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Verdi's "Falstaff," the astonishing product of a 79-year-old-composer, is getting a freshly conceptualized treatment from Washington National Opera. Some of the bare-bones physical material comes from a co-production with the Royal Opera and other opera companies, but director Christian Räth has devised something new out of it for this run of performances at the Kennedy Center, the WNO's first "Falstaff" in more than 25 years.
Given the last moments of the work, with its hearty, "the whole world is a jest" message, it's easy to see where Räth's coming from when he sets up his stage-within-a-stage approach. Here, the character of Falstaff is seen adding a fat suit, after passing to a stage manager in contemporary dress the love letters to Alice and Meg that set the comedy on its merry (as in "Wives of Windsor") way.
Gradually, scenic pieces materialize behind the singers, turning quite traditional and solid (if modest in height) for the brilliant Act 2 scene involving Falstaff, a basket of laundry and a very jealous husband. There's also a massive, fun version of Herne's Oak in the final act, before Falstaff loses that fat suit and the stage is left bare again.
Even more fun is the introduction of a Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo-style flock of male dancers in sylph-y ballerina outfits, part of the torture of poor old, delusional, outwitted Falstaff.
Although the director would probably have conjured up something substantially different had he started from scratch, the production, imaginatively lit by Mark McCullough, works in its own breezy way, underlining how foolish we mortals be - on and off the boards.
Saturday's opening night proved a bit short on vocal power (having a lot of open space onstage didn't help the voices project), but there was no shortage of musicality or ensemble tightness.
Alan Opie offered a richly nuanced portrayal of the title role, at once blustery and terribly vulnerable, and he was attuned to every subtlety of text and melodic contour. Although he sounded rough-toned by the last act, his singing invariably hit home.
Tamara Wilson used her warm, firmly supported soprano to great advantage as Alice; this was starry singing. Elizabeth Bishop was a vibrant Meg. Nancy Maultsby brought lots of color to Mistress Quickly's delicious music. Timothy Mix, as Ford, sounded a little tentative at the start, but quickly asserted tonal strength to match his colorful characterization.
Two alumni of the company's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists program, JiYoung Lee (Nannetta) and Yingxi Zhang (Fenton), revealed bright voices and a flair for lyrical phrasing. Vivid contributions came from David Cangelosi (Bardolfo), Grigory Soloviov (Pistola) and, particularly, Robin Leggate (Dr. Caius).
The chorus made a strong showing, as did those deft dancers. The orchestra excelled, finding what sounded like an extra dose of inspiration in conductor Sebastian Lang-Lessing, who relished every prismatic detail in Verdi's score as he applied equal amounts of momentum and sensitivity to the performance.
"Falstaff" continues through Oct. 30. Tickets are $50 to $300. Call 202-295-2400 or go to dc-opera.com.
"It is less a competition than a festival," says Ernest Ragogini. "It's a wonderful atmosphere. A number of competitors from previous years have come back as volunteers because they enjoyed it so much."
Ragogini, a pianist on the Notre Dame faculty, co-directs the event with Nancy Roldán, a pianist recently retired from the Peabody Conservatory faculty. She founded the venture in 2004 in memory of pianist and piano technician William Garrison, who died that year. The Baltimore-Washington Chapter of the American Liszt Society subsequently became the presenter.
Now held biennially, the Liszt-Garrison Competition offers about $15,000 in prizes in several categories, including solo, concerto and collaborative artist. There also are awards for artists in their teens and early 20s.
In addition to the prizes, contestants have a shot at concert engagements, including a remarkable opportunity to give a solo recital at the famed Bayreuth Festival in Germany next summer.
"We had 86 applicants from 24 countries," Ragogini says, "and the pianists are at a very high level. Even those we didn't choose were quite good."
Entrants are required to play a work by Liszt and an American composer; they have free rein for the rest of their repertoire.
Along with the competition rounds, there will be several concerts performed by past laureates and guest artists, with programming built around this year's theme: "At the Heart of Nations: A Celebration of the Creative Spirit Around the World."
The countries represented include a surprise from our hemisphere.
"There's a connection between Chopin and Haiti," Ragagini says. Haitian pianist and composer Ludovic Lamothe, who died in 1953, was dubbed "the black Chopin." In addition to music by the rarely encountered Lamothe, piano works by Russian poet and novelist Boris Pasternak are scheduled. Also on tap is the premiere of a recently unearthed transcription of a Chopin etude.
Alan Walker, the foremost Liszt biographer today, will be featured in a lecture, just one more attraction in what promises to be a five-day feast for keyboard lovers.
All events are at the College of Notre Dame, 4701 N. Charles St. Admission prices range from $25 for a single event to $125 for a five-day pass. Call 410-833-5782 or go to lisztgarrisoncompetition.org.
Given the last moments of the work, with its hearty, "the whole world is a jest" message, it's easy to see where Räth's coming from when he sets up his stage-within-a-stage approach. Here, the character of Falstaff is seen adding a fat suit, after passing to a stage manager in contemporary dress the love letters to Alice and Meg that set the comedy on its merry (as in "Wives of Windsor") way.
Gradually, scenic pieces materialize behind the singers, turning quite traditional and solid (if modest in height) for the brilliant Act 2 scene involving Falstaff, a basket of laundry and a very jealous husband. There's also a massive, fun version of Herne's Oak in the final act, before Falstaff loses that fat suit and the stage is left bare again.
Even more fun is the introduction of a Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo-style flock of male dancers in sylph-y ballerina outfits, part of the torture of poor old, delusional, outwitted Falstaff.
Although the director would probably have conjured up something substantially different had he started from scratch, the production, imaginatively lit by Mark McCullough, works in its own breezy way, underlining how foolish we mortals be - on and off the boards.
Saturday's opening night proved a bit short on vocal power (having a lot of open space onstage didn't help the voices project), but there was no shortage of musicality or ensemble tightness.
Alan Opie offered a richly nuanced portrayal of the title role, at once blustery and terribly vulnerable, and he was attuned to every subtlety of text and melodic contour. Although he sounded rough-toned by the last act, his singing invariably hit home.
Tamara Wilson used her warm, firmly supported soprano to great advantage as Alice; this was starry singing. Elizabeth Bishop was a vibrant Meg. Nancy Maultsby brought lots of color to Mistress Quickly's delicious music. Timothy Mix, as Ford, sounded a little tentative at the start, but quickly asserted tonal strength to match his colorful characterization.
Two alumni of the company's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists program, JiYoung Lee (Nannetta) and Yingxi Zhang (Fenton), revealed bright voices and a flair for lyrical phrasing. Vivid contributions came from David Cangelosi (Bardolfo), Grigory Soloviov (Pistola) and, particularly, Robin Leggate (Dr. Caius).
The chorus made a strong showing, as did those deft dancers. The orchestra excelled, finding what sounded like an extra dose of inspiration in conductor Sebastian Lang-Lessing, who relished every prismatic detail in Verdi's score as he applied equal amounts of momentum and sensitivity to the performance.
"Falstaff" continues through Oct. 30. Tickets are $50 to $300. Call 202-295-2400 or go to dc-opera.com.
Piano fest, competition
So it's not as well known as the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. It's still a significant event, it's in Baltimore, and it's fun. The Liszt-Garrison Festival and International Piano Competition, which starts Wednesday and runs through Sunday at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, will involve more than 50 pianists from 22 countries."It is less a competition than a festival," says Ernest Ragogini. "It's a wonderful atmosphere. A number of competitors from previous years have come back as volunteers because they enjoyed it so much."
Ragogini, a pianist on the Notre Dame faculty, co-directs the event with Nancy Roldán, a pianist recently retired from the Peabody Conservatory faculty. She founded the venture in 2004 in memory of pianist and piano technician William Garrison, who died that year. The Baltimore-Washington Chapter of the American Liszt Society subsequently became the presenter.
Now held biennially, the Liszt-Garrison Competition offers about $15,000 in prizes in several categories, including solo, concerto and collaborative artist. There also are awards for artists in their teens and early 20s.
In addition to the prizes, contestants have a shot at concert engagements, including a remarkable opportunity to give a solo recital at the famed Bayreuth Festival in Germany next summer.
"We had 86 applicants from 24 countries," Ragogini says, "and the pianists are at a very high level. Even those we didn't choose were quite good."
Entrants are required to play a work by Liszt and an American composer; they have free rein for the rest of their repertoire.
Along with the competition rounds, there will be several concerts performed by past laureates and guest artists, with programming built around this year's theme: "At the Heart of Nations: A Celebration of the Creative Spirit Around the World."
The countries represented include a surprise from our hemisphere.
"There's a connection between Chopin and Haiti," Ragagini says. Haitian pianist and composer Ludovic Lamothe, who died in 1953, was dubbed "the black Chopin." In addition to music by the rarely encountered Lamothe, piano works by Russian poet and novelist Boris Pasternak are scheduled. Also on tap is the premiere of a recently unearthed transcription of a Chopin etude.
Alan Walker, the foremost Liszt biographer today, will be featured in a lecture, just one more attraction in what promises to be a five-day feast for keyboard lovers.
All events are at the College of Notre Dame, 4701 N. Charles St. Admission prices range from $25 for a single event to $125 for a five-day pass. Call 410-833-5782 or go to lisztgarrisoncompetition.org.
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