The DMMO Years
The 2014 Summer Season
Normally after a “blockbuster” of an opera season, the company would schedule operas that were more in the mainstream and a mixture of genres – from modern to the standard Italian repertory, and which were less costly to stage. Well. the DMMO was (and is not) your every-day opera company. The 2014 season was actually a combination of the traditional with a touch of the modern thrown in, and all productions were first rate. First off, there was an off-season production of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, which although it was listed as part of the 2014 season, was performed in December of 2013 at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines. Off-season productions were usually performed off campus, usually in Des Moines. The DMMO had performed this opera as an off-season production twice before in my tenure. The first time was during the off season in 2003 (which I played) and the off season in 2005 (which I did not). I did indeed take part in this production, which was an interesting one. More on that later. As one of the old favorites, DMMO chose to stage Verdi’s La Traviata, and fora bit of comedy, they staged Rossini’s Le Comte Ory, which was a great success, and a hoot to boot! Finally, for the modern: Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. In addition, I took part in an adaption of Bizet’s Carmen for chamber ensemble and singers for several performers off campus as part of the company’s “Second Stage ” series. There was more than enough to do, and all of it extremely intriguing.
The Operas
As I noted above, two of the operas I had played before: Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors – once in 2003 with the DMMO in the offseason, and prior to that I played the percussion part with the Hilton Head Symphony in the late fall of 2002. The 2003 DMMO production was at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines and was presided over by Dr. Larsen. The company performed it again in the offseason of 2005, but I did not participate in that. I did take part in this production, which like the previous productions, took place at Hoyt Sherman Place up in Des Moines. I brought out the Yamahas out for this production – three drums instead of four, and for the week’s production, found my good friend Kenny Hutcheson and his wife to be welcoming hosts.
Menotti: Amahl and The Night Visitors
I have already written about Amahl in an earlier blog post, so I will not go into too much detail about the opera per se. The previous productions were both staged and conducted by our founding Artistic Director, Dr. Robert L. Larsen. However, Dr. Larsen had stepped down as Artistic Director in 2010 and had pretty much stayed out of active participation in the festivals since, aside from hosting the season get-togethers at his home in Indianola during the first week of the season and conducting the final number of the “Stars of Tomorrow” concert near the end of each season. David Neely took over the conducting duties in his role as the company’s Music Director. However, our new General Director, Michael Egel, was able to persuade Dr. Larsen to come out of retirement in order to stage this latest iteration of Amahl. It was very good to see him back in the role of stage director – he was really great at it, and the production was extremely successful. The cast included Pierce Mansfield as Amahl; Jukie Makerov, as his mother; Edwin Griffith as King Kaspar; the excellent Todd Thomas, as King Melchior; Patrick Blackwell as King Balthazar; and Craig Irvin, as The Page. Two performances were given: one of the 6th of December and the other on the 7th of December 2013. As I mentioned before, there was not a lot of timpani, but it was a well-written opera and a most enjoyable one. I enjoyed playing it. I always liked doing the off-season productions, and this was no exception.
Here is a link to this sweet opera:
Verdi: La Traviata
This was my third go-around with La Traviata; the first one was back in the late 1970s in Schenectady, New York – I have already reported on that one, and the less said about that experience, the better. The second was during the DMMO’s 2001 Summer Festival, staged and conducted by Dr. Robert Larsen, and it was so much better than my experience in Schenectady. Musically and as a production, it was like night and day. I really enjoyed that production and was actually looking forward to the 2014 vesion. Our conductor was David Neely, and the stage director was Lilian Groag. If I remember correctly, the tempi were a bit quicker than I remembered from thirteen years previously, but there was a cohesion to the playing of the orchestra that made the production sparkle, and the stage direction was excellent. I don’t have to much more to say, than it was a great success, and it opened the 2014 Summer Festival. Six performances were given – each one excellent, and all well-received. Todd Thomas played the role of Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father, and he was his usual superb self. The role of Alfredo was sung and acted by Diego Silva, who was also superb. His singing and acting were on a very high level. Caitlin Lynch starred in the role of Violetta, and she stole the show each night with her acting and singing. The rest of the cast was also of a high level: Tony Dillon; Luis Orozco; Nikoli Strommer; Rebecca Krynsky; Brad Baron and Joshua Wheeler.
While not the most intense of timpani parts of the Verdi canon, there is enough in it to make it interesting and have fun. I have always enjoyed the “Brindisi” – “Libiamo, ne’ lieti calici”. Like all opera, one must be on one’s game, so to speak, and be sensitive to the moods of each of the scenes.
Here is a link to the “Brindisi” from a 2018 performance at the Met:
Jake Heggie: Dead Man Walking
This opera fits the term “blockbuster”. It is big deal emotionally, and also musically. Composed by the American composer, Jake Heggie, with a libretto by Terence McNally, and based on the book by the same name written by Sr. Helen Prejean, the opera received its world premiere in 2000 by the San Francisco Opera. It is an opera that requires, as do all operas, the utmost concentration. Our music director, David Neely conducted, and Kristine McIntyre returned to DMMO to direct the stage production. The efforts of these two, as well as an inspired cast and production crew, as well as an excellent orchestra, combined to create a fantastic production. With each season, the DMMO continued to grow artistically, as it does to this day, I have to say, this was one of those productions that contributed to the company’s artistic growth.
On a personal note, I have to confess that I was a bit skeptical about this opera, as I usually am when confronted with relatively new works. Now, by the time we at DMMO got around to performing this work, fourteen years had passed since its premiere, and it had many performances, and a couple of revisions.
Also, I was trying out a new set of timpani mallets. I was loaned a complete set of Dave Herbert’s mallets, and they proved perfect for this opera. They were articulate, and weighty enough for the dramatic moments. I have been an advocate of the Carlisle mallets for many years (and still use them to this day), but I must say that the Herbert mallets were a good learning experience for me, and this opera was an excellent vehicle for them. I am happy to say, that my study of the opera and trying out some new mallets combined to drive away any doubts I had about this opera. It is remarkable, and I only regret that we gave four performances. The cast was superb: Elise Quagliata took the role of Sr. Helen Prejean, and David Alan Moore was cast as Joseph De Rocher. It was a large cast, which included Margaret Lattimore; Karen Slack;
Kyle Albertson; Steven Sanders; Kimberly Roberts; Wayne Tigges, Mary Creswell, and others. The story of the execution of Joseph De Rocher caused me to really think about the death penalty more than I ever had, which is always a good thing – one needs to think and rethink one’s opinions constantly in order to grow, and I can honestly, this opera helped me in that respect.
Here is a link to a recording of the opera, taken from world premiere performances of the opera in San Francisco. It is the prelude, but there is a playlist of the entire opera:
Rossini: Le Comte Ory
The third production of the 2014 season was in the category of a comic opera, and mix that classification with the name of Giacchino Rossini, you can count on an evening’s entertainment full of sparkle. The libretto is by Eugene Scribe and Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson. This opera contains some of the music from the composer’s Il Viaggio a Reims, and while ostensibly a comic opera, with a farcical plot, it was written for the Paris Opera, rather than the Opera-Comique. There is a sort of mix between the two styles of opera with some of Rossini’s grandest music being employed in spots. Nonetheless, it is an opera of great charm and fun, and the DMMO did itself proud in this 2014 Production. Our guest conductor for the production was Dean Williamson, who had the score down and conducted a very stylish performance. Tempi never dragged, and the whole production sparkled with typical Rossini wit and charm and musicality. The stage director for this production was David Gately. His stage production was a perfect match and together will Dean Williamson’s conducting made for a delightful evening’s entertainment. The cast included the following:
Le Comte Ory: Taylor Stayton
Comtesse Adèle: Sydney Mancasola
Isolier, page to Ory: Stephanie Lauricella
Raimbaud: Steven LaBrie
Ragonde: Margaret Lattimore
The Tutor: Wayne Tigges
Alice: Abigail Paschke
As far as the timpani part goes, it is typical Rossini. Not a great deal of it, but it needs an alert mind and sensitive touch. It is fun to play. My disc-shaped Eero mallets came in handy, together with my Carlisle Mozart mallets. The opera was performed in French and was given four performances. All of them were extremely well received.
Here is link to a performance to a recording of a performance of the overture given by the Glyndebourne Festival under the direction of Vittorio Gui. The complete playlist is also on YouTube.
Bizet/Brook: The Tragedy of Carmen
This production was not part of our usual three-opera mainstage series, but part of a new initiative called Second Stage. This opera was incorporated the story of Carmen to music of George Bizet, with a libretto by Peter Brook after Prosper Merimee and Ludovic Halevy. The opera was scored for a chamber orchestra and a reduced cast and was quite well done. The score called for one timpanist, and one percussion. My part was actually fleshed out to make up for some instruments that were left out of this arrangement but were present in the original score. I remember that my part in the “Habanera” was the bass line for the aria, filling in for the celli in the original score. Later on in the area, the cello took up the ostinato. Still, it was fun to adapt to that, even though some fancy footwork was necessary to make it work but work it did. Second Stage productions were produced off campus – in this case it was given two performances at the Kom and Go Theater of the Des Moines Social Club. With luck, Mark Dorr, our enterprising personnel manager was able to procure timpani and instruments for the venue, so I at least did not have to worry about taking my drums from the pit in Indianola for the performances.
The production was conducted by one of the assistant conductors, Michael Spassov, and the stage director was the veteran Dugg McDonough. His direction of this production was excellent – as his usually were, and Michael Spassov’s musical direction was also of high quality. Together with an excellent cast, the end result was worth it, and a good start to Second Stage productions.
The cast was as follows:
Carmen: Peabody Southwell
Don José: Patrick O’Halloran
Escamillo: Luis Orozco
Micaëla: Rebecca Krynski
Garcia: Brendan Dunphy
Lilas Pastia: Jeff Byrnes
An Old Gypsy: Brad Baron
Zuniga: Cesar Mendez Silvagnoli
It was so much fun, I was sorry that we had to limit it to two productions, but the schedule did not permit for more, as this happened during the last two weeks of a very busy season.
Here is a link to a very short clip of the “Habanera”. By this time, the cellos have taken up the ostinato:
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