Inner Radiance, Merry Wives and the Power of Forgiveness in SFO's
Summer Operas
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by Desirée Mays
rive north of Santa Fe, head over the hill, watch for double rainbows in the
Sangres and, on your left, the improbable sight of an opera house. Fifty-two
years ago, founder John Crosby could not have imagined the unique theater that
now stands tall in the Tesuque hills attracting people from all four corners of
the Earth. Crosby's long tenure has been carried on nobly by Richard Gaddes,
who on September 30 will hand the reins over to Charles MacKay. Having grown up
in Santa Fe and played in the Santa Fe Opera (SFO) orchestra as a young man,
MacKay now returns to lead this prestigious organization as its general
director. This summer the company also welcomes Edo de Waart, a conductor of
immense stature in the music world, as its music director.
Maestro de Waart will conduct Benjamin Britten's opera Billy Budd, a deeply touching work in which justice, the law and moral right come into
direct conflict. The story, set in 1797 on a British man-o'-war, the HMS Indomitable, was composed by Britten in the 1940s. Based on Herman Melville's book of the
same title, the opera revolves around the "beauty, handsomeness and goodness"
of a young seaman who has been impressed, or forced to serve on the warship.
Billy is happy with his lot, and the men, officers and sailors alike quickly
take a liking to the boy, whose "inner radiance" (the composer's words) shines
on all. Only John Claggart, the evil master-at-arms, takes an intense dislike
to Billy and decides, for his own dark reasons, to destroy him. Claggart is
balanced by Captain Edward Fairfax Vere, a leader and an educated man, known as
"Starry Vere" by his crew. Vere believes in Billy's innocence when Claggart
denounces him.
Billy, whose only flaw is a stutter, strikes out at Claggart when he is unjustly
accused of mutiny, and the chance blow kills him. The court martial, convened
by the captain, has no choice but to find Billy guilty of striking and killing
a superior officer: he must hang. He goes to his death saying "God bless Starry
Vere."
Dramatically, this opera is a tour de force for the three leads. New Zealander
baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes sings Billy, William Burden sings Captain Vere, and
Peter Rose sings Claggart. Paul Curran, who directed SFO's outstanding Peter Grimes in 2005, stages the work.
Adriana Mater takes place in war-torn Eastern Europe in our time. Finnish composer Kaija
Saariaho, who brought us L'Amour de loin in 2002, created this opera in collaboration with librettist Amin Malouf. The
cast comprises only four characters: Adriana, a young girl from the village;
Tsargo, the soldier who rapes her; Yonas, their son; and Refka, Adriana's
sister.
The opera opens with the young Adriana rejecting the advances of the drunken
Tsargo; Refka reprimands her for even talking to him. Sometime later war
overtakes the village, and Tsargo, now the local warlord, insists that Adriana
let him into her house so he can look for enemy soldiers from her roof. She
bars the door until, losing his temper, he forces his way in and rapes her as
the curtain falls and the first act ends.
From here on the story is underscored by Adriana's anguished question "Will my
son be Cain or Abel?" Will her child inherit Tsargo's blood or hers? Act 2 is
set 17 years later, when her son, Yonas, believing that his father died trying
to protect him and his mother, finds out the truth and angrily confronts
Adriana. He is determined to kill "the monster." When Tsargo returns to the
village, Adriana knows that her darkest fears are about to be realized, one way
or another. Yonas tracks down Tsargo, now an old man, who stands facing
upstage. When Yonas demands he turn to face him, the boy sees that Tsargo is
blind. Unable to strike, Yonas backs away. In the final scene he begs Adriana's
forgiveness for not avenging her, but her words indicate she is at peace: "We
are not avenged, Yonas, but we are saved."
Musically, Saariaho begins the opera in a chaotic place, then "transforms it
into a world of luminous, shifting color and emotional depth, mirroring the
human experience" (as cited in the 2008 Composer of the Year Award granted to
the composer by Musical America).
Radamisto is not about war, but rather about pillage — about a man bent on sacking a city in order to capture and carry off his
rival's wife. This is Handel at his baroque best. Once again, the piece is set
in Eastern Europe around AD 51. SFO pulls out all the stops for this opera in
terms of visual production, costumes and scenery. The world's leading
countertenor, David Daniels, sings Radamisto.
The story is complex: Radamisto is loved by his wife, Zenobia, who is desired by
the tyrant Tiridate. Polissena, Tiridate's faithful wife and Radamisto's
sister, sings first of her unhappiness as a rejected wife and then of her
anger. So the opera involves two faithful wives who struggle to remain true to
the men they love — who happen to be their husbands. It all ends happily, of course; Handel rarely
leaves one in a saddened state. Radamisto is scored for a stream of da capo arias, in which the repeat sections are
embellished with all kinds of runs, trills and vocal acrobatics. The characters
sing about what they are feeling, giving wonderful insights into their emotions
by way of music; this is a major feature of the baroque style.
Verdi's Falstaff and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro kick off the season with opening weekend festivities and tailgate parties on
June 27 and 28. The popular Marriage of Figaro tells of not one but three marriages: those of Figaro and Susanna, the Count and
Countess Almaviva, and Marcellina and Dr. Bartolo. Figaro and Susanna, servants
of the count, are dependent on his good will in order to get married. Trouble
is, the count fancies Susanna and blackmails her: either she gives in to him or
he will withhold his permission for her marriage. Susanna, in the spirit of the
time, holds out and confides her dilemma to her mistress, the countess.
smoments, a lesson about the overwhelming power of forgiveness.
Falstaff is based on Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor. This was Giuseppe Verdi's final opera, his farewell to the art form he had
shaped and served so well. In this last great work, he allows himself — and us — a little fun, in music that is captivating and exhilarating.
Falstaff, a rotund knight in the time of Elizabeth I, is short of funds, so he
sends identical love letters to two wives requesting a tryst with Mistresses
Ford and Page — hoping to get his hands on their husbands' purses. The "merry wives" compare
notes and decide to teach Falstaff a lesson. This leads to situations of broad
comedy in lively ensembles. The wives set Falstaff up, appear to go along with
him, and then, in the end, make a fool of him. Falstaff learns the lesson, and
the opera ends with a wonderful fugue, "Tutto nel mondo è burla" ("The world's but a joke and man is born a clown, but he laughs best who
sees to it that the last laugh is his"). Santa Fe will present two bass
baritones as Falstaff: the French Laurent Naori in July and the British Anthony
Michaels-Moore in August, both superb actor/singers.
SFO's season promises, once again, to be exciting, with outstanding singers in a
wide variety of operatic styles. Prior to performances, one can dine alfresco
in the opera grounds at the newly refurbished Cantina, where, for half a
century, artists, production teams and stage crews have met, mingled and
discussed opera during rehearsal weeks. At night, the space is transformed into
a lovely setting for dinner for operagoers. So, join us and enjoy the music, singing and spectacle of the Santa Fe Opera
this summer.
!
Desirée Mays speaks nightly at the Preview Buffets at the Opera's Cantina. Her book, Opera Unveiled 2008, the 10th in the series, provides an introduction to the operas and is
available at the SFO Opera Shop and leading bookstores, or by calling (505)
466-8222. For further details and cast lists, go to www.santafeopera.org or
call the box office (505) 986-5900 for opera and buffet tickets. The season
runs from 27 June to 23 August.
