Silver Season Ends with Golden ‘Carmen’

By Eman Isadiar

Marking the conclusion of the company’s 25th anniversary, Opera San José’s latest production of Carmen opened on Saturday, April 18, 2009 to a near full house at the California Theatre. Mezzo-soprano Cybele Gouverneur appeared as Carmen opposite tenor Alexander Boyer, who portrayed her disgraced lover Don José. The performance was conducted by Opera San José’s founding music director David Rohrbaugh.

Mezzo-soprano Cybele Gouverneur appears in the title role in Opera San José’s Carmen (Photo by Pat Kirk)

Carmen is the loftiest product of the mind of French composer Georges Bizet, who completed the work only months before his death. The opera’s phenomenal success with perhaps three of the best-known arias of all time—the Habanera, the Seguedilla and the "Toreador Song"—has by far eclipsed other contemporary works of the genre, including Bizet’s own seven other operas.

Sung in French, the three-act opera tells the story of a hot-tempered gypsy girl named Carmen, with a mysterious, almost magical power over men. She struts her stuff on the plaza in the opening act while singing the famous Habanera “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” (“Love, A Restless Bird”) and throws a flower to the only man in the crowd who seems unmoved by her beauty—a soldier named Don José.

After Carmen leaves the scene and the crowd disperses, a young woman named Micaela delivers a letter to Don José from his ailing mother, in which she urges him to marry the lovely messenger. Upon reading the letter, Don José announces to the blushing Micaela his intention to fulfill his mother’s wish.

In the following scene, Carmen is arrested for slashing a girl’s face in a catfight at the cigarette factory where they both work. She is bound and delivered to Don José, who must take her to prison; however, the plot thickens.

A strong attraction—of the fatal kind—soon develops between them, complete with its own haunting orchestral leitmotif. As a result, Don José goes to jail for Carmen, abandons his military career and his fiancée Micaela, and joins a band of smugglers.

With his life now virtually ruined, Don Jose also oversteps the threshold of sanity when he learns that Carmen has taken up with a dashing bullfighter named Escamillo.

Baritone Krassen Karagiozov sings Escamillo's "Toreador Song" with the Opera San José Chorus in Act 2 of Carmen (Photo by Pat Kirk)

In the final act, Carmen and her new lover Escamillo are surrounded by admirers as they walk toward the bullfighting arena. Carmen learns that Don José is nearby and wishes to speak to her, so she separates from the group to find him.

A disheveled and distraught Don José emerges from the shadows and begs Carmen to reunite with him. Carmen states that she belongs to no one and does only as she pleases. He repeats his plea merely to receive the same reply.

Eager not to miss the bullfight, Carmen tells Don José to either kill her or to step aside and leave her in peace. As the crowd cheers Escamillo’s slaughter of the bull, so does Don José stab his knife into Carmen’s heart.

Cybele Gouverneur was more than convincing as the sultry seductress of Seville. Her distinctive timbre has a particularly rich texture near the lower end of her range. A memorable highlight was Gouverneur’s enchanting rendition of the famous Seguedilla of Act 1, “Près des ramparts de Séville” (“Near the Walls of Seville”), where, after being arrested, Carmen charms her guard Don José into letting her go.

Gouverneur’s inspired Carmen was paired with an equally compelling Don José by Alexander Boyer. The gifted tenor’s performance achieved its highest point in the tavern scene aria “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” (“The Flower You Threw My Way”), where Don José, after spending two months in jail, declares his undying love to Carmen.

Tenor Alexander Boyer and soprano Rebecca Davis sings the parts of Don José and Micaela in Opera San José’s Carmen (Photo by Pat Kirk)

One of the opera’s many pleasant surprises came from soprano Rebecca Davis, who was simply stellar as Micaela. Her unique chemistry with Boyer made for an unforgettable duet in Act 1—“Parle-moi de ma mere” (“Tell Me of Mother”)—where the tenor and soprano sing in such close harmonic proximity that their voices seem to fuse together in the end.

The colorful details of the story came to life under the direction of Sandra Bengochea, who created a vivid and poignant Carmen as a proud marker of Opera San José’s quarter-century history.

Baritone Krassen Karagiozov and sopranos Jillian Boye and Alicia Lynch deserve mention as the talented voices of Escamillo, Frasquita and Mercedes respectively, as do the chorus master John Bailey and choreographer Lise La Cour, whose parts were especially important in the tavern scene of Act 2.

The backbone of this Carmen, however, was the impressively skilled orchestra led by David Rohrbaugh. From the very first note of the thrilling overture to the ominous, gripping finale, the orchestra provided a perfectly nuanced and highly attentive accompaniment worthy of the finest of opera houses.

Ladies and gentlemen, the bar has been raised for season 26.

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

Lyric Opera’s New 'Rigoletto' Set in Prohibition Era

By Eman Isadiar

Once again, San Francisco Lyric Opera brings us an operatic masterpiece with an intriguing creative twist. A brand new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto will be on stage at Fort Mason’s Cowell Theatre from April 17 through 26, this time transplanted to the urban landscape of Prohibition Era U.S. from the original sixteenth century setting in northern Italy.

Baritone David Cox appears in the title role in SF Lyric Opera's Rigoletto set in Prohibition Era U.S. (Photo courtesy of SF Lyric Opera)

“What makes the story compelling is the twisted nature of the characters against the backdrop of a worn-down society,” says artistic director Barnaby Palmer. He adds, “The 1930s urban setting tends to accentuate the diseased elements at the core of the opera.”

Composer Giuseppe Verdi and his librettist Francesco Piave seem to have fought—and won—an uphill battle with Rigoletto. Based on a work by Victor Hugo titled “Le roi s’amuse” (“The King’s Leisures”), the opera originally portrayed a French king and his many amorous adventures, which was apparently too indecent a topic for the censors of the time. In order to avoid any possible controversy, Verdi and Piave changed the king’s character to an Italian duke of a long-extinct domain.

The story’s main theme is revenge gone awry. The men whose wives and daughters were seduced and dishonored by the Duke form an alliance headed by a certain Count Monterone. However, the Duke’s advisor and confidant—a physically deformed man nicknamed “Rigoletto” (Funny Guy)—has the Count arrested and thrown in jail.

Soprano Rebecca Sjöwall sings the role of Gilda in SF Lyric Opera's new Rigoletto (Photo courtesy of SF Lyric Opera)

Contrary to his own repulsive appearance, Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda is a very attractive young woman, whom he keeps hidden from the world. She is allowed to leave the house only to attend mass, which, as fate would have it, is where she is spotted by the Duke. Unaware that she is Rigoletto’s daughter, the Duke manages to charm her using a false name.

Count Monterone’s men abduct Gilda, believing her to be Rigoletto’s mistress. Rigoletto demands that Gilda be returned to him and, to everyone’s utter surprise, divulges that she is in fact his daughter. Rigoletto’s madness reaches fever pitch as he hires an assassin to kill the Duke, whom he holds responsible for Gilda’s lovesick condition.

Shortly thereafter, the assassin delivers to Rigoletto a sack he claims to contain the dead Duke’s body. As Rigoletto weighs down the sack with rocks before throwing it into the lake, he hears the Duke’s voice in the distance singing one of opera’s best known arias “La donna è mobile” (“How Fickle is Womankind”). Perplexed, he opens the sack and discovers Gilda, who—still barely alive—proclaims she is glad to have exchanged her own life for that of the her beloved Duke as she draws her final breath.

Gifted Hungarian stage director Attila Béres is credited with this production’s daring originality, which also marks his début with the San Francisco Lyric Opera. Currently the main director at Budapest’s Operetta Theater, Mr. Béres has directed an impressive list of operas during his remarkable tenures at the National Theater in Pécs and at Gardonyi Géza Theater in Eger, Hungary.

Artistic director Barnaby Palmer notes that, in addition to Rigoletto’s bold staging, the principal roles are sung by an especially talented cast with outstanding acting skills. These include award-winning soprano Rebecca Sjöwall appearing as Gilda, accomplished Mexican tenor Jesús León as the Duke, and leading baritone David Cox in the title role.

As always, Barnaby Palmer will conduct the orchestra in what promises to be another memorable production of San Francisco Lyric Opera. Mr. Palmer has served as the company’s artistic director since 2002, and is also a professor of Opera History and Music Theory at the Academy of Art.

He points out that opera in a small, intimate setting is qualitatively different from a large opera house production. “San Francisco Lyric Opera,” he says, “aims to offer a unique, close-up experience where the spectator feels directly engaged in the story.” In addition, Mr. Palmer points out that San Francisco Lyric Opera is especially in favor of using modern technology for productions that are more relevant to today’s audiences.

San Francisco Lyric Opera hopes to raise future generations of opera supporters by offering free admission to children 12 and under, and reserving 10 percent of its seating capacity at every performance for the San Francisco Unified School District.

For tickets to the upcoming production of Rigoletto, visit http://www.sflyricopera.org or call (800) 919-8088.

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

San Jose Turns Out in Droves for Favorite Conductor

By Eman Isadiar

Thousands of music fans flocked to the California Theatre in San Jose from March 26 through 29 to hear Symphony Silicon Valley conducted by George Cleve in perhaps the season’s most eagerly anticipated concert set.

The program opened with Le carnaval romain by Berlioz, followed by Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Korean soloist Ju-Young Baek, and concluded with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 titled From the New World.

The Man behind San Jose’s Glorious Symphonic Past

Conductor George Cleve leads Symphony Silicon Valley in music by Berlioz, Brahms and Dvorak (Photo by Bob Shomler)

Recognized internationally as a distinguished conductor, George Cleve’s name in the Bay Area is forever associated with San Francisco’s hugely popular Midsummer Mozart Festival, which he founded nearly 35 years ago.

Many also remember Cleve as the music director who transformed the now extinct San Jose Symphony from an average regional ensemble to a highly acclaimed orchestra. His public charisma and capable leadership brought a new level of artistic prestige worthy of the state’s third largest metropolis.

Over the decade following Cleve’s departure in ’92, the symphony sadly fell into a downward spiral due to a host of controversial factors leading to its eventual demise.

However, Maestro Cleve returns frequently to San Jose, now as a favored guest conductor of Symphony Silicon Valley. One such occasion was the last week in March, when the public got a taste of San Jose’s glorious symphonic past in a highly energetic—and technically demanding—program.

Program Highlights

Le carnaval romain comes from an obscure and seldom-performed opera named Benvenuto Cellini by French composer Hector Berlioz.

Most operas begin life as a brief orchestral overture containing the most important musical elements, which the composer then uses to seek funding in order to complete the project. With Benvenuto Cellini, however, the sequence of events was reversed.

Four years after the full opera’s completion and disastrous premiere, Berlioz condensed the music into the concert overture we now know as Le carnival romain, which, on its own merit, has become a fairly popular and frequently played orchestral piece.

Korean violinist Ju-Young Baek appears with Symphony Silicon Valley in Brahms’ Violin Concerto (Photo courtesy of Symphony Silicon Valley)

Then came a unique and memorable rendition by Ju-Young Baek of the only violin concerto left by German composer Johannes Brahms. The concerto was composed during Brahms’ years in Vienna, and is dedicated to the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim.

The most prominent feature of the work is that it elevates the orchestra’s role to a near-equal partnership with the soloist in terms of skill and melodic importance.

Clearly, Baek is not afraid to dig deep into the strings for a passionate, gritty timbre. She brought a rare sensitivity to the piece, which demonstrated not only her irreproachable technique, but also her profound musical insight.

Baek’s powerful bowing, however, caused her instrument to require re-tuning at the end of the first movement. While this may have been slightly disruptive, the audience quickly slipped back into a musical trance with a remarkably lyrical Adagio movement. Baek’s richly grainy tone returned in the third movement for an exciting finale.

After many rounds of heartfelt applause, Ju-Young Baek offered the gift of an encore—a slow movement from one of Bach’s sonatas for violin solo. Gone was the highly emotional, deep bowing of Brahms, now replaced by a pure and unornamented sound, indicating Baek’s delicate musical finesse.

The concert reached perhaps its highest point with a strong and bold interpretation of Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony. George Cleve blew away the musical dust and cobwebs that tend to gather on such a widely performed work as the “New World”, and gave it a fresh symphonic coat of paint. It was the kind of performance that makes one want to rush home and look for that old CD of Dvořák’s immortal tribute to America.

Not surprisingly, wild applause and a standing ovation followed. As if a brave “New World” weren't enough, we got another stunning symphonic treat—Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance No. 1.

While recitalists and soloists almost always play additional music when the applause reaches a minimum requisite decibel level, orchestral encores are exceptionally rare, which made this concert all the more special.

Another fact deserving mention is that George Cleve conducted the entire program from memory.

San Jose’s Promising Musical Future

Though Symphony Silicon Valley has not yet completely filled the cultural hole left by San Jose Symphony, the latest concert with George Cleve at the helm was a welcome reminder that such a prospect is within reach.

Even years after his remarkable tenure in San Jose, the enigmatic conductor managed to draw an impressive crowd to the symphony in not one, but three shows, which, in this economy, proves only one thing.

Cleve’s baton is in fact a magic wand.

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