Show CindyDewey is the assistant department head af i the Utah State University music department wfuits1 she oversees voids and opera pmgramiCs VV VVV i-- "4 '- 'Jv r ' Vf “Die Medehnaus: U ' V' igjyisys) '' 2002UtahFestival Opera Season reviewed This 2003 Utah Festival Opera Season is ded must plan season! oflighter fare in order to: fined to be a crowd pleaser With their selec-generate revenues that will allow them to pre-sen piecet that have riskier bottom-lintion ofmusical masterpieces in three different In : effect this year's season will help diem pro-- f genres opera ("The Magic Flute") operetta duce shows like Verdii "Nabucco" scheduled: (“Die FUdermaus“l andinusical theater works by "The Sound of Music) and with a little fluff ? forthe2003 season Less master composers and newer works can then (“Desert Song") thrown in as well audiences be performed with the expectation thatthe- can expect some fun regardless of which shows they choose to see In spite efthetwo company’s established record of excellence in centuries that separate die works they have a producing the shows that audiences know and number of things in common AH of this year¥r': love will bring them back in to seepieces with which they may not be familiar shows feature spoken dialogue rathertnan V Jhisthen is die season for the" light of recitative making the action easierto follow In addition comical charactersaboutuL Even?- - heart"to venture to the Ellen Eccles Theatre in the more serious “FlutemPapageno is dtfi- - in downtown Logan taseewhat all die “noise" is about Shows run nightly : nitely in it for the laughs' ' These are also shows that can be expected Wednesday through Saturday until Aug 10 to draw large audiences Regional companies Cindy Dewey The Herald Journal such as The Utah Festival Opera Company ' -- es a jiawrv The perfect foil to the charming 9 u - “The Desert Songf was written but this year it has really filled and he seemis unidh more by Sigmund Romberg in 1925 in die high range: just one year after bis first great richness Student of voce combined This rhe original operetta with his charismatic presence on Prince” took Broadway by storm In riarly reviews it was clear that it was die uuuical to swoon oven Also back this t material dud carried the show as season isDanielle Hermon the somiewhat dumpy and downtrodno one seemed to take the den Susan theotfaer half of the f romantic dot twists seriously comic relief team rtf Bennie "wToday more diat ever It is me rndwlie nyrtwiil eedaQy the (John Easteriin) and Susan Their V combined romantic songs and duets mat phyrical comedy and their gifts for caricature ensure'keep this show alive The text is but the appeal of dm songs thisvaudevillianpain success: !' fives bniv‘ As Margot Margaret Lloyd's Set in 1920’s Hnench North makes her UFO debut with a Africa! this swashbuckling voice and personality that' romance tells the story of star-crossed lovers Margot Bonvalet (Margaret LJoyd) and the rriiel I leader known as The Red Shadow (MM Womack) who is actually Pierre Biraibeau son of die Fitch goircmot Abducted against hef wifi she is nonethe- -' V lws fascinated by the Red Shadow and when rescued by v Cut Puil Fontaine (Oeoce Dyer) who has swom to lrill die Red Shadow she agrees to marry'1 ty Even the smallest detaOs bear ?foe inaik of her genius and the dashing rebeL Paul to : - Audience members soil recog' every scene is a treat for die eye nize two of last year’s strong UmU asthe ‘ Like a nunance novel we all performers Man Womack trim in LL how the story will eventu--' Cable South v played sadsfies end but this' makes the jour Pacific more-tha- h ably ally thekm-awaitemhracei ShadowHis therolepftheRed neyto nb less enioyable''f': voice wiis'beautifiil lastsnson: sure-foot- ed r u "- - ihr p-- qre : V" - - I- 4 lit 'know : V: ed The opening night performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s’The MagicFlute” the aUdknce with some fiavorite per- mtmien from past seasons and introduced jl nundier of new young singcrs The Magic Flute” was written by Mozart less than thee : He certainly ponesses the raw talent to sing the nde but it seemed diaf in die Act One aria Dies Bildnis” either his technique was pot quite up to the task or he was extremely nervous - As Thmino’s beloved Panama Adina Aaron sang with a mellow ease that allowed all but the of “Ach ich Uhl's” to spid out bieau- high tifolW Both her singing and her characterizatkn would have been improved widiaifitde more ‘ physical energy AnnaVikre reprises the nde cif The Queen of die Night diat she sang with the company in its 1995 season Her amazing coloratura and soaring bigbimliM mrrmTfd thf-prnwwt tKw fored 99 99 Vout i : dm hih tessitura required but her occasional lack of intelligibility and her inability to be heard above the I orchestra sdwn singing in the lower ' rcac-quain- ted Jr 35 It is loosely based on an Oriental fairy tale about the Rdnceks Pamina whohas been kidnapped by the evil Sarastro The handsome :1 pnnee Tumno is recruited by die Queen of the t'J Night to rescue her daughter (Pamina) snd ’ Tkmino begins his journey seeking his true love He is aided ifriot sidy at least affably by the binLcatche Pi(Mgenuwfao is constmthr in goo-U- e widi the Tbree Laches the Queen’s right-ha" - nd gala''‘£1'-y-£- i most endmsitftic i and the figbtnpfe of her voice in dm lower and middle ranges made it mote diffimh to believe : ' her as the imposing character of the Queen eie-dally in her first act kia v ! Shon Sims who vws last season’s irresistible Indies did not five ito expectariqns There Bgaro days Papagena The nde includes two were some nice musical moments and the indi : arias but afforded him less opportu- i vidual singers were capable but they had clearly I shine nature to the of given “folksy” vocaDy nity ' hot both the tunes His physical comedy brought the yet established their identity as a cohesive ' : well-kno- tottdeniembfet-x-- & The boys playing the Three Genies were bare-J-y audible and would be greatly aided by elec- - V in he should tronic amplification ctf their singing ' accent to be palatable Mozart SdQ Given my comments ooe might dunk I did not receive praise for the high level of energy and : comedic timing he brings to diq stage fike dre ahow ’nns is not die case The truth of t Unlike Sims who was always “on” fat other the matter is that I am a Mozart fiend and have a r bast members seemed low on energy particularly much higher set of expectations The youth and in die first act Perhaps it was a case of trying to inexperience of die ca may have contributed to dampen opening night nerves ahd going too fis: f the slow first aci Asmy eiit-year-compan-Tb- e show ahnost needs two separate reviews"’ kn said when queried NT wirii there were a i ‘Magic Flute Tha’" When adted why he it when was it oded replied They getting just Jameson was a sympathetic Tkmno So 1 intend good” Out of ihe mouth of babes ' to see Magic RuteTNro” when I attend another whose portnyal was very expressive except where the demands ofthe music particularly an peifonnance this season and tome whether net ri tfi& Weaknesses of this Wtfr&h tainedhidipitdhescaitfcd him to Stiffen physi-f''h-as atfftomepoint whenjhis chancteriZatioo loudest like i v f dd rrrvbii ' f - ' S ' '4 J i f " Countess The whole scenario is wit- nessedbyAdele whohas gone to the same party in the guise of an young actress in a gown 1wnuwed” without permission from Rosalinda The party is hosted by the Russian Count Oriofsky whose part was cono vincingly played by Nancy Shade Performing “Hosoirole” (German for pants-rolwhere a woman must singrect the put of a man in operaoperetta is one of the great challenges for a mezzocon-trah- o These roles are numerous in opera and rarely are they performed with such cachet Particularly noteworthy was Shade’s physical portrayal of a nobleman bored with his wealth Jack Shouse’s playful direction particularly his addition of entr’acte by Bart Williams as die jailer Frosch showed us that his dramatic gifts include the comical as weQ as the tmgic (as displayed so evidently in last year’s “Susannah”) Despite some of its nwnw short' comings it was a delightful evening of operetta mezzo-sopran- 8cs O 3 “T o £ of 6o u e) i 3 0 —1 32 2 a 10) G I in 0) CD O “Sound of Music” Wbw! What a show! The Utah festival Opera Conqnnyput its best foot forward for the production of Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” Set designer Christopher McCollum outdid himself Combined with Patti Johnson’s cos' V tumes and die lighting design by Maja White these visiud elements of the production resulted in an immensely pleasing experience Leslie Aim Hendricks returned itoUFOas Maria in dus story of die extraordinary B-fl- ats - ' poitioa of her range kept her performance from achieving the heights of Reed’s and dels Rosa’s The prolderns of balance with the otefaestrs were evident elsewhere as welL While their playing was superb it was often at a dynamic level that made it difficult even for the sizable voices of Reed de la Rosa to soar above iL Conductor Barbara Day Thmer who has had more experience in strictly instrumental genres may need to pay more careful attentioQ to balance in future performances ‘'Fledennaus” tells the convoluted tale of a practical joke that is played upon Eisenstein (Bruce Reed) by his fnend Dr Falke (Troy Gordon) The joke is planned as a sort of sweet revenge by Falke who acquired the unwanted nickname of Dt Bat (from which the name of die operetta comes) when he was left by Eisenstein to wake up after some drunken carous- ing still in the costume of a bat on a publicpaik bench It results in Alfred being mistaken for Eisenstein and being jailed in his place and in Eisenstein trying to seduce his own wife who is disguised as a Hungarian ' Rosalinda was played by Osvaklo ' JFeromintheroleof the Alfred the Italian tfenor His shqrt stature flaming red hair caricature of die love-struc- k sereuader and hisremarkable vocal 'skill coalesced into a perfect portrayal Pamela Hinchman was both vocally and dramatically effective as the Eisenstein’s ditzy chamber maid ' Adde Hinchman had no trouble with f J1 f ' j 1 b&m 7 1 well-kno- -- r V : ' : vf Johann Strauss's masterpiece of operetta showcases v some of the most satisfying perfor- mancesof the season Brooe Reed as Eisenstein and Evelynde la Rosa as Rosalinda Qua wife) were all tbit one could hope lot With seeming effort-- v lessness they negotiated the demand-ing music required while exhibiting a level of comfort within their charac- ten that was completely engaging Both also displayed such remarkable dictior as to render the supertides in English almost completely unneces- - ss?f r: ? Die Fledennaus" v v v ? as the remarkable Nrifie Forfaush of last “South Pacific” Hendrick’s spvkfing ringing voice and vice verse carried personality and genuiness were once again in evidence Her dear voice carried well and her effortlessly throuTher T am sixteen” duet with she ably handled the more extensive vocal RdfGrifoer rung by Chris Scheakle a talented young range df this role Those who cannot separate tenor Who returns for his second season as a member of Julie Andrews from the ntfe may howler ' the ensemMe Miller's singing also added a warmth and ’be somewhat (fisconceried by die more obvifiillriess to dm musical numbers in vriiidi the von Tkapp ous register shifts in her voice Children appeared Brittany Wxley was an appropriateTbmas Ambt Koford made bis UFO debutin ly precociousBrigitta and Caidin Rose Henggewa " the role inf CapL von Trapp In spite of his irresistible as OreL The tales of the other children J ' : skiU as an actor Raford seemed a little were filled by g engagingly portrayed and John Blair (Friedncfaj Ester Ballam (LodsaX Shane ybutfafkil for die nde especially when paired with Kristen Hurst-lfyas Baroness Huish (KmtX and Olivia Ballam (Marta) All of the Scfaraeder The transposition of Capt von acton hi die show benefited from Russell Henderson’s Tirapp’s musical numbers' along with the ' JdirectioQ which sllowed the actiooto flowbefievable octave displacement of individual phrases both fibmnpeechfo song snd from scene to scene necessitated by Koford’s thinner higher But the musical highlight of die evening had to be die voice would nave left Christodier Plumber ' of nun Combined with die stentorian tones of the shaking in his boots and was quite jarring to diose of its accustomed to die original u Mother Abbess (Jisa van derPloegj their singing ' version with richness and itibuitpne enveloped the autfienoe in a rich velvet blanket of ''warmdL':'-'''"''sourvLThepower of tiiemusicas Richard Rodgencon-- W: The sebaodary diaracten really stole die V': texcdlent': sen-son- “ben-traine-d" well-sim- de : - r ' ' kbow Johanna McKenzie Miller as the eldesfvraiTrTOdaiighteLiesLthova?- scene - ifitV & |