{"id":38064,"date":"2016-08-22T20:33:02","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T00:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=38064"},"modified":"2016-08-23T09:37:49","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T13:37:49","slug":"scrutiny-santa-fe-opera-capriccio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/08\/22\/scrutiny-santa-fe-opera-capriccio\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Santa Fe Opera\u2019s Capriccio A Heart-felt Ode To Word And Music"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Santa
Santa Fe Opera: Amanda Majeski The Countess in Capriccio (Photo: Ken Howard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most distinctive features of a Santa Fe Opera summer is the almost yearly presence of a Richard Strauss opera on its program. Sadly, with the passing of SFO founder\/Strauss champion John Crosby, it\u2019s no longer a given. A check of the records shows that in the fourteen seasons since his passing in December 2002, only six seasons featured a work by Strauss. Of the fifteen operas in the Strauss canon, only thirteen were ever produced at Santa Fe \u2014 missing are the huge-scaled Die Frau ohne Schatten<\/em> and the rarely performed Guntram.<\/em><\/p>\n

To us Strauss fans, the 2016 season is a happy occasion, as we celebrate the return of Strauss\u2019s last opera, Capriccio<\/em>. Subtitled \u201cA Conversation Piece for Music,\u201d Capriccio<\/em> is a true connoisseur\u2019s piece. No blood and guts or gods and demons, it\u2019s all about a gentle, philosophical debate of the power of music versus text, both essential ingredients in the making of an opera. Strauss frames this intellectual exercise within the grand estate of Countess Madeleine and her brother, the Count, whose real name is never mentioned in the opera. The Countess has two suitors, the poet Olivier and the composer Flamand, competing for her affection. They are there to put on an opera in honour of the Countess\u2019s birthday. Add to this a cast of characters that include the pompous La Roche (theatre director), Clairon (actress), and two hilarious Italian Singers, and you have the makings of a comedy of manners. All very urbane and civilised.<\/p>\n

A through-composed work with no set pieces like arias or duets, Capriccio<\/em> is never going to win a popularity contest \u2014 for that, you go to the likes of Tosca or Carmen. But it has a quiet charm that is totally endearing. I first heard Capriccio in a chamber production, as an undergraduate music student. I\u2019d be lying if I say I loved it, but then I was very green, not to mention half a century younger! Now I adore this work, a whimsical treatment of a serious subject. The score is absolutely sublime \u2014 I keep hearing snippets of Der Rosenkavalier<\/em> and Arabella<\/em> and Die schweigsame Frau<\/em> and Die Liebe der Danae<\/em> \u2014 need I say more? \u00a0The opening scene has a string ensemble playing a gorgeous chamber piece, with melodic fragments that reappear throughout the opera. In the Santa Fe production, the chamber ensemble played right on stage. To top it off, the cellist was none other than Toronto Symphony Orchestra\u2019s Principal Cello Joseph Johnson! \u00a0The orchestral interlude just before the finale, the so-called Mondscheinmusik<\/em> with its typically Straussian modulations, takes one\u2019s breath away.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Santa Fe production boasted a wonderful cast led by the young American soprano Amanda Majeski as Madeleine. At the improbably young age of 31, Majeski is already a celebrated Nozze<\/em> Contessa and Marschallin, roles often taken by singers many years her senior. She has also sung the Countess Madeleine at the Semperoper Dresden. The rest of the ensemble cast was equally distinguished, among them American mezzo Susan Graham (Clairon), Canadian baritone Josh Hopkins (Olivier) and American bass-baritone David Govertsen (La Roche). At the helm was the brilliant British conductor Leo Hussain. The stage director was another Brit, Tim Albery, who happens to be a Toronto resident, with a beautiful set designed by Tobias Hoheisel, also well known to COC audiences.<\/p>\n

I had the great good fortune of seeing Capriccio<\/em> in December 2014 in Dresden, starring the Countess Madeleine of American diva Renee Fleming, under the inspired baton of Christian Thielemann. The Dresden production may win on authenticity, but I find the Santa Fe version funnier. There\u2019s a lot of built-in humour in the text, what with the bickering amongst the composer, the librettist and the stage director as to the primacy of word or music. The Dresden audience treated it with reverence but not much laughter, not helped by the heavy period set and costumes, a production that lacked the airy lightness of Santa Fe. I found Fleming a justly famous Countess, but a bit arch and worldly when compared to the youthful Majeski. To be honest, comparing them is like comparing red or white wine, chacun a son gout as they say.<\/p>\n

Based on the mix of traditional and modern elements in the production, the Santa Fe staging has moved it from the Baroque era to sometime in the mid-20th<\/span> century. The central salon is opulent, while the two wings are less elaborate, perhaps underscoring the contrast between the past and the present.\u00a0 I find the decision to have an intermission in this opera problematic \u2014 it\u2019s like having an intermission in Elektra<\/em> or Das Rheingold<\/em>! Albery treated the serious subject matter with a refreshing lightness of touch. Thanks to the excellent translation located in the seat backs much like the Met, the audience was able to hang onto every word, judging by the amount of laughter in the auditorium.\u00a0 Amanda Majeski scored a triumph as a youthful Countess Madeleine, her silvery tone and aristocratic bearing a pleasure. Her sound is ideal for Strauss, a bit cool in timbre, like a young Gundula Janowitz. And like Janowitz, Majeski sings with little vibrato, and occasionally her sound can turn a bit tight and white in the top register. That said, her final monologue was absolutely gorgeous.<\/p>\n

Capriccio<\/em> is above all an ensemble piece, with every character cleverly delineated by Strauss. You need good singing actors to make the show come alive. As the two suitors, tenor Ben Bliss (Flamand) and baritone Josh Hopkins fully embodied their roles. Bliss\u2019s high register and suave stage presence were impressive. Hopkins\u2019 character was equally engaging if a bit on the sulky side, and his baritone sounded wonderful. Bass David Govertsen was funny and quirky as the stage director La Roche; mezzo Susan Graham a suitably flamboyant Clairon, with all the requisite diva mannerisms. \u00a0The two Italian singers (tenor Galeano Salas and soprano Shelley Jackson) were more hilarious than usual. But the final laughs from the audience were reserved for Allan Glassman in the comprimario role of the prompter who slept through the whole proceedings.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, the true star of the evening was the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra under the brilliant leadership of British conductor Leo Hussain, who drew torrents of fulsome sounds from the pit, achieving a rare translucent texture that caressed the ears. String and horn playing to die for in the Mondscheinmusik<\/em>. An extraordinarily satisfying end to my five-opera Santa Fe sojourn.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amanda Majeski scores a triumph as a youthful Countess Madeleine in Strauss\u2019s Capriccio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":38070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5723,43,52],"tags":[6318,649,5913,6285],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/08\/24._Amanda_Majeski_The_Countess_in__Capriccio__c_Ken_Howard_for_Santa_Fe_Opera_2016.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-9TW","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38064"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38064"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38080,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38064\/revisions\/38080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38064"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=38064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}