TOO MANY SOPRANOS

ndeed! So “kitsch” and cute sopranos…

At the ET, on the 23-25 July was presented to the audience two short operas buffa, put on stage by Mark Ross Clark, sung by young lyrical singers.

The first one, composed by Salieri, is named ‘Prima la Musica, Poi la parole’… and has been sung in Italian: it tells the story of a maestro who has to write an opera in four days – a big challenge for him. He seems to have no more inspiration and is mocked by his friend the poet… The scenes between the poet and the maestro are very funny, especially the acting manner of the poet – in a very clown approach. But the other overacts too much the pain of his character in his difficulties to renew his music: even in an Opera Buff style, we can exaggerate the acting, sometimes we have to do it in a more inner fashion.For example, the one who plays the servant, she was really excellent and accurately comic in her imitation of the soprano role, playing different characters from the old one to the youngest or the dying woman… Her voice, more mezzo than soprano, is very pleasant to listen to. As for the soprano, she is fine in her singing and her kidding on the poet is very joyful…

So, even one can notice a lack of acting in the singing of the male characters in the arias or some duets, and be deceived by the stage design imitating a 18th traditional interior – what a pity!–, the singing was high-quality: above all, they truly had a good diction: one could understand all of the words they were singing, something very exceptional in Opera… One could also notice that the pianoforte player had soft and superb playing touch, her music accompanied, like in Mozart or Rossini operas, the recitatives of the singers with cleverness…

The second one, ‘Too Many sopranos’ composed by Edwin Penhorwood, premiered in 2000 – that gave the name to the performance-, mixed opera buff, gospel, music hall and 50-60’s like American comedy…

It tells the story of four dead sopranos. Saint Peter, followed by angel Gabriel, has a mission: make them being less selfish and more open heart, humble, if they wish to go to heaven… As Divas, they firstly refuse to audition but Saint Peter could not choose between them: they have so different beautiful voices from a more mezzo type, Dame Doleful, to a very leggier Soprano, Miss Titmouss, passing by a more gospel voice, Madam Pompous, and a soprano with large tessitura, Jeanette, incarnate by the brilliant and so exquisite Ching Yi Chen, a very promising young soprano. So, he proposes them to go to Hell and gives them some mission for helping the poor man trapped in Hell, poor lost souls, prisoners of the Devil. This initiating trip is the occasion for them to show the kindness lying inside of their selves, meeting various types of male characters – bad men or just ‘has been’ art director obsessed by the photography esthetic of life scenes. Jeanette, the youngest, finds love with a virile man, romantic in his talks, called Nelson Deadly. But as the price for their going to heaven is to sacrifice one of them, the charming, good hearted Jeanette proposes herself…. Until thanks to a go(o)d messenger they are all allowed to go to heaven if they do not sing opera again….

The acting of the four sopranos – very good – shows different kind of divas, from the depressed one specialized in drama to the very young one singing like a bird –one can imagine her in Verdi Operas with her very high voice-, passing by a more warrior one, used to sing some Wagner characters… With very extravagant costumes that suit well to each characters; a long red dress for Dame Doleful, war like costume for Madame Pompous, a very little fan and aerial white dress for Miss Titmous and a very 20’s like one for Jeannette wearing beautiful diamond earrings in a very Marilyn Monroe style, revealing the genuine seduction of the young actress. She is so shinny in her acting and singing…

The stage direction including some very modern elements like the allusion to the Fifa world cup –for example, the costume of Gabriel, and his acting, like a soccer player, or when St Peter, imitating with joy the Christian goal of Heaven, gives him a red carton, scenes that make really laugh the audience- makes fun of any comical situation with a second level humor. So, even some scenes are very first degree like or too kitsch –especially the color of the stage design, in a baroque style and the screenings so renaissance- the art direction of the sopranos is interesting, especially in the singing fight part. The final scene where they all dance in a very variety style, like in bad music hall comedy, is very ironical, like if the art director wanted to mock both Opera Seria (with their unhappy ending) and modern comedy (especially, with their so bad choreography)…

To really appreciate the show, we have to take it in a second degree, not in the very first degree and so Taiwanese like jokes – like the character of Gabriel too much overplayed-, because the singing is really good and all the singers seemed to really have great fun in performing. We can applause the performance of Miss CHEN and the pianist touch, impressive… A mere grotesque divertimiento that can be bad considered by the opera purists or the tenants of the good taste. DVDM