New York City is blessed with many classical music groups, but only a handful present full productions of operas. Armed with great imagination and dedication, the Amore Opera Company and the Capital Heights Lyric Opera are currently presenting lively seasons with productions staged on the cheap, but rich in technique and theatricality.
The Amore Opera is a direct descendant of the beloved Amato Opera which operated in a tiny theater on the Bowery. Their recent production of Puccini’s “La Boheme”—based on the one staged by Anthony Amato—had charm, warmth and the benefit of intimacy. Richard Owen ably conducted a woodwind-heavy chamber ensemble that made up in energy and slightly oddball timbres for lack of strings and ensemble strength. Directed by Nathan Hull, the talented young cast sang and acted a “Boheme” that kept the romantically tragic story believable and poignant. The singing never went below a proficient and professional level, but the Rodolfo of Adam Russell, the Mimi of Sabrina Palladino, the Marcello of Charles Sanford and the Musetta of Iris Karlin were particularly touching in the Act III quartet. The scenery was colorful and imaginative and perfectly suited to the occasion. The Connelly space lends a proper proscenium feel to the goings-on yet is small enough to catch every nuance of the performances and staging. There was something sweet about this immediacy and the commitment of the Amore Opera Company to the traditions of the Amato and great opera in general.
The Capital Heights Lyric Opera on the other hands doesn’t appear to have a home base, but nonetheless managed to stage a delightful production of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” at the Nimoy Thalia Theater of the Symphony Space up on 95th St. & Broadway. Shoestring economics dictated a streamlined staging that included a tiny orchestra of just five string players plus the piano playing of the troupe’s Music Director, Tristan Cano under the conductor Jeff Bradbury. The all-male chorus also numbered five. But, the principal characters were there is full force and full voice to animate Rossini’s charmingly light version of the Cinderella story. The lovely mezzo-soprano Frances Devine sang the lead character of Angelina with warmth and agilility and her romantic partner in the story, Don Ramiro, was sung by tenor Gregory Zavracky who had a captivating awkwardness in his acting and singing that was in direct contrast to the absolutely over-the-top acting and singing by the rest of this colorful cast. Richard Michael Cassell, a bass-baritone, was flamboyantly funny as the father Don Magnifico. The two ugly stepsisters of Evelyn Thatcher (soprano/Clorinda) & Bryn Jimenez (soprano/Tisbe) went slightly overboard in their clumsy sexy strumpet impersonations. The rest of the cast was rounded out by the two baritones, Daniel Snodgrass, the colorful Valet to the Prince and Carlos Monzon the level-headed Alidoro, mentor to the Prince. There were some puzzlingly awkward elements to the staging, most particularly the use of the small male chorus who, dressed in anachronistically casual modern clothes, were clumsily marched on and off the stage to do their occasional thing. But, even with a thinly populated orchestra and some slightly amateurish over-acting, the Capitol Heights Lyric Opera produced a spirited and entertaining evening of this Rossini charmer.
It would be a good idea to keep track of these to opera troupes and support them in their efforts to give us alternatives to the giant opera companies. Sometimes good things do come in small, smartly appointed packages!
For More Information about upcoming events:
THE AMORE OPERA COMPANY – http://www.amoreopera.org
THE CAPITOL HEIGHTS LYRICA OPERA – http://www.capitalheightslyricopera.com