Janos Gereben quotes Terry Teachout: >Gratuitous pickiness is a soul-killing trap against >which the critic must always be on guard.. I just got back from a visit to that opera mecca, Cleveland, Ohio, where I managed to attend TWO different productions: the Bulgarian State Opera's Marriage of Figaro; a Cleveland Institute of Music student production of Fledermaus. The Figaro, probably the opera I've heard or seen the most, was what a friend of mine calls "very good third-rate production," which seemed to me right on the money. The orchestra, however, was shockingly bad. The overture, scrappy (to be kind), stumbled and limped to its mercifully quick conclusion. I didn't believe that professionals could possibly mess that up, particularly since they've been playing it night after night on tour. Maybe they thought the yokels, who regularly attend the concerts of one of the world's great Mozart orchestras, wouldn't notice. The cast, excepting a good Susanna and good, though inexperienced Cherubino, was middling but professional. In such circumstances, the production focused my attention on the music itself, rather than the performance, and the music is, of course, a marvel. I never truly appreciated the septet at the end of Act 2 before -- the independence of each character's part, the constantly-changing odd groupings of voices (at one point, 4 plus three -- the four comic villains in antiphonal opposition to Figaro, Susanna, and Cherubino). The finale, by the way, moves from duet to septet as principals enter the action. There's a symphonic level of cohesion to each act, remarkable in an opera with separate numbers. THAT's what came through, all because the performance didn't get in the way of the music. Overall, the student Fledermaus fared much better. Student string playing has soared to great heights since my student days. The Oberlin College student orchestra string sections (which included, by the way, future Naumberg winners) used to make me cringe with whiny tone and wonky pitch. The wind players stood out. These days, sections are far more balanced. There was a wonderful Rosalinda, one of the best Orlovskys I've ever seen (she convinced you she was a jaded teenage punk), a good, though very hammy, Adele (Lucille Ball on amphetamines), a good Falke, and a better Eisenstein. Others needed vocal or dramatic seasoning. The English translation (probably the Martin) sucked, and inexplicably, they supertitled it besides. But there was still plenty to love. Again, the inadequacies of the production didn't hide the glories of the music. The "Bruederlein und Schwesterlein" ensemble in Act II tugged at the heart and raised it. One great tune after another, written with deep understanding of the voice. In fact, when the voice isn't right, the character suffers, and you know it right away. And what gorgeous orchestration! So, all in all, I had a wonderful time with two less-than-stellar productions. Steve Schwartz *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html