MidsummerON - Page: 1 of 1

THE STORY:
It starts simply enough: there is a dispute between a husband and wife, Oberon, King of the Fairies and his wife Tytania, the Queen. When it ends, Oberon decides to punish his wife by having his servant, the ubiquitous, Puck, fetch a powder to be sprinkled on Tytania's eyes to cause her to fall hopelessly in love with the first creature she sees -- so long as it is not him -- and while he’s at it Puck is instructed by Oberon to assist a young couple find love again by using the powder judiciously on the scorned Helena. So far so good, except Puck isn't very adept at following instructions. While in the woods to pick the magic flower he meets up with Hermia and Lysander and Demetrius and Helena, and also comes across a traveling band of entertainers, rustics, who hope to make their fame by performing for the Duke and the Queen of Amazons. A sprinkle here and a dab of magic powder there and before you know it love takes off in all the wrong directions -- and if this isn't interesting enough, he gives one of the performers, Bottom, the head of a donkey -- which everyone but he can see. Back to the bedroom where Tytania sleeps, having been sprinkled with the powder -- in comes Bottom, the performer – ah -- donkey. It's love at first sight, even if he has big ears and a rather large proboscis. After Oberon sees what mischief he has caused he orders Puck to restore things to normal, and set everyone’s life straight. The couples fall in love, Oberon reconciles with his Queen, the performers perform, and Bottom becomes man again. Puck asks in the end if it really happened or was it all but A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

WHERE I VIEWED IT:
The newly refurbished, air-conditioned and very comfortable Lebanon Opera House is a wonder-ful 800-seat theater across the street from Coburn Park in the heart of Lebanon, New Hampshire. The auditorium has a small stage which gives one a sense of homey comfort, seats that are thickly cushioned, and the acoustics of a hall that is well-suited for opera. All views are unobstructed and because of the size of the theater, the view from the single balcony is as good as anywhere else. The theater is easily accessible from Interstate 89, is less than two hours out of Boston, located in a setting that is picture perfect and pure Americana. Opera fans in Boston and elsewhere who make the trip will not be disappointed with the venue.

THE PERFORMANCE:
Ending its 2004 summer season with the late Benjamin Britten’s (1913-1976) musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is risky business. First, even though it won the New York Critics Circle Award, the work is not very well-known or performed as much as others; and second it is scored with a modern orchestral arrangement that has been popular, but not always successful with twentieth century composers. In this reviewer’s opinion it worked for “Nixon in China” and failed with “A Street Car Named Desire”; it worked with “The Poisoned Kiss” and failed with “Griffelkin”. The modern orchestra, in too many cases, seems to be scored without sufficient or any serious thought to writing compelling arias; the composers opting, instead, for complexity and challenging orchestral, almost abstract arrangements over beautiful music. And that’s what we have here, unfortunately.
Having said that, Opera North’s performance of this amusing and clever classic on Saturday, August 21, 2004, was simply spectacular. Once again, this company has demonstrated that even obtuse, abstract work is no match for its superlative rendition of it. It didn’t elevate Shakespeare’s story, it performed it with great verve and passion; no, it elevated Britten’s music and through sheer strength of performance from every singer, whom we will get to momentarily; through technical excellence from a superb and imaginative director, Ron Luchsinger; through great control and grasp for the feel of the music from a talented and involved conductor, Louis Burkot, and with the help of a magnificent blending of outstanding, colorful, even if curious, costumes by Laura Crow and smart use of lighting by David Gelhar, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” opened with a sprinkle of magic powder that seduced a packed audience that enthusiastically embraced it with applause, laughter and obvious approval of what it saw, from a cast that was perfect from top to bottom, to scenery and lighting that was imaginative and inventive, to costumes that were outlandish and delicious, to the children who played the roles of fairies who never missed a cue. In every sense, by every measure, this production soared!
First, the orchestra: Louis Burkot conducts with his hands and facial expressions, and both the musicians and singers always have an eye on his pauses and hand gestures. It’s noticeable. The orchestra in last night’s performance gave as well as it got and held up remarkably well. In Act II when the music was at its melodic best, the orchestra delivered and provided the kind of performance that saved whatever defects modern compositions have. Words come to mind: deep, resonant, moving, powerful, supportive – never overpowering, which could present problems in a small theater. None of that here! A job well-done to this fine orchestra and its conductor.
As for the cast, the cast was not only up to the task, but given the difficult style of music they were called upon to perform, did so brilliantly and with obvious delight and involvement.
It is not often that one’s hears a countertenor voice in a leading role, but Jason Badger, in the role of the moody yet vulnerable King of the Fairies, Oberon, dressed in silver and black, and some pretty interesting head gear, made us believe that he not only had the power, but that he could do magical things with it. He had a strong stage presence and moved with confidence throughout this production. His voice was clear and even and sufficiently modulated in the countertenor range to convey when he was pleased and displeased with both his Queen and servant, Puck. As his Queen, Heather Parker, also dressed to the nine in a pretty wild and colorful costume, demonstrated good stage presence and she exhibited a commanding soprano voice when called for. The ubiquitous Puck, played wonderfully by Kent Liske, leapt and crawled and bounced around the stage creating havoc and encouraging mischief without ever stealing the show or upstaging his fellow performers. Both soprano Elizabeth Batton, who sang the role of Hermia, and Inna Dukach who sang the role of Helena, gave stand out vocal performances as rivals whose paths and fortunes crossed when Puck sprinkled a little too much powder around. Their stage rivalry, including stripping down to short, sexy silk nighties, was done with humor and expressiveness, and was pleasing to the eye as well. Each of these women was self-confident, strong in their roles and convincing as actors. And their boyfriends: tenors Chad Freeburg as Lysander and Michael Zegarski as Demetrius, were equally impressive, both vocally and in their underwear as well, groveling for the favors of Helena, who spent the first act chasing a single man, only to be adored by the two who amusingly worshiped at her feet – even kissed them, and more, a few times.
The one who stole the show, however, was the donkey: bass, David Cushing, as the hapless entertainer Bottom, the brunt of Puck’s cruel joke. If there was a melting point in this opera, when the audience embraced it and made it their own, it came whenever Cushing was on stage. I wondered how his voice would carry through the latex headpiece, and discovered that nothing was going to keep his strong, expressive, humorous performance or strong bass voice in mystery. Brilliant is the only word to describe the show he put on – and the audience showed their appreciation throughout.
The rest of the cast, including a wonderful and humorous performance by the rustics, and most notably, Arthur Espiritu, as the character Flute, AKA Thisby, performed well and provided strong vocal and acting support in their comprimario roles, which is the sign of good casting and directing. It is said the total is only as good as the sum of its parts and the parts here were the performances of this support cast that never let us down or disappointed in terms of their vocal talents or manner of their delivery.
On the negative side: I had some minor reservations with the entertainers, or rustics, trampling down the isles on occasion. This is supposed to make the audience feel more involved but I found it a little distracting. That’s what a stage is for. Also, some audience members were seated as late as twenty minutes into the production and this was annoying – especially since they sat in the up-close-and-personal seats, meaning we had to see them schlep down the full aisle. It was generous of the theater staff to allow this interruption, maybe too generous, since they could have waited.