For over a hundred years, Ruggero Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” has been an opera in search of a mate. Too short to stand alone(though some companies have economically tried to do just that), it is frequently paired with another Italian work, “Cavalleria Rusticana.” For the first production of its new season, Virginia Opera took an unusual approach – it joined the opera to a previously unheard (in Hampton Roads) 1933 work by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, “The Seven Deadly Sins.” It made for a musically and theatrically stimulating evening.
Virginian-Pilot
By Paul Sayegh
Correspondent
Oct 3, 2016
Credit is due director Keturah Stickann for finding and devising a way to “join” the two works, which in many ways are quite dissimilar. Stickann found parallels in depicting characters who are caught in a conflict between passion and reason. “Sins” is the more abstract and preachy of the two works. A young woman, Anna, leaves home (in Louisiana) to make her way in the world and earn money to build her family a new home. The role is actually divided between Anna I, who sings, and Anna II, who dances. The Annas, two sides of the same character, travel to seven cities, each of which illustrates a sin, to which Anna II succumbs, under the eye of Anna I, who while encouraging her also keeps Anna II from getting into too much trouble. At the end, they return home, sadder and wiser to the fact that passions can lead to a lot of misfortune.
Weill’s music is always tuneful and engaging. Under the capable direction of Adam Turner, the Virginia Symphony players sounded in excellent form. Soprano Ute Gfrerer was Anna I, singing with a clear voice that straddled the divide between opera and music theater. Gabrielle Zucker was a touching Anna II, managing to maintain innocence in spite of the sins to which she was tempted. The opera was sung in an English translation by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman.
If “Sins” was the abstract side of the evening, “Pagliacci” was sin in its ugly and messy state. Leoncavallo’s opera tells of a troupe of players whose stage comedy becomes murderously real. It may last only the better part of an hour, but it is a classic encapsulation of 19th century Italian opera and demands performers who can communicate directly with the audience. Virginia Opera assembled a first-rate cast that delivered a powerful performance.
Soprano Kelly Kaduce sang Nedda, the adulterous wife who pays with her life for her romantic yearnings. She sang the role superbly, with a rich, powerful voice that soared and made the climactic moments thrilling. Equally arresting was baritone Michael Chioldi as Tonio, who precipitates the tragedy with his lust for Nedda. He set a high bar in the opening “Prologue” with his theatricality and ringing voice. Clay Hilley sang Canio, the duped husband, with a dramatic tenor that made his rage plausible.
In smaller roles, baritone Lee Gregory, as Nedda’s lover Silvio, and tenor Stefan Barner as Beppe handled their assignments well. Stickann staged “Pagliacci” with a minimum of fussiness, and conductor Turner led a taut interpretation of the opera. As in the Weill, the Virginia Symphony had an excellent night.