Golden Gate Opera - Marin County Opera

Lust! Blood! Adultery! Infidelity! Vengeance! Curses! Passion! All these nouns describe two very popular operas that shared the Marin Memorial Veterans Auditorium Stage this last Thursday, October 30. This double bill included Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana followed by Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. The action on stage was performed by members of the touring company Teatro Lirico D'Europa with some successes and some shortcomings.

Starring in both productions first as Santuzza, the wronged heroine of Cavalleria, and then as Nedda, the adulterous wife, Olga Chernisheva was consistent in projecting her voice with excellent diction throughout the hall. In both roles she was able to portray the intensity and passion each role required along with excellent intonation.

Theodore Lambrinos performed as the wronged husband in Cavalleria and as the clown, Tonio, in Pagliacci. It was amazing how the two different roles seemed to affect both his acting and singing. His rendition of the Prologue of Pagliacci was very impressive. The strain in his voice in evidence in the first opera was not present in the "Pag." His, was an outstanding performance.

Snejana Dramcheva was very effective as Lola, cheating wife of Alfio in "Cav". Not only was she in excellent voice and looked gorgeous, but also was very effective in appearing wanton and flirtatious. An urgent dramatic performance in "Cav" as Turridu was provided by Gabriel Gonzales of Mexico. Viorel Saplacan as Canio joined the cast in the title role of Pagliacci. As his voice began to warm up he seemed to find his best quality singing and throughout the performance was most believable as the wounded husband.

Other members of the cast made significant but smaller contributions including Svetomira Gitsova as the mother in "Cav" as did Georgi Dinev as Beppe in "Cav." Plamen Dimitrov made a very believable lover paired with Nedda in "Pag." He projected good tone and sang with a pleasing quality.

Because this company was touring, everything on stage had to be placed on some sort of truck and carried to the next venue, so the sets were minimal but succeeded in giving the feel of the genera locale required in the operas. Three minor costume details stood out as I was watching the programs. Unlike the rest of the chorus why was one of the men never wearing any type of hat in either production? In "Cav" Lola’s dress seemed out of period and perhaps leftover from Bizet's Carmen. I have never seen a bishop or priest wearing gold lamé. A simple white surplice over black would do nicely. The orchestra with a reduced size string section performed admirably in spite of frequent dragging tempi and a lack of conductor contact with the stage and the pit. After the performance as we watched the members of the orchestra getting on the bus to go on to yet another one-night stand, our heartfelt sympathy, went out to them as traveling artists who perform under such difficult circumstances.

It is always a joy to hear a well-sung chorus, good diction, mature voices and good intonation. This chorus sang beautifully every time they were on stage. Bravo! But like the many opera choruses I have seen and heard in Europe they just seem to stand in a row and sing. We have become spoiled in this country—choruses at the Met, Chicago Lyric and San Francisco Opera companies get involved in the plot. The important part of chorus work was well done, but could we try to add a touch of drama too?

This was the first opera I have heard presented by Golden Gate Opera Company in this house. I would hope that when the local company stages its next locally produced opera it would present a more strongly staged performance.

The Golden Gate Opera Company is a noble venture in Marin and deserves the support of the entire Marin Community.

A member of the California Music Educators Hall of Fame, Robert Greenwood is a former member of the Marin Symphony and conductor of the College of Marin Community Band and Orchestra.

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