Wednesday, January 22, 1997
L.A. Opera’s 1997-98 season looks to pack a dramatic punch,
offering familiar works from Puccini and Mozart alongside rarities
by Giordano and Kálmán, as well as the West Coast
premiere of Catán’s ‘Florencia en el Amazonas.’By John
Mangum
Daily Bruin Contributor
Most opera-goers have a sort of personal wish list.
They keep it in the back of their heads, subconsciously thinking
of operas or singers they really want to hear or see someday. And
then they wait to find out what record and opera companies dream
up.
Peter Hemmings, general director of Los Angeles Music Center
Opera, announced the company’s 1997-98 season at a press conference
Tuesday morning, revealing an eclectic lineup of works and singers
that might just make some opera fans’ wishes come true.
The season opens with Italian composer Umberto Giordano’s tale
of betrayal and political intrigue, "Fedora," in a production
imported form Milan’s Teatro all Scala. Set throughout Europe, the
work follows the ill-fated love affair between Princess Fedora
Romanova and Count Loris Ipanov as the two try to escape their
pasts.
Tenor Plácido Domingo, L.A. Opera’s artistic adviser and
principal guest conductor, appears as Loris, joined by popular
soprano Maria Ewing as the princess. Sir Edward Downes comes from
Covent Garden to conduct this rarely-revived score composed by a
master of Italian verismo style.
Speaking of masters of Italian verismo, no composer has a
stronger claim to that title than Giacomo Puccini. L.A. Opera
revives his "La Boheme" as the second work of the season for two
reasons.
"The first special reason is that ‘La Boheme’ is always a good
piece to revive," Hemmings says. "And the second reason is that it
is actually 100 years, virtually to the day, since that opera was
first given in the United States, and that performance was here in
Los Angeles.
"The reason for that is an accident. There was an Italian
company on tour in Mexico, which nearly went belly-up, and was
rescued by an entrepreneur here, who presented (Boheme) for the
first time, in America, downtown here in Los Angeles."
The company also decided to revive film director Herbert Ross’
popular production in order to showcase famous local talent,
including tenor Greg Fedderly as Rodolfo, baritone Rodney Gilfry as
Marcello and bass-baritone Richard Bernstein as Colline.
Out-of-towner Ana Maria Martinez makes her L.A. Opera debut as
Mimi, and Albanian soprano Inva Mula returns as Musetta.
"Boheme" may be a revival of a popular favorite, but the
season’s next production presents both a new work and a west coast
premiere. Mexican composer Daniel Catán’s "Florencia en el
Amazonas" had its premiere last year in Houston, and comes to Los
Angeles as part of a co-production arrangement with Seattle Opera,
Houston Grand Opera, Opera de Colombia, the Opera de Bellas Artes
in Mexico City, and the Festival Internacional Cervantino. The
work, the first Spanish-language opera commissioned for U.S.
audiences, is one of the ’97-’98 season’s most important
events.
"’Florencia en el Amazonas’ is based on the novel ‘Love in the
Time of Cholera’ by Gabriel Garcia Márquez, an episode from
the book," Hemmings says. "It has to do with the return of an
international opera singer to her roots, and she goes down the
River Amazon to give a concert, and at the same time, she is
seeking her long-lost lover."
Most of the cast that appeared in Houston comes to L.A.,
including soprano Sheri Greenwald as Florencia, Rodney Gilfry as
the river god Riolobo, bass Gabor Andrasy as the riverboat captain,
Greg Fedderly as his nephew and Suzanna Guzmán as Paula.
Continuing the trend of new and unique works, Emmerich
Kálmán’s "Countess Maritza" follows "Florencia" in
November. Kálmán’s operetta hails from Vienna’s gilded
age, and is contemporary with works like Léhar’s "The Merry
Widow."
Soprano Ashley Putnam appears in the title role, partnered by
tenor Kevin Anderson as the disguised Count Tassilo. Putnam
appeared in L.A. Opera’s production of Strauss’ "Der
Rosenkavalier," and Anderson makes his company debut.
Debuts also mark the revival of Sir Peter Hall’s production of
Strauss’ voluptuous expressionist drama "Salome." Famous for its
"Dance of the Seven Veils," the work is as gory as it is
sensuous.
Renowned dramatic soprano Hildegard Behrens and baritone Tom Fox
make their L.A. Opera debuts as Salome and the prophet Jokanaan,
respectively. Timothy Mussard appears as King Herod, Salome’s
father, and Helga Dernesch sings as his wife Herodias.
Turning away from the world of Strauss, February brings a
revival of Mozart’s less horrifying but no less symbol-laden "The
Magic Flute" with designs by Gerald Scarfe. The cast features
several of the company’s Mozartian stalwarts along with other
notable singers.
Austrian baritone Wolfgang Holzmair makes his North American
debut as the bird-catcher Papageno. He is joined by Greg Fedderly,
Gwendolyn Bradley, Sally Wolf as the Queen of the Night  a
role that is her one of her specialties  and Jaakko
Ryhänen.
Finally, the season wraps up with one of the most popular of all
Italian operas  Giuseppe Verdi’s "Il Trovatore." The work is
filled with red-blooded drama and some of Verdi’s greatest music,
and it demands a cast of the highest musical and dramatic
accomplishment.
Carol Vaness, after the success of her Tosca last fall, returns
to sing Leonora. She is joined by the Manrico of Vladimir Bogachov,
who made quite an impact as Otello in Verdi’s eponymous opera two
seasons ago.
Conductor Gabriele Ferro and director Stephen Lawless team up
again, hopefully to create a production as successful as their 1996
"L’elisir d’amore."
OPERA: For more L.A. Opera info or a season brochure, call (213)
972-8001.
L.A. Opera
L.A. Opera revives Sir Peter Hall’s production of Mozart’s "The
Magic Flute" as part of its 1997-98 season.Lyric Opera of
Chicago
Plácido Domingo stars as Count Loris Ipanov in Giordano’s
"Fedora."