Is opera easier to understand in English?

Is opera easier to understand in English?

By Gus Kairupan

JAKARTA (JP): Italian opera sung in English ... something that would probably have the effect a red rag has on a bull -- the bull, in this case, being Italians, who do not like this precious art of theirs being sullied.

Translating Italian opera into another language seems to have been something of a controversy (storm in a teacup would be more accurate, actually) for quite a long time, but that hasn't stopped the English from carrying on doing it, with the result that the liking for this kind of hybrid entertainment is not confined only to those who understand Italian, or those who don't but happen to have a moniker that goes something like fferguson- ffyfe.

Italian opera, I bet, has a much wider circle of fans in Britain because it is sung in English. But it has to be in the British isles because that other major English speaking country, the U.S., sides with the Italians vis-a-vis this language issue, and would thus have the likes of Marilyn Horne belt out O don fatale in a staging of Don Carlos (Verdi) in Sac City Iowa, while Susan Cullen would probably shriek O cursed gift in the same opera performed in, say, Carlisle in the north of England.

By the way, the latter -- I mean Susan Cullen -- was here, together with a troupe from the London Opera and Concert Company, in two performances at the Grand Hyatt on April 11 and 12.

The first night featured a condensed version of Rossini's The Barber of Seville while the second performance was a program of excerpts from works for the musical stage, usually referred to as Broadway stage though during at least the past two decades Broadway has been fed more works of Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber than any American composer.

There is one thing I would like to point out regarding the name of this major English composer.

It's not Lloyd Webber (as stated in the order form), implying that his first name is Lloyd. The man has a hyphenated last name which is Lloyd-Webber, and his first name is Andrew.

When the Grand Hyatt does something, it does it well, and the performances of the London Opera and Concert Company were no exception. The events (I attended the Barber) were sponsored by American Express, and started with a cocktail session, followed by a sumptuous five-course dinner which, like the atmosphere inside the Grand Ballroom, had a touch of Spain. Waiters were dressed in outfits reminiscent of Spanish dancers, while one of the courses featured paella.

Wine flowed like water and helped create the right mood for enjoying the exquisite silliness that breathes through all of Rossini's comic operas.

So on with the show. The story, based on the first of a trilogy of plays by Beaumarchais, concerns a young girl, Rosina, whose hand is fought over by her own guardian, an old lecher called Don Bartolo, and the handsome young nobleman, Count Almaviva.

Don Bartolo is interested in the money aspect rather than the love aspect, because Rosina is enormously wealthy. However, the main character in this set-up is Figaro, the town fixer, the guy who can arrange anything for you, for a fee of course.

It's he who arranges for Rosina and Almaviva to live happily ever after, while he also arranges (or pretends to arrange) to have Bartolo's dream come true.

He is firmly on the side of the young lovers (for a fee, of course) and in the end his machinations bear fruit. End of story.

Besides mezzo-soprano Cullen, the troupe also included Mark Oldfield (baritone) as Figaro, Richard Roberts (tenor) as Count Almaviva), David Kirby-Ashmore (baritone) as Don Bartolo, and William Mackie (bass) as Don Basilio, a music teacher.

The cast was accompanied on the piano by Robin Humphreys who is also the Musical Director of the troupe. And in a non-singing role, two employees of the Grand Hyatt, appearing as guards and a lawyer.

A modicum of decor and props served the action of the five singers, of whom, voice-wise, William Mackie and David Kirby- Ashmore were the most impressive.

Cullen produced warm and full tones in the middle range, but the many excursions into the high registers (you hardly expect anything else with bel canto) often sounded forced and not quite spot-on.

As for Richard Roberts, though possessed of a bell-like voice, of the notes in the slurs only the first and the last came out clearly.

Some distinction of notes in between would have made a lot of difference. Mark Oldfield was good on all counts, though his voice was small and much lighter than you would expect from a baritone.

For the small gathering however, the performance was actually very satisfying, and what made it even more so was the considerable acting prowess on the part of the cast. The essential ingredient of comedy never let up, and the pace never slackened.

And, to get back to the issue of language -- that the performance was in English made it even better understood by the audience. Being more familiar with the Italian version, I experienced a bit of a shock when instead of Ecco ridente in cielo, Richard Roberts (Almaviva) delivered the English version.

Similarly, of course, with the all too well-known Una voce poco fa, Largo al factotum, and the riotously funny quintet Buona sera, mio signore when Don Basilio is kicked out of the house. The shock didn't last long, though, because being able to under- stand the proceedings better, made the evening a highly pleasurable one.