VIENNA, Va., June 25, 2011 – This past weekend, the Wolf Trap Opera Company closed out its short but sparkling run of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s rarely heard chamber opera, Le donne curiose (The Curious Women). Did we say, “rarely heard”? Curious Women was last performed in this country by the Metropolitan Opera in 1911 with a repeat performance in 1912. And it hasn’t been heard on this side of the pond since.
So…if Wolf-Ferrari’s opera was forgettable enough to languish for some 100 years, why did Wolf-Trap decide to mount it once again? Simple. It’s not forgettable at all. It’s a little gem that somehow got lost but now is found.
Wolf-Ferrari's women are curious indeed.
(Photo credits: Kim Pensinger Whitman.)
Better yet, it’s the perfect light comic vehicle for a company like Wolf Trap, which is dedicated to bringing along the careers of opera’s best and brightest young singers. It’s challenging but not terribly taxing on younger voices that are still stretching out into new territory. And it’s tuneful enough and funny enough to entertain audiences seeking something novel but not too musically threatening.
Washingtonians last had a chance to hear the music of Wolf-Ferrari early in the last decade when the Washington National Opera presented a new production of the composer’s tragicomic Sly at the Kennedy Center Opera House. This production was notable for the first and last WNO appearance of “third tenor” José Carreras in the title role, his first and apparently last with the company.
Wolf-Ferrari himself was a part German Italian composer—hence the hyphenated name—who composed in the verismo style championed by the later Verdi and, after him, Giacomo Puccini and many others. The style is tonal, tuneful to a point, yet generally avoids too many signature arias, the better to use the human voice to enhance the realism of the opera’s plot.
Curious Women is cast in this mode. But the lightness of its music and the good nature of its modified commedia dell’arte plot combine into an audience-friendly vehicle that’s especially well suited to a smaller venue like the Barns at Wolf Trap.
Wolf Trap’s sprightly revival was simply a wonder. We caught the very last performance in the opera’s run since we happened to be on holiday when it opened. We’re glad we did. The singing was great, the music was a delight, and the comedy—while operatically predictable—was fun nonetheless. Few members of the audience could have failed to be utterly charmed.
Curious Women turns on a yet another variant of that classic grist for operatic comedy: the never-ending battle between men and the women who love them. (Sometimes.)
At the opera’s outset, we learn that the guys have formed a club. No, it’s not the kind of “He-Man Woman-Hater’s Club” you might remember from those old “Our Gang” film comedies Boomers used to watch on the tube in the 1950s and 1960s. It’s simply a club for guys only, owned and run cynical old bachelor Pantalone (Ryan Kuster) and his bumbling servant Arlecchino (Craig Irvin) for the enjoyment of his male pals who include Ottavio (Kenneth Kellogg), Lelio (Michael Sumuel) and Florindo (Eric Berry). And ladies are not welcome. Ever.
So, do these dudes have a secret to hide?
Which, as any husband knows, is not a good thing for a wife or girlfriend to discover. Once the ladies start talking among themselves, suspicions will almost autonomically arise.
Are their guys gambling away the family fortune? Carrying on illicit affairs? Developing some kind of secret potion? Planning for world dominance? Whatever it is, the ladies simply have to know. Ergo, Wolf-Ferrari’s “curious women”—Lelio’s wife Eleonora (Ashlyn Rust), Ottavio’s wife Beatrice (Lindsay Ammann) and their daughter Rosaura (Marcy Stonikas)—aided and abetted by the puckish servant Columbina (Angela Mannino) quickly vow to break the code.
What’s most amusing about Wolf-Ferrari’s otherwise predictable plot is the believable quirkiness of his characters. The two cagey married men, Lelio and Ottavio, have already developed arms-length relationships with their reasonably devoted but adamantly suspicious wives and know how to defend their perks against all manner of wifely snooping.
On the other hand, young Florindo, betrothed to one of the older member’s daughters, is still hopelessly in the throes of romantic love. Instinctively recognizing his vulnerability on this point, the wily women target him first, knowing he’ll be the easiest to crack.
In all probability, no one in Saturday’s audience, including your friendly critic, has had any prior experience at all with Curious Women. So there’s simply no way to compare this Wolf Trap performance with any other. But from a vocal standpoint, it will be a challenge for any other company, including Wolf Trap itself, to come up with a better cast than they boasted this time around.
What distinguished the voices in this cast was quite simply the level of vocal heft and sophistication they’d already achieved. Companies like Wolf Trap, Glimmerglass, and others that are dedicated to developing young talent generally mount lighter, lyric operas that showcase such voices while not overly taxing them in terms of volume and physicality. In this regard, Curious Women almost perfectly fits the bill. But surprisingly, the majority of the voices in this production already possess great strength, poise, and maturity. Many of these singers will not have to wait much longer to muscle their way into big, challenging major works.
As Rosaura, soprano Marcy Stonikas was simply astonishing in Saturday’s performance. Her voice is magnificently huge, already ready for prime time. And yet she was still able to shape and contain it to match beautifully with the chamber context of this opera.
Likewise bass-baritone Michael Sumuel and the magnificently tall bass Kenneth Kellogg. Dominating even in the somewhat smaller roles of Lelio and Ottavio, they brought an authority and a heft to their roles that made them eminently believable as the opera’s chief paterfamiliae.
As the sincere but bumbling Florindo, tenor Eric Barry was likewise a revelation. His instrument appears already to be well on its way toward becoming a notably big romantic tenor voice. Yet once again, his lyric skills, not to mention his stage presence, were easily adjusted to the more nuanced realms of lyric opera. He’s a talent to be watched.
The remaining ladies don’t take a back seat to the guys, either, in this production. Ashlyn Rust was superb as the brittle, flighty Eleonora; soprano Angela Mannino trilled her way delightfully through the slapstick shtick of the wily servant Columbina, looking every bit like Criminal Minds' quirky computer nerd, Garcia, BTW; and as Beatrice, the incredible, burnished quality of Lindsay Ammann’s profound contralto as a genuine revelation.
Let’s not forget our two unattached gents. As our somewhat cranky master-of-ceremonies, giver-of-laws, and club-owner, Pantalone, bass-baritone Ryan Kuster adds just enough crabbiness and low-level malevolence to jangle the nerves at the opera’s climax. And bass-baritone Craig Irvin’s much put-upon Arlecchino—as another of the weak points in the club’s defenses—is sensationally funny and wimpy at the same time.
Accompanying the singers, the Wolf Trap Opera’s small orchestra, under the baton of Gary Thor Wedow, generally did a fine job accompanying the singers. The balance of the strings in the first and second acts seemed to veer unpleasantly toward the treble at times, though, and the ensemble could have used a bit more ballast in that regard. As a result, things seemed a bit shrill early on, and perhaps a bit overly loud as well.
Yet those aforementioned very big voices overcame this problem easily. And somehow, the balance in the scoring seemed notably better—and deeper—in the final act. According the program, Wolf Trap actually had to do a good bit of sleuthing to find an actual copy of the orchestra’s parts for this long-lost opera. Perhaps if they bring Curious Women back in a season or two, they could tweak the score they have to produce a better orchestral range of tone the next time out.
But this is really a minor quibble with a surprisingly great little production, which was further enhanced by yet another creative, turn-of-last-century period set by the always-inventive Erhard Rom. Patrick Diamond’s deft stage direction was simply the perfect icing for the cake.
Rating: *** (3 Stars)
Read more of Terry's news and reviews at Curtain Up! in the Entertain Us neighborhood of the Washington Times Communities. For Terry's investing insights, visit his WT Communities column, The Prudent Man in Politics.
Follow Terry on Twitter @terryp17
This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
