Opera review: Comical ‘Maid to Mistress’ brings fun to Sarasota Opera
You don’t have to be a history nut to enjoy Sarasota Opera’s production of “Maid to Mistress” (“La serva padrona”) with its comedic banter and buffoonery. However, you will be experiencing what is considered the first example of the great opera buffo style made popular decades later by Mozart.
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi created “La serva padrona” in 1733 as a set of two intermezzi to be performed between acts of a more serious opera of his time. So popular then, “La serva padrona” survives not just as an artifact today but as a lively piece of theater because of its underpinning of the timeless commedia dell’arte characters.
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There are only three – the strong-willed servant, Serpina; the badgered old master, Uberto; and the mute manservant, Vespone.
Ample recitative drives the bickering and narrative between Stefano de Peppo’s Uberto and Anna Mandina’s lofty-minded Serpina. The musical highlights are found in their respective arias and duets.
De Peppo captures the contrast of Uberto’s gruff complaints and submissive resignation to his servant-mistress first in “Sempre in contrasti,” where he talks a good game of standing up to Serpina’s constant arguments. Supremely confident and sure of voice, De Peppo keeps all eyes on himself with clear gestures highlighting his intent. His deeply resonant bass-baritone voice is as captivating and agile as his movement.
Serpina responds with a brazen scolding in “Stizzoso, mio stizzoso.” Through 21st century sensibilities, the shock of flipping the servant-master relationship on its head loses some edge. Yet, Mandina’s hefty soprano voice cuts to the point which is essentially telling her master to shut up.
Silent, but not entirely in the background, is the servant Vespone who assists Serpina in the end-game deception dressed up as her fiancé, Captain Storm. James Eder engages the audience in his own perspective through humorous pantomime and telling gestures as both servant and captain.
For the most part, the audience is pulled into the ruse and sudden change of heart by the energy of the performers. De Peppo and Mandina share chemistry that makes their union a most happy event for the audience. Their last two duets – the tap, tap, tap of their hearts and obvious joy – leave us smiling as well.
The string orchestra in the pit, here under the direction of Marcello Cormio, provides the harmonic foundation for the many recitatives and important accompaniment for the singers, but not the larger prominence of the orchestra in opera scores of later decades and centuries.
Stage direction by Mark Freiman, along with the design team of Howard Tvsi Kaplan, Ken Yunker, and Kellen Eason, creates a cohesive and enjoyable package.
The artistic team at Sarasota Opera adds to the evening with a staged “Musical Evening with Serpina” preceding “La serva padrona” in which the servants entertain themselves with love songs of the period. Tenor Kevin Harvey, as a coachman, and baritone Kyle Oliver, as a cook, sing to Serpina, who joins them at the end as Mandina sings herself. This diversion, along with an orchestral intermezzo for the two intermezzi, extends the performance time to a brief 80 minutes.
‘Maid to Mistress’
By Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Conducted by Marcello Cormio, directed by Mark Freiman. Reviewed Feb. 19, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Continues through March 4. A home streaming video performance will also be available. More information: 941-328-1300; sarasotaopera.org