Opera Atelier

Sunday October 31, 2010

Acis and Galatea: Opera Atelier

Sublime Performance

by Brian Hay

The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra played this one as if they they were engulfed in a rapturous love affair. Wave after wave of deep sensuality washed over the theatre each time a new passage materialized. They were having fun. It was easy to see how much Conductor David Fallis was enjoying himself. He was beaming each time he looked up at the choir.

The number of players they used was scaled down to twenty. There were no violas. (According to musicologist John Butt that may have been the case in the original performance). The lack of that intermediary between the violins and cellos along with the reduced number of players altered the balance in the sound in a way that placed more emphasis on the lovely wind parts. Some of them, such as the oboe part in 'Consider Fond Shepherd', were absolutely ravishing.

The singers were superb. The part of 'Polyphemus' was staged and performed with tongue firmly in cheek. João Fernandes played the role with a mix of exaggerated gestures that a measure of restraint prevented from going over the top. His bass voice was silky and powerful, capable of great (if mock) tenderness in one breath, and the fury of a storm in the next. In his hands the aria 'O Ruddier than the Cherry' was a stroke of comic brilliance. Mireille Asselin was a lovely 'Galatea'. Her light but powerful soprano voice suited the grace with which she played the character perfectly. Her work, especially near the end of the opera when the character's music resounds with immense grief, was fabulous. 'Her delivery of 'Heart the Soft Delight' was sublime.

Thomas Macleay and Lawrence Wiliford gave stellar performances. Macleay gave 'Acis' a nature as gentle as that of a lamb with the passion and fearlessness of a deity. His tenor voice has the lightness and the raw power to portray both facets beautifully. His rendition of 'Love Sounds the Alarm' was magnificent. Tenor Lawrence Wiliford who (I think) is one of the finest singing actors around keeps getting better and better. His portrayal of the mischievous (and thoroughly untrustworthy) 'Damon' was fabulous. He virtually ran away with any scene he was part of. His performance of the aria 'Would You Gain the Tender Creature' was hilarious. His rendition of 'Consider Fond Shepherd' was heart-rending. Music has its moments when it's hard to imagine anything being better. That was one of them.

The singing of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir was lovely. They interacted with the drama as smoothly as could be imagined. Placing them above the audience (in the Luxury Boxes on the east side actually) enhanced the effect of having their voices descend from the heavens nicely.

The appearance of the set and costumes was ethereal. Gerard Gauci came up with a look that created a magical world for the story to unfold in. The costumes of Acis and Polyphemus provided contrast. Acis costume was representative of his ties to both the earth and Galatea, the nymph of Arcadia. Polyphemus' look was that of a scarred freebooter. It was purely earthen and implied the coarseness of his nature. The lighting, by Kevin Fraser, made the set shimmer with the magic of the piece. The effect he and Gauci created for the pivotal scene near the end of the opera was stunning. The dance sequences created by Jeanette Lejeunesse Zingg underscored the action and the moods of the characters beautifully. She had the dancers flowing in and around the singers in a way that made it seems as if the sea was indeed, flowing around them. Stage Manager Kate Porter kept what could have been a tangled web flowing immaculately.

Musically, and in its execution, it's hard to imagine a production being more satisfying than what Director Marshall Pynkoski created with this one.

Acis and Galatea runs at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Ontario from Saturday October 30, 2010 through to Sunday November 7, 2010. This review covers the performance that took place on Saturday October 30, 2010.

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