A May Festival Night at the Opera

Listeners at the May Festival might have asked themselves Friday night, “Are we at the Met?”

Friday’s three-hour concert performance of Mozart’s singspiel, “The Abduction from the Seraglio,” was a thrilling evening of great operatic singing, which ended with a roaring, 10-minute ovation despite the late hour. It wasn’t just because of the coloratura fireworks of soprano Mary Dunleavy in the role of Konstanze, or the spectacular vocal power and comic acting of Morris Robinson as the bloodthirsty overseer Osmin.

Nor was it just the touch of Hollywood glamour added by actor Michael York, who navigated the narration, as well as the speaking role of the Pasha Selim, with enormous charm.

Altogether, this was Mozart as it should be performed, with a fresh, well-matched ensemble, sparkling music and entertaining, but not overdone, antics onstage. In the end, the beauty of Mozart’s music shone through, and we were left with the profound message of forgiveness rather than revenge.

On the stage, James Conlon presided over a chamber-sized Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, while York balanced on a stool. The script by Marie These Squerciati, commissioned by Conlon, was a witty mix of the libretto woven with commentary about such things as the 18th-century Viennese fascination with the exotic Turks.

In the story, pirates attack the ship of the Spanish lady Konstanze and her English maid, Blonde, selling the ladies, along with Blonde’s boyfriend, Pedrillo, to the Turkish potentate Pasha Selim. Pedrillo and Belmonte (Konstanze’s fiancé) try to rescue the ladies from the Pasha’s harem.

Frequently, concert versions are just a poor cousin of a fully staged production, where singers usually stand-and-sing. But this was refreshingly engaging, because the singers (who were in concert dress) communicated with each other and inhabited their roles convincingly, with minimal but clear gestures.

The singers were all new to the May Festival. In her debut, American soprano Dunleavy, who recently sang Pamina in the Metropolitan Opera’s Julie Taymor production of “The Magic Flute,” tackled Mozart’s show-stopping arias brilliantly and fearlessly, with a voice as scintillating as crystal. Her greatest moment was her great Act II recitative and aria, “Traurigkeit ward mir zum Lose” (Sorrow is my fate), a lament sung with intensity, depth and stunning expression. In the heroic aria that followed, “Martern aller Arten” (All manner of torments), she ignited her flawless coloratura runs and trills with power and determination, her voice seamless through every range.

(It may be no surprise that on Thursday, Dunleavy was named “2006 Maria Callas debut artist of the year” by Dallas Opera.)

Making his United States debut as Belmonte, German tenor Matthias Klink impressed for the effortless, genuine quality he brought to his singing. His Act II aria, “When tears of joy are flowing,” was ardent and superbly controlled, and he sang consistently all evening with great expression and lyric beauty.

Robinson, a graduate of The Citadel, was delightfully buffo in his festival debut as Osmin. He struck a formidable presence, gloating and relishing the torture he was planning, while projecting a voice of astonishing color, depth, flexibility and power.

Amanda Pabyan made a charming, pert Blonde, who sang sweetly (if a bit sharp) in “Durch Zartlichkeit” (With tenderness), navigating the coloratura well. Though Matthew Garrett did not have a large voice, he was ideal as Pedrillo, wonderfully conveying his trepidation in “Off to Battle” and singing all evening with character.

There were many fine moments in the ensembles. The Act III love duet between Klink and Dunleavy, as they pledged to die for each other, was radiant and sung with a memorable oneness of spirit. Osmin’s drinking duet with Pedrillo (Garrett and Robinson) was hilarious.

Weaving it all together, York was an engaging storyteller who performed his lines with nuance. He changed his timbre and tone convincingly as Selim, saying deeply and magnanimously to Konstanze lines such as, “I love you more than any of my wives.”
(In addition to the English narration, there were surtitles for the singing, which took place in German.)

Conlon collaborated with his singers seamlessly. The orchestra was blustery in the Turkish Janissary moments, and captured the humor and energy of the score. In particular, the winds deserve kudos for some of the evening’s most stunning playing.

The May Festival Chorus had just a cameo appearance, but added vigor to the Janissary choruses that open and close the opera.

The May Festival concludes Saturday night with Haydn’s “The Creation.”
E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com