South Florida Classical Review

A stylish and witty production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro opened Friday night in Palm Beach Opera’s last set of performances for the season.

A strong cast, clever sets and imaginative stage direction brought out the essence of the work, without any of the cloddish slapstick that often mars productions of operatic comedies.

When veteran operagoers attend performances of such operas as Figaro or The Barber of Seville, they brace themselves for the cheap gags, the noisy scampering around the stage and other crude attempts by witless stage directors to get in on the fun. There was none of that in this production, yet neither was it played in a lifeless straightforward manner.

The production was traditional, in keeping with Palm Beach Opera’s usual style, but the sets from Lyric Opera of Kansas City were not. An elaborate series of gray walls, imprinted with what was presumably Count Almaviva’s family tree, formed the basis for the set on stage at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Equipped with doors and windows from which characters could emerge and disappear, the sets allowed singers to pop out for a moment to finish a musical phrase or vanish after delivering their last note, a practice that worked effectively with the quick-paced humor in Mozart’s music.

The Czech bass-baritone Adam Plachetka took to the role of the valet Figaro with gusto, his imposing physical presence and stage manner suggesting who really ran things in the Count’s castle. In “Se vuol ballare,” delivered as he polished the count’s shoes, his assertive, intense and agile voice effectively communicated his plans to take on his boss.

Particularly well done was the aria “Non più andrai,” Figaro’s gleeful sendoff to the army of the page Cherubino. For this, he donned a white apron and drew out his old barber’s shears to administer a military haircut to the boy as he sang, putting an extra dose of venom into his words as he described the military life in store for the quivering Cherubino.

Well-matched was the soprano Inna Demenkova as Figaro’s fiance Susanna, her lithe soprano voice flirtatious, hurt, manipulative and outraged by turns as she dealt with the irritating men in her life. Although even her Act 4 tribute to love, “Deh vieni non tardar,” was designed to troll Figaro, she brought to it an affecting vulnerability and warmth, floating delicate high notes in the aria’s final moments.

Under stage director Stephen Lawless, the stage action contrasted the stiff formality of idealized court life with the manic reality of what really took place, with lots of imaginative touches that enhanced the wit and pathos of the music. 

At the opening of the first act, the singing Figaro is solemnly wheeled on stage by four servants as he reclined on a four-poster bed. During Figaro’s last-act aria on the duplicity of women, when he says “open your eyes, you rash and foolish men,” he shined a light at the audience and the house lights went up so the males in attendance could contemplate the potential traitors in their midst.

The soprano Angela Brower was a dazzling Cherubino, plodding and prancing around the stage like an awkward foal in her portrayal of the overheated teenage boy and delivering outstanding performances of two of the opera’s most famous arias. In “Non so piu,” she sang with verve, dexterity and a languorous sensuality. She sang “Voi che sapete” with pristine, honeyed tones and a strong sense of adolescent angst.

The orchestra, usually heard in passionate works of Romantic opera, delivered a crisp and vivacious performance of Mozart’s music. Under guest conductor Gary Thor Wedow, a Baroque and Classical specialist who serves on the faculty of Juilliard, the orchestra gave a rollicking account of the famous overture, provided a glowing introduction to the Countess’s aria “Porgi amor” and gave the singers firm support throughout, allowing the voices to hold center stage.

The baritone John Chest’s portrayal of Count Almaviva came off as unusually sympathetic. Yes, he was a lecher, grabby with Susanna, and blithely ordering Figaro to perform menial tasks such as putting on his shoes. But his scheming was redeemed by his genuine love for his wife and the haplessness of his attempts to act as master of his own house. Chest’s lyric approach to the role brought warmth and pathos to the ensembles that are such a big part of the opera.

As the Countess, the soprano Hailey Clark sang with rich tones, a smooth legato and affecting emotion in “Porgi amor,” in which she pines for the love of her cheating, husband. In “Dove sono,” the pianissimo return of the melody was an emotional high point of the performance.

The bass baritone Dale Travis’s portrayal of Doctor Bartolo was a disappointment. In the aria La Vendetta, the doctor’s tribute to the pleasures of revenge, his voice was too soft to be heard easily over the orchestra, especially in the aria’s quick, patter-style section, diminishing an aria that can be one of the comedic showpieces of the opera.

There were competent performances of the rest of the small roles that form crucial parts of the ensemble numbers, with Lucy Schaufer as Marcellina, Thomas Glenn doubling as Don Basilio and Don Curzio, Lauren Carroll as Barbarina and Dylan Gregg as Antonio.

With the season winding down, the company on Friday announced its lineup for next season: Puccini’s La Bohème, Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, and Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Palm Beach Opera will repeat The Marriage of Figaro 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. pbopera.org

Posted in Performances

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