ee, _ —=

Opera ensemble amuses
and delights the uninitiated

Although opera has
been a popular form of
entertainment in Europe
for centuries, it
somehow never quite
caught on in North
America and is probably
the least understood and
least popular type of
stage event on the conti-
nent. Language barriers
and musical styles which
seem remote, archaic
and sometimes maudlin
make opera appear ar-
cane and inaccessible,
It’s an acquired taste,
and to most people the
effort wouldn’t seem to
be worth the acquisition.

by Michael Kelly
Staff Reporter

A recent performance
by the Vancouver Opera
Touring Ensemble at the
R.E.M. Lee Theatre
struck aside many of
these difficulties to draw
laughter and appre-
ciative applause from a
local audience which
consisted primarily of
the uninitiated. The pro-
gramme material was,
for the most part, light
and straightforward with
strongly appealing
melodic and dramatic
elements. All but three
of. the selections were
done in English transla-
tion, and, most impor-
tantly, the performers
projected liveliness and
enthusiasm,

Gaetano Donizetti’s
“Don Pasquale’ was a
particularly. fortunate
selection with which to
begin the program. It
was presented in a one-

hour condensed version

with English libretto,
and, although it is not a
strong opera musically,
the rapid pacing and
slapstick humor carried
the piece well. English
translation nearly always
conveys a feeling of
triteness to operatic
dialogue, but the com-
pany’s music director,
Bruce Johnson, deserves
credit for an adaptation
which turned out to be a
very acceptable com-
promise.

The performers were
particularly well-suited
to their rolés. Bass-
baritone Douglas
DeVillier as Don Pas-
quale conveyed the right
element of eager
gullibility which brought
the lecherous and foolish
old man to his just
deserts. Dr. Malatesta,
played by baritone
Daniel Neff, projected
petty slyness and a sort
of malicious gusto.
Soprano Helene
McDonald was ap-
propriately coquettish as
Norina, and tenor Don
Wright gave a confused
heroism to the role of
Ernesto.

It was difficult to
evaluate the perfor-

. manice of mezzo-soprano

Shana White because she
sang only cae brief phase
as the notary at the mar-

riage of Norina and.

Ernesto. She displayed
her talents unequivocal-

ly, however, in a grip-.

ping dissertation of the
aria ‘‘My Man is Dead”
from Gershwin’s ‘“‘Porgy
and Bess’ during the se-
cond half of the pro-
gram.

. The post-intermission
program in fact gave
musical balance to the
production, emphasizing
the sheer beauty and en-
chantment available in
the grand operatic reper-
toire. Extracts from
Strauss’s “Die Fleder-
maus’’, Mozart’s ‘‘Cosi
Fan Tutte” and ‘‘The
Merry Widow” by Lehar
were performed in

‘which

English. The emotional

poignancy of the love

duet from Donizetti’s
‘‘Lucia di Lammer-
moor’’, sung by Helene
McDonald and tenor
Edd Wright, required no
translation. -

The most contem-
porary piece in the pro-
gram was the ice-cream
sextet from Kurt Weill’s
‘Street Scenes’’, a
hyperbolic tribute to the
frozen treat. This selec-
tion was a somewhat
misleading representa-
tion of Weill’s works,
are often
characterized by
understated despair and
rather savage black
humor,

Pianist Sheila Meek
deserves special mention

Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 23, 1986 17

Touring company entertains
The Vancouver Opera Touring Company’s adaptation of Donizetti's “Don Pasquale" was a
comic hit with the Terrace audience at a recent performance in the R.E.M. Lee Theatre.
Company members are (left to right): Don Wright, Helene McDonald, Douglas DeVilller,
Shana White and Daniel Neff. .

for her strong and
dynamically sound ac-
companiment through-
out the production.
Both the performers

and the production staff
of the Vancouver Opera
Touring Ensemble are to
be commended for their
fine efforts in bringing a

as

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A Public service message from

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1

portable, accessible and
musically undiluted form
of opera to the schools
and general public of the
northwest,