Golden Gate Opera - Marin County Opera

Last Thursday, October 30th, we got to see what Marin's one and only opera company, Golden Gate Opera (GGO), could do after a two year performance drought. Drawing on the artistic prowess of a traveling Bulgarian opera company, GGO gave us a very credible and moving performance of two one act stand-bys of the opera repertoire, Cavalleria Rusticana (rustic chivalry) by Pietro Mascagni and I Pagliacci (the clowns) by Ruggiero Leoncavallo.

GGO's general manager, Roberta Wain-Becker struck gold in finding this company, Opera Lirico d'Europa. The Bulgarian company comprises powerful and dramatic singers from throughout eastern Europe, as well as the Sofia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. We were also gifted with stunning performances in both works by transplanted local talent in the form of soprano Olga Chernisheva.

Both Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacco are part of what is called the "verissimo" (truest) genre of Italian opera. Verissimo operas are that art form's equivalent of TV reality shows. Real people living real dramas. "Cav and Pag", as they are known to opera fans, are about the reality of love, infidelity, jealousy and ultimately, heartbreak.

The evening began with "Cav". Mascagni's opera is about a rejected woman, Santuzza, and her former lover, Turiddu, now infatuated with the belle of Santuzza's village. Mascagni composed one of the most searing expressions in the opera repertoire for life as a wronged woman, known as "Voi lo sapete, o mamma" (you know it, mamma). Recorded by just about every famous soprano of the last 90 years, Olga Chernisheva's rendition Wednesday night moved me as much as any recording I have heard. She does move me like Callas. Opera fans not only love beautiful singing; they love those singers who have the special gift of being able to transmit deeply intense emotion through their voices. Chernisheva has that gift.

But there was more. Maestro Mascagni wrote very powerful music for that acute moment when a spurned woman finally gets her one-on-one moment with her oversexed former boyfriend. Turridu was sung by Mexican tenor Gabriel Gonzalez with a wonderful combination of power, authority and beauty. I only wish that my own moments with jilted former lovers had been as heartfelt and truthful as Santuzza and Turridu's dueling arias are in "Cav".

As with so many oversexed tenors in the opera repertoire, Turridu gets murdered at the end of the opera. His murderer, the village belle's husband, was sung by Greek American baritone, Theodore Lambrinos. Again, we were very lucky to get have such a strong and skilled performer bring this role to life.

After the intermission, we were treated to a very competent performance of "Pag". The big aria in this opera is "Vesti la giubba" (on with the play). Another jilted lover, this time a tenor, sings about his heartbreak before he goes on stage to play his role as a clown. Our heartbroken clown, Canio, was sung by Romanian tenor Viorel Saplican. In "Vesti la giubba" Meastro Leoncavallo gave us an exquisite aria about the acutely human paradox of going on with our jobs in the world while feeling utterly devastated in our hearts. I've heard better recordings, but Saplican transmitted to us true understanding of that paradox through his singing. Moments like that are what we go to the opera for.

Both Olga Chernisheva and Theodore Lambrinos were recycled into new roles in "Pag". This time Chernisheva got to play the jiltor, Nedda, instead of the jiltee. Lambrinos played another clown, Tonio, who vengefully sets up the tragedy between Canio and Nedda. The Nedda role requires a challenging combination of lyric soprano lightness with full on dramatic soprano intensity. Chernisheva gave us both. Lambrinos is a wonderful singing actor, performing the role of Tonio as well as I have seen anyone do it. Nedda's new lover, Silvio, was sung movingly by Russian baritone Plamen Dimitrov.

It is sad that GGO was only able to mount one performance of this "Cav" and "Pag". We were given powerful and compelling performances by skilled singers in classics of musical theater.

Let us hope that GGO can find the money and support in Marin County to continue to bring us gifts like Thursday's performances of "Cav and Pag".

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