Dimitri Pittas in Concert

T’was the night before a chilly Sunday in January when I received a Facebook message from Aunt Countess alerting me to a concert at a nearby church. Why was it so special ? Dimitri Pittas, tenor, was performing a recital and the name seemed all too familiar. Scraping the midsection of my mind, I quickly recalled the name from when I had seen Otello in 2015. Dimitri Pittas sang Cassio in the performance. “Getting the chance to see a real life opera singer in person…?” Oh, yes, I HAD to go !

Željko Lučić as Iago and Dimitri Pittas as Cassio in Otello / Metropolitan Opera

For a knockout deal of $10, I stepped into the church to find Dimitri and his accompanist (and heavily pregnant) wife, Leah, chatting with audience members as they meandered into the sanctuary. The program consisted of classical favorites translated into English as well as some sports-themed selections, which carried more mirth and appropriateness than expected: NFL playoff games were occurring simultaneously and once during a break between songs, Dimitri hollered for an updated score of the Green Bay/Atlanta game.

Wrapping up the concert with “Una furtiva lagrima” from L’Elisir d’Amore and “Maria” from West Side Story, a reception of prepared foods and punch followed. And it was here that I had my moment to jest: as a die-hard New York Yankees fan, Dimitri glowered in frustration as I broke the news of my devotion to the Boston Red Sox. So prickled was he that in between chats about growing a beard for the role of Cassio and Thanksgiving dinner with Željko Lučić, he stopped to abruptly turn and greet Jennifer as she waited her turn to speak. I folded in half with laughter.

Dimitri was a good sport, all in all, and even allowed me to take a picture with him. Too bad that the one and only photo I have of meeting a real life opera singer is of inferior quality. Oh, well… It will have to suffice.

A last minute plan turned out to be a thrilling afternoon. I bubbled with pride and giddiness as I regaled my friends with the details of the concert. And best of all… I MET AN OPERA SINGER !!!!

Toi, Toi, Toi,

Mary Martha

Cast and Credits

Dimitri Pittas in Concert
First Presbyterian Church
Lakeland, FL
Date: January 22, 2017

Dimitri Pittas ─ tenor
Leah Edwards ─ piano

Otello

It was an easy decision. After my spellbinding first opera experience with Il Trovatore, I couldn’t wait to shell out another $24 at the ticket booth for a following Verdi tragedy 2 weeks later, Otello. Intriguingly, it was Otello that jumped out at me the most when viewing the Live in HD schedule in the summer of 2015: the drama based on Shakespeare’s play could have easily been my first opera. Thankfully, it wasn’t.

Aleksandrs Antonenko in a promotional photo for Verdi’s Otello / Metropolitan Opera

Bartlett Sher’s production, with frosted Lucite walls that were supposed to be a spoof from a quote by Verdi’s librettist about enclosing Otello in a glass house, mimicked frozen blocks of ice rather than the intended domicile of transparency. They were cold, lifeless, and ineffective from my point of view.

Željko Lučić as Iago in Otello / Metropolitan Opera

The cast was decent with a liquid Željko Lučić and a piercingly chill Sonya Yoncheva (fitting for the icy production), but I felt Otello suffered from an identity crisis: with his clothing and styling (not to mention his lack of blackface) just as drab as all the secondary characters and chorus, there was nothing to distinguish him among the throngs of people on stage. Shouldn’t he have looked more… Moorish ?

Dmitri Pittas (far right) as Cassio and Aleksandrs Antonenko (center) as Otello / Metropolitan Opera

While Desdemona’s final “Muoio innocente” was moving, I was left underwhelmed by the overall performance. Still, my exuberant, newfound interest in opera was undeterred by this small nick in the grand scheme of things.

Sonya Yoncheva as Desdemona in Otello / Metropolitan Opera

Dressing up for my first opera was almost as much fun as seeing the performance itself. There’s something vicarious and invigorating about feeling fancy as if you, yourself, are a part of the opera by the clothes you choose to wear. To my second opera, however, I wanted to “theme” my outfit for the sunny Venetian locale of Otello and Desdemona’s spotless disposition. “Something golden, something demure…” I mused.

Othello Relating His Adventures to Desdemona

The scarves and skirts of my closet were paraded in breezy seaside style as I toyed with layering and softly blending color schemes. I used my standby gold tank top, which I wore to Il Trovatore, and slipped on a long white linen skirt. Then the fun began. A metallic gold thread woven through the pinky-peach and cream striped scarf gave glints of gentility and coastal charm. When I tied its fringed ends together into a loose side knot, the effect was just right… at least for an outfit made from scarves and skirts !

A pair of lace gloves (thank you, Aunt Countess !), antique gold rings (such a faux pas when worn with gloves ─ fie, me !), and just the right assortment of necklaces and earrings helped me feel right at home as Desdemona. Do I look as if I’m about to be strangled ?

I styled my hair in a “twisted sections pinned up and back” sort of style. Nothing fancy, but very elegant when clipped together with a gold flower hair accessory.

An outfit for free, a better-than-front-row-seat ticket for $24… Enjoying the thrills of opera and the emulation of one of Shakespeare’s most virtuous heroines doesn’t have to be a ship-sinking occasion. If only the production of Otello had fared better…

Toi, Toi, Toi,

Mary Martha

Cast and Credits:

Otello ─ Giuseppe Verdi (1887)
Live in HD air date: October 17, 2015

Cast:
Otello ─ Aleksandrs Antonenko
Desdemona ─ Sonya Yoncheva
Iago ─ Željko Lučić
Emilia ─ Jennifer Johnson Cano
Cassio ─ Dmitri Pittas
Roderigo ─ Chad Shelton
Lodovico ─ Günther Groissböck
Montano ─ Jeff Mattsey
A herald ─ Tyler Duncan

Credits:
Conductor ─ Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Production ─ Bartlett Sher
Set Designer ─ Es Devlin
Costume Designer ─ Catherine Zuber
Lighting Designer ─ Donald Holder
Projection Designer ─ Luke Halls
Live in HD Director ─ Gary Halvorson
Host ─ Eric Owens

La Fanciulla del West

When you think of the American Wild West, what comes to mind…? Cowboys ? Rocky mountains and perilous cliffs ? The California Gold Rush ?

What about Italian opera ?

Puccini’s stirring masterpiece, La Fanciulla del West, wrangled together the landscape and romance of one of America’s greatest periods in history into an absolutely captivating production. The opening score swept with vastness and virility, like the opera’s elusive anti-hero, Dick Johnson, played by an even more elusive Jonas Kaufmann. I had waited years to finally catch Kaufmann in a Live in HD performance (he had previously backed out of both Manon Lescaut and Tosca) and I was ready for my due !

Eva-Maria Westbroek as Minnie and Jonas Kaufmann as Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West / Metropolitan Opera

I loved nearly everything about this opera: the wholesome heroine, the realistic production setting, the old-fashioned romance, and the wily game of 5 card draw. I laughed, I didn’t cry, I swooned. In fact, I found the opera and production so endearing that I went to see the encore the following Wednesday !

Željko Lučić as Jack Rance and Eva-Maria Westbroek as Minnie in La Fanciulla del West / Metropolitan Opera

What struck me as so poignant in this opera was how the librettists wove the theme of the opera around a line of Scripture from Psalm 51: “there isn’t a sinner in the world who can’t find salvation.” Little did I know that that passage would play an enormous role later in the opera as the title heroine, Minnie, saved Dick from being publicly hung. The effect was monumental.

Jonas Kaufmann as Dick Johnson and Eva-Maria Westbroek as Minnie in La Fanciulla del West / Metropolitan Opera

There was no doubt that my outfit for Fanciulla would come direct from my mother’s closet. Wearing an unworn dress my mother bought at the Mast General Store in North Carolina years ago (the tag was still on it), I had a solid foundation for my costume. The diminutive flower print and lace detailing around the collar and sleeves were fitting features to match Minnie’s simplistic and pure character.

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Alone, however, it wasn’t enough ─ it needed something extra… something “Little House on the Prairie”… I researched online and found a picture of a pioneer apron that I thought would be perfect for the outfit. Taking measurements, I drafted a quick pattern for a ruffled muslin apron with front pockets just like the one below:

Minnie’s long lost cousin ?

Now I looked the part ! But there was a missing piece to my frontier get-up ─ the addition of Minnie’s favorite companion: her rifle. This was essential to the character and also to my pictures, although you can imagine I left the gun at home while I went to the theater.

Thank you, Uncle Kim, for my .22 Stevens !

Ready, aim, fire !

While it is a known fact that Dick Johnson stole Minnie’s first kiss, it can also be confirmed that the tenderness of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West stole my heart.

Toi, Toi, Toi,

Mary Martha

Cast and Credits:

La Fanciulla del West ─ Giacomo Puccini (1910)
Live in HD air date: October 27, 2018

Cast:
Minnie ─ Eva-Maria Westbroek
Dick Johnson ─ Jonas Kaufmann
Nick ─ Carlo Bosi
Jack Rance ─ Željko Lučić
Sonora ─ Michael Todd Simpson
Ashby ─ Matthew Rose
Jake Wallace ─ Oren Gradus

Credits:
Conductor ─ Marco Armiliato
Production ─Giancarlo del Monaco
Set and Costume Designer ─ Michael Scott
Lighting Designer ─ Gil Wechsler
Live in HD Director ─ Gary Halvorson
Host ─ Susanna Phillips

Tosca

With a static setting of June 17-18, 1800, how does a stage director erect an enlivened production of Puccini’s Tosca ? When tasked to the capable hands of Sir David McVicar, the opera, no matter the setting, is bound to be a hit. That prediction held true: the Met’s enthralling new production of Tosca was bold and dramatic, pious and perilous.

A scene from Act III of Tosca / Metropolitan Opera

Although the McVicar production was a huge success, it’s almost unfathomable to believe that the entire principal cast and conductor originally slated to perform bowed out before the first curtain ever ascended. However, the new players were arguably just as effective with tempestuous Sonya Yoncheva and swarthy Vittorio Grigolo igniting passion as the lovers Floria Tosca and Mario Cavaradossi.

Vittorio Grigolo as Mario Cavaradossi and Sonya Yoncheva as Floria Tosca / Metropolitan Opera

Everyone loves a good romance. But for me, the highlight of Tosca is the riveting Te Deum, a processional of hallowed majesty and lascivious scheming. If I had to choose a small handful of favorite lines from all the operas ever written, Scarpia’s blasphemous and ironic pronouncement (“Tosca, you make me forget God !”) would be ranked in the top three. The sacrilegious statement simultaneously occurs with the conclusion of the chorus’ magnanimous hymn of praise… In the middle of a cathedral. During High Mass. Priceless.

Željko Lučić as Scarpia (far right) during the Te Deum of Tosca / Metropolitan Opera

Previously mentioned, Tosca is set in 1800, often referred to as the Regency/Napoleonic era in history. I’ll be frank ─ never have I thought the extremely elevated waistlines of empire gowns to be flattering on any woman. The style invariably reminds me of two things: nightgowns and maternity clothes. But, alas ! It was the required look for the opera so I began to contemplate my own gown. While there are a multitude of commercial sewing patterns for Empire/Regency gowns on the market, I chose Butterick 6074 because it appeared more historically accurate and brought the added value of five different pattern options in one envelope. I made a variation of version A.

Butterick 6074

Nearly every detail of my Empire ensemble was modeled after the simplistic gowns (they must always be called gowns, I learned) worn during the infancy of the 19th century. The sheer train and sleeves, drawstring neckline, and accenting Greek key ribbon at the waistline were all characteristics of the most popular gowns of the day. Pearls and a hair ribbon accessorized my look as well as a shawl from the Orient.

Aiding me in my research were the very helpful articles from Fashion-Era.com and the University of Vermont. These two online resources were invaluable as I often referred to their guidance. Curiously, the gauzy whitework gown worn in Act I of the opera was fairly accurate ─ especially when speaking in terms of theatrical costumes ─ albeit, the short gathered tulle ruffles around the neckline were a mere artistic deviation.

Sonya Yoncheva as Tosca and Vittorio Grigolo as Cavaradossi / Metropolitan Opera

What most people wouldn’t know is that in addition to the floor length gown, I also had to sew a chemise and set of short stays (the corset of the period) to obtain the proper “column” silhouette that was so ubiquitously envied during the Napoleonic Era. In addition to shaping the figure into that of a Grecian statue, the height of the bustline was also raised by the stays. Who would have thought that a few stubby lengths of nylon cable ties and some strategic bust gores could give such heavenly lift ?

Regency chemise and short stays

Despite my general distaste for women’s clothing of the early 19th century, I gained an… appreciation… for the Empire style and learned the reasoning behind its popularity during the time. Undoubtedly, the greatest advantage to my costuming is the breadth and retention of knowledge that is acquired during my extensive research. While the gowns of early 1800’s were soft and demure, the military battles and civic rivalries during the period made for fiery reading. Perhaps drawing upon history, that same combustible drama was clearly emanated in the verismo verses of Tosca.

Toi, Toi, Toi,

Mary Martha

Cast and Credits:

Tosca ─ Giacomo Puccini (1900)
Live in HD air date: January 27, 2018

Cast:
Tosca ─ Sonya Yoncheva
Mario Cavaradossi ─ Vittorio Grigolo
Scarpia ─ Željko Lučić
Sacristan ─ Patrick Carfizzi

Credits:
Conductor ─ Emmanuel Villaume
Production ─ Sir David McVicar
Set and Costume Designer ─ John Macfarlane
Lighting Designer ─ David Finn
Movement Director ─ Leah Hausman
Live in HD Director ─ Gary Halvorson
Host ─ Isabel Leonard