Maryland Lyric Opera ends its current season of four Verdi operas with Otello, following Un ballo in maschera, Macbeth and Falstaff. All of the four operas performed at the Music Center at Strathmore have been semi-staged as the concert hall has no room for fully staged operas. Sharing the stage with a large orchestra can be taxing on singers, but it enables the audience to focus more fully on the music. The choice of Philippe Auguin to conduct Verdi's last drama was an excellent one. He led the chorus and the orchestra with a sure hand and perfect synchronization. The choice of principals was a mixed success.
The opera opens with a crowd outside a castle on the Island of Cyprus, watching a ship commanded by Venetian general Otello struggle to reach the port through a stormy sea. Otello, who is a Moor, has been awarded governorship of Cyprus as reward for his heroism in fighting the Turks and has also won the hand of beautiful Desdemona. The crowd is cheering the ship's landing while Otello's ensign Iago plots his master's demise. The opening storm is spectacular with blasting chorus and orchestra, interjections and thunderclaps. The scene reaches a climax with Otello jumping on shore and exclaiming "Esultate!" (rejoice) in one of opera's most exciting entrances. The brief but powerful first encounter with the tenor is a good indicator of what to expect from him as the drama enfolds.
Gregory Kunde, an internationally acclaimed tenor who - unfairly - never quite achieved stardom, acquitted himself well in his entrance to the stage on Saturday (March 3), with only a minor strain felt at the peak of his jubilant cry. Kunde's strong voice was buoyed, not drowned, by the expertly controlled chorus and orchestra under the baton of French conductor Philippe Auguin. The lighting and projections, combined with the energetic music, created a realistic feeling of the sea storm.
As the opera progressed, Kunde's once ringing voice showed signs of dryness and fray. In Otello's love duet with Desdemona (Greek soprano Eleni Calenos), Kunde appeared less comfortable than his fresh-voiced partner, so much so that it was almost a relief to hear him complete the high-octave finish line"Venere splende" without mishap. The chemistry with Calenos was barely there.
Such moments were not infrequent throughout the evening. Kunde's rendition of Otello's descent into madness consisted largely of abrupt switches from whisper-soft voice to jarring shouts, which marred his act III aria "Dio mi potevi scagliar." Such harsh transitions continued all the way to the bedroom scene in the last act. Only after the murder scene, as Otello realizes he has been duped into murdering his innocent wife, Kunde regained a dignified tone and delivered the surrender aria "Niun mi tema" in appropriately noble vein. He was also poignant in recalling the couple's first kiss as the tragic Moor ends his life by his wife's deathbed.
Otello is arguably Verdi's most demanding tenor role and singers take time to get ready for it. Kunde may have waited too long. The singer who was a memorable Otello in Rossini's bel canto version and an impressive Enée in Berlioz's epic Les Troyens, may have had a bad night on Saturday, but it is more likely that his best Otello days are behind him.
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| Gregory Kunde as Otello and Eleni Calenos as Desdemona. Photo: Julian Thomas |
Calenos was not the kind of Desdemona that brings tears to your eyes. She was in good voice throughout the evening, but her vibrato sometimes veered on the verge of wobbling and her phrasing was occasionally choppy. While appropriately gentle and in turn confused by Otello's increasingly erratic behavior, the soprano's emotion never seemed as deep as the words would have it. In Desdemona's encounters with Otello, Calenos acted more like an obedient daughter than a loving wife. She may grow into the role with time, but is not there yet.
Mark Delavan had a great evening as the devious Iago. His rich bass-baritone sounded better to this ear than in MDLO's Falstaff earlier in the season. Delavan delivered an impressive "Credo in un Dio", Iago's aria in which he reflects on his cruelty in stirring Otello's jealousy, to achieve the destruction of the hated Moor through his innocent wife. He was an equal partner to Kunde in the menacing duet "Si pel ciel marmoreo giuro!"
Delavan was not the darkest and cruelest Iago to ever grace an operatic stage. There was a glint of humor rather than glee in his eye, when he put his booted leg on Otello's chest, and his flight from the stage after his crime is unveiled brought to mind comical Falstaff. But overall, he projected enough malice to make a convincing evil doer.
Yi Li was a charming Cassio, Otello's captain who provoked Iago's envy and served as the instrument of his revenge. David Pittsinger made for an elegant and respectable Venetian envoy. Mezzo-soprano Patricia Schuman had good moments as Iago's wife Emilia, but did not quite rise to the occasion in her crucial scene of standing up to Otello for killing Desdemona, and unveiling her husband's role in it.
Supertitles by Chadwick Creative Arts included some weird translations. In Act III, Desdemona talks about Otello's angry look, "lo sguardo tuo tremendo," which was translated as "your fearful gaze." Otello's look was supposed to be frightening rather than fearful. Likewise, Otello's exclamation,"Anima mia, ti maledico," is addressed to Desdemona. He is calling her "my soul" as is common in addressing a beloved person in Italian and he is cursing her at the same time. The translation had Otello condemning his own soul. Those were minor distractions, likely missed by most patrons.
While the soloists sang with various degrees of success, the grandeur of MDLO's Saturdays performance was secured by the brilliant chorus, excellent orchestra and unwavering guidance by conductor Philippe Auguin.
The two-hour-40-minutes long performance will be repeated on Sunday, March 5.
