The Everett Symphony stretched its repertoire and changed venues Saturday night as it presented “A Night at the Opera.” The program featured the Everett Symphony Chamber Orchestra, which sounded sumptuous on the stage of the acoustically delightful Historic Everett Theatre as it accompanied up-and-coming singers from Seattle Opera’s 2004-05 Young Artists program.
Maestro Paul-Elliott Cobbs conducted as sopranos Maureen McKay, Robyn Driedger-Klassen, mezzo-soprano Carolyn Kahl, and baritones Andrew Garland and Jeremy Alan Kelly performed scenes from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and “The Marriage of Figaro,” as well as Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” and Johann Strauss Jr.’s “Die Fledermaus.”
The performance was dedicated to John Schack, a generous benefactor, preservationist and patron of the arts in Everett. Maestro Cobbs presented Shack’s widow, Ida Mae, with a bouquet and a fond embrace while thanking her for her support of the Everett cultural community.
Cobbs and company performed the overture of each opera ahead of its scenes, offering a nice interspersing of vocal and orchestral elements. Rossini’s overture to “L’Italiana in Algeri,” included because it is one of Cobb’s favorite pieces, was the orchestral highlight of the evening. It featured beautiful performances from oboe, clarinet and flute in particular, enthusiastically led by Cobbs.
Seattle Opera’s Jonathan Dean set up the story line before each operatic selection, offering often comic insight into characters and their various motivations. Dean noted Mozart’s and Strauss’ music was “the music of Vienna, the gateway between east and west, the old imperial capital.” That music, he said, was as sweet and rich as Vienna’s famed desserts, “where everything is ‘mit schlag’ (with cream).”
The first operatic scene, “La ci darem la mano” from “Don Giovanni,” featured Garland as the infamous seducer asking the pretty girl (McKay) to be his. Both young singers were strikingly poised.
The second selection, “Madamina, il catalaogo e questo” saw a comical Kelly singing the role of Leporello, Don Giovanni’s sidekick, as he relayed in exaggerated fashion the catalogue of his friend’s many conquests.
In “Cinque, dieci, venti” from “Figaro,” McKay and Kelly were delightful. She sang the role of Susanna, the chambermaid to Count Almaviva and his long-suffering wife, the countess. He played her fiance Figaro. Here, she tried on her wedding veil while he was more interested in measuring the floorspace for their marriage bed.
Also from Figaro, in “Voi che sapete,” Kahl sang the part of Cherubino, a sort of Don Juan in training, who’s just been found in a compromising position with the gardener’s daughter. He turns to the ladies, “who know what love really is,” asking them if it’s love he has in his heart.
The final “Figaro” selection, “Contessa, perdona,” in which the rakish count has been caught in adultery, had Driedger-Klassen and Garland as the countess and count, respectively.
Before the “Barber of Seville” selections, Dean noted Rossini’s “delightfully bubbly” music was inspired by Mozart. The first selection, “Largo al factotum,” featured Garland as Figaro, the self-satisfied barber who runs the city.
The first selection from Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” saw all five vocalists out, holding their goblets high for a musical ode to the magical power of the grape in “In Feuerstrom der Reben.” The second scene addressed the imperial aspects of Viennese culture, with Driedger-Klassen singing the part of a Hungarian in “Klange der Heimat.” The final selection, an ensemble piece, had the five young artists singing the informal German usage of Act II’s “Bruderlein und Schwesterlein.”
There was an unmistakable vigor and stamina in the vocal chords of these young opera singers. Chosen from hundreds of national applicants, they’ve come to Seattle for six months of intense professional training, and will participate in several Seattle Opera outreach programs.
“A Night at the Opera” featured the Everett Symphony Chamber Orchestra and Seattle Opera Young Artists.
Review
“A Night at the Opera” featuring the Everett Symphony Chamber Orchestra and Seattle Opera Young Artists.
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