We had a wonderful performance of The Opera Show last night. Here is the Buffalo News review:
http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/928603.html
This one was a bit of a gamble - it was not something that has really been done before as it was the North American premiere of this show. But, we at the Center were excited for the possibility of bringing a show to Buffalo of well-loved opera songs arranged into a spectacular concert.
The show opened with a circus-like atmosphere, where a handful of colorful, clownish characters appeared out of a small bright tent. Like the soundtrack to a movie, familiar opera songs gave a mood to the loose plot that mimicked the grandiose, over-the-top, lush scenery and costuming of classic operas. Though the theme seemed borrowed from by-gone corsetted and wigged eras, the style and swagger was distinctly contemporary, ala Lady Gaga or Paris fashion week. A true blending of genres, the opera songs were interluded with sounds of rain or drum beats, and sometimes humorously treated with interruptions, or funny facial expressions.
The voices were really wonderful, and the audience responded with a cheer for the energized "O Sole Mio."
Throughout the show, the intention seems to be to use colorful lighting, stage effects, projection, loose plot line, and dance to spotlight and enhance the live performance of these really beautiful songs. Taken together, the entire show is like a greatest-hits album, and gave me, as someone opera-curious, a chance to sample and consider what styles to which I best respond.
The second act was strikingly visually different - set in the 1930s or 40s, with the songs playing out as they would on a victrola, a radio, and eventually, a television set, complete with snaps, pops and scratches. As if enhancing the pathos of wartime, a family gathering, and the interactions among the characters, the second act played out like a European art film. The highlight of the second act was the woman "home alone," a Modern dance choreographed to "Ebben! Ne Andro Lontana" from LA WALLY. She moved as if she suffered, heartbroken, draped herself over the floor and furniture.
The third act really changes gears to a much more contemporary collection of songs - including "Nights in White Satin, an electric guitar and vocalist duet of Bach's G Minor Partita, and a dance-beat rendition of Mozart's Queen of the Night. While the music quality continued to be top notch, I did not feel that the dance movement interpretation paired with each song was as successful as the first two acts. The company earned a standing ovation after a triumphant "Nessun Dorma," and ended almost as an encore with the entire cast of singers, dancers, and musicians with "Pearl Fishers Duet," a full and celebratory song that produces a wall of sound and harmonies.
If you can, I'd encourage anyone opera-curious to check out any of the future dates on the tour of this spectacular production. If you were there, MyBuffalo.com photographers may have captured your photo - check them out: http://www.mybuffalo.com/_The-OPERA-Show/photo/7407941/85283.html?setId=50683
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