Matthews Theatre, Princeton, NJ. Balcony (Seat GG106, $61).
Story. See previous post.
Credits
Conductor – Richard Tang Yuk; Madama Butterfly – Yulia Lysenko,
Suzuki – Janara Kellerman, B. F. Pinkerton – Matthew White, Sharpless – Paul La
Rosa, Goro – Anthony Webb.
Due to various reasons, we have not been able to attend too
many concerts during this year’s Princeton Festival. Indeed this particular opera will probably be
the only one we end up attending. (I am
typing this on 6/27 while in Boston, and the Festival ends early July.) Even this one was a “touch-and-go” as we
decided on it the day before.
If I characterize this as a “near-professional”
production, then it was a pretty good “near-professional” production. Not sure if that was an insult, or a
compliment.
Being in a small auditorium helped. Given how expectedly loud some of the
instruments and many of the voices sounded, I suspect there was a sound
enhancement system. When I went to the
Silk Road Ensemble at the same venue recently, the instruments didn’t sound as
loud, and that was with loudspeakers in front of every musician. What I couldn’t explain was how Lysenko as
Butterfly had a much stronger voice than other cast members.
Here again Butterfly made or broke the show, and Lysenko
did her job well. I could complain she could
use a softer and more resigned take every now and then, but the Butterfly she
portrayed was rather original compared to the others I have seen. The rendition of “One Fine Day” was simply
heartbreaking.
The same set was used in all three acts. I suppose the artistic crew had a limited
budget to work with, they nonetheless did a credible job. Several scenes (e.g., Butterfly killing
herself) were done as silhouettes.
Yuk flanked by Lysenko and White at curtain call.
Yuk (or is it Tang Yuk?) did a great job of leading the
orchestra and the singers, with the caveat that there may have been some
electronics help. He is also the Artistic
Director of the Festival, and last season I saw him help selling tickets at the
door, certainly a very hands-on person.
There were quite a few empty seats this afternoon. Which also a bit discouraging.
Anne and I drove to Princeton after church, stopping to
get some coffee along the way. On the
way back we grabbed something to eat at Panera Bread.
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