In an age where bubblegum pop and rock musicals reign supreme, classical art forms such as opera seem to have taken a backseat in favor of boy bands, techno, and Rent - which the general public may or may not realize is actually based on the Puccini opera La Boheme. But Puccini, Mozart, and other opera greats are still as strong as ever in their original forms at the Boston Lyric Opera, where the company's latest production - the 19th century Donizetti opera Don Pasquale - opened last night.
Pasquale's artistic director, Leon Major, spoke to the Daily last week about the status of classical operatic repertoire in America today, saying that much has changed over the past ten to fifteen years. While operas are still essentially presented as written, directors have the freedom to change around the setting, the time period, and even the language - though this production of Don Pasquale will be performed in the original Italian, with English subtitles to help the audience better understand the plot.
Major suggested that the reason why opera tends to attract an older audience has a lot to do with certain stereotypes that have become associated with the art form over the years.
"There's an image of fat ladies singing in a foreign language with not much reality," Major said. Not anymore. Opera has begun to delve into appearance-based typecasting similar to that seen in movies and musical theater. "Casting is closer to reality now than in the old days - now the voice counts but so does the look... it's very rare to have a large Mimi now," he added, referring to the heroine in La Boheme.
But sometimes this proves difficult, given the vocal challenges that many composers present in some of the most complicated epic operas. "In some operas there are only certain people that can sing [the roles] and you have to look at that," Major said.
This is not an issue for Pasquale, however, as Major's interpretation focuses largely on comedic acting in addition to impressive singing. The production conforms to much of the standards set forth for modern opera, encompassing a talented cast composed of seasoned Lyric Opera veterans as well as newcomers making their debut with the company. And while their musical talents create the core of the performance, there is much more behind these characters than just voices.
"The singers are good actors and all handsome and musical," said Major, explaining that the beauty of DonPasquale is that the plot is accessible and the characters extremely relatable. Performed in the style of commedia dell'arte, the opera tells the story of Don Pasquale, an elderly bachelor who deceives his nephew Ernesto by marrying the young and beautiful Norina. Once Norina figures out the truth, she and Ernesto devise a plot of their own to teach Don Pasquale a lesson.
"It's a piece that is very funny, but not funny in a slapstick way...it's the situations that are peculiar," Major explained. "If it was put in English it could probably run on Broadway."
Major cited this as one of the primary reasons for choosing to direct Don Pasquale as part of Boston Lyric Opera's 25th Anniversary Season. "It's a mindset that opera is some kind of esoteric event, and in fact it's a piece of theater," he said. "I don't like doing shows that are so esoteric that people have trouble understanding - what's the point?"
In fact, Major's directing background comes largely from straight theater, as he ran two theater companies in Canada before arriving in Boston ten years ago. He uses this to his advantage in this production, saying that the most difficult aspect of mounting Don Pasquale was figuring out who the characters were, how they could relate to each other, and where to place them on a historical timeline.
"When opera singers take on the responsibility of a role and approach it as an actor, [the audience] gets involved," Major said. "When you see a play you get involved - opera is basically a play with a lot of music." By setting Don Pasquale in the 17th century and making Norina an actress at a theater where Don Pasquale would not often frequent, Major was able to give a special touch of color to an opera that is not commonly performed by the major American opera companies.
But Major said that are not any glaring reasons why this is the case. "All of us are trying to figure out why [the opera isn't performed more frequently]," he said. "There's wonderful music - you'll come out literally humming the tunes, and a great story."
Which is the overall sentiment Major hopes that Don Pasquale will perpetuate. "Opera is growing rapidly all around the country - it's mythic and big, you go to the opera and you see archetypes and great figures," he said. "The people are larger than life and speak to us and touch us."
Boston Lyric Opera's 'Don Pasquale' plays at the Schubert Theater through April 9. The Daily will feature a review of the production in an upcoming issue.
