Nov. 21,24,26,28,30/98
Produced by the
Vancouver Opera
Presented at the Queen
Elizabeth Theatre

JONES

here's nothing like a little
freezing rain to take all
the fun out of a floor-

length gown,
Disgustingly il] and exhausted,
I felt like crap for my first operat-

 

 

ic exposure, and I have a nasty
suspicion that this may have
coloured my impressions of what
was quite possibly a good produc-
tion. But, since this is my review,
and therefore a record of my
experience, ya’ get what ya’ get,
feverish or not.

It seemed flat. I didn’t find
some of the performances terribly
impassioned, much less convinc-
ing, and Puccini's score didnt so
much thrill as mildly annoy.

Now hold on, before you chase
me down with sharpened sticks,
let me explain my Puccini slap.
This is a century old opera. A
very famous century old opera.
Lots and lots of people have
heard the score. Some of those
people have “borrowed” elements
of said score for all sorts of nasty
purposes, such as sit-com musical
flourishes, or sticky movie
moments. Me, I’m an innocent, I
dont know Puccini from primav-
era. I sat down all bleary eyed,
waiting for that hyped up shot of
symphonic magic, and got
Comedy Entrance Tune # 28
from some best forgotten movie
that’s been colourized, televised,
and sanitized a million times over.
Deeply shaken, I found it hard to
trust the brooding dips and soar-
ing swells of the music, as I was
tensed for further Debbie -
Reynolds ‘n’ Friends moments.

Did I mention that this was an
opera? Well then, that means that
the sound was supplied by a
bunch of singing folks who die,
and a bunch of orchestra musi-
"cians who dont. The singers were
all good, just at varying levels of

good. Clifton Forbis as Mario

..{he fish play continued from front

audience doesn't always have to see
things to believe them.

In addition, the brilliant set con-

Cavaradossi had a pleasant voice,
but he didn't project it nearly as

well as the rest of the cast. As the lights, costumes, stuff of the

male lead, his tenor wasn't any-
where near all those racing bari-
tones, and his Cavalier was
leagues away from any sweaty
love affair with the fiery utle
diva. He may have the stiff
knees, but a Pavarotti he

aint. I did enjoy the
strong interactions
between Marquita
Lister's Tosca and
Tom Fox's Baron
Scarpia, particu-
larly in the sec-
ond act with
Scarpia’s hard-
sell come-on,
Tosca’s aria-rid-
dled dithering,
and her final,
conclusive “kiss. I
wished that Peter
Strummer as the
Sacristan, my
favourite, my
honey of the
show, could have
had more stage
time, as his bass-
baritone rose
magnificently
over the ‘goofy
guy’ music, and
his acting was
the most consis-
tently, believably
engaging of the
entire evening.
Conducted by
David Agler,
the

Vancouver Opera Orchestra
played dandily (although I do

where in Act Two), and the

and scattered on cue quite nicely, _ retreating towards the nave assist-

using a bandsaw that drowned out
some of the dialogue), overall it was a
very enjoyable experience watching the

structed by the stagecraft department Douglas College production of North

helped with the atmosphere. | felt as

Shore Fish.

if I were actually watching a play in a

warehouse. While there was the odd
thing that didnt work (like Porker

point of view

Enough of the performances,
already, what about the sets,

visual craft, you say? Dy'uh, okay

   
  
  
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  

ed the illusion of an ornately vast
Italian cathedral, continuously
ornamented from floor to ceiling,
softening in colour and detail as
they became more distant. The
lights [ remember best came in
coloured rays from the wings at
stage left, imitating the sun
streaming through the stained
glass windows of the Angelotti
family chapel. The slightly tippy
Virgin statue on her pedestal was
suitably graced by the fugitive
guy's plot infested folding fan,
and the costumes for the most
part were deliciously sumptuous
or pleasantly peasant as necessary.
But, oh my lord, who smeared
that flourescent pink lipstick on
Tosca?

Act Two: Scarpia’s dining
room/anteroom to friendly tor-
ture & coercion chamber. More
elaborate paintwork, opening wall
panel, ornate double doors, and a
tall set of french windows with
the sunset pouring in. Lit cande-
labras enriched the set lighting,
and the soft silver of
Scarpia’s wig was

only

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

execution yard of the Castel Sant’
Angelo, the set showcased more
stylin’ paint, with the pre-dawn
sky shown between the left and
right towers. Not so convincing,
the sky cloth and tower fabric
were wrinkled in spots, and all the
subtle lighting just couldn't main-
tain the illusion of an unrumpled
Italian morning, [he very extend-
ed love aria wasnt so much
between Tosca and Cavaradossi as
it was off in space. They got
down on their knees at the edge
of the stage and sang right at the
audience. How intimate is that
for a guy who's facing a firing
squad? Loud gunshots, sur prising-
ly convincing collapse from
Forbis (the best acting he did all
night was his death), Lister
singing soft, singing strong,
vengeful minions thunder in from
stage left, music swells, Lister yells 4
“TI see you in Hell” (the operatic
version), hops from ramparts to
backstage death, curtains close, I

go home to

  
   

dry my feet.
Maybe

Puccini is

  
    

limit to
how
uplifting
melodic
evenings
of culture
can be for
someone
with all
the healthy
charm
and
enthusi-
asm of a
bucket of
moldy ricotta. Maybe this wasn't

gonna break this up into three
acts, so dont get all crabby just
seem to recall a brief moment of because the intermission snacks
weird honking from the pit some- _ are outrageously overpriced.
Act One: Beautiful set by
Vancouver Opera Chorus warbled. Ercole Sormani. Layered drops

venienced.

outdone by the merry gleam of
Tosca’s virtue. Lister and Fox

the best Tosca. Read the program,
then give me some college boys

both singing at their best, orches- and a trampoline any day.
tra crescendoing well, Forbis
sounding only moderately incon-

Act Three: Set on the rooftop

..and the tv play from the cover

the thing that confused me the most was
when the entire cast broke out into song,
singing ‘Downtown: While it was a nice
moment, I had no clue where it came from.
These characters are products of their envi-
ronment, as we all are. But the point seemed
to be that we are the way we are because of
TV, movies, the Internet and just pop cul-
ture in general. Singing the song
“Downtown” seemed to suggest to me that
these characters were a product of their set-

ting, living in this big city (presumably
Vancouver). So it wasnt really a statement
on pop culture?

This play started out with a bang, but it
sadly fell apart in the middle. Still, the cast
and crew must be commended and given a
pat on the back, as who among us could say
that in the same circumstances, wed even

get it half-right?

 

Page 10 December 9 1998

 

The Other Press