Sunday, November 9, 1997

Grand Aida Opens 50th Season of Tulsa Opera

Tulsa Opera opened its fiftieth anniversary season Saturday night with a gala performance of Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece, Aida, to a sold-out house.

Starring in the title role, soprano, Priscilla Baskerville, wowed the audience with her highly sensitive portrayal of the tragic Ethopian princess enslaved by the king of Egypt. The vocal demands of this lengthy role are much akin to the running of a marathon, yet Miss Baskerville's pure tone soared even through the difficult pianissimos of the fourth act. And, throughout, her Aida was more than just a pretty voice; her acting skills created a believable, proud, and regal, yet vulerable and in love, princess. By the time of Aida's death at the end of the opera, tears were flowing down the faces of many patrons in the audience.

John Keyes, tenor, sang the role of the heroic army officer who was the object of Aida's affection. His voice remained strong and steady throughout the work. "Radames" is a difficult role much feared by many operatic tenors, due to the well-known aria, "Celeste Aida," at the very begining of the opera. Most tenor voices would prefer to have had a chance to warm up a while before the treacherous high B-flats in the song. But, Keyes had the notes and tackled them with enthusiasm, perhaps even a bit too vigorously, as the final note of the aria is written as very soft and fading away, though he chose to sing it full voice.

The conflict of this opera is the love triangle formed by the Egyptian princess, Amneris, who also loves Aida's Radames. At first, this reviewer did not care for the voice of mezzo-soprano, Tichina Vaughn, finding it heavy and carrying a very broad vibrato. Yet, by the time she had her confrontation with the condemned soldier in the climax of Act Four, the vibrato became focused, one could almost see the hatred and anger flashing in her eyes, and it was as though she were wielding her voice as a sonic weapon against Radames. Then, in another superb bit of acting in the final scene, her despair and heartbreak over the death sentence of her beloved Radames was palpible as she pleaded to the Egyptian gods for peace and mercy for the condemned.

Vaclovas Daunoras made his Tulsa debut as Ramfis, the high priest. A Lithuanian national formerly with Moscow's Bolshoi Opera, Daunoras has a remarkably resonant bass voice, yet he was still able to sing and hold a high F with the ease of a baritone. National audiences will want to take note of him, as he is also appearing this season in productions of Manon and Turandot with New York City's Metropolitan Opera.

The last production of Aida in Tulsa was rather more stylistic than to local tastes, featuring a stage full of sand and a large, neon pyramid. Many were, then, quite relieved as the curtain went up tonight on the beautiful, but "traditional," sets from Opera D'Montreal, and, during the final curtain calls, there was a special cheer for stage director, Stanley Garner. Garner's stagings, especially with the massive chorus scenes, were elegantly sparce. The magical illusion of Egypt was created, yet there was never any doubt that the most important thing in this production was the music.

Perhaps one of his most effective scenes in the opera was the consecration of Radames at the conclusion of Act One. Viewed through a sparkle scrim—a special type of "see-through" curtain studded with reflective particles that created a starlight twinkle effect—the Egyptian priests conducted their pagan rituals amidst several open flames, while gliding up and down massive staircases around a tall idol that glowed red and puffed smoke in response to their ministrations. With the women's chorus and high priestess, Nancy Curtis, singing off-stage, and the priests' chorus on stage, the harmonies, especially with the men, were lush and mysterious.

A scrim also was used throughout the final entombment scene of the opera, but by that time, it had lost its novelty. All seven scenes of the opera opened with a scrim in place as the lights came up. This must be a modern trend in stage design for Aida, as the production currently playing with Dallas Opera also opens every scene with a scrim.

The famous Triumphal March starred four unusual actors that garnered gasps from the audience as they came on stage. Four very large, very alive, and very dangerous boa constrictor snakes—two of which were albino—were carried in on the shoulders of a crew of muscular "Egyptians." The snakes, however, seemed to possess no sense of rhythm, judging from their reactions to the music of the ballet sequence, choreographed by Molly Rose. Rose designed a relevant (unlike so many of the dances in Aida productions) re-enactment of the war between Egypt and Ethiopia, superbly danced by members of Tulsa Ballet. Especially notable were principal dancers Mariano Albano and Vanessa Palmer, who appeared, wearing little more than gold and silver body paint.

Tulsa Opera is privileged to possess such a fine chorus, which was prepared by chorusmaster, Patrick Hansen. Their numbers created an immense sound in the big crowd scenes, and their musicality is especially noteworthy, considering that this is an all-volunteer chorus. There are many, many professional opera choruses in this country which do not come close to the Tulsa sound.

The opera orchestra, drawn from the Tulsa Philharmonic, gave conductor and Tulsa Opera general director, Carol Crawford, an excellent effort. Verdi's music makes a lot of demands on the players, with music ranging from intimate chamber ensembles to the grandiosity of the Triumphal March. Only a few problems with the cello section marred what was otherwise a superb performance.

Baritone Gordon Hawkins sang a very servicable Amonasro, though he did have a bit of a problem being heard in his lowest register. Stefan Szkafarowsky was the King, giving his usual solid performance. Szkafarowsky just finished a run of Romeo et Juliette with Arizona Opera, and still carried with him just a touch too much of the French nasality. Chorus member Charles King sang the role of the Messenger. Lighting design was by Ken Yunker, and wigs and makeup were designed by James Geier.

All of the remaining performances, which run through next Saturday, are sold out.