Modern Baroque OperaThe Gardenby Baldessare Galluppi Libretto by Carlo Goldoni Adaptation by Ernanno Wolf-Ferrari Translated by Kate HutchinsonDates: 30 September - 4 October 2003 Venue: Vancouver East Cultural Centre Reviewer: Elizabeth Paterson |
Director Kate Hutchinson Music director Marguerite Witvoet Designer Andrea Hiestand Lighting designer Itai Erdal
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Modern Baroque Opera has put its hand into the lucky dip of opera buffa and pulled out a plum in The Garden, a pruned version of the 18th century opera Il filosofo du Campagna (The Country Sage) In the mid 1700s, Galuppi, one of the most successful composers in Venice, was introduced to Carlo Goldoni and between them they invented opera buffa and brought comedy into the opera house. Il Filosofo di Campagna, their greatest hit, was revised by Ernanno Wolf-Ferrari and now Kate Hutchinson has made a new translation of the recitatives into clever thyming couplets and orchestrated the work for harpsichord and string quartet. The plot is standard
commedia del´arte fare - an arranged marriage threatens to
thwart true love between the beautiful daughter and the aristo next door.
The clever lower classes arrange a happy ending for all except cantankerous
old dad. The need for deceipt, deception and fast talk engenders
lots of comic action. |
| As the opera wore on this device and other bits of funny business, wore out a little, but only enough to blur the pleasure of the evening. Phoebe MacRae was deliciously funny as the quick-witted servant Lesbina. Her voice is true and clear and her comic timing impeccable. Camille Hesketh, Eugenia, indulged gently in romantic pathos. Shaun Phillips as Rinaldo, the noble young lover, was priceless, delicately placing lacy handkerchieves on the ground to keep his feet clean of rural contamination. Lawrence Cotton also sang and acted well. Baritone Jeffrey Carl as Nardo the wealthy farmer sang with controlled subtlety matched with a warm and beautiful tone - a highlight of the evening. The
set in this production is an equal player in the drama. A rampant bean stalk frames
the acting area and provides giant leaves for writing whole stanzas of sur-titles.
Like the work it is larger than life and full of gesture. However, the stage itself
is a plot of real garden earth, a realistic touch in this baroque and artificial
world. You might say it grounds the production. The
Garden runs at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre from 30 September to 4 October
at 8:00 o'clock. ©
2003, Elizabeth Paterson |