Enchanted Island Populated By Amazing Singers And Actors

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on August 4, 2017
- 12:03 pm

Ensemble Cast. Photo by Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera, 2017

Anna Christy (Morgana) and Alek Shrader (Oronte). Photo by Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera, 2017

By CARL NEWTON
Los Alamos

Handel’s “’Alcina’ is one of his “magic” operas which is based on an ancient epic poem. Handel’s traditional operatic style is a mixture of recitatives and da capo areas (the opening A section is repeated after an intervening B section). The arias may express amorous intention, sorrow, pity, despair or determination. In the repeated A section, feelings are usually intensified.

What is most appealing about Handel’s music is the dramatic expression. With performers of the highest caliber the audience is in for emotional thrills. That is what the lovers of this art form will experience from this production.

“Alcina” is the sixth Handel opera to be performed in Santa Fe and the first since 2008. When Oliver Prezant, a multitalented musician (conductor, lecturer, and judge of performance) told me that this production has such merit that he will not miss a single performance, I knew that there could be no greater praise.

Furthermore, the SFO Chief Conductor Harry Bicket is a master of the Baroque repertory, and is conducting this production with the harpsichord keyboard at his fingertips.

There is a perception of many that opera is a high brow entertainment for the enlightened cognoscenti. This production will likely make them realize that it is a misperception. Under the direction of David Alden and with the assistance of Wise Fools of NM (Santa Fe based) and the choreographer Beate Vollack, this is no staid operatic presentation. Some critics (perhaps not for this production) think that having highly stimulated action by the singers impedes the proper reception of Handel’s magnificent score. Alden swears allegiance to the audience being entertained, and he has taken that path with this production. I have truly enjoyed this as a “Happening”.

Of the previous “Alcina” productions that Alden has produced over a decade, one of them had Harry Bicket conduct and Elza van den Heever (Alcina), Anna Christy (Morgana), and Alex Shrader (Oronte) in that cast. The additional artists for this production are Paula Murrihy (Ruggiero), Daniela Mack (Bradamante), Christian Van Horn (Melisso), and Jacquelyn Stucker (Oberto). This is a cast that has no weakness.

I found that the names of the characters hindered my grasp of their nature, and in fact Bradamante (Ruggiero’s fiancé) has arrived at the Sorceress’ island disguised as her brother Ricciardo. Add to this confusion that only two of the singers are male and two of the females play a man or a boy. When Handel wrote the opera, he had the great castrato Carestini singing the Ruggiero role.

My approach to “Alcina” was to unpack the convolutions to arrive at the storyline in which the knights of yore (paladins) are attracted to the island to woo the lovely Alcina, and when she tires of them they are turned into rocks, skeletons or animals. Her sister Morgana is also a sorceress and targets some of the same characters as Alcina. Alden’s basic idea for this production is that a man (Ruggiero) is bored with life in suburbia and escapes to theater pleasures where he falls in love, and then becomes disillusioned and seeks escape. He is the force that ultimately dooms the power of the sorceresses.

In “Alcina” there are love triangles, and we follow who’s up, who’s down, who’s in, who’s out, all affected by who’s under a spell or are out from under a spell.

Onstage costume changes help us follow these alterations in status. In 1735 the performers were more likely to have their actions subdued by “park ’n bark” simplicity which would have allowed for more easily controlling their breath than when executing the hyperactivity involved in this production.

“Alcina” is a far cry from last season’s Capriccio when the fundamental question was the primacy of words or music. This production gives much attention to acrobats, dances and costumes. We are also beckoned to extend our sympathies according to the status of the characters, such as Oberto, the son of Astolfo the lion, or Bradamante, the jilted fiancé.

Fortunately, with the complexity of the stage directions and actions of the characters, Handel’s orchestration is far simpler than we experienced in this season’s world premiere. Repeatedly this staging veers from Handel’s directions, and we are probably more entertained than if the 1735 performance were replicated.

Some things are sure to please us much more: better seating and stage lighting.

Handel rewarded his singers with terrific arias that we may adore, and at times more so when the actions on the stage are subdued or the accompaniment is by a solo instrument. Sometimes that solo instrument is brought onstage, such as appearances of a violinist and a cellist.

There are many A-list arias in “Alcina”, and many opinions as to which are A-plus. I’ll dodge that question by giving examples from a dictionary of opera themes that incorporates just five for which I’ll give approximate Englis translations. Two for Alcina, Act 2, Scene 8, “Oh, my heart, you are scorned” and Act 3, Scene 6, “Only tears remain to me”. Two for Ruggiero, Act 1, Scene 12, “Those lovely lips, that black eye, wound you, I know” and Act 2, Scene 12, Verdi prati, “Green meadows, pleasant woods, you will lose your beauty”.
And one for Oronte, Act 1, Scene 8, “Simpleton! You trust a woman?” In 1735 the audience insisted that Carestini repeat “Verdi prati” at least once.

Sitting in the third row on opening night, I thought inserting some advice in this column might be warranted. To wit, the following, take it or leave it. For “Alcina”, go early and go often. If you arrive in a relaxed state and your senses are primed for peripheral awareness, then when Maestro Bicket gives the first downbeat, you will get a taste of the merriment that lies ahead.

Another bit of advice is in order to maximize a connection to the singers communicating their feelings, try to minimize your attention to the Electronic Libretto System which is repeatedly texting to your seat. Perhaps Handel was motivated to write da capo arias for audiences that had libretto translations in their hands.

Even following that bit of advice, one performance is not enough to take in as much as one might like for a rarely performed work. Focusing one’s eyes and ears has the effect of missing things that the next performance may let you experience.

Alden has much stage action for some of the numbers, but there are times when the singers have no distracting elements about them. The Verdi prati is one such, and as it is a favorite aria it is best experienced that way.

The scenic and costume designer, Gideon Davey, has worked with Alden’s previous “Alcina” productions, and some of what we see are rented from that collaboration. The lighting designer, Malcolm Rippeth, is new to the team and adopted a vision of Alden, who thinks that when the sun goes down it is a magic hour (we cherish our sunsets) and our lighting is from low down sources.

Come and enjoy the magic hour and more.