Wallis Giunta as Cherubino, John Brancy as Figaro. Photo Andrew Alexander.

Wagner’s vision of Opera was essentially the Gesamtkunstwerk, a dialogue of all the arts. There is no doubt that the public often perceives Opera as essentially a musical performance (instrumental and vocal) but I have always felt that a performance of “théâtre chanté” which is where Mozart found the purist expression of his dramatic genius, must include all elements of a staged production to do justice to the meanings imbedded in that wonderful music.

Take the overture to the Marriage of Figaro . Last night, it t burst upon us at a most furious clip, under the impeccable playing of the musicians and the magical direction of Kevin Mallon. It left me out of breath and perfectly in the mood to receive what was coming: a light hearted, deliciously playful outpouring of “théâtre comique”. I was not disappointed….for the most part. The voices were excellent expressions of that dramatic genius as they transformed their recitatives and their arias into truly theatrical moments of comic acting, Opera buffa met Opéra comique in one of the most enjoyable evenings I have spent at Opera Lyra in a long while.

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Photo: Barb Gray. John Brancy and Sacha Djihanian

It’s pretty obvious that Opera Lyra is making a pitch to the Downton Abbey fan club by attempting an early 20^th Century take on The Marriage Of Figaro.

Halfway through the overture, we get a glimpse of servants being assembled in front of the stately English exterior of “Highclere Castle” and inspected by a dignified butler. The scene is a somewhat tiresome contrivance, and not really in synch with Mozart’s music. And, let’s face it — the the music is what counts in this production, and, happily, the playing of the overture already has us appreciating the silken elegance of the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s contribution to the evening under conductor Kevin Mallon.

So when it comes to honouring the Mozartian soundscape, the delights the production provides are manifest. For the most part, this is a beautifully sung Figaro, featuring some stellar work from the principals, and in particular a notably engaging performance on all fronts from Wallis Giunta in the trouser role of the lovelorn pageboy, Cherubino.

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One of my all-time favorite operas, Puccini’s Tosca, speaks to us, not only through some of Puccini’s most beautiful music and memorable arias, but also through the tale of tyranny and unrestrained lust in a turbulent time, which is so familiar to all generations. Based on Victorien Sardou’s dramatic play La Tosca, this timeless piece of art deals with the lowest and the highest aspects of human nature. Time-wise it takes less than two days – according to Sardou just between the afternoon of June17th and early morning of 18 June 1800. When the Kingdom of Naples’s control of Rome is threatened by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy, love, courage and political repression intertwine in 24 hours of harsh reality.

The historical background coupled with the fact that the action is set in three still existing Roman locales – act one is set in the Church of Sant’Andrea delle Valle, act two in the Palazzo Farnese, and act three in the Castel Sant’Angelo – bring this opera closer to reality than any other operatic work. Of course, the very contemporary construction of the story helps, as well. It has a movie-like flow: romantic introduction (Tosca’s entrance in the church in the moment when Mario Cavaradossi is helping a runaway political prisoner); thriller-like development (Tosca spots a knife and kills Baron Scarpia); and a tragic culmination (the betrayed promise of false execution and free passage out of Rome, which brings the death of two lovers). …

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Photo Sam Garcia. Cio-Cio-San(Shuying Li)  and Pinkerton (Antoine Bélanger).

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, one of the three most popular operas in the Italian repertoire, was inspired by the true story of John Luther Long which Puccini discovered during a trip to London and which David Belasco turned into a play. The opera opened in Milan in 1904 where it was a resounding failure. However, after some changes, it successfully reopened three months later in Brescia, under the direction of maestro Arturo Toscanini. This story of a marriage between the American Navy lieutenant Benjamin Pinkerton based in Nagasaki and fifteen year Old Cio-Cio-San, foregrounds the romantic longings of the young girl caught in the grip of an underlying colonial relationship set up by Goro, the slippery marriage broker (tenor Joseph Hu)who had some good moments, and American naval lieutenant Pinkerton, seeking to spend his time with a local girl until he goes back to America to have a “real” marriage.

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