by Steven Ang

Prologue
I had been thinking of a trip to New York for ages but after an inspired tour through the Met’s website (http://www.metopera.org), I was convinced to finally make the journey. The show I planned to catch was the new production of Handel’s Rodelinda (right), one of my favorite operas by one of my favourite composers, performed by a stellar cast including Renee Fleming, David Daniels, Stephanie Blythe, and countertenor Bejun Mehta.

As far as opera-themed vacations go, this one has had to be one of the best. Even though I only watched all of one show, and spent most of my time in Broadway theatres, the ten days between 31st November and 9^th December saw me snooping around Reneé Fleming’s dressing room, standing on the Met stage, peeking at Susan Graham rehearsing Der Rosenkavalier, admiring Marilyn Horne’s Carmen costume, chatting with other opera enthusiasts and to top it off, meeting and getting autographs from David Daniels and Renee Fleming!

One of the first things I did in New York was to visit the Virgin Megastore in Times Square, which has an extensive classical section that is drab by NY standards, especially compared to the huge classical dept at Tower Records near Lincoln Center (easily bigger than the entire Singapore Tower Records - its opera section alone is much bigger than the whole of the local Tower Records’ classical dept!), but huge by Singapore’s. Apart from getting many CDs and DVDs, I also bought a copy of Opera News, which was much cheaper there, and had David Daniels on the cover, plugging his upcoming Met engagements. In it, serendipitously, was an ad: “Renee Fleming autograph session at the Metropolitan Opera Gift Shop on 9^th December, 12.30pm to 1.30 pm.”

Even though I usually cringe at the crazy fan antics inspired by boybands and Korean soap stars, I decided I must go see my Reneé there too, having already flown halfway across the world to watch her show! After all, the only close encounter I have had with world-class divas was when Jessye Norman accused me, live on the Esplanade stage, no less, of allegedly asking her to sign a pirated disc (“Ah do NOT SAign PaHrates!”). Jessye Norman, budget re-issue. Budget reissue, Jessye Norman.

Most of the events described below took place on 6^th December 2004, the day of the performance and the second show of the new Rodelinda production. I signed up for an afternoon backstage tour by the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Our guide, Elisabeth, took us around the various departments of the enormous building, including a few forbidden areas like the main stage where the stage crew was busy assembling the sets for the evening’s performance.

At “The Met” (left)
One of my  favorite parts of the tour was getting to see the dressing rooms of the principle singers, of which there are only eight (rooms, not singers). Neatly parted perpendicularly along the main corridor leading to the stage, four on the right for the men, and four on the left for the ladies, they are assigned, based on distance to the main corridor, by voice type. Tenors and sopranos get the nearest rooms, followed by mezzos and baritones. Our guide Elisabeth added that even in Rigoletto, in which the lead is the baritone, the tenor gets the nearer dressing room - no better proof for evidence of voice discrimination!).

Despite being having housed many a great superstar, the Met dressing rooms are hardly glamorous in décor, being sparsely furnished and florescent-lit, with a simple reclining chair, a piano, a make-up table with light-up mirror, a bathroom and transparent closet where the costumes are kept. The dressing rooms of the Esplanade Concert Hall, managed by the Conrad Hotel, are infinitely more pleasant, with clean towels and toiletries and bright lighting, just like a mini hotel room! They would put the Met dressing rooms to shame, any day.

The dressing room that we were brought to on the day was the one given to the prima donna soprano’s, the lady this evening being none other than Miss Reneé Fleming herself! However, while we got to admire the costumes, shoes and the general atmosphere, it was simply too crowded for me to be doing any of those crazy-fan type things like looking for disposed candy wrappers or dirty clothing articles. Not that I was tempted to, of course.

Next, we were herded to the rehearsal rooms, where we got to see a soprano I couldn’t recognize perform the Doll Song from Offenbach’s Les Contes D’Hoffman, while a handsome bass-baritone circled round her.  I also got to see a mezzo who looked somewhat like Susan Graham, singing something reminiscent of Strauss, and of course Rosenkavalier is on the season playlist. It was almost certainly the star mezzo herself, but nobody else seemed to be taking notice of whoever it was singing inside. Still, given the circumstances, the chances were that it was Susan Graham herself rehearsing, to the pleasure of us tourists, rather than an uncanny look-and-sound-alike.

Costumes, costumes
We were then brought to the costumes department, where we saw rows and rows of gowns and outfits, a huge number of them worn by numerous divas of the past. Elisabeth took out a red number and remarked: “This dress always reminds me of Maria Callas in Tosca”. “So did Maria Callas actually wear this dress”, I asked, mentally plotting ways to steal the outfit, or at least wear it, if the answer was a ‘yes’, deciding at that moment to bestow my “Tosca’s Kiss” to any would-be objector. Sadly it was not to be - Elisabeth flipped the dress over and peered at a tag inside. “Nope, but Marilyn Horne wore it in Carmen.”

Sigh….

Showtime
The show itself was exciting for me for many reasons; it was my first time at the Met, my first time seeing so many superstars onstage together, the first time I was seeing a live Handel opera and, backward as it may seem, one of the few times a Singaporean can watch live world-class opera.

For opera-goers weaned on the bombastic scores of Wagner, Verdi and Puccini, Handel operas present a strange contradiction: epic storylines of grand proportions delivered by musical forces of miniscule size (when I peered over at the orchestra pit during the backstage tour, there were only about twenty seats for the musicians). Along with the da capo musical format of the Baroque era, Handel operas present generally a more aloof feel, like attending a costumed lieder concert, moving and touching but cool at the same time, rather than the tear-jerking theatrics of the Romantics like say, Puccini. It takes time for audiences to adjust their ears, but as Harry Bicket has noted in his Rinaldo interview, more people are making the effort, and reaping heaps of enjoyment in the process. And, as I have found out, Handel presents some of the most beautiful, poignant, reflective, introspective, and melodic music in the entire history of opera. And there is a good amount of adrenaline-pumping virtuosic music too!

True to Met tradition, the opera was presented in, well, traditional style, without any of those European post-modern ‘weird-for-weird’s-sake’ effects. Here, glamorous costumes matched the beautiful sets, giving life to a timeless production that focused on presenting the plot of the opera rather than forcing psychology lessons or political commentary on the audience. Unfortunately, the small-scale opera that requires only a main cast of six and a few supernumeraries (or “supers” - the opera equivalent of TV extras) did not require the bombastic presentations of say the famous Zeffirelli productions (just think Turandot, Carmen or Aida), where hundreds of people and animals of all shapes and sizes congregate on the Met’s huge stage that rises, falls, slides from left to right, revolves, and generally create a bigger show during set changes than what the singers alone can hope to achieve.

This production had the full works above, but on a far smaller scale. The sets were mounted on slides twice the length of the main stage. On the right was a house, in Act I containing a bed where Rodelinda appears chained to it, which magically transforms in Act II into a two storey library, complete with shelves of books, ladders and furniture made of varnished wood. During parts of the opera, the house slides to the left, as the performers move along, to reveal a monument dedicated to the supposedly dead Bertarido (played by David Daniels), and a stable. When that side of the set is firmly in place, it can rise, and did in Act 3, to reveal another set, of a prison where Bertarido is jailed. There was one animal, a horse, that did pretty much nothing except stand in the stables and carry the villain Garibaldo, played by the bass John Relyea, in its last appearance onstage.

Performance wise, I was all-round impressed by the standards of every singer. Kobie van Rensburg and John Relyea as the villains Grimoaldo and Garibaldo were very convincing and deliciously evil. Bejun Mehta, the famous countertenor and erstwhile boy soprano who impressed me very much with his performance as Tolemeo in Marc Minkowski’s recording of Giulio Cesare, played the comic part of Bertarido’s loyal servant Unolfo with charm, and nearly stole the show when his warm alto presented his many beautiful and deceptively difficult arias. Stephanie Blythe, the American contralto equally at home with Handel and Wagner, has by far the most resonant voice, even at acoustically disadvantageous areas like the sides of the stage. Playing the scheming Eduige, she was an imposing figure onstage. She is a highly talented dramatic mezzo whose career will be exciting to watch.

For those who have heard David Daniels’ CD of Handel Opera Arias, his Dove sei live sounds exactly the same as the recording, except with slightly different ornamentation. His high mezzo may sound thin to some for this alto role, but he sings with charismatic passion and conviction, and the audience was absolutely captivated by him, flaws and all. His Vivi tirrano at the end brought out enthusiastic ‘Bravo!’s from the crowd. His long, messy wig gave the romantic impression of a tragic hero of another era. It briefly reminded me of Fabio on those Mills and Boons covers, but without the cheesiness.

Most impressive of all, of course, was Renee Fleming as Rodelinda, whose visage graced promotional posters and was largely the reason for the sold-out run of shows. Handel’s music, widely loved by vocal students as foundation building exercises, hardly requires any of the dog-whistle-high notes of bel canto and French opera, nor the declamatory, ear-shattering bravados that Verdi at times requires. Neither are there legatos as those endlessly long melodic weavings of Richard Strauss, all qualities which Renee is famous for.

No matter, for there is still that lovely candy-floss voice, and the passion of the singing actress that we know so well. Her performance, prepared with her custom thoroughness, was an affecting three-dimensional portrayal of the heroine. With subtle nuances in phrasing and ornamentation, backed by dramatic conviction, she made all of us feel the pathos of Rodelinda’s many dramatic situations. The role fits Renee to a ‘T’, and brought out all the qualities that she is loved for and cheered by her loving audience.

Her opening aria, Ho perduto mio caro sposo (I have lost my beloved husband) was plaintively beautiful. She then did a dramatic about turn in L’empio rigor, lambasting the treacherous Grimoaldo and dramatically tackling the many virtuosic runs. Her Ritorna caro dulce mio tesoro in Act 2, the only selection of the opera recorded in her new Handel Arias CD, was cheered to the skies, and deservingly so. Her scenes with David Daniels, two famously charismatic performers performing as romantic partners, were magical. She does not choose ornaments with the aim of showing off her high notes, but rather, augmented the music to bring out its most expressive potential. Her musical expressiveness, right down to her every gesture, were right on target and, like much of this production, just so darned… beautiful.

Epilogue
December 9^th, my last day in NY, was spent queuing up outside the Met gift shop. The event officially starts at 12.30pm, so I decided to get in line at 9am. I eventually woke up at 10am, and then got to the Met at 11.30am.

Lucky for me, but not so for Reneé and as a reflection of the opera industry as a whole, the line was not hideously long and winding. It was certainly not snaking around the basement level (where the line was guided to by security officers) although by the time Renee got there (at around 12.45pm) it was much longer then when I had joined (near the base of the staircase leading to the first floor where the gift shop is). I had the pleasure of meeting Valerie, a professional singer and voice teacher who counts Amneris as one of her favorite roles, and Kathy, an elderly woman who does paintings of famous singers in their favorite roles, and then presents them to said singers whenever opportunities arrive, such as this. However, to our disappointment, she did not prepare one this time round as Renee already has one of her works at home.

So the three of us got around to talking about opera, topics from our favorite operas, recordings (Valerie knows tons of pirate historical recordings by past singers), and of course, singers that we have met in person and/or know personally (at least they have, and failed to mention my debacle with ‘Jessye Normous’), Marcello Giordani, Placido and Marta Domingo, Karita Mattila, and the list goes on. Valerie also mentioned that she is the voice teacher of Richard Troxell, the Pinkerton in Frederic Mitterrand’s film production of Madame Butterfly, largely known for the life-like portrayal of the title character by Ying Huang.

That was of course my cue to start exclaiming how much I love that movie, “…it was so beautiful, Ying Huang was so touching and…Oh my God! Is that David Daniels!!!!!!???”

IT WAS!!! The man himself, standing at the basement lobby talking to someone, was standing right in front of Renee’s fans! I was wondering whether I should approach him when someone already did, and so I followed suit. “David!” I exclaimed, “I saw you in Rodelinda on Monday and I loved it! I came all the way from Singapore to see it!” “Wow, that’s great!” he remarked in a soft-spoken, light tenor voice. I think he has slimmed down a lot since his 2001 Munich Rinaldo DVD, where he was pudgy and had no neck. In person, he looks much slimmer than on camera. He was dressed in a white checkered shirt tucked into blue jeans, and a dark tan complements his overall appearance. He signed my book, “Finding Your Voice” by Jo Thomson, before running off, and I rejoined the line.

It was then when I realized that in my excitement, I had forgotten to ask him for a picture! ARRGGGHHH!!!!! I’m still kicking myself as I type this!

Another half an hour passed before the main star arrived, wearing a simple black dress and a coat of brown feathers. There she was, that famous face coated with thick layers of make-up, ready for the odd informal photo-op. “Oh my God!” She said to the applauding crowd, “Wait! I’ve got to get ready first!” “You look lovely Renee, love your coat,” the girl behind me shouted in response (it was a beautiful coat, even if it reminded me of Papagena). Renee left for her desk at the gift shop, and I got my camera ready.

That was before security officers handed out strips of paper stating that Renee would only autograph her new book and CDs, and that no photo-taking is allowed.  Once again, sigh…

And after that episode with David Daniels, I resolved that this time round, I will keep my calm, that I would keep my cool and not dribble all over Renee like a wet pup.

And so, my turn came and needless to say, I became a rambling, incoherent lump of molasses. “Oh my God! Renee!” I squealed like an idiot, “I saw your Rodelinda on Monday and I loved it! I came all the way from Singapore to see it!” “REALLY!? Wow!!!” She squealed back, like someone talking to a retarded person. I droned on, “It was so beautiful, and you were so beautiful in it!” “Yes, it was a lovely production wasn’t it? By the way, who do I address this to?”, referring to the DVDs and book that I gave her to sign. “Oh, nevermind lah, just sign it.” I figured that a nameless autograph might fetch a high price on eBay, only if the need ever arises, of course. (Just kidding – nothing’s getting between me and my autographed Renée items!)

Plucking up my courage, I figured that since I had flown all the way to New York I had might as well risk the Diva’s wrath by asking for a photo anyway. After all, she couldn’t possibly be as fierce as Jessye Normous! Graciously, she acquiesced, and here it is (above)

And she was so nice about it too!

All in all, it was the perfect end to an unforgettable trip. Thanks to my family members in New York for putting up with me, and my family in Singapore for their support. Suakoo* as it may make me look, this has truly been a dream come true!

*Backward in Singlish

 

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