Love triangle Love triangle (February 14, 2003)

West Bay presents Verdi's 'A Masked Ball'

by Tim Seyfert

T he love triangle plot may be familiar territory in the realm of tragic opera, but with its production of Giuseppe Verdi's "A Masked Ball," West Bay Opera delves deeper into the classic theme of forbidden passion.

Considered one of Verdi's richest scores and swiftest operas, "A Masked Ball" is set in an unnamed European city and depicts the taboo passions of three characters: King Riccardo, Amelia and Renato. Riccardo and Amelia are in love, even though Amelia is married to Renato, who also happens to be Riccardo's secretary and best friend. Things get kicked into gear when a fortune-teller predicts the death of Riccardo at the hand of Renato, which, at first, seems impossible and absurd to all. But when Renato discovers the identity of his wife's secret admirer, he explodes with vengeance and joins a band of conspirators seeking Riccardo's death.

"A Masked Ball" opens tonight at the Lucie Stern Theatre and runs through Feb. 23.

Though the love triangle is a common enough theme, "A Masked Ball" by no means follows the conventional tragedy formula. Instead of having Riccardo and Amelia succumb to their urges and suffer a Shakespearean ending, the story deals with the two lovers succeeding in overcoming their desires. Riccardo doesn't want to love Amelia for the sake of his best friend and kingdom; Amelia doesn't want to love Riccardo because she's actually happily married, and later, Renato battles his feelings of rage because he doesn't want to kill his best friend.

"This is a piece about conquering inner passions for the sake of what's right and the senses of freedom and peace one gets by doing that," director David Ostwald said. "There are a lot of relevant lessons in this story."

The opera's main lesson, according to Ostwald, is forgiveness.

"The message is very clear," Ostwald said. "Evil doesn't right evil. It takes more strength to stop hate than to keep it going with more wrong, and this piece makes that very clear."

Unlike many of its more traditional counterparts, "A Masked Ball" hits its mark right from the get-go. With most large-scale operas stretching out over three hours, Verdi gets his point across in just over two. Besides its tight timeframe, it's Verdi's vividly descriptive score that allows even non-opera buffs to easily digest the show's moving message and fascinating characters, according to music director Alexander Katsman.

"Verdi's music is so descriptive that it almost speaks for itself," Katsman said. "He not only knew how to use music to move the story forward, but also to deeply explore the characters, making them multi-dimensional."

In fact, one scene in the first act devotes an entire page of music to describing the ambience of the fortune-teller's cave, Katsman said.

But like any great opera, its the show's talented performers that ultimately get the audience's heartstrings strumming. With two alternating casts, the ensemble features seven Bay Area-based opera singers, including 25-year-old Menlo Park resident Arden Kaywin, who plays what is commonly referred to in the industry as a "pants role." Portraying Oscar, the king's 15-year-old pageboy, calls for a soprano, but trying to find a teenage boy to hit the role's high notes is about as easy as getting Michael Jackson to sing baritone. The singing may have been manageable for the veteran opera singer, but getting the physicality of a boy proved a bit of a challenge.

"Men lead more with their hips when they walk," Kaywin said. "I had to re-teach myself to walk and stand, so I watched the men in the cast and tried to mimic them."

Though the tragic love tale opens on Valentine's Day, Ostwald insisted the premiere date was purely coincidental.

"It's ironic this comes out on Valentine's Day, because it's pretty dark," he said. "But its message is still relevant, not just for the holiday, but for everything that's going right now in the world. I'd like to see everyone walk away from this performance with a feel for what really matters in life -- peace and the will to do good."

What: West Bay Opera presents Giuseppe Verdi's "A Masked Ball." Libretto by Antonio Somma. In Italian with English supertitles.

Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

When: Tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. Additional show times are Feb. 21-22 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $42, with a special $21 youth ticket (for those under 18) for Sunday matinees only. For tickets, please call the West Bay Opera box office at (650) 424-9999, Monday through Friday, from 1-6 p.m., or visit www.wbopera.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Holt Building, 221 Lambert Ave. in Palo Alto.

Info: Call (650) 424-9999 or visit www.wbopera.org