Six decades ago, opera companies began to revive musical dramas by Handel, but it was not until 2002 that San Diego Opera got in the game with “Ariodante.” In the years since, San Diego Opera has offered a grand total of one more opera by Handel, 2006’s “Julius Caesar in Egypt.”
It’s a great thing for fans then that over the last 10 seasons, scrappy Opera Neo has stepped up to present Handel opuses such as “Partenope,” “Rinaldo,” “Agrippina” and “Serse.”
On Saturday, inside a large gallery at Bread & Salt, a sold-out crowd braved heat and humidity to take in Opera Neo’s production of “Ariodante.”
Unlike last week’s vampire-ridden “La Finta Giardiniera,” director Peter Kozma was faithful to the libretto’s courtly intrigue, with minimal anachronisms, chief among those the distribution of pink cotton candy to celebrate Princess Ginevra’s betrothal to Ariodante.
Kozma was also lighting director; in Ginevra’s mad scene at the end of Act II, Michael Wogulis’ minimalist set of scaffolding and movable panels was bathed in cotton-candy-pink light, a cruel inversion of her earlier happiness.
The castrato who created the part of Ariodante was a virtuoso, and Handel took advantage of that skill with several astonishing arias. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Doche conquered these vocal challenges with bravura. She looked the part of the dashing hero to boot. She easily navigated difficult runs and roulades, even when called upon to walk across the company’s legs in an illustration of love’s flight on the wings of constancy.
Doche’s aria “Scherza infida” showcased beautiful sustained tones, roundly shaped with imperceptible breaths buoying the melody. During this song of suicidal despair at Ariodante’s perception of Ginevra’s betrayal, Wogulis’ mirrored panels pointedly became cracked.
Soprano Ashley Fabian made a fetching Ginevra, portraying in full voice the excitement and joy of her betrothal, and later the confusion and horror of her mad scene. Her aria “Io ti bacio” was sweet and touching.
Handel wanted the villain Polinesso to be a second castrato, but none was available, so a contralto created the part. The recent trend is for countertenors to take the role. Keith Wehmeier appropriately looked the heavy and could sing powerful held notes. However, at times that power drained away during rapid passagework, sometimes dragging behind the beat.
As Dalinda, soprano Sara Womble maintained a big vibrato throughout her runs. In her final aria, she flung rage out in a torrent of notes.
Tenor Brian Skoog was a strong Lurcanio. As the King, bass Andrew Boisvert’s bottom notes took a while to warm up, but once that happened, his deep register was put to good use in “Invida sorte avara.”
Benjamin Bayl conducted from a double-manual harpsichord. The orchestra included period oboes (doubling on recorders), horns, trumpets, two theorbos, and even a second harpsichord. Despite oppressive humidity, the ensemble played with admirable intonation. They beautifully supported singers during slow numbers, and provided rousing accompaniment to virtuosic arias.
Compared to Handel’s other operas, “Ariodante” has a large amount of ballet music. Judicious cuts were made, and that was probably for the best, seeing as no one on stage appeared to be a trained dancer. Sean Flanagan’s choreography relied on lots of stomping, marching and simple turns with rudimentary arm movements. It was limited but effective, most notably during Ginevra’s hallucinatory dreams at the end of Act II.
Hertzog is a freelance writer.
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