Opera in Williamsburg ventured into new territory with its presentation of “Marriage of Figaro,” Friday in the Kimball Theater. Moving away from its established tradition of using a salon-styled ensemble on stage, OiW used a small orchestra of top notch, polished professional musicians. Positioned directly on the floor in front of the stage, the placement was perfect, musically allowing a fuller, more direct sound for the singers and a more blended one for the audience. It also freed up stage space normally taken up by past salon ensembles.
The venture was obviously successful, especially given the aria-filled score that provides some of Mozart’s best-known musical moments. And in the singing category, this was, I believe, OiW’s best collection of vocalists to date. The nine young singers boast strong backgrounds in training and performance, the results of which were heard in this “Figaro.” It’s only a matter of time before several of them break into the major leagues. The results were as pleasing and musically targeted as one could desire.
The story is too complicated to list each performer’s role and relation to the plot, its substance essentially finding contrasting elements of social class and privilege, lust and love, and fidelity and infidelity intersecting before all ends well, with love triumphing.
Given the comic or buffa nature of the libretto, “Figaro” needs more than good singing which, here, was solid, secure and impressive; it needs singers who understand the fine art of comic timing to make the mayhem work. As the singing was roundly excellent, so too the comic elements were handled with excellence all around.
While I intended not to single out individual performances, given the large cast and limited space, I’d be remiss not to mention Eric Lindsay, as Figaro, whose richly developed and rounded bass-baritone fully embraced the fine balance of superb singing and involved comic awareness. His every moment on stage was savored and enjoyed for its fullness and appropriateness. Lindsay has the musical and movement makings of the likes of a Samuel Ramey or Bryn Terfel and is a singer to watch.
The brilliance of “Figaro” and its humor was fully evident thanks to Laura Alley’s stage direction. Alley has achieved acclaim for productions in important opera houses across the country, as well as in Germany. Here, with the musicians no longer occupying a quarter of the stage, she took advantage of the full space to allow “Figaro,” with its many comings and goings, to breathe and logically flow, the latter notably challenging given OiW’s purposeful use of limited props and set pieces. Alley’s intelligent eye kept things engaging and comic moments entertaining. A first class job.
Musically, Jorge Parodi, who has rubbed collaborative shoulders with important world-class vocalists and has conducted numerous operatic companies and festivals, brought insight and life to Mozart’s lyrical score. Now positioned in front of the singers, Parodi was able to maintain constant contact with the action on stage and better balance things between the singers and the musicians, the latter who delivered the score with exacting excellence and artistry. Hands down, he’s one of OiW’s prime assets.
In the way of betterment, a less stuffy version of the subtitles would have advanced the overall humor and plot devices, as would steadier control of subtitle projection have avoided their periodically disruptive jumping back and forth.
The bottom line is that this was one of OiW’s best efforts to date in bringing musically rewarding opera to town. Its two almost sold out performances attest to OiW’s success, support and continued growth.
Shulson, a Williamsburg resident, has been covering the arts for over 40 years. He makes a guest appearnce in Margaret Truman’s “Murder at the Opera.”
