Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater, NBPAC, New Brunswick. Orchestra Main (Last row, center, $17).
Story. See previous post. There are some variations from the “story” I wrote on the Met performance I saw in 2017. Most notable is that in tonight’s performance all the events happen during Hoffmann’s last hour on earth, and the Muse kills him at the end. The Met production refers to Stella, and that the three women in the tales represent different aspects of her. Yet another is that both the Muse and her mortal form Nicklausse appear on stage on multiple occasions.
Mark Shapiro – conductor. Woo Young Yoon, Marie Ferguson, Marija Bosnar, Paul La Rosa, Tingting Zhuang, Xiao Li, Motomi Tanaka, John Heiserman, Colin Levin, Aidan Gent, Carl Muhler, Will Berman. (See photo for their roles.)
I came across this opera when I was looking at tickets for A Christmas Carol late last year. Tickets were not on sale then, but I marked their availability on my calendar. To my surprise, the tickets cost $10 each, with an additional $7 fee, and it was to be open seating. Not too many people were at this performance, the main auditorium was about 40% full (I’m probably generous,) and I don’t think anyone was in the balcony. I also got the feeling many people were comp’d their tickets.
The production is presented by Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, and in the pit was the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra. I didn’t know what to expect from this (mostly) university students, and as far as I could tell, Yoon (Hoffmann) is a professional. At the end of the performance, I was glad I went, and impressed with many aspects of how the performance was put together.
First a bit about the story. I am sure much editing took place to make the opera a bit less than 2 ½ hours. Perhaps as a result some aspects of the original story (assuming the Met version was more complete) were modified or deleted altogether. I mentioned some of my observations above. The net effect is the vignettes were not as coherent as they could be. Two years ago we saw this production in Berlin, without subtitles, and it made more sense than tonight’s production.
“What set?” is probably the best way to describe the staging. We have three layers lined by lightbubls (see photo, I can’t quite describe it) and they served as the set for all the acts. A table and a stand are moved on and off stage as necessary, and lights come down from the ceiling. The most elaborate was the umbrellas that come down from the ceiling. Chorus members sit on the stage every now and then. Sometimes for a good reason, sometimes for inscrutable reasons. And there is this briefcase carried by the muse.
Some other takes that were a bit different. Olympia wasn’t rewound by a key as her energied drained away, she popped pills. Hoffmann died of a drug overdose administered by the muse.
The singers did quite well. As far as I could tell from their short bios, Hoffman was played by a (young) professional Korean singer, and the rest of the cast were students at Rutgers. Hoffmann’s voice dominated, although most other people held their own. The orchestra did well. Initially their sound was in good balance, but dominated (most of) the vocals as the performance went on. I don’t know if the orchestra went wild, or the vocals couldn’t sustain their initial volume. It must be said this is a small auditorium, and one doesn’t have to have a very strong voice to be heard.
Front left is Maestro Shapiro. The three (Asian) ladies behind him are: Olympia, Giulietta and Antonia. Hoffmann in the colorful jacket.
Thinking back on my college days when I prepared for a Broadway show and played in the orchestra, I must say I am impressed how this performance came together. It would be nice if more people showed up to support these young people who poured a lot of energy into this.
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