Lyric's season finale, 'Seraglio', opens
It was a welcome return Monday night for Mozart's "The Abduction from the Seraglio," which is back at Lyric Opera of Chicago after making its debut here 25 years ago. The final opera of the Lyric's 2008-09 season, it will run through March 28.
Mozart composed 13 operas of varying success before embarking on "The Abduction from the Seraglio" in mid-1781. Premiered in Vienna in July 1782, the composer worked especially hard on this opera since he had recently moved to Vienna from his hometown of Salzburg and he wanted dearly to impress the discerning Viennese, both royalty and the general opera-going public.
To do this, Mozart structured "The Abduction from the Seraglio" as a "singspiel," a style then familiar in Austria that intersperses musical numbers with spoken dialogue. Mozart also chose the native German language instead of the Italian used prominently by himself and many other opera composers of the time.
Mozart's instincts paid off handsomely, and the 25-year-old composer was rewarded with an operatic success to match his acclaimed wunderkind achievements as a composer of symphonies, concertos and solo instrumental works. It set the stage for such operatic masterworks to come as "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni" and "The Magic Flute."
This is a new production, designed by David Zinn and stage-directed by Chas Rader-Shieber. Zinn's costumes fit comfortably within the late-18th century period of the opera, while the scenery starts out that way, with Act 1 replicating the stage of a Vienna court theater. However, the physical sets become more abstract with each act; in Act 3 basically a darkened stage is dominated at its center by a freestanding door symbolizing the entry into the Pasha's world of the Turkish harem.
This is a difficult opera to cast because you need top-flight soprano, tenor and bass voices, all well-versed in Mozart's musical idiom. But the Lyric has done it again, with Canadian-American soprano Erin Wall triumphing as Konstanze, the main love interest of Belmonte, portrayed by Chicago-area native tenor Matthew Polenzani. Both are familiar to audiences at the Lyric, with Wall in recent years taking on Mozart roles Pamina and Fiordiligi, while Polenzani did a memorable turn last season as Alfredo in "La traviata."
Wall has three difficult arias, the first and third demonstrating her immense coloratura skills, but the second aria, coming almost exactly halfway through the opera, is a memorably magical eight minutes. It's a heartfelt longing for Belmonte in the face of verbal advances by the Pasha. Also to be noted is the heartfelt Wall-Polenzani love duet in Act 3.
Another of the stars of Monday's opening performance was Italian bass Andrea Silvestrelli, who portrayed the palace overseer Osmin with an ideal blend of comedy and menace. Pedrillo, Belmonte's servant and cohort, is played with equal aplomb by Australian tenor Steven Davislim.
Polish-born soprano Aleksandra Kurzak on Monday was forced to put her Lyric Opera debut on hold due to laryngitis, so Ryan Opera Center member Angela Mannino filled in admirably as Blonde, Konstanze's English maid. Ms. Mannino's energetic performance was enthusiastically received by the audience. The Pasha, a speaking role, was handled adeptly by Chicago stage actor David Steiger.
Sir Andrew Davis continues to impress as a Mozart conductor, and Donald Nally's Lyric Opera Chorus (about two dozen voices) excelled in its two big scenes.
"The Abduction from the Seraglio"
Where: Ardis Krainik Theatre, Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive.
When: Additional performances at 7:30 p.m. March 7, 10, 13, 16, 25 and 28; 2 p.m. March 19 and 22.
Tickets: Call (312) 332-2244, Ext. 5600, or visit lyricopera.org, for availability and reservations; major credit cards accepted.
At a glance:
Opera (Singspiel) in three acts by W.A. Mozart with libretto by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner. Chas Rader-Shieber, stage director; David Zinn, set and costume designer; Donald Nally, chorus master; Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.
Starring:
Erin Wall as Konstanze
Matthew Polenzani as Belmonte
Andrea Silvestrelli as Osmin
Steven Davislim as Pedrillo
Angela Mannino as Blonde
David Steiger as The Pasha