Macbeth from the Met, Opera Pacific's magical Flute, The Color Purple and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Thought I'd catch up on a few things before plunging back into full blogging... and I hope there will be more regular blogging coming soon. Anyway.

The Metropolitan Opera's movie theater transmission of Verdi's Macbeth (Jan 12) was most memorable for its Lady Macbeth: Maria Guleghina. She looked and sounded ravishing, from the intensity of her gazes to the passion in her voice. She played the role of a power-hungry wife with great conviction: it was hard to tell if she was completely evil, mostly because she was such a seductive presence that it fooled you into going along with her plots for murder and advancement. Zeljko Lucic was a very fine-voiced Macbeth, though the characterization of Macbeth in the opera is very tortured and contemplative, almost wimpy, and as a result somewhat difficult to visualize as the power hungry, war mongering king that the story dramatizes. John Relyea sang Banquo, and it was nice to actually see his handsome face (in his previous Met broadcasts, he has always been made up to look like an old man), and of course also great to again hear his strong voice and see a fantastic characterization, both as live Banquo and creepy ghost Banquo. Verdi's music is warmly tuneful and enjoyable throughout; the libretto makes the choice of lingering on the character's inner monologues, partially at the expense of the drama. Some of the events take place so quickly that they barely register, yet a character later spends a 7-minute aria pondering it. Still, it's OK to do this when the music and arias compensate emotionally and the singers sing it well, as they did at this performance.

On the regional scene, Opera Pacific presented a whimsically straightforward production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (aka The Magic Flute) at the end of last month. I adore a lot of the music in this opera, though in actual production I am usually really bored in Act 2 - there really can be such a thing as too much good music - and the productions themselves can either be pretty good or really miserable. This Opera Pacific production, directed by Gillian Smith, was just fine - not the greatest, but certainly not miserable - and it sported a cast of very nice voices who did great justice to Mozart's music, particularly in a truly wonderful Nicole Cabell as Pamina and a charming Rodney Gilfrey as Papageno. The sets were a gorgeous deep hued blue with appropriately moderated splashes of yellow and gold when the libretto calls for illumination. Special effects were thankfully tame, as I lack the confidence that a four-show stand will pull of big effects without being clunky or distracting - the biggest effects were the Queen of the Night riding in on a giant moon for her first aria, and the three boys riding by on a metal contraption in the sky (though this effect distractingly wobbled and didn't unload far enough into the wings). Luz del Alba's Queen of the Night sang the bravura coloratura passages well enough without being memorable, but Morris Robertson's Sarastro was wonderfully sonorous and authoritative. I still got a bit restless in Act 2 - so much repetition and too many random twists in the story - but the evening was nevertheless delightful enough.

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I totally skipped LA Opera's current revival of Tristan und Isolde, even though in and of itself, Tristan is supposed to be a great opera (the production received mixed reviews). I'm still kind of scared of Tristan: with nearly five hours of static singing, I don't think I'm far enough in my operatic education to fully appreciate it, and, more importantly, seeing how tired I've been from too much overtime at work, I'm not sure I would have had the patience for it. Instead, I will go the easy route and watch my first Tristan at a movie theater during the Met broadcast, wearing sweat pants, chomping on popcorn and sitting cross-legged in a cushy leather seat.

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Taking the musical version of The Color Purple (Jan 25) on its surface charms, namely, a talented cast with voices that give you goosebumps plus its feel-good message, it is possible to have a great time at the show. But looking deeper, there isn't much. This musicalization of Alice Walker's 1982 novel of the same name, currently at the Ahmanson Theater in its touring incarnation, skims over nearly everything dark or subtle about the original story and focuses almost entirely on the "you go girl," uplifting aspects. That's not entirely a problem for a Broadway musical, except that it feels odd to be having such a good time watching The Color Purple. Most of the my issue with the show is over its unevenness in the storytelling and missed opportunities for genuine emotion when the script instead races through what should be a quiet, touching moment. Still, there are some pretty powerful voices and charismatic performers in this national touring production, and that keeps us at the very least entertained for 2 hours and 40 minutes. As Celie, Jeanette Bayardelle nearly blows the roof off of the theater every time she sings a song, and as Sofia, Felicia P. Fields (nominated for a Tony when she created this role on Broadway) rouses the audience to impassioned cat calls in nearly every scene that she is in. Michele Williams, one third of the former pop group Destiny's Child, plays Shug Avery with a sweet, seductive voice. The show's feel-good message could be encapsulated in its 11 o'clock song, "I'm Here," which the producers have wised used at every promotional event and television outing for this show - it has such a strong, heartfelt message of triumph over difficulty that you almost (almost) forget some of the drudgery that comes before it.

On the other side of town, in a smaller theater but not necessarily a smaller production, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Feb 2) is a new, self-described "emo rock" musical about the life and presidency of Andrew Jackson. Created by Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman, their conception of Jackson as a rockstar presidential candidate is smart and fun, and the hyper-emotional sensibilities of emo rock (boys with guitars complaining, blood letting) is a wry language for politics and politicians. There are parallels between Jackson's time and current events ("He's the president I'd most like to have a beer with!" a character says). The show is smart and funny, swiftly directed and engagingly performed. But the material is uneven in this the show's first incarnation - it will eventually travel to the Public Theatre in New York - and the jokey nature of the show's first two-thirds abruptly turns sour with little warning. Still, the cast is young and very talented, especially Benjamin Walker as Andrew Jackson, who stays on stage for nearly the entire show and jumps between the show's silly and serious elements with total conviction. Other cast worth mentioning includes Brian Hostenske as a hilariously foppy Martin van Buren.

Photos credits - (1) The Metropolitan Opera's Macbeth, with Zelkjo Lucic and Maria Guleghina, photo by Ken Howard. (2) Opera Pacific's Die Zauberflote, photo courtesy Opera Pacific. (3) The Color Purple, with Jeannette Bayadelle and LaToya London, photo by Paul Kolnik. (4) Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, with Benjamin Walker and cast, photo by Craig Schwartz.