Opera 5 opened their Toronto Opera Festival on June 3 with Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. Two parts of the opera master’s Il trittico (with poor, neglected Il tabarro left out as is too often the case), these heavily contrasting one-acters run the gamut from gut-wrenching tragedy to laugh-out-loud farce. That they came off so successfully at Toronto’s small Theatre Passe Muraille can be chalked up to savvy casting and masterful stage direction by Jessica Derventzis.
Suor Angelica isn’t staged all that much in Canada. I can’t think of a fully-professional production I’ve seen in this country except at Pacific Opera Victoria in their 2019 Trittico. Its inclusion here makes a lot of sense given the festival’s mandate to feature young artists as part of its internship program run in conjunction with McGill’s opera program. With its multiple, small roles (many nuns!), it’s a great showcase for developing singers to get some stage time in a not-too-high stakes environment.
A scene from Suor Angelica at Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival. Photo: Emily Ding Photography
For a contemporary audience no longer embedded in Christian/Roman Catholic morality, the story’s premise might require some suspension of disbelief. Suor Angelica has been sent to a nunnery on account of having had a child out of wedlock. After seven years of no contact with her family, her aunt comes to visit to make her sign a document transferring her share of the family inheritance over to her younger sister, who is about to be married. During this encounter Angelica learns that her child has died after an illness. This causes a complete breakdown after which she commits suicide. Now fearing eternal damnation for having committed a mortal sin, she is rewarded with a vision of her dead child after which she falls dead.
Whatever one’s feelings might be about the cycle of sin and redemption, there’s no doubt that Puccini’s drama still packs a wallop. Its harmonies and soaring melodies are foolproofed to evoke empathy, and dare I say, tears. In the title role, Rachel Krehm was extremely effective in mining the deep sadness in this role. Her breakdown after learning of her child’s death was completely believable. Her ample soprano soared through the role’s big moments, with some really impressive moments up top.
Rachel Krehm in the title role of Suor Angelica at Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival.
Photo: Emily Ding Photography
With so many named roles, it’s difficult to single out specific performances, but Patricia Wrigglesworth stood out as Suor Genvieffa for her beaming presence and clearly projected tone. MacKenzie Sechi as La Maestra delle Novizie had a strong presence and delivered her text with authority.
It’s the latter that can be extremely tricky for younger performers, especially in the text-driven, arioso-style that Puccini uses (there’s really only one stand-alone aria in Suor). It took the entrance of Krisztina Szabó as Zia Principessa to offer a masterclass in idiomatic, flowing delivery of the Italian text that felt very real and lived-in. To say the Principessa is unsympathetic would be a gross understatement. There is nothing redeemable about her utter lack of sympathy for her niece and Szabó seized on every opportunity with spiteful delivery and a pungent, thrilling tone. That she was dressed in a Cruella-inspired red velvet cape didn’t hurt. What a wonderful opportunity for the younger artists to be able to share the stage with such an experienced veteran.
Krisztina Szabó (Zia Principessa) in Suor Angelica at Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival.
Photo: Emily Ding Photography
Back to Derventzis’ direction. You can see how she encouraged the singers to carve out distinct personalities within the wall of wimple-wearing sisters. This specificity of character was amplified in Gianni Schicchi where Puccini has created very clear personalities within the avaricious family who fight over the estate of their barely-dead relative, Buoso Donati.
This Schicchi was blessed with singing actors, who under Derventzis’ guidance, offered biting comic portrayals, and no lack of vocal thrills. Couples were colour-coded with the prize going to the very pink Nella and Gerardo (picture the worst wedding usher outfit you can imagine), hilariously played by Danela Agostino and Ryan Nauta. A running joke had them tossing their daughter (Paige Robinson) out the door multiple times, mere moments after she had made each of her entrances. Tear-inducing laughter ensued. This was just one of many visual jokes which included Liam Dooley hilarious as a bent-over Spinelloccio; a dithering, cowardly Christopher Pitre-McBride as Marco, and lumping, apple-chomping Tristan Pritham as Betto di Signa. They all created belly-laugh cameos.
Liam Dooley (Maestro Spinelloccio) & Aaron Dimoff (Simone) in Gianni Schicchi at Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival. Photo: Emily Ding Photography
Once again though, it was the veteran artists who bumped proceedings to another level. Gregory Dahl is one of Canada’s most experienced singers. We usually see him in villain, or highly dramatic roles like Scarpia in Tosca or the title role in Rigoletto. I was not prepared for the schtick side of Dahl. He completely threw himself into the title role of the master manipulator who manages to trick this awful family of grifters out of the best parts of their inheritance. Dahl preened, squawked, twerked and roared his way through the evening, and served notice of his impressive vocal state in some thrilling musical climaxes.
At his side, Szabó returned as Zita, one of the more execrable family members. Her pithy asides, and understated conniving were hilarious. Aaron Dimoff stood out for his cultured baritone sound, and two-faced welcoming of his elderly status once it appeared it might gain him more in the spoils. As the young lovers, Lauretta and Rinuccio, Kate Fogg and Jeremy Scinocca were perfect casting. The soprano’s gleaming tone beautifully filled out arching lines of Puccini’s most famous aria, “O mio babbino caro.” The tenor looked the most comfortable I’ve seen him on stage and his classic, old-school Italianate tone only lacks the final degree of freedom that will ultimately grant him mastery over these types of roles.
Jeremy Scinocca (Rinuccio) & Kate Fogg (Lauretta) in Gianni Schicchi at Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival. Photo: Emily Ding Photography
Puccini was of course one of the opera’s greatest orchestrators and here, we had a much-reduced ensemble of two violins, viola, cello, bass, harp and piano. The big ‘oomph’ of sound that a full orchestra can provide may have been missing, but the ensemble added some nice colours. Evan Mitchell was busy from his stage right position which couldn’t have been easy for ensemble, but he held everything together admirably.
The Toronto Opera Festival is a valuable addition to a city starved of the art form in the summer months. It’s also coming into its own as a showcase for great Canadian veteran artists and up-and-coming singers who can learn from their example.
Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival continues through June 14. Further performances of the Puccini double bill take place on June 4, 6 & 7. The world premiere of composer Cecilia Livingston and librettist Duncan McFarlane’s Parḗlios opens June 12. www.opera5.ca
