Last night's world-premiere of Thomas Addle's new opera, "A Day in the Life" came as a complete surprise to this critic. Following the uproar surrounding Mr. Addle's last work, the twelve-hour, four-hundred character chamber opera, "The History of Genocide - Part 1," the composer has scaled down his ambitions, to put it mildly.
From the opening aria, "I Think I Have Something In My Eye" to the first act trio "Have You Seen The Price of Unleaded Lately?" it quickly became apparent that Mr. Addle was severely stung by the critics who derided "A History" as grandiose and pretentious.
This is not to say that "A Day" lacks emotional range. Mid-way through the second act, the baritone sings the anguished and affecting aria "My God, My Socks Don't Match." A few minutes later, the mood shifts to the fury of "Waiter, This Coffee Is Cold." Which isn't to say that the piece lacks its comic moments. Who could forget the zany antics of the children's chorus as they romped through, "Mister, Stop Hanging Around Our Playground"?
As for the performances, baritone Alfred Slaughter masterly conveyed the travails of the unnamed protagonist as he struggled through a rather ordinary day in an unnamed city. He was especially adept in knocking off the seventeen high Cs in the plaintive lament, "Damn, I Forgot To Set The VCR." The other roles were capably sung.
The set design was versatile, serving equally well as the protagonist's drab government office, his drab one-bedroom apartment, and the drab strip mall where he buys shoelaces. The orchestra played with its usual distinction.
Despite enjoying many aspects of "A Day in the Life," this critic hopes that Mr. Addle will feel emboldened to tackle more challenging material in the future.
Last night's much-anticipated performance of Tosca by the Millennium Opera Company fell short in several areas: singing, acting, orchestral playing, costumes, and sets. On a positive note, the performance started on time, and the concession cart carried an amusing little champagne.
Less amusing to the patrons who paid up to $150 per ticket was the performance of tenor Giuseppe Lardoni as Mario Cavaradossi, the opera's dashing young hero. Mr. Lardoni, who apparently has never passed up a doughnut, loudly gasped for breath whenever he was required to make even the slightest movement. It was painfully clear that he has not done any dashing since the mid-to-late1950s. Physical shortcomings aside, Mr. Lardoni's acquaintance with the opera's libretto could only be described as coincidental. The evening's low point came when Mr. Lardoni mis-sung a line in the exquisite aria "E Lucevan Le Stelle." Instead of singing "vanished forever is my dream of love," Mr. Lardoni managed the somewhat less poetic "vanished forever is my chocolate Easter bunny."
Equally inept performances were turned in by Croatian soprano Miriam Vrszka as Floria Tosca, and 3' 2" baritone Herve Diminuendo as the menacing Baron Scarpia. Only patrons lucky enough to be seated in an upper balcony managed a glimpse of the tiny Baron "standing" behind his massive oak desk. Unfortunately, no seat in the house was spared the agonized shrieking of La Vrszka who sang as if she was suffering the final throes of salmonella poisoning.
Throughout this interminable evening, members of the orchestra played as if they were annoyed that Maestro Warren Redmond was blocking their view of the audience. At no time did they pay the slightest heed to his attempts to conduct the opera. As for the all-white set and costumes, it must be noted that the decision to set the opera in an Arctic research laboratory was questionable at best. This critic would feel this way even if the live polar bear brought in at the insistence of Director Smedley Livingston III had not escaped during the second intermission. For one thing, there was audible tittering in the audience when Tosca killed Scarpia by repeatedly bludgeoning him with a frozen seal. For another, the performance of the eskimo chorus was lamentable.
In summary, if find yourself with a spare $150 during the next three weeks, and want to hear a delightful "Tosca," this critic suggests that you buy 135 lottery tickets and a Maria Callas CD.
© 1999--- John P. Cahill