Ravel: L’enfant et les sortilèges / Debussy: L’enfant prodigue / Students of RCM-GGS / Mabel Wonnacott (director) / Glenn Gould School Chamber Orchestra, Connor O’Kane (conductor) / Mazzonleni Concert Hall, November 1, 2024.
The Glenn Gould School, the professional arm of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, opened its fall season last evening with Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges and Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue, playing to a sold out and enthusiastic audience at the intimate Mazzoleni Hall.
On the program were two well known works that rarely, if ever, get programmed on the mainstage by opera companies. In my many decades of attending live performances, I have only encountered the Ravel in student productions at universities, and the Debussy only in concert performances.
In the Director’s Notes, Mabel Wonnacott explains her rationale of presenting these two pieces together. Wonnacott has re-situated the Ravel piece to the Cold War era of 1950, and the Debussy to the Stone Wall period of 1970, both turbulent periods in American society.
In Wonnacott’s concept, the two characters, Angelica the child and Azaël the prodigal son, are gay. The destructiveness and cruelty of the child in the Ravel opera, and the waywardness of Azaël in the Debussy, reflect an underlying struggle these two characters have over their sexual orientation.
Interesting idea to be sure, but in my mind, it works better in the Debussy, in that it fits well with the original storyline and its Biblical origins. I find imposing issues of sexuality in the Ravel piece to be too contrived. After all, the character in the Ravel L’enfant is all of seven, hardly an age for struggles of sexual identity!
Kudos to set/costume designers Andrew Nasturzio and Alessia Urbani for their ingenious use of the limited space of the Mazzoleni stage, which is not ideal for opera. With just minimal props and the obligatory curtain plus a tiny orchestra on the right, it worked surprisingly well. The skillful use of silhouettes in the opening minutes of L’enfant prodigue was very effective.
Musically, the two operas were memorable. Kudos to the huge cast in the Ravel piece, led by mezzo Ellita Gagner, who’s more of a tall and gangly teenager than a seven-year-old. Everyone without exception sang their hearts out and acted with commitment and enthusiasm. I would not be truthful if I say I don’t miss a full orchestra as originally intended, but in the intimate Mazzoleni Hall, the tiny ensemble was an acceptable option.
To my ears, top vocal honours belonged to the three L’enfant prodigue principals: soprano Emma Pennell (Lia), tenor Elias Theocharidis (Azaël), and baritone Genndy Grebenchuk (Simeon). I have heard Pennell and Theocharidis on previous occasions and enjoyed their voices. Incidentally, Pennell just won second prize in the Centre Stage competition two days earlier, and her full lyric soprano sounded terrific. Theocharidis was equally impressive, his tenor is taking on an increasingly robust quality while maintaining its attractive timbre — it bodes well for the future.
Conductor Connor O’Kane led the small ensemble with a well-judged, knowing hand. I should mention that Mazzoleni Hall, lacking a pit, means that the musicians are seated on stage, to the extreme right. Given that I was seated on the far left, the orchestra didn’t make as much of an impact as it should have.
All in all, an auspicious start to the GGS opera season.
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