It is impossible to calculate the significance of Plácido Domingo’s role(s) in the creation and history of Los Angeles Opera. From its premiere performance of Verdi’s “Otello” (starring Domingo) on Oct. 7, 1986, to the celebration of the opening of the 30th season Saturday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Domingo has been the man in the spotlight.
Saturday, however, may have been one for the record books. In what may be an operatic first, Domingo strode on stage as a pin-stripped Mafioso don and debuted in the title role of Giacomo Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.” Then after the curtain fell, he went to his dressing room, wiped off his makeup, put on his tuxedo and returned to conduct a vibrant production of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.”
Both productions have been seen in Los Angeles before. The former, directed by Woody Allen, premiered seven years ago as part of Puccini’s opera trilogy, “Il Trittico.” The later, directed lavishly by Franco Zeffirelli, was first presented in 1996 starring Domingo as the homicidal clown, Canio. This is the first time the two operas have been placed side by side and it is an intriguing paring. One is a rollicking comedy of greed and comeuppance. The other is a bleeding slice-of-life tragedy of jealousy and revenge. Both productions feature an updated Italian setting.
Allen, a lover of Italian neo-realist films in the style of Luchino Visconte and Vittorio De Sica, creates a black and white movie-inspired world complete with its own projected credits: a Prosciuto e Melone Production starring (among others) Cesare Ensalada!
Zeffirelli’s eye-popping Technicolor production takes a Where’s Waldo approach. His Italian street-scene features an entire population of bickering townsfolk, wandering policemen, puttering Vespas, juggling clowns, local prostitutes and a big-finned Cadillac. The problem is that the complexity of the scene sometimes steals focus away at critical musical moments— an accusation that has been leveled more than once against Zeffirelli. That being said, the arrival of the players (the pagliacci) which begins the opera, is one of the most eye-dazzling theatrical stagings you will ever see.
Updated to 1950s Florence with a panoramic view of the city in the background (designed by Santo Loquasto who also designed Allen’s films “Bullets Over Broadway” and “Radio Days”), “Gianni Schicchi” tells the story of a greedy family whose patriarch has passed away leaving all his earthly wealth to the friars of Florence. How to break the will? That is the question.
Enter Domingo as the savvy schemer, Gianni Schicchi, a Sicilian don who knows all the angles. In his elegant suit, fancy black-and-white shoes, darkened hair and beard, Domingo cuts a dapper figure. He quickly devises a scheme that will both trap the trusting heirs in his snare and secure a fortune for himself. It’s a performance that Domingo clearly enjoyed crafting, though it lacks some of the sardonic edge that another Allen, Thomas, brought to the role.
The production with all its comic interplay is a good deal of fun as restaged by Kathleen Smith Belcher. It features some of Puccini’s most ebullient music, reminiscent of the playful antics of the artists in “La Boheme.” It also features one of the composer’s most popular arias, “O mio babbino caro” sung liltingly by soprano Andriana Churchman, as Schicchi’s Sophia Lorenesque daughter, Lauretta.
From its comic opening credits to its surprising final moment (one not intended by Puccini), the production is a wonderful romp led by Domingo’s physical and vocal presence.
‘Pagliacci’
“Pagliacci” (which premiered in 1892) is Leoncavallo’s one and only masterpiece. In Zeffirelli’s hands the opera about an itinerant band of players is imbued with a remarkable blend of glitter and grit. As the brutish clown Tonio (baritone George Gagnidze) explains, “We players, beneath our makeup, are real people, passionate, rejoicing and suffering.”
The role of the jealous troupe leader, Canio (sung robustly by Marco Berti) was one of Domingo’s stellar roles. He sang it in the LA Opera premiere and stars in the 1982 film version directed by Zeffirelli. Saturday, however, Domingo led the action from the pit where his conducting produced a richly flowing musical narrative.
Berti is a tenor of ringing, though not always rock-solid, vocal dimension. His higher register wavered and thinned in the opening scene but strengthened as he went along. His rendition of the opera’s best known aria, “Vesti la giubba” was praise worthy.
Gagnidze captured the coarse rapacious quality of Tonio. Ana Maria Martinez was superb as Canio’s amorous wife, Nedda, demonstrating a flexible, soaring soprano voice combined with smoldering sensuality. The role of her young lover, Silvio, was perhaps the surprise of the evening sung by the young American baritone, Liam Bonner.
If you are new to opera, and have yet to get your feet wet, this double bill by LA Opera is the perfect way to dive in.
Jim Farber is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer.
How to go
What: Los Angeles Opera, “Gianni Schicchi” and “I Pagliacci.”
Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles.
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 17), Sept. 24 and Oct. 3; 2 p.m. Sept. 20 and 27.
Information: 213-972-8001 or laopera.org.
Rating: **** stars.
