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Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Fascism and a clown suit: L.A. Opera's gripping new ‘Rigoletto'
Though mean-spirited, the jester Rigoletto — Verdi's hapless, vengeful hunchback — wins our hearts as the outsider whom a heartless world so often abuses. 'Rigoletto' remains an opera reminding us where to direct our sympathies when authoritarianism remains the alternative. That is not as straightforward as it sounds. Los Angeles Opera has struggled with one insufficient 'Rigoletto' production after another, imported or homegrown. Singers and conductors have been counted on to save the show, and sometimes they have. Last time around, the most interesting contribution was, however scrappy, conductor Matthew Aucoin's idea-rich interpretation. This time, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Saturday night, L.A. Opera unveiled a violent, politically disquieting production in which a tortured jester faces mob rule. If an out-of-control clown gives you the creeps, check out the crowd in cartoon masks meant to disguise evil. Tomer Zvulun, who heads Atlanta Opera, where this production got its start, begins his director's note in the program book with a quote from Alfred Hitchcock: 'There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.' Baritone Quinn Kelsey's gripping 'Rigoletto,' as good as it gets these days, is all bang. The men of the L.A. Opera chorus are terror personified. This is the third time L.A. Opera has turned to cinema for help with 'Rigoletto,' on the surface a spellbinding drama. L.A. Opera in its advertisements likens it to film noir. For the company's first go with the opera in 1993, it approached Peter Medak, who unfortunately bowed out to make the thriller 'Romeo Is Bleeding.' Seven years later, L.A. Opera went Hollywood. Film director Bruce Beresford updated the ducal court of Mantua to present-day Beverly Hills and Venice Beach. But neither cast nor company were up to making it work. Zvulun, who turns to fascist Italy in the years before World War II, counts as his inspirations the films by Federico Fellini and Luis Buñuel. That doesn't do much either. Resources once more fall short. The turntable set, which evokes little of anything, was created for Wolf Trap Opera in Washington, D.C. The chorus' cruelty is fitting, but masks are by now a commonplace movie trope for evil. The Duke, a philanderer, has far less interest in mob rule than in chasing skirts. The party scenes with leggy dancers, meant to be decadent, are inoffensive. But there is violence. Knives are convincing. Zvulun introduces mayhem and murder. Two ghosts make appearances for goosebumps. The lighting (Robert Wierzel) is full-bore noir. The set is mostly dark with characters starkly spotlighted giving the impression of a black-and-white film. A storm scene, one of Verdi's great innovations, is so strongly revealed that it has no need for the added strobe effects. The lighting, in fact, is key. It highlights both the strength of the cast and some of the weaknesses of the production. Kelsey, who has spent a good deal of his career impressively singing the title role around the world, is here weighed down by his costume. Somehow among the elegantly dressed in fascist Italy society, there is this guy in a bright red clown outsider status as a hunchback is instead a costume that presumably serves as scarlet letter or Star of David. Still, the old-fashioned nature of this 'Rigoletto,' along with an excellent cast, saves it. So does James Conlon's conducting, which supplies humanity to Kelsey's fuming anger. It takes a lot to love Rigoletto, who keeps his daughter, Gilda, locked up, although she, of course, sneaks out and falls for the count. Kelsey may lack the warmth of some of the great Rigolettos of the past, but there may not have been any more powerful. The visceral energy of the anger of this guy in a clown suit is the stuff of nightmares. Rigoletto orchestrates his own downfall and Kelsey's horror at the end feels like the unleashing of a new breed of violence. Lisette Oropesa is back as Gilda. In the previous L.A. Opera production she began blandly only to be awakened by the raw meaning of love, singing very prettily all the while. She does so again, the blandness this time all the more superficial and ensuing depth equally greater, the prettiness richer and mattering more. She romanticizes her lover, the Duke disguised as a student, looking in her mirror while applying makeup, as though 'Caro Nome' were 'I Feel Pretty.' But her duets with Rigoletto are pregnant with emotion, and she is stunningly angelic in the end. As the Duke, René Barbera, a light and agreeably lyric tenor, goes his own way. He is overpowered by the chorus, oblivious to all but pleasure. There are many strong voices, notably Peixin Chen, the regal bass who plays the assassin Sparafucile, and Sarah Saturnino, a seductive mezzo-soprano who is his sister, Maddelena, who lures the Duke. This 'Rigoletto' closes Conlon's penultimate season as L.A. Opera music director. Seemingly born to conduct Verdi, Conlon can whip up as much dramatic excitement as anyone might need. But he has in recent years taken a more expansive approach to Verdi. His restraint and reserved pacing classes up some of the cheaper tricks of the production and, more important, gives perspective to it most powerful ones. Listening to the elegant orchestra, the clown suit didn't seem so bad. After 32 years of failed attempts, L.A. Opera has finally moved the 'Rigoletto' needle in the right direction.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. Opera names rising star Domingo Hindoyan as music director
When Domingo Hindoyan, the Venezuelan chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, made his debut with L.A. Opera last November with 'Roméo et Juliette,' Times classical music critic Mark Swed called it 'a coup for the company.' Swed also wondered if it was a 'signal that he is a candidate to succeed Music Director James Conlon, who steps down in 2026?' It turns out Swed was right. On Friday, L.A. Opera announced that Hindoyan has been named the company's Richard Seaver Music Director. He will succeed Conlon, the longtime music director who joined the company in 2006 and announced last year that he will step down at the end of the 2026 season. Conlon will take on the newly created role of conductor laureate. In a statement, Hindoyan said he was deeply honored to become only the third music director in the company's nearly 40-year history. 'From the first rehearsal, I felt a strong connection to the extraordinary musicians, staff, and spirit of this company,' he said. 'It is a privilege to follow Maestro James Conlon, whose legacy has shaped L.A. Opera into what it is today — a dynamic and ambitious institution.' After considering 'dozens' of candidates from around the world, L.A. Opera President and CEO Christopher Koelsch said he was 'struck by the fluidity of his technique and the clarity and command of his musical ideas' after seeing Hindoyan at the Berlin State Opera in 2016. 'His deeply collaborative nature and generous spirit in rehearsal make him a favorite among singers, who are inspired by the space he creates for musical risk-taking and expressive freedom.' Koelsch also praised Hindoyan's 'deep rapport with musicians and audiences alike.' Hindoyan, 45, is originally from Caracas, Venezuela, and began his career as a violinist. Like departing Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, he attended Venezuela's renowned public music education program known as El Sistema. In addition to his role as chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, a role he has held since 2021, Hindoyan has served as principal guest conductor for the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; he has conducted opera productions at New York City's Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Berlin State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, Dresden Semperoper, Madrid's Teatro Real and Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. In a statement, Conlon said he was happy to pass the baton to someone who shares his passion for opera. 'Domingo is an artist of exceptional depth and imagination, and I know the company will welcome him warmly,' Conlon said. Hindoyan's five-year contract will begin July 1, 2026, and continue through the 2031 season. According to a Facebook post from Hindoyan, the new role in L.A. will run concurrently with his position with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Hindoyan, son of Venezuelan violinist Domingo Garcia, a former president of the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela, is married to the soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who's singing at the Metropolitan Opera in Tchaikovsky's 'The Queen of Spades.' (Performances are scheduled on Wednesday and Saturday.) The couple has two children and lives in Switzerland. In late April, the album 'Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence & Symphony No. 6 'Pathetique,'' from Hindoyan and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, was released.
Los Angeles Times
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Rufus Wainwright's U.S. premiere of ‘Dream Requiem,' L.A. Opera's ‘Ainadamar': a spirtual double bill
Osvaldo Golijov's beauteously strange 'Ainadamar' has reached Los Angeles. The opera, one of this century's most gratifying, portrays the 1936 political execution of the poet Federico Garcia Lorca during the Spanish Civil War through the final minutes of actress Margarita Xirgu's life. She dies as she is about to go onstage in the Lorca play 'Mariana Pineda,' about the heroine of an earlier Spanish revolution. Margarita's final minute on Earth lasts 90 flamenco-filled minutes in Golijov's one-act opera. Lorca's life — his spirit and loves and lust — is revealed in flashbacks, which L.A. Opera makes the most of in a flamboyant, dance-drenched production. But it is Margarita's pain we feel, her death we experience and her life we mourn. Lorca's death, then, becomes a borrowed experience. He is a spirit of history. Margarita's last act is to pass on that spirit to a young actress, Nuria, and in the process, to us. The saddest of operas, 'Ainadamar' is not a tragic opera, not an opera of open-and-shut endings, but one of open-ended endings. Life goes on. But what comes next? A movie-length production without intermission can feel about right for a modern audience. 'Ainadamar' satisfies on its own but nevertheless suggests there is something more to consider. The sheer force of Margarita's being asks to remain in our consciousness longer. She did remain a little longer. Following the Sunday matinee of 'Ainadamar' at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Los Angeles Master Chorale gave the U.S. premiere of Rufus Wainwright's new 'Dream Requiem,' which proved an ideal companion to 'Ainadamar.' Although Golijov is an introspective Argentine American composer who comes out of the classical music world, his works are infused with folk song and dance from Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Wainwright is an introspective pop star with a noted folk song pedigree who also is an opera enthusiast and composer. At the pre-concert talk Sunday, Wainwright said hearing Verdi's Requiem as a 13-year-old changed his life. 'Ainadamar' and the 80-minute 'Dream Requiem' have poets at their core. Just as Lorca embodies Lorca, Wainwright threads recitations of Lord Byron's 1816 'Darkness,' throughout a score otherwise based on the traditional Latin requiem text. Each work is its own fountain of tears. Ainadamar is, in fact, the Arabic term for the Fountain of Tears, the site in Granada where Lorca was shot by a firing squad, presumably for political reasons as well as for being gay. In 'Dream Requiem,' we cry over the environment. Byron wrote 'Darkness' as a response to the 1815 Mt. Tambora volcano eruption in Indonesia, which clouded sunlight around the world for more than a year. The so-called 1816 'year without a summer' was also a time of revolt in Spain. Fifteen years later, the Spanish liberalist Mariana Pineda was executed. The three parts of 'Ainadamar' begin with the chorus singing a ballad to her. The magnificent performance of 'Dream Requiem' — conducted by Grant Gershon and featuring, along with the Master Chorale, the impressive Los Angeles Children's Chorus, an excellent large orchestra, the spectacular soprano Liv Redpath and a vehement Jane Fonda as the gripping narrator — proved a necessary complement to a more problematic performance of 'Ainadamar.' The opera has deep L.A. roots. A Los Angeles Philharmonic co-commission, the theatrically tentative first version of 'Ainadamar' survived on its instances of musical brilliance. Under the supervision of Peter Sellars, Golijov and librettist David Henry Hwang completely rewrote 'Ainadamar' for Santa Fe Opera in a sublimely moving production with gloriously grafitti-fied sets by L.A. artist Gronk. A musically promising but uncertain opera instantly turned into an essential classic for a new century. Long Beach Opera's tenuous local premiere of that version was followed by a powerful concert performance at the Ojai Music Festival with the Atlanta Symphony conducted by Robert Spano and starring Dawn Upshaw, the forces who made the work's celebrated recording. The L.A. Opera revival is a new production that has been making the rounds at Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, Detroit Opera and, last fall, New York's Metropolitan Opera. It's the work of Brazilian choreographer Deborah Colker, best known for creating the Cirque du Soleil touring show 'Ovo.' Colker treats 'Ainadamar' as another drama spectacle with dazzling imagery. The flamenco dancing, choreographed by Antonio Najarro, is exciting and the dancing terrific. Resplendent video projections by Tal Rosner appear on beaded curtains that surround a circular space in the middle of the stage where most of the action takes place. But all of this avoids the challenges of a magical realism where questions about the purpose of poetry, theater, political resistance, life and legacy are answerable only by dying. Golijov's score is also unanswerable, full of electronic effects, where the sound of gunshots beat out intricate dance rhythms. The three main characters are played by women: Margarita (Ana María Martínez), Nuria (Vanessa Becerra) and Lorca (Daniela Mack). All prove believable and their trio at the end is exquisite, even if with amplification and the dramatic limitations of the production they have limited presence. Alfredo Tejada makes a startling company debut as a ferociously frightening Ramón Ruiz Alonso, who arrests Lorca. The company's resident conductor, Lina González-Granados, thrives on forcefully emphasized dance rhythms. Less prominent were the opera's wondrous lyric moments or a sense of Golijov's inventive, multifaceted musical sources. Where the company makes up for that, though, is in its series of informative podcasts and program notes adding whatever context is lost in the staging. Like Golijov (and like Leonard Bernstein and Mahler), Wainwright is at heart a songwriter, and he had the advantage of Gershon conveying the luxuriant lyricism in 'Dream Requiem,' a work that at its heart also is operatic. He harks back to Verdi and the late 19th century but with his own unexpected turns of phrase. Like Golijov in 'Ainadamar,' Wainwright starts very quietly and slow-builds his musical architecture out of an array of materials and colors. He goes in for big effects, lots of percussion, huge climaxes and sweet melodies of which you can never, if so inclined, get enough. Wainwright bangs out the 'Dies Irae' (Day of Wrath) as almost all composers do in requiem masses, but he can be restrained where others tend to be loud and enthusiastic (Sanctus) and visa versa. He shows no mercy for the solo soprano part, but Redpath astounded as she scaled the heights. In the end, Wainwright has created a latter-day bardo, the spiritual journey that follows death. The interruptions from Byron's poem brought chills in Fonda's mesmerizing reading, as the text follows the breakdown of humanity in the aftermath of environmental catastrophe. She made it feel like a requiem warning for us all. Once is not enough for 'Dream Requiem.' A recording of the premiere in Paris last year has been released, but it doesn't hold a candle to the live performance by the Master Chorale in Disney. 'Dream Requiem' will be presented by several co-commissioners in Europe, as well as for the Royal Ballet in London. Who will dare to dream big and be the first to stage 'Dream Requiem' as a double bill with 'Ainadamar'?
