A Little Night Music, Stephen Sondheim – After to listening to this
music for decades, 7/7/17 was the first time I’ve witnessed a live production.
It was expertly cast, full of charming singers, all of whom conveyed
quicksilver transitions of wit and emotion. So lovely to see/hear! The
principals were excellent, but I was most impressed with the Liebeslieder
Quintet who set the tone and commented throughout. Sondheim has to be well sung
and the singing has to be expressive. All of this happened effortlessly, and the
production is all the richer for that.
I wore a fire opal in honor of Madame Armfeldt's "Liasons."
Billy Budd, Benjamin Britten – An amazing
production, even transcendent. I saw it on 7/9/17, and I’m still a bit
speechless. The set was handsome and in every sense logical to the action, the
lighting was brilliant, and the costumes suitably nautical and thankfully
revealing – the principals and the chorus are fine-looking to a fault.
You expect the character Billy Budd to be
radiant, he was, but as played by Craig Verm he was also brawny and lithe like
a gymnast with a rounded, resonant baritone. It’s easy to understand how fellow
sailors would love him. Captain “Starry” Vere, who sings to us first and last,
is tormented by his decision to not save Billy, and Roger Honeywell communicates
this by demonstrating that laws are not always just and telling us that “good
has never been perfect.” Claggart, as played by a truly astonishing Zachary
James, is the standout in this cast. I didn’t expect to be so moved by this
character, but Mr. James gives us context for Claggart’s deeds. He’s a man who’s
motivated by deep self-loathing and long-stifled desires, someone driven to
destructive behavior for the purpose of suppressing his own emotion. Mr. James
with his imposing physique, his anguished glowering, and his resounding bass
make this point clear. Can I just say that upon meeting the actor after the
performance this forbidding figure is actually quite delightful, all dazzling
smiles and friendly conversation? Am I blushing?
As you’d expect, the orchestra under
Maestro David Neely is perfection, all nuance and then power and precision when
needed.
Anyway, I reserve my final comment for
the splendid male chorus, all from the 2017 DMMO Apprentice Artist Program,
which is directed by the capable, accomplished Lisa Hasson. In all my years
performing and viewing theatrical productions, I have never felt such vocal
power before. Act II, scene 2’s “Blow her away…” blew me away. I think the Blank
Performing Arts Center building may have shaken right off its foundations for a
moment, and I was reduced to gooseflesh.
I’m saying all this because I’m so impressed,
really profoundly stirred. I rolled out of Des Moines with so many thoughts, I
had to commit them to words. This is my third consecutive year attending DMMO
productions, Janáček’s Jenůfa
in 2015 and Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice (French version) in 2016,
and I feel so happy to be in Iowa, so pleased to be a mere two hours
away from such artistic excellence. Congratulations to all involved with the
2017 season, and I’ll be there with bells on in 2018.
