Matching singers to roles in a university opera program is certainly no small feat. A part of the natural attrition of a university program is a constantly changing educational dynamic. The number of student arrivals doesn’t necessarily equal those finishing their degrees and moving on. Fortunately, this turnover generally yields a positive experience for an opera audience, one that is excited by hearing singers at the beginning of their careers in works that are intrinsically intriguing.
That was the case with the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre’s production last weekend that offered a double bill of Gian-Carlo Menotti’s The Medium and Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Of course, the choice was an indication of that educational dynamic at work—The Medium has one male vocal role; Suor Angelica, set in a convent, has no male roles. Interestingly, that unusual combination of short operas was a repeat from 2011 that was the first production for the then new artistic leadership of Artistic Director James Marvel and Music Director/Conductor Kevin Class.
Over those last 12 years, Marvel’s distinctive staged movements, eye-catching visual elements, and insistence on dramatic portrayals have given singers an immersive education in modern theatrical production—an early idea of what they might expect in the professional world. As has been the practice, UTOT continued with the format of four performances, split over a double cast. This reviewer caught the Friday evening and Saturday afternoon performances.
Although the two operas on the bill differ in almost every stylistic way, the roles of Baba in The Medium and the Principessa in Suor Angelica not only demand a strong contralto voice able to project, but also the dramatic ability to pull off the description of a harsh and unlikeable character. Two singers took the two roles in the alternating casts: Staley Clark and Meghana Krish, each finding a frisson of painful excitement for Baba and a grim, unforgiving rigidness for the Principessa.
A similar role trade off occurred with the role of Monica in The Medium and Genovieffe in Suor Angelica. Elena Klein gave her Friday evening Monica a potent edge, while Meghan Cluskey in the afternoon cast had a softer, refined approach. Both were deeply invested in Monica as both a victim and an enabler.
With the only singing male role was the excellent James JJ Robinson as Mr. Gobineau in The Medium. Robinson, who was in the cast of Knoxville Opera’s Falstaff, was seen last season as an energetic and richly-voiced Father in UTOT’s Hänsel und Gretel.
As an example of how different singers bring marvelous differences to the same role—Teyah Young and Hannah Cipriana as Mrs. Gobineau each told the story of their son’s death with sadness and poignance. Another of Baba’s deceived customers, Mrs. Nolan, was sung by Jenna Moynihan and Molly Garrett.
With no lines or lyrics as the mute boy Toby, Kurt Lannetti and Jack Wu gave the character a necessary substance and credibility.
In the title role of Angelica in Suor Angelica were sopranos Emma Wilson (Evening) and Jessica Parker (Afternoon). Both singers explored the character’s conflict between acceptance of regimentation and a soft hopefulness, a hopefulness that is shattered by news from the Principessa that her son died two years earlier. That, of course, is the catalyst for her suicide and subsequent appeal to the Virgin Mary for forgiveness.
Making a very notable impression with notably different scores was the UT Opera Orchestra under conductor Kevin Class. Balance was solid, accurate, and top-notch as was individual exposed performance moments for both strings and woodwinds.
Making important use of video projection as both visual flavor and setting, Marvel called on designer Joe Payne to adapt the original video for The Medium and to create new projections for Suor Angelica. Payne’s combination of colorful stained-glass and somber cathedral gray images was stunning. Lighting designer Sara Oldford added mystery and depth to the layers of angular movement. Anna Campbell’s make-up effects and Patricia Rogers costumes were vitally important in the Expressionist look of The Medium.
