, again. Also, kudos to bass John Cheek, singing the role of Prince Gremin. He brought dignity and grace to the part and sang his role well.
Where this opera suffered was not in any of the performances, but rather in the abstract set design, taken from Opera Colorado and designed by Bruno Schwengl – odd! It made little sense, and while it would take a mighty error to detract anything from the fine performance of orchestra and singers, it didn’t help matters to have Tatyana singing from her bedroom in an aria that should have focused all eyes on her – after all it was her dream. What we got, instead, was a brightly lit stage with an open expanse of Birch trees standing behind the bed. The problem repeated itself in the ballroom scene as well. Indeed, even in the final bedroom scene in Tatyana’s chamber, there were the Birch trees standing tall. One can only imagine the power – since it didn’t happen – but imagine seeing Tatyana in her Act I aria, singing from a darkened stage, with just her and her bed lit for effect. Talk about moments lost – that was one, for sure.
Lighting by Paul Palazzo, was in some cases adequate, in other moments a little harsh, in still others, misplaced: should the sun really shine in tree tops during a snow sequence? (Incidentally, nice job having it actually appear to snow on stage during the duel and afterward.). But then there were moments when the lighting was brilliant. Backlighting different parts of the scenery in burnt orange, deep reds, and other moody colors, and the phasing in and out of color to highlight different scenes was quite good.
The overall direction and placement of characters on stage was very well done, and didn’t seem forced. We have James Robinson’s stage direction to thank for this; and acknowledgement is hereby given.
Boston Lyric Opera deserves high marks for giving us such a powerful production and for selecting such a dynamic cast. It was a memorable evening, to be sure.