The Fairy Queen: The Toronto Masque Theatre at the Elora Festival
by Brian Hay
The performance of the music was stellar. The orchestra (all thirteen of them) gave the score a reading that was inspired and impassioned. Under Larry Beckwith they played with feeling but never fell into sentimentality. The passages for strings only were often especially moving. Beckwith is an expressive player who brings great joy to his work. That definitely carries over to the musicians working with him. The singing of the Elora Festival Singers was model of precision and restraint. Several of the singers sang solo parts and did so beautifully. Their singing of the choral passages was often sublime.
The soloists were (mostly) exemplary. Bass-baritone Daniel Lichti has a voice that seems coated with pure silk. He sang with gusto and restraint as the material demanded. Soprano Suzie LeBlanc handled the soaring coloratura passages with ease. Lawrence Wiliford delivered a performance that was remarkable. Whether he was singing to draw laughs or deep emotion wasn’t a factor; he did both equally well.
Wiliford struggled in lowest part of his range though (as did Suzie LeBlanc). I'm guessing, but much of (Henry) Purcell's music seems to be written more for effect than various types of voices. Perhaps he felt it was up to singers to cope with what he gave them. Whatever the case they often have their work cut out for them. Music for a bass-baritone has a lot of high notes (to say nothing of the really low ones). Tenors get to go really low. Sopranos get to test their mezzo range. Altos and mezzos their voices stretched both ways. Lawrence Wiliford was uniformly excellent but one segment sounded as if he'd forced his voice to flatline. Suzie LeBlanc had moments where she failed to project her voice almost entirely. Daniel Lichti did well throughout but there were moments when even he seemed challenged.
The acting and stage direction was phenomenal. Derek Boyes, Arlene Mazerolle, and Colin Fox kept things loose while staying faithful to the spirit of the material. There were few props and no backdrops but Director (probably Derek Boyes) put together a staging that involved everyone on the stage in the action. Choreographer and Dancer Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière did a magnificent job of controlling the action on the stage. Everything that happened was the result of extremely subtle signals from her. Her dance segments were bewitching.
The production had an abundance of highlights. Suzie LeBlanc and the Festival Singers gave a heart-rending performance of 'If Love's Sweet Passion' and the chorus that follows it. Lawrence Wiliford and Daniel Lichti brought the house to stitches of laughter with their duet near the end of the third act. Arlene Mazerolle, Derek Boyes and Noel Edison had the audience roaring with the episode at 'the wall'. (Even the singers and the members of the orchestra were laughing out loud while that played out.) Suzie LeBlanc, with accompaniment from Larry Beckwith (and if memory serves, Cellist Mary-Katherine Finch, Bassoonist Nadina Mackie Jackson, Lute player Terry McKenna and Harpsichord player Boris Medicky) opened the vocal segment of the fourth act with work that was indescribably tender. These people played this material with such grace that anyone with a heart couldn’t help but be moved. Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière's 'Dance for the Fairies' was a beguiling jewel.
This list could go on and on. There isn't enough that can be said about this production. It was brilliant from start to finish.
The Toronto Masque Theatre’s Production of The Fairy Queen was performed at the Elora Festival in the Gambrel Barn on Sunday June 26, 2009. The reviews covers that performance.
This line acts as a spacer.
Choreographer Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière
Photo from Toronto Masque Theatre Site
No Credit Available
Toronto Masque Theatre:
Official Site
norules-nolights.com
