Feb. 2, 2004.
Russian opera dark,
deserving
GEOFF CHAPMAN
MUSIC CRITIC
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov was the youngest member of an inventive
group of Russian nationalist composers dubbed ‘the mighty handful.’
And although critics of the time slandered his operas (15 in all)
as being mostly bereft of credible dramatic content, yesterday’s Opera In
Concert presentation of The Tsar’s Bride, which premiered in 1899,
was a very big handful overflowing with extreme emotions.
The production, sung in Russian, was powerful and passionate, the
stage of the Jane Mallett Theatre metaphorically awash in blood and plots and
Gothic horror throughout its four acts — and a large, enthusiastic
audience loudly demonstrated its opinions after most of the musical set-pieces.
It was also very Russian, dark and sonorous and rich, with the
composer’s fondness for large ensemble singing and parts for from two to
six voices delightfully exploited by the company. At this point one must
profusely thank one-woman orchestra Raisa Nakhmanovich, who dealt effectively
from the piano with a dense score, as well as the 32-member OIC chorus under
Robert Cooper, which was equal to the demands of Rimsky-Korsakov’s
percussive commentary.
The bloodthirsty tale has Marfa pursued by two suitors, the
Tsar’s thug Gryaznoy and Lykov, who she prefers.
Gryaznoy’s jealous former mistress Lyubasha sells herself to
the Tsar’s physician Bomelius to get poison to destroy the good looks of
Marfa, who’s then chosen as a wife by human rights-challenged Tsar Ivan
The Terrible.
Lykov is blamed for the poisoning of what was meant to be
Gryaznoy’s love potion, then beheaded.
The mistress is slain, the physician is stalked and Marfa goes
mad. Gryaznoy demands the full weight of the law to be visited on him.
Had enough? There’s probably more in the full version.
Even though the composer himself viewed opera as an entirely
musical affair, this historical, impassioned creation offers hints of his
fascination with Wagner’s Ring Cycle (which he’d encountered
10 years before he wrote this opera) and the virtues of letting passionate
feelings well up in the emoting of almost every one of the nine principal parts
in this opera.
Well-rounded, deep voices are naturally a must, and OIC general
director Guillermo Silva-Marin came up trumps for this presentation. Bass
Nikolay Cherkasov was fabulous as Marfa’s father Sobakin, his rounded,
chest-bottom tones making for frequent spine-shivering moments among the listeners
— he deserved the ecstatic cheers after the finale.
Impressive baritone Michael Meraw had most to do as the sinister
Gryaznoy and did it well, with a warm vibrato, sterling focus and splendid pitch
that projected to the farthest parts of this intimate venue where you can
actually hear every note. Bass-baritone Neil Aronoff was solid as Skuratov.
As Marfa, soprano Marina Shemesh (born in Leningrad, now St.
Petersburg) showed excellent control, ringing tones and a vibrant vibrato for
her role, which involves tricky articulation. Her mad scene was marvellous.
Mezzo Margaret Maye, trained in Poland, was also very strong,
notably in her Act 1 a cappella aria.
Tenor Keith Klassen’s voice as Lykov sounded too
constricted, and tenor Avery Krisman’s tenor as physician Bomelius
offered much smoother delivery.
In lesser roles, soprano Ani Imastounian and mezzo Melinda Delorme
did well. (The next OIC production is Handel’s Rinaldo March 27
and 28.)
Opera Review –
OPERA IN CONCERT - "THE TSAR'S BRIDE"
The grumbling during intermission of Opera in Concert's
very competent production of Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tsar's Bride" was
not about the singing, but about the lack of surtitles. With the mandate of
putting on rarely performed works, it behoves O in C to become more audience
friendly. On a positive note, members of Toronto's immigrant community ensured
the success of the afternoon, and kudos to those singers who left their
homeland to enrich ours.
"The
Tsar's Bride" is one of Rimsky-Korsakov's rare tragic operas, and is
filled with a rich mother lode of gorgeous melodies and ensembles. Music
director Raisa Nakhmanovich may miss a few notes on the piano, but no one is
her master when it comes to drama. Happily, chorus master Robert Cooper
actually got a harmonically Russianized sound from his small group.
The
most polished performances came from bass Nikolay Cherkasov as Sobakin and
mezzo-soprano Ani Imastounian as Saburova. Both have wonderful voices and
enormous stage presence. Baritone Michael Meraw as the lecherous Gryaznoy
continues to show his promise with a rich and commanding sound. Mezzo-soprano
Margaret Maye as the jealous Lyubasha has a lush voice and dramatic delivery.
Soprano Marina Shemesh as Marfa is certainly talented, but she tends to pinch
her high notes, as did equally talented tenor Keith Klassen as Lykov. The
honey-coloured voice of mezzo-soprano Melinda Delorme as Dunyasha is one to
watch, while tenor Avery Krisman and bass-baritone Neil Aronoff gave excellent
support in their smaller roles.
I'm Paula Citron, arts reviewer for CLASSICAL 96.3 FM.
Jan. 29, 2004.
Opera In Concert tackles rare work
JOHN TERAUDS
WHAT'S ON EDITOR
It's not often Torontonians get a big blast of
Russian opera. It's even more rare to hear one of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov's 19
operas in these parts.
But thanks to Opera In Concert's nose for the
rare-but-worthy, we'll have the opportunity to hear Rimsky-Korsakov's The
Tsar's Bride on Sunday.
This is a big, dramatic and tragic story
richly set in the composer's most tuneful style. More than most operas, this
1898 work predominates in ensemble and choral singing, which should take
maximum advantage of a cast infused with a dose of Russian talent in the
persons of soprano Marina Shemesh (who plays the lead female role of Marfa) and
bass Nikolay Cherkasov (Sobakin).
Shemesh, who is currently studying at New York
City's H.L. Miller Cantorial School, part of the conservative Jewish
Theological Seminary of America, has a strong Toronto connection both in
singing and practising her faith.
Like many Russian Jews, Shemesh left her
native Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1990 to seek a more open life and to
sing for the New Israeli Opera.
“I lived in Israel for eight
years,” Shemesh recounts on the phone from her home in New York City.
“I wasn't religious and I worked mostly as an opera singer. I lived a
secular life.”
She says she had hoped to feel better
integrated into society in Israel, but this ultimately wasn't the case, even
though she says she liked living there. She faced the paradox that, in Russia
she had been singled out as a Jew; in Israel, she was singled out as a Russian.
Inclusive Canada beckoned.
Shemesh spent a year in Toronto, looking for
vocal work, landing a role in the Vancouver Opera's 2001 Magic Flute.
Along the way, she found a spiritual home at Beth Tzedek Synagogue, which
nurtured her faith and inspired her decision to become a cantor.
Three years ago, she joined the Summer Opera
Lyric Theatre, an intensive annual summer vocal workshop organized by Guillermo
Silva-Marin, who is also Opera In Concert's general director.
“I had the role of Cunegonde in (Leonard
Bernstein's) Candide, but I broke my leg two days before the
performance.”
“You know when they say ‘Break a
leg.’ I took it literally,” she says.
Let's hope all limbs stay intact for Sunday's
staged performance at the Jane Mallett Theatre, for which Raisa Nakhmanovich
acts as director and piano accompanist.
The four-act plot for The Tsar's Bride is
full of twists and turns, but, at the risk of over-simplifying, it turns on the
havoc wreaked in the life of Marfa, her fiancé and her true love when the Tsar
(Ivan the Terrible) decides to choose her for his third wife.
It all ends unhappily — but not after
much rich singing centred around set-piece “scenes” in each act.
Other singers participating Sunday include mezzo Margaret Maye, tenor Keith
Klassen and baritone Michael Meraw. The chorus has been prepared by Robert
Cooper.
For an excellent recording, look no further
than a dynamic 1998 Philips effort by the Kirov Opera and Orchestra, conducted
by Valery Gerghiev in St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre.