LA Opera thrills audience with season premiere


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Earlier this month, LA Opera opened their newest season with a double bill of treasured Italian operas. Puccini’s farce Gianni Schicchi, produced by famed director Woody Allen and paired with Franco Zeffirelli’s colorful staging of Leoncavallo’s tragic Pagliacci, offered a successful performance of the verismo masterpieces. Internationally renowned tenor and general director of LA Opera Plácido Domingo works double duty in this production as singer and maestro, performing the title role in Gianni Schicchi and conducting more than 100 musicians and singers in Pagliacci.

In this stylish production of Gianni Schicchi, which premiered at the  LA Opera in 2008, Allen combines monochromatic aesthetics with the tongue-in-cheek bravura of old Italian cinema — the opening “credits” attribute the show to the fictional “Prosciutto e Melone Production” — to create a sensual film noir-like atmosphere. Gianni Schicchi depicts the shenanigans that ensue over the will of a recently deceased relative, sending the family into an uproar. As the cunning titular character, Domingo was clearly the crowd favorite, garnering applause the moment he stepped on stage and receiving the largest ovation at the end of the performance. Domingo proved with this role, as well as his role as conductor, that he could essentially do whatever he wants and still attract a soldout house.

Other standouts include Meredith Arwady as Zita, cousin to the deceased relative. Arwady possesses a colossal voice that envelopes audiences within a wall of sound. In the roles of the forlorn lovers Rinuccio and Lauretta, Arturo Chacón-Cruz and Andriana Chuchman sang with earnest tone and sincere chemistry that elicited audible gasps from several patrons in the audience. Also worth noting is Peabody Southwell, in the often unremarked role of La Ciesca, who sang with a full-body mezzo and an oozing sexuality that never lost its appeal.

I Pagliacci (Italian for the clowns) is Leoncavallo’s only regularly performed work, depicting the inner turmoil within a traveling troupe of commedia dell’arte actors. Updated to the modern-day streets of Italy, Zeffirelli’s production offers show-stopping glamour and theatrics, including automobiles, live animals and a chorus of over 100 singers. As conductor, Domingo was less thrilling; there seemed to be a disconnect between him and the musicians. However, the audience showed no signs of dissatisfaction because as stated earlier, he can essentially do whatever he wants and get away with it.

As Canio, the leader of the troupe, Marco Berti attains a very large and respected sound. Though his tone wavered a bit in his first scenes, he finished the act strongly with the show’s renowned aria “Vesti la Giubba,” drawing considerable applause from the audience.

Ana María Martinez is nothing short of spectacular as Canio’s wife, Nedda, navigating into her upper register with absolutely no signs of strain. As Nedda’s lover Silvio, LA Opera favorite Liam Bonner possesses a rich timbre that lends itself well to Italian opera, and blended deliciously with Martinez’s voice. Their Act I duet was the highlight of the afternoon.

Also worth noting was George Gagnidze as the vindictive Tonio and Brenton Ryan as the wily Beppe, both actors within the commedia dell’arte troupe. USC alumnus Arnold Livingston Geis made his LA Opera debut in the role of First Man. Geis proved with this role that there is no such thing as a small role; he sang and acted beautifully.

Just three more performances remain in the show’s must-see run: Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. and Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.