Dr. Colin Eatock, composer
  • Home
  • About Colin Eatock
  • Composing
  • Catalogue of works
  • Writing about music
  • Eatock Daily (blog)
  • New and upcoming
  • Contact me

A Rigoletto with two Dukes at the COC

1/31/2018

2 Comments

 
PictureA scene from the COC's 2018 Rigoletto. Photo: Michael Cooper.
The audience for the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Rigoletto got a little more than it expected on Saturday (Jan. 27), when not one but two Dukes of Mantua took to the stage.
 
Tenor Stephen Costello was scheduled to sing the role. Then, at the opening of Act II, it was announced that he was in poor health but would carry on. However, in Act III he did not reappear, but tenor Joshua Guerrero (scheduled to sing the role at the COC from Feb. 11-23) stepped in. Although it was Costello who did most of the heavy lifting on Saturday, it was Guerrero who took the final bow.


I must say, though, that I was surprised by the announcement that Costello was in poor health, because he certainly didn’t sound that way in Act I. His performance was solid and robust, with nice stylistic touches such as a fondness for lingering a moment on his high “money notes.” (Conductor Stephen Lord helpfully obliged him.) Vocally, it was a vivid portrayal of carefree, hedonistic and dangerous man with way too much power in his hands. And he was no less intense at the beginning of Act II: his fervent delivery made seem like he was really in love with Gilda. (Of course, we know he’s not.)
 
In Act III, Guerrero offered a taste of the kind of Duke he’ll be when he takes over the role in February. His voice is brighter than Costello’s and he’s more flexible dramatically; his “La donna è mobile” was surprising, vocally speaking, with abrupt glottal stops and even a touch of falsetto. It was unorthodox but impressive.
 
Opposite the Duke(s), as Gilda, was soprano Anna Christy – and a better-suited singer would be hard to find. Her lovely voice was youthful yet sophisticated, fragile yet fulsome, and as sweet and fluid as honey. And in the title role, baritone Roland Wood is a superb singing-actor. Indeed, he never “just sings” anything: every note and every phrase that came out of his mouth was bursting with dramatic purpose. It was not always beautiful, but it was always compelling.
 
As for the “production itself” – the sets, costumes and staging – I’ll begin by saying that I am always pleased by the intricate and subtle attention to detail that designer Michael Levine brings to his work. Every tableau he creates is like a Vermeer painting. But on this occasion, I can’t help suspecting that he misread the memo, and created a brilliant design for La Traviata instead of Rigoletto. Yes, I know the clichés – Renaissance settings and a jester’s outfit for Rigoletto – have been done to death a thousand times. And yes, I know that the idea was to make this Rigoletto a commentary on the mores of the mid-19th century, when Verdi wrote it (and perhaps on our own times, as well). But for all its grandeur, this single-piece set is just confusing.
 
And I wouldn’t say that director Christopher Alden did much to clarify the situation. His handling of the cast is willful and stagey. (I can imagine the singers, as they went through their paces, thinking, “Why am I doing this?”) And the pregnant pauses between Acts – nothing but a black curtain, with a few cast-members acting out an awkward pantomime to kill time – are a real drag on the production.
 
So there we have it: a vocally glorious but theatrically problematic Rigoletto from the COC.

 
© Colin Eatock 2018
2 Comments
http://essay-editor.net/blog/what-you-should-know-about-essay-proofreader link
2/4/2018 02:15:31 am

The replacement of the actors during the performance did not spoil the opera as a whole. The audience remained satisfied with the performance of the high-ranking roles.

Reply
use the service to edit your thesis on our website link
4/4/2018 06:17:27 am

Hi there! I insanely love this shared post! Its content is indeed cool! This single-piece set is just confusing.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Eatock Daily

    I'm a composer based in Toronto – and this is my classical music blog, Eatock Daily.

    When I first started blogging, Eatock Daily was a place to re-post the articles I wrote for Toronto’s Globe and Mail and National Post newspapers, the Houston Chronicle, the Kansas City Star and other publications.

    But now I have stepped back from professional music journalism, and I'm spending more time composing.

    These days, my blog posts are infrequent, and are mostly concerned with my own music. However, I do still occasionally post comments on musical topics, including works I've discovered, enjoyed, and wish to share with others.


    – CE

    Archives

    March 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    September 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Index

    Click here for an alphabetical list of blog entries.

    RSS Feed

    Follow colineatock on Twitter
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.