Break out the opera glasses and brush up your bravoes, because Maestro Kevin Rhodes, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and a cast of superb guest soloists have prepared an evening of opera.
Springfield Symphony Orchestra Music Director Kevin Rhodes conducts at a Symphony Hall performance.
Despite how odd it might seem that men dying from stab wounds or women expiring from tuberculosis might be moved to sing about it – sometimes quite loudly and at great length – such incongruities still fail to blunt the enthusiasm of millions of opera-goers.
The sheer heroism of popping out a high C or two as your lungs supposedly collapse is, after all, pretty thrilling. And then there’s all those moments of triumph, pathos, and raw human emotion, unblemished by suspension of disbelief, that perennially incite audiences to shouts of “Bravi, tutti,” and thunderous applause.
Break out the opera glasses and brush up your bravoes, because Maestro Kevin Rhodes, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and a cast of superb guest soloists have prepared an evening of opera’s greatest hits for your enjoyment on Saturday night in Symphony Hall.
Rhodes, interviewed on the fly between playing a huge chamber concert in Michigan and his return to the podium in Springfield, explained that he loves opera because of the heightened aspect of the emotions.
“Every emotion or feeling represented in opera is expressed in a way that makes it feel ten times as dramatic,” he said. “I also simply love the sound of the human voice and orchestra. When you conduct, you take part in your colleagues’ work in a special way that allows you to be involved – in the making of a string sound, for instance, even if you’re not a violinist – and the same is true of singing...I get to be involved in the sound of great voices, even though I don’t have one!”
The great voices of Sopranos Mary Wilson and Amy Johnson, mezzo-soprano Stacey Rishoi, tenor Eric Ashcraft, and bass Gustav Andreassen have all delighted SSO audiences in the past, performing opera and oratorio. This time around, they will present the highlights of the world’s most beloved operas, among them Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte,” Puccini’s “La Boheme” and “Tosca,” Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” and “Rigoletto,” Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” Leoncavallo’s “I Pagliacci,” and Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
All these operas fall within the top 20 most performed works of the genre in the last five years worldwide. Through the appeal of their stories and the genius of their composers, their timeless exploration of human relationships rings true to audiences across two centuries and more.
According to Rhodes, the operatic menu for the evening opens most appropriately with Elisabeth’s greeting to the hall of song from “Tannhäuser,” “Dich theure Halle.”
Also in store are Rossini’s pyrotechnic “Una voce poco fa” from “The Barber of Seville,” devilish arias from “Faust” and “Mefistofele,” the crying clown of Pagliaci, a duet from “Madama Butterfly,” and the La Forza del Destino overture.
Add to that one of Rhodes favorites, “…what I think is the most beautiful combination of three female voices at once....the trio from (Richard Strauss’) Der Rosenkavalier....as we say, all that and much more!”
Just a glance at the roles bass Gustav Andreassen has sung in his career gives a clear picture of the kind of performance SSO concert-goers can expect. His credits include Ramfis and the King in “Aida,” Nick Shadow in “The Rake’s Progress,” Sarastro in “The Magic Flute,” the Commendatore in “Don Giovanni,” and Sparafucile in “Rigoletto,” to name only a few. Wagner and Verdi roles abound both in the U.S. and abroad, and his orchestral engagements range from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to Verdi’s “Requiem” and Shostakovich’s “Babi Yar” Symphony.
Stacey Rishoi, the mezzo-soprano soloist in Saturday’s gala, is Andreassen’s wife. They have been married nearly 14 years and have actually performed together in a couple of operas – she as Amneris and he as Ramfis in “Aida,” – she as Dona Elvira and he as Leporello in “Don Giovanni.” Rishoi’s other roles include Carmen, Adalgisa, Dalila, Waltraute in “Die Walkuere,” Sesto in “La Clemenza di Tito,” Meg Page in “Falstaff,” and Jo in “Little Women.”
Tenor Eric Ashcraft has earned praise for major tenor roles like Don Jose, Rodolfo, Alfredo, Don Ottavio, Turiddu, Manrico, and Cavaradossi. He has performed in Springfield many times, including turns as tenor soloist in Verdi’s “Requiem” and Beethoven’s oratorio “Christ on the Mount of Olives.” His Radames in 2003 in Springfield Symphony Hall opposite Priscilla Baskerville’s Aida was absolutely splendid.
Soprano Mary Wilson’s operatic roles include the tour-de-force Susannah in “The Marriage of Figaro,” the stratospheric Zerbinetta in “Ariadne auf Naxos,” and Gilda in “Rigoletto.” In the concert world Wilson is know for (among other works) the haunting soprano solos in Orff’s “Carmina Burana” and the virtuosic numbers in Mozart’s Mass in C minor, which she displayed beautifully in Springfield under Maestro Rhodes’ direction several seasons ago.
Soprano Amy Johnson’s roles include Nedda in “I Pagliacci,” Marguerite in “Faust,” Fiordiligi in “Cosi fan tutte,” Santuzza in “Cavaleria Rusticana,” Mimi and Musetta in “La Boheme,” and the title roles in “Madama Butterfly,” “Tosca” and “Aida.” At the request of the composer, she created the role of Manuela in Thea Musgrave’s “Simon Bolivar.” She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2006 as soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. A recent project in conjunction with Impresario Productions and Video Ideas Productions saw Johnson’s creation of “Twisted Sisters,” a fully staged evening of operatic mad scenes (Lucia, Mefistofele, Salome) with film images and full orchestra.
Although it is not always the case that conductors know the guest artists their orchestras hire personally, this time Rhodes has fairly close connections with all the singers.
“I met Gustav when I was at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein before coming to Springfield and then after we both ended up returning to the states I had the chance to meet and work with his wife Stacey and so whenever it works out, it’s great fun to have them come together to sing and we can have a mini-personal and musical reunion,” Rhodes said.
“Eric Ashcraft was first recommended to me many years ago by a conductor friend of mine, and we have collaborated many times over the years and become great friends. Coincidentally the week after the Opera Gala in Springfield, Eric is joining me for something completely different with my other orchestra for a concert version of “Guys and Dolls” in which he’s doing Nicely Nicely (along with my wife who’s singing Adelaide).”
“Mary Wilson auditioned for me in a big mass audition in Chicago I did back when returned to the states, and the first time we worked together there was some lunch time event like a preview of the concert at a country club which she attended straight from the airport before we even started rehearsals.”
“She and my wife really hit it off, so again it’s been a great combining of friendship and work.”
“Amy Johnson I only recently met through a collaboration on a new opera we’ve been workshopping for a couple of years by composer Eric Sawyer, which has turned into a full scale project with the SSO slated for next season...be watching for details!” Rhodes concluded.
“She and her husband opera director and singer Vernon Hadley have become great friends as well.”
Rhodes will provide the play-by-play and who’s who information as he has done with such elan and eloquence in the past.
The concert, intriguingly titled “Passion, Love, Murder, and Mayhem – Opera Gala,” is brought to you by sponsors The Republican and United Personnel, with media sponsor Masslive.com