A royal family drama full of coloratura
Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Mitridate, re di Ponto, celebrates Mozart’s lesser-known work with colorful, unique staging and musical extravagance
Photo Courtesy of Nile Scott Studios
Photo Courtesy of Nile Scott Studios
Mitridate, re di Ponto
Boston Lyric Opera
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre
Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 15 at 3:00 p.m.
Mitridate, re di Ponto, is a bold yet safe choice for Boston Lyric Opera’s season opening. The plot follows a royal family that is fractured from issues regarding inheritance, love, and war, after the supposed death of the titular character Mitridate, the King of Pontus. With music by beloved opera composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the aria-focused score helps create a well-rehearsed performance that is easy to follow. However, this opera seria is one of Mozart’s lesser-performed works, especially in the United States, and it is clear that the staging directions want to push the boundaries of a traditional “serious” art form into something more accessible to Boston audiences.
Like other major Baroque operatic works that inspired Mozart, many of the intense rage, despair, and negative emotions are expressed in a major key, which could confuse the modern listener. However, with clear, expressive dynamics and articulation from both the singers and the orchestra, these emotions could still be communicated through the score. The orchestra in the overture set the scene with controlled pulsing and clean, lean strings texturing the music. Interestingly, the venue seemed to cause unbalanced sounds depending on the position of the audience or the musician relative to them. For instance, from the first mezzanine right, some of the lower brass or the lower range of Aspasia (Brenda Rae) sounded muffled or covered, and the rich warmth of Arbate (Alexis Peart) felt too dark to hear the Italian consonants.
However, it was without a doubt that the musicality, vocal agility, and precision of the cast delivered exciting moments in the context of the story. The voice of Farnace (John Holiday) was steely in the middle registers and especially resonant up higher with pink undertones of warmth. This sound balanced well with the character’s counterpart Ismene (Angela Yam), who possessed a youthful, sweet tone and lean sound that suited Mozart perfectly. Mitridate (Lawrence Brownlee) provided a resolute, steady backbone in his entrance, and brought about intense, almost shout-like moments in later scenes.
Aspasia’s (Brenda Rae) bright yet full reach, jaw-dropping melismas both legato and detached, and high bell-like staccatos resounded throughout the hall. These vocal characteristics highlighted well the moments of rage, sadness, and negativity exhibited by the character, especially in her last aria. Vanessa Goikoetxea as Sifare seemed to contradict many Mozartian conventions, first with the dramatic color and the irregular dynamic control on larger leaps creating an aggressive line. Still, the duet between Aspasia and Sifare with two lines intimately moving together, crossing at times, and connecting small musical fragments, is a showstopper that seemed to unite the two distinctly colored voices. The audience on Friday night cheered wildly at the end of this special moment, one of only two ensemble numbers, which felt well worth the wait. The staging of this scene included the two characters together under a thin blue veil, a color representing Aspasia, which felt like a more intimate look at their passionate love.
The set, costumes, and props were minimal, but bright colors and many dedicated details created a visual hook for the production. Most of the props and the costumes were more classic, such as Aspasia or Ismene’s princess-like dress, but some parts were more modern, such as the “spray paint” on the projection wall. The projections themselves were mesmerizingly beautiful and key additions to the staging, with the initial black and white swirls in the backdrop, golden waves spreading with Mitridate’s first aria, and fiery reds representing the more intense moments. There were innovations in the plot as well, making Sifare a woman, rather than a castrato more typical of Mozart’s time, and the sung Italian and written English text supported this love story between two women.
However, there seemed to be a bit of a disconnect between the staging directions and the stage set and props—for example, in a scene where Mitridate admonished Sifare and Aspasia, the direction had the two lie down on the floor, but in positions that did not convey much meaning and were awkward because there was no set piece to accompany it. Similarly, the portrayal of death with wine bottles, blindfolds, and ropes tying characters to their statue was confusing; as one audience member commented, it was difficult to tell whether the characters were joking about murder or actually planning on committing it. Not all in the audience agreed with the interpretation of the operatic plot, as one could hear a distinct boo when some of the staging team took a bow.
Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Mozart’s early opera seria Mitridate, re di Ponto, provided a fresh perspective of a more typical operatic style. While it may have been an early work for the composer, written when he was only fourteen, his musical maturity came through with the sensible direction of conductor David Angus and the brilliant vocal feats of the cast. BLO challenges operatic traditions through both musical and staging interpretations while striving to bring opera as an art form to larger audiences, and this opening production represents one of many that they have done and intend to do in the future.