Nozze di Figaro Scene 19th century (Photo – .wikimedia.org).
The Celestial Opera Company opens its 19th season with Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”, which will be performed on the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May. Saturday soirees and Sunday matinees will provide plenty of opportunities to enjoy what promises to be an absolute treat.
By Toti O’Brien
“The Marriage”, described by Johannes Brahms as ‘perfect’, is considered most unanimously a masterpiece. Various reasons concur to such an achievement—one of them the quasi-magical synergy between composer and librettist. Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte had just met, tentatively attempting their first collaboration, yet in spite of Mozart’s punctiliousness (persuaded of music’s prominent role, he would never alter a note for dialogue’s sake) the teamwork proceeded with heavenly smoothness. The Opera was completed in no time, then encountered immediate, enormous and durable success.
In addition to the risk implied by a new partnership, Mozart had selected for adaption a comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais. Alas, his piece of choice had been freshly denied representation due to its political message (critical of aristocracy, favorable to the advent of equalitarian ideals). We are on the brink of the French Revolution. Mozart seems unaware of Beaumarchais’ social claims—only attracted by a lively and fast-progressing plot, full of both intrigue and comical turns. As a sequel to the “Barber of Seville”—another Beaumarchais’ comedy, set to music by Giovanni Paisiello to enthusiastic acclaim—“The Marriage” was of course very promising.
Purging the text from all open satire against the nobility is a joke for Da Ponte. He replaces the protagonist’s monologues against the upper class with tirades against the feminine gender. The new focus becomes the relationship between the sexes, veiling and obliterating the original master-servant dialectic. When presented with samples of the ongoing creation, Austrian Emperor Joseph II doesn’t blink—he adores indeed what he’s listening to.
Revolution, though, has occurred in spirit and soon will happen for real. Mozart and Da Ponte’s shrewdness notwithstanding, “The Marriage” results a profoundly innovative work, subverting previous traditions of the genre. For the action to move forward, for the audience to remain involved, Mozart strives to limit recitatives and long arias sung by the main characters. On the other end, the chorus has a sparse and restrained role. What gives corpus to the Opera is a complex net of solos and ensembles—the latter a true novelty—in which several voices interact, enmesh, superimpose rhythms and registers with exhilarating effects. Those vocal bouquets build up texture and volume, climaxing into musical fireworks, especially through the celebrated finales of Act II and IV.
Thus the music itself overturns traditional hierarchies, distributing the limelight to a consistent group of peers instead of an elected few. Clearly, each voice (the master’s and the servant’s, the lady’s and the maid’s, the notary’s and the gardener’s) plays an equal part in the sparkling tapestry lavished upon lucky listeners.
Stage and artistic director Carson Gilmore underscores the avant-gardism of Mozart’s “Marriage”, shifting its setting to Mod-inspired 1960’s UK—yet another era, he explains, when decaying aristocracy and emerging democracy pushed society towards a pivot point. Gilmore also enhances the Opera’s vocal dynamism with cleverly animated staging. Singers move with natural flow, their bodies active and space-conscious, never stiff, never static.
The Celestial Opera Company
The Celestial Opera Company, based in South Pasadena, was founded in 1998 by opera singer and voice teacher Judith Townsend, answering—she says—a powerful call. “First I founded a concertizing group of singers, pianists and instrumentalists who performed together for two years. At that point I became a single mother, ended my leadership of the group and raised my children. Ten years later, when my youngest child left for college, I founded The Celestial Opera Company, holding its first rehearsal of “The Magic Flute” only one week after her departure.”
A parental quality of commitment transpires in the Company’s educational values, community engagement, transparent and respectful work rules. The same spirit is reflected by the harmony reigning among cast, chorus and all members of each Opera production—mirroring Ms. Townsend’s inspiration, dedication and patience. “In founding the Company I wanted to give my advanced voice students the opportunity to sing full roles, hone their vocal and stage-craft skills and build their resumes. It has been very satisfying for me to witness some of them move over in pursuit of their vocal careers.”
The Celestial Opera Company provides internships for student singers, a venue for professional singers and, of course, wonderful music for the community. Complete information about the upcoming production can be found on their website.
The Marriage of Figaro Time & Date Saturday, April 29, 8 PM Sunday, April 30, 4 PM Saturday, May 6, 8 PM Sunday, May 7, 4 PM Location Woman's Club of South Pasadena
Toti O’Brien was born in Italy and lives in Pasadena. She’s a published poet and writer. She is also a folk musician and a coloratura soprano, singing opera and choral music, as well as a visual artist. She joins our ColoradoBoulevard.net family writing about Opera music and the arts.
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