REVIEW: 'Pag' and its star overshadow 'Cav' in operatic double bill

By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 26, 2008 9:55 AM PDT ∞

San Diego Opera has promoted its current production of the one-act operas "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci" as a double-bill, but a more apt description of this "Cav/Pag" union would be as appetizer and main course.

While "Cav" has symphonic beauty, fine choruses and a standout soprano, it's the "Pag" half of the evening that will resonate in the memories of local operagoers. Argentinian tenor Jose Cura's beautifully sung and ferociously acted performance as the sad clown Canio in "Pagliacci" is what world-class singing is all about, and he's ably assisted by a strong supporting cast, subtler direction and a more compelling story.

It's been 29 years since San Diego Opera last produced "Cav/Pag," the so-called "verismo twins" often presented together in one night (verismo, the Italian word for "naturalism," represents the late 19th-century school of gritty operas about the problems of common folk). In the 1979 San Diego Opera production, the lead roles in both "Cav" and "Pag" were performed by the same tenor, Harry Theyard, but in this production, two tenors ---- Cura and New York's Richard Leech ---- split the bill.

This leads to unfortunate comparisons, and Leech (who stars as Turiddu in "Cavalleria Rusticana") ends up in the minus column. In his "Siciliano" first aria on opening night, he sounded dry and wobbly. His voice warmed up as the evening wore on, and his top range remained secure, but he was no match for Cura's vocal richness, seemingly effortless control and sustained, ringing top notes. Cura's a handsome, magnetic artist at the prime of his career, and it's a gift to San Diegans to have him here, if only for one-half of the "Cav/Pag" bill.

Mascagni's 1890 "Cavalleria Rusticana" tells the story of a Sicilian love triangle gone bad. The soldier Turiddu is sleeping with Lola, the wife of the local cart-driver, Alfio. Betrayed by his cheating, Turiddu's girlfriend, Santuzza, begs him to give up Lola, and when he refuses, she tells Alfio, who kills Turiddu in a knife fight. The one hour, 15-minute opera is packed with famous arias and a buoyant drinking song, but its character development is slight and its story melodramatic. This isn't helped by Lotfi Mansouri's exaggerated direction, with overdone gestures, Santuzza's constant begging and pleading, and the endless on-and-off shuffling of the choristers for the multiple choruses.

Leech is a good actor and does his best in "Mamma," the goodbye aria to his mother. Onetime San Diego Opera Ensemble member Carter Scott returns in the role of Santuzza, which she sings with hunger and earthiness. American mezzo Judith Christin stars as Mamma, Irish baritone Bruno Caproni plays Alfio and New Zealand mezzo plays Lola.

What stands out in this opera isn't so much the singers as the chorus (ably coached by Timothy Todd Simmons) and the lush score conducted by Edoardo Muller, which plays like a moody, symphonic poem about village life for long, songless stretches.

But singing is what Leoncavallo's 1892 "Pagliacci" is all about, and that's clear from the opening seconds of the bill's second act, when Caproni steps out from behind the curtain to sing the opera's famous prologue "Si puo?" Although he's fine in "Cav," Caproni is masterful in "Pag," with expressive, powerful delivery and a big, round tone (Note to readers: The ailing Caproni will be replaced for at least one performance this week by Mark Rucker).

Caproni plays Tonio, the crippled clown in a traveling commedia troupe that stops for a night in Calabria. There, Nedda ---- the beautiful wife of the troupe's intensely jealous leader, Canio ---- reunites with her secret lover, Silvio, and plans a midnight escape. But Tonio, whose advances Nedda has scorned, tells Canio about his wife's betrayal and during the performance that night (a stage farce about a wife's betrayal that mirrors the offstage love triangle), Canio stabs to death both Nedda and her lover, Silvio, who leaps onstage in an effort to save her.

Unlike the languorous "Cavalleria," the hourlong "Pagliacci" moves like a house afire, and Mansouri's direction here feels less obvious. Canio is a signature role for Cura, and he commands the stage in the unfortunately few minutes he's there. Soprano Elizabeth Futral is impressive as the defiant Nedda, singing with crystal tone and vocal agility. Tenor Simeon Esper has a solid, ear-pleasing tone as Beppe, the troupe's harlequin, and baritone Scott Hendricks has a meaty, rich sound as Nedda's lover, Silvio. This opera, too, has nice choral numbers, and Muller's conducting is more urgent and dramatic to suit the piece.

The village street and courtyard sets, newly constructed by San Diego Opera for this production, are lavish and they're evocatively lit by Michael Whitfield. And Ed Kotanen's costumes are well-suited to the time and place.

Usually when San Diego Opera builds its own production, local audiences can expect to see the opera's return within a few years (as we've seen with the Hotel Del-inspired sets of "Cosi fan tutte," Zandra Rhodes' imaginative "Pearl Fishers" and "Magic Flute," and the gilded "Aida," which returns next month). Let's hope that when "Cav/Pag" makes its welcome return to the Civic Theatre in a few years, we'll see either one tenor with the star power of Cura in both lead roles or a production that better balances the strengths of the two operas.

"Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci"

When: 8 p.m. March 28; 7 p.m. April 2

Where: San Diego Opera at the San Diego Civic Theatre, Third Avenue at B Street, San Diego

Tickets: $28-$175

Info: (619) 533-7000

Web: www.sdopera.com

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