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| Joanna Mongiardo & Katy Lindhart in "Lucio Silla" (photo: Kathy Wittman) |
As its companion piece to last week's production of
Gluck's Ezio, in its “When In Rome” mini-festival, Odyssey
Opera presented the equally rarely-heard opera Lucio Silla by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with a libretto by Giovanni de Gamerra. The
influence of Gluck and the prevailing opera seria of the
time, with stock characters and their predictable situations, can
easily be seen in this work by Mozart and de Gamerra. The work is
amazing given its composition by a sixteen-year-old. It
wasn't even the boy's first opera (that would be his equally obscure
Mitridate, re di Ponto), nor of course would it be his last.
Its place in the context of opera seria is not merely
historical, however, as it has many touches that hold the promise
that the prodigious musical genius was ultimately to fulfill. The
youthful composer respected the rules of the form, with its many
conventions, political and otherwise, but even at his extraordinarily
young age, there were glimpses of what was to come, submerged under a
plot-heavy story that almost defies synopsis; the synopsis in the
program for this production is over two pages long, but herewith is
an attempt to synopsize that synopsis.
The setting is Rome, in 79 BC. Cecilio (countertenor
Michael Maniaci), a senator returning from banishment by the dictator
Lucio Silla (tenor Yeghishe Manucharyan), meets a patrician, Cinna
(soprano Joanna Mongiardo) and asks him about his wife Giunia
(soprano Katy Lindhart) only to hear she is being held prisoner by
Silla. Meanwhile Silla tells his sister Celia (soprano Sara Heaton)
and a tribune Aufidio (tenor Omar Najmi) of his love for Giunia, who
refuses to reciprocate the dictator's love even when told Cecilio has
died. Later, in a cemetery, she encounters Cecilio very much alive.
Silla is urged by Aufidio to force her to marry him, to which he
agrees. Cecilio, upon hearing this, urges Giunia to marry the
dictator and murder him on their wedding night, but she refuses and
urges Cecilio to surrender his sword and to trust in the gods. The
two of them are led away to prison, where Giunia continues to spurn
the dictator even if it means she will die at Cecilio's side. In the
final scene in the great hall, Silla has a change of heart, renounces
any claim to Giunia and swears to marry her to Cecilio, as well as
marrying Cinna to Celia. He then removes his crown, abdicates and
declares that Rome is to be free.
As was the Gluck opera, this was eloquently conducted by
Gil Rose, Artistic and General Director of the company, leading the
Odyssey Opera Orchestra of thirty. Additionally, this work included
the Odyssey Opera Chorus of sixteen, led by Chorus Master Krishan
Oberoi. As Directed by Isabel Milenski, it was dramatically rather
static, with some strange choices (not once, not twice, but thrice
characters upended chairs to show their anger), and the comically
abrupt change of heart at the end brought hearty laughter from the
audience. But in the end it was all about the music, which was
extraordinarily demanding and gloriously sung. All of the cast were
superb, especially Lindhart, with her lengthy solos presaging the
composer's later work (in particular, the Queen of the Night's role
in The Magic Flute). The Scenic Design by Jian Jung was similar to his work
on the Gluck opera (even repurposing some elements), and the simple
Costume Design by Seth Bodie and clever Lighting Design by Jeanette
Oi-Suk Yew added some context.
Given the presentation of these two operas in the
mini-festival of opera seria, there is a decided temptation,
even an expectation, to compare and contrast them, but the fact
remains that Gluck was composing at the height of his career and
Mozart had only just begun. Each work had its memorable moments and
extraordinary highlights, making for the festival a cornucopia of
operatic riches.
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