Norma: The Story is Told

Photo Credit; Emme Rogers

COMMANDOpera’s evening last night did not go too well on the blogging front. Upon arrival, the bloggers, Emme, Gus, John, Katie, and myself, set up our equipment in the allotted area. It all worked out relatively well; bloggers blogging…. until the audience began arriving for the performance.  No, it wasn’t the intrusiveness of the expected costume bejewelled, overly made up matrons, but rather the unpredictable wifi signal which began to recede to an unworkable level before finally crashing altogether. Irreparably. AHH well. Perhaps future similarly veined initiatives by opera companies who determine to engage this forum, should ensure the technology is correctly and professionally supplied. There is no question on site blogging is an extraordinary marketing tool, which if done properly, could become a significant addition to opening nights.

The performance began with an extremely delicate handling of the overture by Maestro Bonynge; there was no muscularity whatsoever. At times the orchestra seemed to drift. The crispness one associates with Maestro Bonynge simply was not in evidence at this point. COMMANDOpera cannot attribute the origin, however one did feel the Maestro was accomplishing the finest possible work given the tools at his disposal.

The chorus of the Vancouver Opera is spectacular. The artists who comprise this particular chorus astounded with the degree of excellence they brought to their work. The rendering of the prelude which introduces Oreveso’s first aria, ‘ite sul colle’ elegantly set the stage for ‘Dell’aura tua profetica’ which disappointingly proved beyond the reach of Mr. Alain Coulombe. This artist certainly improved as the performance continued, but at this point Oreveso simply could not be heard over Maestro Bonynge’s gentle orchestration.

Enter stage right Pollione in the visage of Mr. Richard Margison (although this has zero to do with the music, I will say a bald Pollione seriously suits the character of the Roman pro consul. There is a definite raw L.A. street gang masculinity to it…. if there is a modern update of Norma this would be the way to do it). Mr. Margison handled ‘me protegge, me deffende’ with the intensity one expects from Mr. Margison who does not work with lightweight material. There was an ingrained fever to his singing of the air as he described his next conquest. COMMANDOpera was most taken with the softer passages which were coloured with extremely delicate shades not witnessed often in his range. There was an ineffable quality of Mr. Jon Vickers to the voice of Mr. Margison. Ahh how I would implore the top tier houses to mount Chereubini’s Medea so we could all know the Giasone of Mr. Margison.

Enter Norma, Miss Hasmik Papian. It is no wonder Miss Papian is in demand across the globe for this role. Her Norma is correctly placed. Not as one would consider either Miss Callas or Miss Sutherland who were both widely regarded as Norma. No. One would have to go to Miss Anita Cerquetti or Miss Leyla Gencer to vocally understand Miss Papian’s Norma. There is a delicious and full middle range to the vocal instrument of this artist, combined with a dramatic thrust which calibrates the overall experience. Casta Diva is not an aria I am overly fond of having listened to the piece again and Again and AGAIN. I will only yield to this if the artist handles the work with extreme intelligence. From the moment the words ‘Sediziosi voce’  were uttered, Crew Mantle was mesmerised. Accompanied by Maestro Bonynge’s sensual conducting we were led to the Casta Diva. Oh the seamless legato, the purest diction, the glorious phrasing… it worked. Deliriously so.

Well what is Norma without the other woman… Adalgisa, who is introduced to us through the aria ‘Sgombra e la sacra selva’. I better show some restraint here in describing the Adalgisa, Miss Kate Aldrich…. Perhaps the most in demand mezzo voice in the world today, she far exceeds vocally any current artists in her range today. That is all I will say for now other than the fact COMMANDOpera will assuredly be updating her profile in the extremely NEAR future. Miss Aldrich was a rivetting presence every time she appeared on stage. If you can ignore her singular beauty for a nanosecond to dwell on her voice, you are a wise operaphile. When Miss Aldrich began the first notes, the gentility and sad situation of Adalgisa was brought clearly into view. The last time I heard anyone introduce Adalgisa to us so wistfully was through the vocal instrument of Miss Tatiana Troyanos. I was shattered by the predicament of Adalgisa as Miss Aldrich intended you to know her core reality. Miss Aldrich imbued the hapless character with a softness and inwardly kind nature that would make any man draw swords to defend.

The interaction between the principals was extremely well orchestrated. Maestro Tazewell Thompson, the highly esteemed stage director/playwright from New York was masterful in his arrangements for positioning of not only the principals but also the chorus. This Norma flowed naturally, and given the production was in the period as envisioned, Maestro Thompson somehow gave fleeting glances throughout the performance of the Druid culture. An uneducated populace with a belief system from that period would unquestionably move differently. There was a raggedness to the movements of the chorus which did not appear affected, but rather extremely natural. The Romans purveyed a distinctive swagger, while the Druids scurried. The multi dimensional logic which went into this blocking stuns COMMANDOpera in its excellence.

As the first act reached its conclusion, the orchestra endured a minor error which caused Miss Papian to misplace her positioning and consequently disabled her ability to finish on a D. But an opera does not rise or fall on a single note, so the energetic audience applauded lustily as the curtain fell.

The second act saw a considerably more robust orchestra throughout. Did Maestro Bonynge tactfully read the the orchestral version of the riot act during intermission? Perhaps. The orchestrations emanating from the pit now owned the signature Bonynge sound which totally delighted COMMANDOpera.

Encapsulating the second act, Mr.Margison’s vocal instrument warmed up significantly which permitted the audience an unexpected third side to his Pollione. One actually felt a twinge of empathy for Pollione as he realised the woman Norma was indeed worthier than he himself meritted. Miss Aldrich sang on par with Miss Papian throughout the duet commencing with ‘Mira, o Norma’, matching Miss Papian note for note. Miss Papian herself? ’In mia man alfin tu sei’  unquestionably let the audience know who held the cards from that moment going forward. Norma reclaimed her dignity as an independent woman liberated from the a mindset as a suborned spouse. 

And so the show ended, and the back stage party began 20 minutes later. Such parties are an exclusive event with only 150 of a companies best freinds attending. All the artists appear, and it is a tug of war to get to any of them as they are being yanked this way and that. Maestro Bonynge was surrounded 5 deep throughout the event. The principals were exhausted but put on a brave face throughout. Naturally COMMANDOpera was squired around by management and introduced especially to the main players for conversation and dialogue. COMMANDOpera will NOT discuss particulars as they are off the record. End of story. However I will allow this… Miss Papian has got to be one of the classiest, most elegant soprano’s around. Can you imagine how exhausted  the artist who portrays Norma is afterwards, and still endure the duty of being swarmed by admirers? Class. Mr. Margison is a fun, intelligent guy to speak with and owns a very assured gentlemanly manner. Miss Kate Aldrich stole my heart… end of story which never got started. This is a woman with an incredibly down to earth personality, with a dash of mischief that makes you feel 14 again. Maestro Thompson has New York written all over him… Manhattan borough thank you very much with some Bronx thrown in for good measure. Maestro Bonynge? COMMANDOpera is not in the position to describe God.

Here are some pictures from the event, although some of the photo’s seemed to have disappeared from the card. I continued to wear the Venetian mask which perfectly concealed my identity, although by the time the backstage party began had started to come loose. I was far too tired to re tie the mask again, so the following pictures reflect this fact…….. 

Crew Mantle with Miss Papian.

Crew Mantle with Miss Papian and Mr. Margison.

Crew Mantle with Miss Aldrich.

Crew Mantle with Maestro Bonynge.