Above: (l-r) sopranos Camilla Wright and Lana Kains performed with buffa excellence in the opera and Singspiel by Salieri and Mozart. This and featured photos: Rosa Doric.
What better way to market the medium of opera as well as an enterprising small opera company to Sydney audiences than with a snappy, svelte and entertaining double bill of one act buffa style works by two of the art form’s greats of the eighteenth century?
And not just any two but those celebrated rivals Mozart and Salieri, in two short operatic works commissioned for the same event by Emperor Joseph- in the hope of confirming if the Italian or German style of entertainment was the more popular.
The 1984 film Amadeus extended the contrast between seasoned court composer of opera in the Italian style, Salieri and the genius German Mozart, who could set any words to amazing music in styles of the day.
Emperor Joseph II, brother of Marie Antoinette and music lover was a fan of the Italian Opera style. In 1786 the ruler set up a simultaneous performance in the Orangery of his elaborate Summer Palace in Vienna. He was keen to see the reaction to an Italian buffa opera by Salieri and the same but in Mozart’s native German language, which the younger composer Mozart responded too with a witty Singspiel. This showcased his dramatic skill and trademark, controversial ‘too many notes’ musical filigree as described in the scenes from Amadeus the movie.
This event by Sydney’s Operantics troupe was a hugely entertaining and enlightening re-staging of the juxtaposition of the nationalities, styles and musical approaches to opera as contrived by the curious musical Emperor. Here we rediscovered the entertaining commissioned dramas one after the other instead of simultaneously at opposite ends of a venue as they were in 1786.
Operantics chose to perform Salieri’s Prima la musica poi la parole (First the music, then the words) in Italian with surtitles and Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario) in English translation sans surtitles. Accompanied by a bare string quartet and keyboard in the place of an orchestra, this was an ambitious undertaking, especially in bringing us the dense swoop of Mozart’s Singspiel accompaniment, but the results were musically secure.
This cast as accompanied by the ensemble, led by conductor and arranger Philip Eames are to be congratulated. The pared down musical mesh still had much energy plus momentum, fine diction and clever blocking by director Theresa Borg in the intimate Eternity Playhouse space. The placement of surtitles against the historic place of worship rear dome-like space was a good use of the architecture.
Such convenient and elegantly placed surtitled in the historic Sydney space made the opera in Italian very accessible to opera fans old and emerging. The placement of operatic English by the cast in the translated Mozart also enabled us to access the story and style with detail and hilarious storytelling full of clever caricature amidst some of the best text setting of the tme. The event, historically informed and innovative at once brought compact works from a unique performace practice to modern audiences, promoting both of the theatrical and national styles in an excellent manner.
Above: (left to right) Camilla Wright, Matt Gaskin and Lana Kains strike a pose. Photo: Rosa Doric.
The success of such an undertaking required a flexible group of singers, which Operantics found for this set of performances. Local sopranos with a growing repertoire, experience in Australia and overseas, plus a baritone and tenor with experience and training both in Australia and overseas. Set detail and costuming were lush and polished and made for an attractive packaging of the promotion of the two composer’s place in history at the experimental hands of the emperor of the time.
Especially polished and slick was the contribution in Prima la musica of Aidan Hodder as the Maestro. Comic timing and dramatic edge from Hodder in a very solid, listenable voice was a highlight of the night. He was matched in the plight of re-writing an old opera with new words to a deadline with great effect by Matt Gaskin as the distracted poet with a soprano friend causing a conflict of interest.
As they did in Mozart’s Singspiel, the conflicting sopranos in Salieri’s fine satire in response to the commission were deliciously played with melodrama and impressive vocal colouring by promising emerging local prima donnas Camilla Wright (Donna Eleonora) and Lana Kains (Tonina). Heartfelt, silvered tones emerged throughout Mozart’s challenging romp. The level of vocal effect, quality of tone and exquisiteness of blend were consistently good here. So too were hilarious and well placed comic timing plus visual gags enriching the delivery from these Marie Antoinette styled divas at every posing, posturing turn.
These two theatrical miniatures, though conceived to compete, are actually perfect companion pieces. They gave the audience of the day an incisive comic glimpse at the machinations behind devising entertainments for the court or public in a hurry and dealing with business pressures plus the vanity of superstar soloists.
This coupling was the perfect vehicle with which Operantics could reach out to old and new followers. From this innovative group of players which has presented opera tastings from a range of eras, this eighteenth century sampling was en pointe and elegant. Its leafy bordered orchestral pit and mini-Orangery garden set elements (complete with citrus trees in pots on carts) were a clever reference to the origins of the programmed works.
The successful amusements of Salieri and Mozart burned with a fun flashback flame here, warming the Eternity Playhouse venue once more and building the repertoire of this important independent opera company in our city.
