Intense ‘Faust’ Concludes Festival Opera Season

By Eman Isadiar

Walnut Creek, CA – Festival Opera music director Michael Morgan concluded the season on August 16 with a dazzling performance of Faust by French composer Charles Gounod. Tenor Brian Thorsett appeared in the title role opposite soprano Kristin Clayton, who sang the part of Marguerite. Bass Kirk Eichelberger and baritone Eugene Brancoveanu appeared respectively as Mephistopheles and Valentin.

Before the performance, Morgan acknowledged his board of directors from the stage for maintaining the number of productions this year despite the tough economic times. While most performing arts organizations are reducing performances, Festival Opera seems to be moving full-steam ahead. Puccini’s Turandot opened the season last month.

The opera is largely based on the play of the same name by Goethe, and tells the story of an old scholar, Faust, who accepts eternal servitude to the devil in the next world in return for youth and love in this one. The object of his affection is Marguerite, who is known to all not only for her beauty, but also for purity and virtue.

Act I. Brian Thorsett (Faust), Kirk Eichelberger (Méphistophélès) Photo by Robert Shomler

With his newfound youth and charm, Faust manages to seduce and impregnate Marguerite soon after her protective brother Valentin ships off to war. Upon his return, Valentin is consumed with rage when he discovers the affair and attacks Faust, but is fatally stabbed.

While villagers gather around and implore Valentin to forgive Marguerite in his final moments, he shows no mercy and condemns her while drawing his final breath.

Apparently having killed her child, Marguerite awaits execution in prison. Aided by Mephistopheles, Faust offers to help Marguerite escape, but is shunned by her. She finds divine redemption and a chorus of angels sings as she mounts the scaffold to her death. Faust is once again alone and realizes he must now pay the ultimate price.

Making his company debut, Brian Thorsett proved to be a strikingly gifted tenor, with a deeply moving, resonant and unblemished voice. One of the opera’s brightest moments was Thorsett’s “Chaste et pure”, in which Faust expresses his longing for Marguerite.

Kristin Clayton sang the part of Marguerite with stellar acting and rare talent. A memorable scene of the opera was Clayton’s rendition of “Si belle en ce miroir”, where Marguerite admires her own reflection adorned by Faust’s jewels.

Act II. Kristin Clayton (Marguerite) Photo: Robert Shomler for Festival Opera

In his short-lived moments on stage Eugene Brancoveanu was simply brilliant. His voice has the kind of carrying power that few others possess and many sigh for in vain. As Mephistopheles, Kirk Eichelberger truly did justice to the dark figure of the underworld, and lent much credibility to the production as a whole.

Appearing in the supporting roles of Siebel and Wagner, soprano Erin Neff and baritone Zachary Gordin each gave a strong performance.

Another important feature of this opera was the expressive choreography of Mark Foehringer and his six nimble dancers. As always, the chorus added great depth and dimension to the production thanks to director James Toland.

The orchestra and stage direction were simply flawless under the direction of Oakland East Bay Symphony conductor Michael Morgan, known affectionately by his fans as “MoMo.”

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Eman Isadiar teaches piano at the Peninsula Conservatory and writes about music in the San Francisco Bay Area

Triumphant ‘Turandot’ Opens Season in East Bay

By George Hernández and Eman Isadiar

The Festival Opera of Walnut Creek opened its 2009 season at the Lesher Center for the Arts with a strong, colorful and inspiring production of Puccini’s final opera Turandot, which continued through July 19. The principal roles of Turandot, Calaf and Liù were sung by soprano Othalie Graham, tenor Christopher Jackson and soprano Rebecca Sjöwall respectively, with Bryan Nies conducting the orchestra.

Closing scene from Festival Opera’s production of Turandot (Photo by Robert Shomler)

Much like its spice-laced tale of the royal courts of the Far East, the creation of the opera itself was fraught with drama and controversy.

Composer Giacomo Puccini had composed roughly three-quarters of the music when he was diagnosed with advanced throat cancer and died shortly thereafter. Knowing of his own impending death, Puccini asked that his colleague Riccardo Zandonai finish the opera. The composer’s dying wish, however, was boldly ignored by his editor and by his own family, who instead commissioned Franco Alfano to write the remaining music. This choice arguably left a conspicuous artistic scar in the final act of the opera.

The 1926 world premiere of Turandot was led by the legendary Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, who refused to include Alfano’s ending, and ordered the curtain lowered in the middle of Act 3 with the sounding of the final notes known to have been written by Puccini himself.

The story is taken from the Persian tale of "Turandokht" ("Damsel of the Orient”), which in translation became “Turandot.” It is the name of an irresistible Chinese princess, whose beauty is matched only by her cruelty and contempt toward men. According to custom, she must marry, but her intense hatred for men causes her to devise a disturbing plan to eliminate her suitors.

Any man requesting Turandot’s hand in marriage must offer the correct answer to each of three mind-boggling riddles. A wrong answer, however, does not simply mean refusal of the marriage proposal—it means death by execution.

In the opening act, the prince of Persia is slated for execution at dawn for failing to answer Turandot’s riddles. Now the deposed prince of Tartary, Calaf, who is traveling incognito, falls victim to Turandot’s charms and sounds the ceremonial gong, thereby presenting himself as her next suitor. He becomes aware that his blind father, the former Tartar king Timur, is also wandering the streets of Peking with his loyal maid, Liù.

Rebecca Sjöwall (Lìu), Kirk Eichelberger (Timur) and Christopher Jackson (Calaf) in Festival Opera’s Turandot (Photo by Robert Shomler)

Unbeknown to all until now, Liù has been secretly in love with Calaf for years, which explains why she has remained in his father’s service. After being reunited and hearing of Calaf’s intent to marry Turandot, the former king and his maid plead with Calaf not to risk his life for the princess, who has so far managed to have all of her suitors killed.

But Calaf persists and remains true to his heart. He answers all of the riddles with awe-inspiring wisdom. However, knowing that he has yet to earn Turandot’s love, he offers to be executed, but only if the princess is able to find out his name by morning.

This is when the frenzy begins. Turandot charges everyone serving the royal court with the single task of uncovering her mysterious suitor’s identity, or else all shall be killed.

Singing the part of Calaf, lyric tenor Christopher Jackson gave a remarkably sincere rendition of “Nessun dorma” (“None Shall Sleep”), which has become perhaps one of the most famous arias of all time. It describes the long night during which Calaf’s life hangs in the balance as Turandot’s subjects seek to reveal the Tartar prince’s name.

Against the odds, love prevails at last and Calaf melts through the ice of Turandot’s distrust, winning her affection with a tender kiss.

Appearing as the heartless Turandot, Othalie Graham brought much dramatic depth to a largely one-dimensional character. Graham’s subtlety of acting and powerful voice are two reasons behind the success of this production.

Rebecca Sjöwall gave a moving performance as the love-stricken Liù, the import of whose character is often raised above that of Turandot. Sjöwall reached her highest point in the aria “Signore, ascolta” (“Listen Master”) where she begs Calaf not to attempt to solve Turandot’s riddles, to which Jackson replies with an equally compelling “Non piangere più” (“No More Tears”).

Sadly, Liù gives her life while refusing to divulge Calaf’s name to Turandot.

Remarkably gifted Bass Kirk Eichelberger lent a kingly voice to Timur, while baritone Igor Vieira and tenors Adam Flowers and Michael Mendelssohn brought just the right touch of comic relief as high-ranking officials Ping, Pang and Pong. An invisible star of the show was James Toland, under whose direction the chorus came to life as the men, women and children of this exotic metropolis on the Silk Road.

Festival Opera’s Turandot was a highly professional production with striking sets and lighting that magically transformed every corner of the fairly small stage into the ancient land of legend.

While talent was in no short supply, the twin heroes of this production were stage director David Cox, for raising the acting of the cast to a level worthy of their voices, and conductor Bryan Nies, for his attentive and flawless orchestral accompaniment.

Stay tuned for Gounod’s Faust, which will open on August 8 and will continue through August 16. For tickets, call (925) 944-9610 or visit www.festivalopera.com .

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George Hernández teaches voice and piano in Walnut Creek. Eman Isadiar teaches piano at the Peninsula Conservatory and writes about music in the San Francisco Bay Area.