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Mozart, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”): Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of  Lyric Opera of Chicago, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor) Civic Opera House, Chicago 7.3.2009 (JLZ)

Cast:
Belmonte: Matthew Polenzani
Osmin: Andrea Silvestrelli
Pedrillo: Steve Davislim
Selim: David Steiger
Konstanze: Erin Wall
Blonde: Aleksandra Kurzak

Production:
Stage Director: Chas Rader-Shieber
Stage, Set and Costume Design: David Zinn
Lighting:  Christopher Akerlind
Chorus Master - Donald Nally
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis

The Act I Set
 

In a new production by David Zinn, Lyric Opera of Chicago has successfully returned Wolfgang Mozart’s 1782 Singspiel, Die Entführung aus dem Serail  to its stage. With a strong cast and effective presentation, this production balances the dramatic, musical, and thematic elements of this important early work very well. The cast itself is finely balanced, with singers with international reputations. As Belmonte, Michael Polenzani has given thoughtful shading to his character’s sometimes challenging part. His supple tone is entirely appropriate to the style of the work, and his phrasing gives shape to Belmonte’s lines, not only in the solo numbers early in the work, but also in the ensembles that are important to the scenes bringing the story to its moving dénouement. In giving voice to the passion which Belmonte expresses in his opening aria “Hier soll ich dich denn sehen” through to the Vaudeville-Finale, Polenzani’s clear and even sound makes his character come to life vividly.

Matthew Polenzani (Belmonte) and Erin Wall (Konstanze)

Likewise, Erin Wall’s depiction of Konstanze is both musically and dramatically compelling. Her phrasing allowed her to bring out the necessary subtleties that can often be very challenging. Her opening aria “Ach, ich liebte” was moving, and more impressive still was her balance of passion and clarity in the famous second-act “Martern aller arten.” Early on Wall demonstrated her character's  struggle between  faithfulness to the still-absent Belmonte and the overtures of the surprisingly open-minded Pasha Selim. True to her heart, Konstanze puts aside any exigencies in “Martern aller arten,” a decision that is rewarded by Belmonte’s return shortly afterwards. Wall brought to the stage an intelligent, refined, and persuasive performance throughout the work.

As Osmin,  Andrea Silvestrelli embodied the stereotypical threat ofcaptivity in Turkey and brought to his characterization  all of the determination that motivates him. Without overindulging in the comic aspects of the role, Silvestrelli commanded this harem with a stage presence that was evident not only in his physical stature, but also in his musical strength. A solid bass, Silvestrelli was secure in the deep, dark passages that resonated well in the Lyric Opera's hall. If weakness could be found,  it was in his stepping back from giving full voice to some of the more impassioned exchanges with Pedrillo and Belmonte. Yet in responding to Aleksandra Kurzak’s Blonde in the duet “Ich gebe doch rate ich dir” Silvestrelli brought out a welcome sense of vulnerability in Osmin.

Kurzak was impressive for her ability to match Silvestrelli phrase for phrase in that number, which followed quickly after her engaging interpretation of  “Durch Zärtlichkeit und Schmeicheln.” As familiar as this is to regular opera audiences, Kurzak’s fluid delivery was full of  facility and charm in her debut performance with Lyric Opera of Chicago.

To complement the principals, Steve Davislim was equally strong as Pedrillo both in his own physical characterization and in vocal delivery. A tenor who has also sung the role of Belmonte, it seems that such experience informed his performance here, allowing him to work well with Polenzani and the other principals. Davislim’s moved around the stage easily as he bounded up and down the set, in giving both energy and life to Pedrillo. His vocal ability was apparent throughout and his energetic second-act aria “Frisch zum Kampfe” was particularly notable.

All in all, the soloists brought their best to their roles and work worked well as an ensemble within the boundaries of this new production of a familiar opera. A collaboration between Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera, the production itself is noteworthy for the focus it contributes. The first act opens on a model of a traditional-looking, eighteenth-century stage, which stands in front of a colorful scrim representing the harem. Belmonte faces the stage, when he enters,  separating himself from the world of the harem, the domain controlled by Osmin and his minions, which also remains inaccessible to the audience. The harem's separation from the outside world is shown  more clearly still by the fact  even the Pasha’s people stand outside of it at the end of the act: each of them costumed alike, and all of them with long moustaches, even the women in the chorus.

For the second act, the audience gets a glimpse of the harem from the inside, from the perspective of Konstanze and Blonde, whose enclosed world touches only on the garden outside, to which Pedrillo of course has access. In this act, though, a large door is prominent at the center of the stage, and apparently stands in front of the garden. That door is almost all that remains in the third act. Through its use, this simple design element grows in importance to represent the boundary between the confinement of the harem in the Pasha’s court and the free world which the Europeans see as their goal. This movement from the more detailed first act set to more abstract scenery for the end of the opera serves the work well by allowing the audience to focus on the music. After all, the music itself has moved on from solo numbers to duets and, ultimately to the quartet “Ach, Belmonte” which ends Act II.  This design - quite properly - draws attention back to the performers whose interactions are key to the drama's resolution.

At the same time, some carefully chosen set details do contribute to the overall effect. Belmonte’s gazing on Konstanze's image in the first scene evokes the opening of  the later Die Zauberflote. Similarly, the presence of three women in burkas, standing off to the side of the stage during Belmonte’s “O wie ängstlich” suggest the three women in the same work. Musically though, the intense exchanges between the four principals, Konstanze, Blonde, Belmonte, and Pedrillo,  at the end of Act II also called to mind some elements of Così fan tutte, if only momentarily. Such details  made the production memorable and in fact, the entire work was set as if it were being recalled by the Pasha later in his career; the roses he picks up at the end of the overture are those that Konstanze drops when she finally leaves with Belmonte. Doubling the younger Pasha on stage, a recurring image of an older Pasha adds an autumnal perspective to this promising work of the young Mozart.

Ultimately it is the Pasha's generosity which brings  the satisfactory resolution of Die Entführung about leaving the audience with the libretto's eternal message. Pleas for tolerance and forgiveness are as timely today as they were in the late eighteenth century. Impressively sung, the final chorus imprinted this eternal moral firmly on everyone present. This fine production continues through the month of March, and is a satisfying conclusion to Lyric Opera's 2008-2009 season.

James L Zychowicz

Pictures © Dan Rest

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