Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. Orchestra (Seat Y101, $122).
Ailyn Perez at curtain call. The other principal cast members are: The Captain, Arcadio, Rosalba, Riolobo, Alvaro, and Paula.
Story. See previous post.
Conductor - Yannick Nezet-Seguin; Florencia Grimaldi - Ailyn Perez, Rosalba - Gabriella Reyes, Arcadio - Mario Chang, Paula - Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Alvaro - Michael Chioldi, Captain - Greer Grimsley, Riolobo - Mattia Olivieri.
A while ago a Lincoln Center email offered a 20% discount for the opera. Because of scheduling issues, only I could get to tonight's performance.
I saw this opera in Washington DC, in 2014, while tagging along with Anne on her business trip. That time I went by myself also. While my review of that performance was just so-so, I still remember a few things about it: it was in Spanish, a young Chinese-American woman was the conductor, the set was simple, there was some dancing involved, and the protagonist turns into a butterfly at the end. Not bad for (as I remember it) a last-minute decision. The story is simple enough that I didn't get very confused. The opera also introduced me to the Manaus Opera House, built by industrials (rubber barons) deep in the Amazon. So, looking back, the opera left a deep impression.
How does the MET production compare? On paper it looks a lot better, starting with the conductor, a well-seasoned Yannick NS to the young Carolyn Kuan. who was in her 30s when I saw her performance. The set, while still simple relative to some of MET's elaborate productions, were visually a lot more interesting. So much so that I missed some of the key elements (e.g., the credits page shows three puppeteers, I saw only two; not important in the scheme of things, I suppose). One critical difference though: I found tonight's performance a lot more emotionally engaging.
With the overall picture done, let me get into some of the specifics.
Greeting the audience before the opera began was a curtain with a projection of green color and patterns that evoke images of plants. A representation of the Amazon forest, I suppose. That green theme would remain throughout the opera, split into two parts to represent the Amazon river. The stage at that point turned into the deck of El Dorado. Act II began with a model ship (quite elaborate) on a lilt, as El Dorado ran aground during a storm. The Manaus Opera House would appear in the background as the boat resumed its journey. When I saw a huge monarch butterfly drop from the ceiling, I was a bit disappointed, as the butterfly Cristabol was looking for was an Emerald Muse. Later - for reasons not understood by me - a bunch of flowers (hibiscus?) was lowered from the ceiling. Transitions from one scene to the other were smoothly executed, kudos to the set design team. I have seen MET productions with English subtitles projected onto the stage before, but today's took the cake. All the lyrics (in English) were projected onto the screen, which made following the dialog easy. I set the seat back screen to Spanish to try to follow the actual lyrics. To my amusement, I am better with Italian, and looking at the screen made me miss a few props (e.g., I didn't see a third puppeteer).
The curtain here represents the Amazon forest, I suppose. This theme is used throughout the opera.
The WNO production had the dancers on the main program page. Here we have the two birds (heron and hummingbird) and the puppeteers. And there were many dancers involved (see posted photo). Perhaps to add to the "magical" part of "magical realism," there were dancers who pulled along lotus patches, played the roles of dolphins and fish. Puppeteers made an iguana, a monkey, and a caiman. For the macabre moments coffins were dragged onto the stage, and birds became doctors in plague masks. The iguana being served up as dinner brought a chuckle, as did Arcadio's statement to Rosalba "If I were to fall in love, it would be with you."
At the beginning we had a large ensemble of the chorus, dressed in colorful costumes, singing an introductory number. That was the only appearance in this opera. While it was a pleasant addition, it no doubt adds to how expensive these productions can get. The tunes in the opera remain unsingable, even after hearing them the second time. Florencia had a long aria at the beginning and the end of the opera, and Perez did an impressive job of expressing the different emotions Florencia experienced; one of hope, one of despair (or perhaps resignation, my take). Her high quiet notes captured the feeling she felt perfectly. In general, the women's voices came through better than the men's. I do wonder if that's the cast, or the acoustics.
At the end of the opera Florencia turns into a butterfly. If there was going to be a magical moment, one would think this would be it. In this production, Florencia turns around, a protuberance in her back (not noticed before) grew into a small set of butterfly wings, and the house went dark as she walked offstage. Somewhat of a disappointment; but at least it wasn't a monarch butterfly!
At the end, Alvaro and Paula renewed their love from each other; Arcadio and Rosalba fell in love; and the Captain saw his wish that his nephew become a sailor fulfilled. How about Florencia? Did she find resolution? Happiness? Or is her quest to be reunited with Cristobal continuing?
As a work in the "magical realism" genre, there is a lot less magic to it than I expected (not that that's what I wanted). Other than the transformation into a butterfly, the other magical moment would be Alvaro coming back after being lost at sea. By that measure The Nutcracker - just to pick a random example - surely was more "magical."
The group on the left are deck/stage hands. They were busy moving railings on and off the deck of the ship, and swaying them when the storm hit. The three characters dressed in black held plague masks in their hands, The three puppeteers manipulated a monkey, an iguana, and (I have no idea what the first one is). Behind them are the hummingbird (partially blocked from view) and the heron. The one in the red dress was a fish, and I forget the roles played by other dancers.
Nezet-Seguin on stage. He is clearly loved by the audience. Casual Tuesday, perhaps?
On the train ride up I listened to the Aria Code podcast episode on this opera, and it greatly helped my appreciation of the performance.
Again the opera pigued my interest in this Manaus Opera House. Not so much that I wanted to visit, at least not yet.
The image shown in the opera is only the front facade of the Manaus Opera House. The actual building appears to be even more substantial. (Photo from the web.)
The search for "Emerald Muse Butterfly" returned nothing. This is an Emerald Swallowtail. It is native to Southeast Asia, though, so probably isn't the one referenced in this opera.
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