Nadine Sierra and Pene Pati as Romeo and Juliet at San Francisco Opera. Photos provided/Cory Weaver
It’s always rewarding to see the understudy step in for the indisposed star, and become an “overnight” sensation. That is what happened at San Francisco Opera’s “Romeo and Juliet” earlier this month, when Samoan-born New Zealand tenor Pene Pati, who was scheduled to sing one performance, replaced Bryan Hymel for the entire run.
On Tuesday, I was able to catch a performance of the production, which opened the company’s 97th season in the War Memorial Opera House. I was partly interested because Cincinnati had the pleasure of being wowed by Pati in recital just last season for Matinee Musicale. But I was also interested in his Juliet — American soprano Nadine Sierra — who also performed a delicious recital for Matinee Musicale a couple of years ago. Since then, she has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera and won the 2017 Richard Tucker Award.
After the stunning performance by both of these artists on Tuesday, Cincinnatians can say, “We knew them when.”Read More »
Melissa Gelfin and Cervilio Miguel Amador were stunning in the leading roles of Cincinnati Ballet’s “Romeo and Juliet” over the weekend.
Cincinnati Ballet’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” over the weekend offered another chance to hear Music Hall’s new acoustics from a different perspective – in a ballet set-up.
Much as before the renovation, the best experience for concertgoers in terms of the sound depends upon where one sits. But you must also consider the “configuration” of the hall for the type of show that is being mounted.
For the ballet at the Sunday matinee, the orchestra was in the pit – as it will also be for Cincinnati Opera productions. It was a treat to hear the orchestra playing Prokofiev’s magnificent score to “Romeo and Juliet,” which I’ve heard many times as an orchestral suite in concert. It was led with a sure hand by ballet maestro Carmon DeLeone and superbly played by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Artistic director Victoria Morgan’s production was gorgeous in every way. As Juliet, Melissa Gelfin delivered a ravishing performance and her Romeo, Cervilio Miguel Amador, was the perfect romantic hero. But I was also curious about David Lyman’s comment in his excellent review for The Enquirer about “the many drawbacks of seeing ballet in Music Hall.”
From the gallery, the ballet performance onstage indeed seemed far away from the audience. The entire show took place behind the proscenium arch, with a very large orchestra pit in front of the stage. To me, the large pit detracted from the viewer’s focus on the stage.
The orchestra sounded magnificent but the large pit made the performers seem far away.The view of final bows from the gallery (second balcony)
But it’s ironic that this configuration – with the orchestra in the pit — offered the best sound I’ve heard this season for the listener. I sat in the GALLERY for the first time since the hall opened on Oct. 6.
Gone was the muddiness of previous weeks. The brass and winds were exceptionally clear and powerful. The string sound was much better, except in big climaxes, where it was easy for the brass to overpower.
The focus of the sound was also better. I recalled a comment from a retired musician, who thought that the orchestra needed a more embracing acoustical shell surrounding them on three sides. In fact, the walls of the pit may have actually provided that, perhaps the reason for a better sound.
Other impressions: The city has doubled the cost of parking in Town Center Garage this year, to $10. Parking in Washington Park Garage, owned by 3CDC, is now $15 for shows. I parked behind Music Hall and walked around to the front of the building. The weather was cold and raw, and I felt badly for the older people and children that I saw trying to get across the four lanes of Central Parkway to get to the front door. There were no police officers assisting, as there have been for CSO concerts.
It’s too bad that the ballet matinee was so sparsely attended. Whether the poor attendance was a result of not enough marketing, uncertainty about parking or the cold weather, I hope it’s not a harbinger of audiences to come. Especially now, in the beautifully freshened and updated hall, the dancers – and the orchestra – deserve to have a full house every time.
