by Brian Bailey - SGN Guest Reviewer

Puget Sound Opera
July 16-17
Meydenbauer Theater, Bellevue

Staging two operas is an ambitious undertaking, especially since this was very much a shoestring affair - in fact, the same shoestring for both operas. The same basic set served for both: a wet bar, stools, and a few tables and chairs. Bellini's La Sonnambula was set in Lisa's Bar and Verdi's Luisa Miller in Miller's Bar. Makes one wonder what other operas could be so set. Amneris's Bar? Azucena's Hideway? Scarpia's Den?

Other locales were suggested by a bed here, a sofa there. Contemporary street clothes were worn, saving on costumes. The chorus was small, a scant half-dozen of either sex, the men reinforced by the comprimarios, and a small orchestra, scrawny in the string department but with good woodwinds. Precision wasn't exactly the order of the day, and what worked well enough for Bellini's orchestrally undemanding score worked rather less well for Verdi.

It speaks greatly for the power of opera as "drama through music" that this barebones, makeshift approach worked so well and even generated appreciable power. There were even a few happy ideas, as when Elvino at the beginning of Act 2 of Sonnambula was seen at the bar hitting the bottle pretty hard.

Elvino was sung by Robert McPherson and, if there is a story here, it is a tale of two tenors. Both were outstanding. McPherson has a high, forward placement which reminds one of Ferruccio Tagliavini. Not quite the same honeyed mezzavoce, but more integrated into the dynamic spectrum. And in Act 1, he had a stunner of a piano high C, one well-supported with a nice mix of head and chest. He sang the part so well, I would have been happy to have encountered his Elvino on the stage of any major house. His Amina, Jennifer Bromagen, was not quite as secure, but she had a lovely voice and good range. Her scales were smeary but roulades were well-defined without the dodge of intrusive H's. Good trill, too. She needs to work out some support issues, which result in some tremulousness in the lower midrange. The Rodolfo was Deac Guidi, at least adequate, but he substituted grimaces, mugging, and eye-popping for acting. In fact, none of the acting in either show was better than rudimentary. I didn't sense a strong directorial hand at work.

In Luisa, our tenor was Gregory Carroll, who had a strong, potent voice, rock-solid and assured. He tired in Act 3, the topmost notes not coming easily. I expect this was a matter of knowing how to pace oneself. I understand he was the Bacchus in the Seattle Opera Young Artists' Ariadne and was successful in that ungrateful part. It wasn't his fault that his great aria "Quando le sere" was prosaic and unimaginative. His legato was adequate but too unrelentingly loud and unvaried throughout. I say it wasn't his fault because I have heard many tenors disappoint in this aria - from Jan Peerce with Toscanini, down to Domingo and Pavarotti - so our tenor was in good company.

Almost equally good was the Luisa of Tess Altiveros. She was diminutive but seemed to have quite a fair-sized instrument. I say "seemed" because actual vocal size may be deceptive in such an intimate venue as Meydenbauer. She got through some very difficult music with flair, appearing uncomfortable only with the coloratura writing early on. Otherwise, I enjoyed her assured performance.

Her stage father, Miller, was David Borning. The lower part of his voice bore an astonishing resemblance to that of Leonard Warren (no less), but alas that quality dissipated as the voice ascended the scale. In the upper reaches he evinced some strain and woodenness of tone. No actor he, his arms hung limp at his sides as if they were artificial. Still, I left fascinated by at least half of what he was doing vocally and that Warren resemblance.

Neither of the basses, who sang Walter and Wurm, was impressive.

Would I go to more of PSO shows? You bet. It's nice to hear opera in an intimate setting even if the voices were sometimes too loud for the theater, and there were some very talented singers taking part. Next March, they (meaning PSO/Bellevue Opera) are doing Puccini's Il Trittico and concert presentations of Bellini's Norma(!), Delibes' Lakme, and Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur. For more information, see www.pugetsoundopera.org.

Reviewer Brian Bailey can be reached at brian1813@hotmail.com.

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