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.