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CSULB
Opera Institute performs with gusto
Opera
• The Cal State Long Beach Opera Institute
performed “La Fille du Régiment,”
a story about an orphan (played by Melissa
Simpson, above) befriended by a French regiment
in 1801. Keith Ian Polakoff
By
Bradley Zint
Daily Forty-Niner
Calendar Editor
It's
nice when an opera doesn't take itself too
seriously, that is, when it doesn't fit
the preconceived stereotypes of opera. Not
all opera involves massive orchestras, intricate
plots and heavy themes. Some are just plain
fun, good-spirited and even funny.
Donizetti's
comic opera “La Fille du Régiment”
(The Daughter of the Regiment) is such an
example, and was wonderfully performed by
the combined efforts of the Cal State Long
Beach Opera Institute.
The
storyline is simple enough. It takes place
in the French Louisiana Territory in 1801.
The beautiful and musically talented Marie,
an orphan befriended by a French regiment,
falls in love with the man who saved her
life, Tonio. This newfound love does not
sit well with the regiment, who over time
has regarded Marie as its own daughter,
hence the name of the opera. It doesn't
please the Marquis de Berkenfeld either,
Marie's actual mother who claims her child.
After
a few songs of sorrow and dances of delight,
Marie and Tonio end up happily ever after.
This cliché story of boy meets girl
is greatly enhanced by a few very funny
scenes. One of them is when the Marquis
attempts to make Marie a civilized upper-class
girl by having her sing along to the harpsichord,
one of the most horrific and dated instruments
imaginable. Marie fumbles along out of tune
until feeling enticed by her old regimental
melody, which causes her to parade around
the room for joy to the Marquis' dismay.
It's good to know some 19th century humor
still works today.
Though
some of the humor may have dated itself,
signs of a modern age could still be seen
in the production. One of them came humorously
by accident as the Microsoft Windows XP
logo flashed on the projection screen during
Friday night's performance causing even
the conductor to laugh.
Technical
foul-ups aside, the opera's main set backgrounds
had a very modern feel that contrasted well
with everything.
But
what of the music itself? After all, what
is opera without it? Simply put, the music
was great. The cast and orchestra that performed
on Friday night's show were excellent. Marie,
played by Melissa Simpson, had a voice and
stage presence of such vibrancy that she
often stole the scene. Sulpice, performed
by Nathan Stark, added great humor as the
overprotective French-accented father worried
about men taking too many liberties with
his adopted daughter. Equally impressive
were Tonio and the Marquis, played by Vladimir
Marc and Brandi Samuel, respectively, and
the 10 French regimental soldiers.
Even
though the performers sang in languages
most of us don't understand and have to
read through subtitles, their musical melodies
still captivate and you just can't help
but be impressed by the sheer amounts of
talent coming from stage. Even if you don't
have considerable love for operatic style,
it's still amazing to hear people with such
voice control and volume filling an entire
theater without the aid of modern technology.
One
of the other effective attributes of the
production was its more intimate feel due
to the smaller size of the theaters. When
the soldiers ran down the aisles alongside
the audience and even knocked at the entrance
doors, I felt closer to the action. Marie
even handed out cookies while singing her
introduction number, and though I wasn't
fortunate enough to taste one, such an act
created a performer-audience closeness.
Cal
State Long Beach should be proud of its
operatic achievements, and hopefully I'll
get a chance to taste next year's cookies,
should the production require baking.
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