MUSIC

Review: Outstanding ensemble soars in Knoxville Opera's 'Mary Queen of Scots'

Harold Duckett
Special to the News Sentinel

To hear “Mary, Queen of Scots,” supporters tell it, near the end of Gaetano Donizetti’s 1834 opera by that name, it could have been titled "Prelude to a Murder."

At least that’s how they saw the vindictive death warrant Queen Elizabeth I, gorgeously sung by Catherine Daniel in Knoxville Opera’s production, signed for the execution of her cousin.

All of this violence is what got the opera initially banned in Naples, where Donizetti’s operas hadn’t had much luck with the censors because of their political content.

At the time, Italy, which wasn’t a unified country until 1871, was still pretty much functioning as a collection of city-states and territorial political disputes were the order of the day.

The story, as Donizetti’s opera tells it, is a mixture of love and political power and the audience at Knoxville Opera’s production, playing this weekend at the Tennessee Theatre, despite the story line, got treated to a vocal standoff between two strong women, Catherine Daniel's Queen Elizabeth I, and Rochelle Bard's equally brilliant singing of the role of Mary, the imprisoned Scottish queen.

The bottom of Daniel’s vocal range had every bit as much power and beautiful tone as her top end. Bard’s range was a close match.

In fact, the entire cast: David Guzman’s Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicaster; Darren K. Stokes’ George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury who hosted the house arrest of Queen Mary; Scott Bearden’s William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer and advisor to Queen Elizabeth; and Linda Barnett’s Anna Kennedy (sometimes named Hannah in some productions), Queen Mary’s close friend, is certainly among the best vocal ensembles ever assembled by KO music director and conductor, Brian Salesky.

There’s no doubt that casting Daniel, who is a Canadian of Caribbean descent, was perfect, although there was careful consideration of how, or even whether, to cover her dark skin with Queen Elizabeth’s famous plastered-on dead-white pancake makeup and avoid sending any unintended messages to a Southern audience.

That issue was side-stepped by stage director Brian Deedrick’s smart decision, worked through with Daniel, to let her natural beauty as a young Queen Elizabeth radiate in Act I and reserving the makeup for the years-later time period of Act II when the real Queen Elizabeth slathered on the plaster to hide her aging ugliness.

Sometimes what you see does reflect what you are.

Despite the entangled emotional moods of this opera in which both Stokes’ Talbot and Guzman’s Leicester are caught in the middle between their feelings for both queens, the singing was enthralling throughout.

The early duet “Era d’amour l’immagine,” when Leicester appeals to Elizabeth to just meet with Mary face to face to see what Mary is really like, was just one of the moments of captivating singing.

Later, at Fotheringhay Castle, where Mary is imprisoned and where a hunt has been arranged as disguise for Elizabeth to meet Mary, there is a wonderful sextet “E sempre la stessa” of Mary, Elizabeth, Leicaster, Talbot, Cecil and Anna as they sing about the nervousness of the encounter.

Of course, after Mary begs Elizabeth to have mercy on her, Elizabeth doesn’t hide behind her plastered beauty very long, goading and provoking Mary into an outburst, calling Elizabeth an illegitimate queen, daughter of the beheaded Ann Boleyn.

Not much doubt about the outcome after that!

Knoxville Opera’s decision to spend its money on singers instead of an elaborate set in this production paid off handsomely.

Consisting only of a series of steps and platforms with columns, it effectively suggested the royal environments.

Members of the always superlative Knoxville Opera Chorus quietly moved around the few props under dimmed lights between scenes in much the same way that kuroko function in classical Japanese Kabuki theater. Your eye sees them. But your mind tells you they are not there.

On the other hand, the entire chorus itself, masterfully prepared by Don Townsend, as always, was a major part of the excellent singing, especially at the beginning of Act II.

Not to be overlooked in this production is the role of Robert Dudley, whose presence was pure delight as he was brilliantly sung by David Guzman.

Besides, there is more to Guzman’s role than just his fine singing.

How many operas does one get to see in which the leading tenor gets to kiss two queens!

Another performance of "Mary Queen of Scots" takes place at 2 p.m. at the Tennessee Theatre.

The Knoxville Opera Company's production of "Mary Queen of Scots" continues Sunday.