Tuesday, November 25, 1997
Countess Bore-Itza
OPERA: L.A. Opera’s ‘Countess Maritza’ may seem like a
disappointment at first, but it ultimately entertains
By John Mangum
Daily Bruin Contributor
If you’re in the market for something musically fascinating and
spiritually uplifting, you wouldn’t have found it Saturday night at
the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
But if you prefer an evening of easy-going entertainment, then
L.A. Opera’s "Countess Maritza" is exactly what you’re looking for.
The operetta, by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kalman, strings
together several slightly doleful tunes and features some big
production numbers, but it never reaches the level of, say, Johann
Strauss’ "Die Fledermaus" or Franz Lehar’s "Merry Widow." Many
consider these works to be supreme examples of operetta, 19th
century Vienna’s version of the Broadway musical.
Actually, Kalman composed "Countess Maritza" during the 1920s,
after the sun had set on the heyday of Vienna’s middle class. The
work’s over-ripe nostalgia probably appealed to this audience, as
it recalled their glory days, but it doesn’t resonate as easily in
a different social context.
The contrived plot revolves around Countess Maritza, no surprise
given the work’s title. Two men hope to win her heart, the
pig-farming Baron Zsupan and Prince Popolescu, but she eventually
falls in love with a third man, her estate manager, Mr. Toerek, and
he returns her affections.
But Mr. Toerek is actually an impoverished nobleman, Count
Tassilo, whose sister Lisa recently befriended the countess. His
identity is eventually revealed, and the Countess believes that he
only wants her money. The two have a big fight in front of several
of the Countess’ friends, but a waltz and a love song later, all is
well and everyone is happy.
"Countess Maritza" has its fair share of attractive, if not
ultimately memorable, songs, lively waltzes and local flavor (in
this case, several appearances of the csardas, a Hungarian dance).
It also has, in Nigel Douglas’ English translation, hefty doses of
corny, boring dialogue, especially in Act 1.
This first act, in fact, is the slowest of the three, musically
and dramatically, but things really pick up after intermission. Act
2 opens with a lively tennis number for Tassilo and the Countess’
female guests. It also features a splashy cabaret number for which
Prince Popolescu transforms the courtyard of the Countess’ estate
into a glittering nightclub.
The arrival of Tassilo’s aunt, Princess Bozena, and her servant,
Penizek, in Act 3 marks the operetta’s high point. On this
occasion, Grant Neale’s Penizek overflowed with hilarious physical
comedy, funny enough to shift attention from Ashley Putnam’s
Maritza and Kevin Anderson’s Tassilo during the final big ensemble
number.
Putnam provided some glamour and an attractive light soprano as
the Countess Anderson matched her with a light, perhaps too light,
tenor and some entertaining dance moves. An erratic approach to
amplification underlined the small size of his voice.
Everyone was amplified during the dialogue scenes. During
several of the solos, the amplification faded out during the first
few bars, but it seemed that Anderson received discreet assistance
from the sound system throughout the evening. No matter, though.
His singing was appealing and always tasteful, even though he
ultimately lacked the ringing vocal heft of a Nicolai Gedda.
In addition to the main story between the Countess and Tassilo,
two subsidiary plots involving Zsupan and Popolescu fill out the
evening’s entertainment.
As Zsupan, Royal Danish Opera’s Gert Henning-Jensen provided
some relief from the flat dialogue during Act 1 with his lyrical
singing, comic delivery and confident dancing. Constance Haumann,
who recently appeared at the Ahmanson in Leonard Bernstein’s
"Candide" and triumphed last year as Alban Berg’s "Lulu" in
Copenhagen, brought a glittering voice and a vivacious personality
to the role of Zsupan’s love interest, Lisa.
Robert Orth made an authoritative Prince Popolescu, and his
scene with Judith Christin’s Princess Bozena was truly one of the
evening’s high points. The two fall in love at first sight, and
then sing a song, "Voulez vous?" full of double entendres and
amusingly bad French.
John Crosby, the general director of the Santa Fe Opera, did a
fine job leading the orchestra through the score, and the L.A.
Opera Chorus did some excellent work in the larger ensemble
scenes.
Director Linda Brovsky and choreographer Daniel Pelzig kept
things lively on stage, but Maxine Willi Klein’s set looked more
like the inside of an El Torito than a Hungarian country
estate.
Ultimately, "Countess Maritza" proved an entertaining, if
forgettable, evening.
OPERA: L.A. Opera’s "Countess Maritza" will be at the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion through Dec. 5. Tickets are $24-$135, and $20
student rush tickets are available one hour before curtain. For
more information, call (213) 972-8001.
Photos courtesy of L.A. Opera
The Countess Maritza (Ashley Putnam) worries that the men in her
life only love her for her wealth in the operetta "Countess
Maritza."
Countess Maritza (Ashley Putnam) and Count Tassilo (Kevin
Anderson) star in the Viennese operetta "Countess Maritza."