Verdi unmasked Verdi unmasked (February 21, 2003)

West Bay Opera delivers a solid production of "A Masked Ball"

by Kelly Snyder

"A Masked Ball" ("Un Ballo in Maschera") is prime Verdi, rich with dramatic situations, lush melodic vocal lines and one of opera's greatest love duets. So it was appropriate that West Bay Opera's new production should open on Valentine's Day, and that the duet should be one of the best moments in the production.

Though opening night had a few misguided moments, the entire cast -- both soloists and chorus - was well-rehearsed. The singing was uniformly strong, and while some soloists were more suited to the material than others, they all delivered solid, assured performances.

The original story for "A Masked Ball" was based on the assassination of Sweden's King Gustavus III at a masked ball in 1792. But the sensors could not allow a plot about the royal murder on stage, so Verdi eventually set his opera in colonial Boston. The central character became an English colonial governor, Riccardo, amorous of Amelia, who returns his love, but is married to Renato, the governor's best friend. Determined not to give in to her illicit love, Amelia visits a fortune-teller, Ulrica, who instructs her to pick an herb that grows at the foot of the gallows, intended for use in a potion that will cure her of her love for Riccardo. After discovering the couple, Renato becomes convinced of their guilt and the stage is set for the final scene at a masked ball.

For West Bay Opera's production, stage director David F. Ostwald eschewed both the original Swedish setting and the alternate Boston locale, settling instead for "an unnamed Western European Kingdom in the 1830s," for no apparent reason. The settings, by Jean-Francois Revon, and costumes, by Callie Floor, ranged from striking to mundane. Though soprano Barbara Divas, who plays Amelia, looked stunning in her deep blue and black dresses, few of the other costumes were noteworthy. The costumes in the final masked-ball scene looked pulled from a variety of sources, with little thought to unity or suitability.

Revon's settings for the first scene and the three settings in the final act were all minimal, with isolated set pieces in an open, neutral space, capably lit by designer Chad Bonaker. The settings for Ulrica's cave and the gallows at midnight (complete with hanging corpse, a tasteless element also featured in the company's "Tosca" last fall) seemed to be from a different production, with large, stylized flats and drops. A large, framed screen in the first scene of Act III was used to project first a portrait of Amelia and her child, and then later, a portrait of Riccardo. Unfortunately, both images were marred, the first being wildly out of focus for most of the time, and the latter by the silly appearance of a "slash" on top of it when Renato waved his sword at the image.

Ostwald used the concept of disguise and masking, both literal and figurative, throughout the production. At times it worked well, but at others it was intrusive, calling attention to the conceit, rather than contributing to the drama. The biggest miscalculation was the final scene, however; when, upon being stabbed by Renato, Riccardo did not collapse to die on the floor. Instead, he relied on the royal chaise lounge, which promptly appeared in time for him to repose for a rather more elegant, if calculated, death. The placement of a guest costumed as an angel in the final moments was over the top.

None of this fazed either the chorus or the soloists, however. Gabriel Reoyo-Pazos, who plays Riccardo, used his light lyric tenor wisely and negotiated the heavier writing in the role with taste and intelligence. Occasionally pushing the upper register, he nonetheless managed to pace himself well and arrived at the final scene in firm, fresh voice. His natural musicality made for graceful, elegant phrasing. At ease on stage, his Riccardo was very much the convivial, fun-loving king.

Divis was clearly the audience favorite and received a warm reception. She sang the role of Amelia with a solid technique and scrupulous musicianship. Divis seems to have no fear of high notes. She sailed up to the high C, coming in clean on the high B-flat in her first aria, and then handling her second aria with the same precision and assurance.

Baritone Roberto Perlas Gomez had his share of stunning top notes in the role of Renato, as well. Playing a stalwart friend-turned-adversary, Perlas Gomez's singing lacked the idiomatic phrasing and musical shapeliness for the role, but compensated with a full, unwavering tone throughout his vocal range.

Donna Olson, as Ulrica, had her share of stunning vocal moments as well, but her voice lacked the depth and strong lower range to have much impact. Shawnette Sulker's animated page, Oscar, provided a welcome light touch that balanced the dramatic intensity, her light soprano soaring over the ensembles as needed. The supporting roles were all capably handled and the chorus sounded well-rehearsed, with a nicely blended tone.

The orchestra on opening night sounded as if it could have used another rehearsal or two. A small orchestra pit and limited resources necessitate a reduced orchestra, and while this works for many productions in West Bay Opera's repertory, "A Masked Ball" needs a fuller sound at many points and the thinner sound was more apparent in this work than in many. That, combined with ragged entrances and a few unsettled tempi, kept conductor Alexander Katsman busy. He managed to keep the stage-pit coordination under control, only running into problems when he and the tenor seemed to disagree with a few tempi on opening night. But Katsman kept a firm rein and such lapses were infrequent and brief.

With a couple more performances under its collective belt, the company's run should achieve its potential as a strongly sung, musically rewarding production this weekend.

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.

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