Impressions of the Central City Opera

By MtnEarStaff | on August 03, 2023

Dear Editor,

I just felt like taking my sharpened goose quill in hand and dipping into my pot of elderberry ink to write and share with your readers my impressions of the 2023 Central City Opera season. Basically, I’d have to say that it’s a hoot.

The dress rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet was rather odd as Ricardo Garcia, playing Romeo, didn’t sing and his being on stage as a mime was somewhat less than successful. There are rumors aplenty regarding the wherefores (I just had to work that word in) of that failure to sing but an unfortunate dietary choice appears most possible (kiwi skin constricting his larynx perhaps?).

Not much remains to opera without singing, and Garcia’s acting skills are not substantial. However, the gentleman who stood at stage left and sang the part (whose name is Bergsvein Toverud), was terrific in every way and probably should have simply replaced the mute Garcia onstage. The orchestra was simply perfect in every note, the other performers exceptional, with special praise for Juliet, played by Madison Leonard whose gifts are truly great. The magnificent structure (built by the Italians and Irish of Central City, NOT ‘the Cornish’ as the Klan insists. Re-writing history didn’t begin with Rick DeSantis), provided the perfect surround to illustrate her accomplishments.

I should also add a few words about the other performers. Each and every one is stellar and I regret being unable to detail them all individually, lest this missive become a book. Just as we cannot appreciate the beauty of the celestial sphere in daytime when the sun is shining, so too are these exceptionally talented and hard-working individuals hidden from our view. They are not outshone, but rather we are limited in our ability to perceive.

Wei Wu as Frere Laurent is most impressive. When he first sings, the audience is visibly stunned by the depth and quality of his voice. One can hardly believe it and the collective body language of the house indicates so. Amazing is a paltry word to describe it.

When I attended a second performance Garcia did sing and he was perfectly adequate but not superior to Toverud (who goes by ‘Berg’), in my opinion. Several others who had attended both performances agreed with me but Leslie C., a lifelong opera buff, felt differently and told me she thought Garcia was “exceptional”. Chacun a son gout, as they say.

I also got to enjoy a third performance of R+J that was performed entirely by the young artists and understudies. They were FANTASTIC. Sarah Rachel Bacani’s Juliet was equal to Leonard’s in every respect and to judge by Leonard’s generous response from her place in the audience, she was in full agreement. ‘Berg’ outshone Garcia’s Romeo in every particular, both vocal and physical, bringing the spirited and emotional qualities that were lacking.

Young people in love are NOT mechanical and perfunctory in speech nor behavior, as was Garcia. Bacani and Berg conveyed a much more convincing ‘young lovers’ scenario. The combination of their voices in song is sublime. Several of the principal artists were in the audience and to judge by their applause and verbal responses (calls of ‘Berg’) were in agreement with my opinion. Let’s try to remember that everybody already knows the story, the performance is entirely about the presentation, and ‘it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing’. Oliver Poveda-Zavala performed the Frere Laurent role admirably, especially considering the expectations established previously. Bravo!

So, on to Otello and other bravura performance. Since this has been reviewed in The Mountain-Ear by a vastly more competent and knowledgeable writer than myself I shall only mention that Dylan Schlang has a solo that he renders magnificently. We’ll be hearing more from this fellow in years to come.

Kiss Me Kate has also been better reviewed than I could so I confine my remarks to simply stating that the overall performance is genuinely top-notch. The rendition of “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” is performed by Isaiah Feken and Adelmo Guidarelli. They absolutely stole the show. Their efforts are far and away the single best version of that number that I have ever witnessed. They bring verve, style, understated yet effective stagecraft, and superb singing to win the audience completely. Not an easy thing to do either as the entire show is truly world class and well worth anybody’s time to see.

I hope this letter is of interest and those who missed this year’s season may want to correct that error next year. The house has hardly been full and we would all much lament losing such a jewel in our midst as Central City Opera.

Sincerely,

John KittredgeRussell Gulch