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| Elaine Alvarez as "Katya Kabanova" (photo: Eric Antoniou for BLO) |
Boston Lyric Opera's latest production is the area
premiere of “Kátya
Kabanová”, by
Leoš Janǻĉek,
composer of “Jenůfa”
(as well as “Cunning Little Vixen”, “From the House of the
Dead” and “Makropulos Affair”). This time around, the BLO turns
the other Czech, so to speak, with this performance of the lesser
known work. In fact, it also represents the first production of any
of the works of Janáĉek
in the history the BLO. Based on the 1859 Russian play “Graza”
(“The Thunderstorm”) by Ostrovsky, it was first performed in Brno
in 1921 when the composer was sixty-seven years old, but not produced
in this country until 1957. This production uses an English
translation by Norman Tucker, as well as surtitles. Like the novel
“Anna Karenina”, it's the story of an unhappy marriage in a
primitive society and time when divorce was unthinkable (in the era
of the Greats, Peter and Catherine), leading to an episode of
forbidden love. The Ostrovsky play was the subject of many operatic
interpretations, but this one was the most successful and enduring
version. Its depiction of a tyrannical and oppressive milieu, in
which social taboos, customs and rites were to be preserved no matter
the cost. This operatic piece is often referred to as the Czech
“Madama Butterfly”, as tragedy looms throughout.
Its three acts are performed in Boston with no intermission in just under two hours.
Diacritically speaking, this is a difficult work to
write about and a challenge to any typist, but the libretto, by
Francesco Vincenc Cervinca, is a relatively simple one for an opera.
The story takes place in the Russian town of Kalanov, on the Volga
River, in the 1860's. Glascha (Chelsea Basler), a servant in the
household of the Kabanov family, listens as Kudrjasch (Omar Najmi)
praises the beauty of the Volga. His revery is interrupted by an
argument between the rich neighbor Dikoy (James Demler) and his
nephew Boris (Raymond Very). After Dikoy leaves, Fekluscha (Heather
Gallagher) extols the hospitality of the Kabanovs, which leads to
Boris' confession of his love for Kátya
Kabanová
(Elaine Alvarez). Returning from church, Katya's husband Tichon (Alan
Schneider) is ordered by his dominating mother Kabanicha (Elizabeth
Byrne), which translates as “mean old sow”, to go on a business
trip, leaving his humiliated wife vulnerable to the adulterous
longings of Boris. Kabanicha's daughter Varvara (Sandra Piques Eddy)
meets her lover Kudrjasch in a garden one night, and arranges a
meeting between Kátya
and Boris. At first faithful to her departed husband, Kátya
eventually succumbs to Boris, declaring her love for him. Days later,
when a thunderstorm drives Kudrjasch and his friend Kuligin (David
McFerrin) to seek shelter, they are first joined by Dikoy, Varvara
and Boris, then by Katya, Kabanicha and the returned Tichon. Kátya
confesses her guilt and infidelity to Tikon and Kabanicha and runs
off into the storm. Boris, exiled by his uncle, finds Kátya
and tells her of his banishment. Alone and unable to endure her
public shame and guilt, and even though terrified that she will not
die in a state of grace, she realizes she now has nothing and acts
accordingly. The beautiful Volga lives on in the final wordless
chorus of the opera as a source of both some sort of salvation as
well as oblivion, in Katya's final act of protest against an unjust
system.
This is an emotional powerhouse of an opera, with music
that matches the mood. Its many motifs are woven into a complex and
challenging score. As Conducted by David Angus, and performed by an
overall marvelous cast, backed up by the incomparable BLO Orchestra,
this was an unforgettable musical triumph. The singers comprised a
group with varied histories with BLO. Making their BLO debuts are
Alvarez, Very and Byrne; Najmi, Basler and Gallagher are current BLO
Emerging Artists, and McFerrin and Schneider are alumni of the
Emerging Artists program. All were in fine voice, especially Alvarez
in her final scene, and Byrne throughout in the unflattering role of
one of opera's vilest characters. The Stage Direction by Tim Albery
of Opera North in Leeds in England, in the revised performing version
by Sir Charles Mackerras, is a recreation of Albery's staging there,
and the Set and Costume Design by Hildegard Bechtler and Lighting
Design by Peter Mumford are also transfers from the British
production. Replete with dark greens and blues that mirror the colors
of the river, they were the perfect complement to the tone of the
opera.
This was a musical experience that will be long
remembered, with the most critical role being that of the orchestra.
Equally at home with the dissonant chords of the score as well as the
melodic ones (the duet between Katya and Boris, “You know you are
more than all the world to me”, for example), Angus and his
orchestra were the costars of the production. It's a work that is
relentlessly dark and dour, but has some of the most fascinating
music in the today's world of opera. A light romantic romp of
operatic trills this was not, but its impact was a thoroughly moving
one, for which local opera goers can be exceedingly grateful. If one
is serious about serious opera, this was one not to be missed.
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