Netherlands’ Nationale Reisopera — L’opera seria
Dear friends and readers,
Although Kim Witman’s crew has been vigilant to prevent photos of the production this summer of Florian Leopold Gassman’s mid-18th century parody of the conventions of an opera subgenre since the 20th century dubbed “serious opera” from reaching on-line sites, I thought I’d recommend seeing almost any version of this opera anyway. (It’s hard to convey in a review the experience of a production or film without a few varied pictures.) If her superbly inventive, beautifully sung, and richly amusingly staged L’Opera Seria is re-mounted anywhere rush out. The opera has been revived over the past couple of years in Europe (she watched a pirated one from Berlin before deciding), and Witman hopes to see more revivals than hers, but also hers again.
There have not been many reviews, but these have praised the production lavishly (Pat Hilary Stroh, Opera Marseille). In the pre-show talk Witman talked of how hard it had been to get the orchestration of the opera, and that the opera demands virtuouso singers with a varied range unusual for opera companies. These are formidable obstacles in mounting it. She also said its title misleads us: in fact the term “opera seria” for pre-Mozartian serious opera was a 20th century critical invention. She worked to universalize at the same time as using the allegorical roles to refer to a living directors (and other specific individuals in the opera world). Even in this updated version (modern references are substituted for contemporary ones, modern costumes and modern mores in pantomimes), she has provided an enjoyable education in 18th century dramaturgies, opera assumptions and history (which comes into it), gentle but ceaseless satire on the commercialization of art (this then an old trope).
Act I shows everyone discussing, deciding to do, planning the production, enunciating ideals and norms, and ego assertion; Act II the rehearsals
Jonas Hacker, Alasdair Kent, Clarissa Lyons, Scott Suchman
and Act III a portion of the enacted sung opera. The central act is a marvelous funny rendition of 18th century theatrical, marital, sex, and writing/rehearsing/art norms. They were bold in their use of imagery: Alexandra Flood as Porporina had to sing absurd lines about dolphins and fish battling and fornicating, and the stage business included two actor-singers playing stage hands donning dolphin outfits at their stomach and back, lending a good deal of salaciousness to the moment. Act I was not quite as funny to a 21st century audience as it could have been (it was too staid), and Act III is in danger of boring the audience as it’s just this endless hieratic ending. The first was offset by concentrating on how each participant from ballet master to costume designer was in the throes of protecting their property. For the last some of the actor-singers were in the audience to shout boo, and cheer them on, make startling remarks, and the costumes were just so outrageous, and so many, that the audience was not permitted to lose itself elsewhere. Izzy thought the opera needed the intimate atmosphere of the house for us to get the nuanced but swiftly moving depictions of each of the principals.
A trailer on-site
This was our only time at the Barns for an Opera at Wolf Trap this summer, but it was well worth the drive and money. The other two productions were La Boheme (at the Filene Center). a popular warhorse, concerts by the Filene artists, and Britten’s Rape of Lucrezia. The reviews of the other two productions and the concerts have been highly favorable — and seem not to be just hype. I’m told the story of Lucretia is thought to “put people off,” be “too gloomy,” what they would rather forget, but I have seen it at Castleton Festival and know Britten’s take is deeply humane and feminist. The performance brochure included a perceptive, semi-angry essay by Germaine Greer on “the Necessity Narrative of Evil” (about the nature of rape testimony and the necessity to tell).
Ellen
Reveries Under the Sign of Austen, Two 
Opera seria is a rare genre today. Originally it was produced from 1710 to 1770 and was in contrast to opera buffa, comic operas. Subsequently it was fell into disfavour, so even a parody is an experience not to be missed. Izzy is right, often these old operas are very dependent on setting. Another problem for producers is finding sufficient numbers of virtuoso singers, since Mozart and opera seria needs refined singers of a different style to the Verdi/Puccini type of opera singer. It sounds like an evening to cherish in the memory.
Isn’t one of Mozart’s operas opera seria? La clemenza di Tito? I agree these are rarely done, but some of the famous opera houses do them every once in a while, especially Handel’s. At any rate the Met HD series has had a number of these over the years.
It was great fun at times: the second act was hilarious because of the stage business. Perhaps in the era itself the deliberately ludicrous words were also used for hilarious stage business.
We were so enthused that I’ve bought tickets for the two of us to see Stravinsky’s Firebird at the Filene Center on Saturday evening. Wolf Trap has 2 theaters. In one place the huge amitheater with a roof called the Filene Center where most of the concerts are done. There’s a great lawn surrounding it where tickets are much cheaper as in the back parts you can’t see the stage and there is no protection from rain. The Barns is a small building (well not that small) a iittle way off: good for intimate operas, single singer concerts; there the operas are mostly during the day and this Opera seria was between 3 and 6; the Filene operates only at night so we see Firebird starting 7:30 pm.