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I Pagliacci at San Diego Opera
I hope San Diego Opera offers Eleomar Cuello multiple contracts
Whenever I attend an opera, I enter the theater and find my seat full of trepidation. (To clarify: I am full of trepidation, not my seat.) It doesn’t matter where the opera is being produced. It could be LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, or San Diego Opera. This is because I am exchanging a considerable chunk of time for a product that may or may not be worth the investment.
On Sunday, November 2, I settled into my seat to witness the San Diego Opera production of I Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo. I knew that the San Diego Symphony Orchestra would be solid as the pit orchestra. I also knew that conductor Yves Abel would be stellar.
The prelude started with a stage that contained only the theater’s “ghost light” — the light that is always left on in every theater to comfort the ghosts in that particular theater. It was a sensible choice, because Pagliacci is based on the spirit of theater. So far, so good. No conceptual BS.
Baritone Kidon Choi entered and began to sing the famous “Prologue." I had heard him in Madama Butterfly as Sharpless a few years ago, but I didn’t remember him sounding like this. It was magnificent operatic singing. The tone was full and carried all the way to the back row, where I was sitting. His high note near the conclusion of the prologue was everything that it should be. It contained the same resonance and timbre that were present in the rest of his voice.
Lesser baritones tend to have what could be called a hazy top. This means that shine of the voice gets covered up with a false space that sounds awful and doesn’t carry. Kidon Choi is not a lesser baritone.
The scene shifted as a sunset backdrop dropped, and Pagliacci himself rolled onto stage in a broken-down truck from another era. I loved it. The set piece was effective, and though it was technically an updated version of Pagliacci’s wagon, it worked. It didn’t yank the audience out of the rustic setting. The costumes also stayed in character. It was a simple and effective choice, and supported the story that the opera was telling.
Jonathan Burton as Canio, aka Pagliacci, sang well. His tone was pleasant and full. His voice was appropriate for the role. I relaxed. You never know what you’re going to get with an operatic tenor. While his singing was solid, I could have used a little more overt aggression from the character. We have to see bits of his temper erupt early in the proceedings to believe the double murder that ends the show. But it’s possible that it was there and I just didn’t see that characterization from where I was sitting.
Soprano Hailey Clark, in the role of the doomed Nedda, was yet another great singer in this production. She sang with both power and beauty. Her voice effortlessly filled the theater, and her acting was on point.
Now we come to baritone Eleomar Cuello. Cuello stepped in, on short notice, to cover the role of Silvio. All I can say is that I hope San Diego Opera offers him multiple contracts for future seasons. I will show up to hear Eleomar Cuello sing. The love duet between him and Hailey Clark was some of the best singing I’ve ever heard at San Diego Opera.
Video:
Pagliacci
Here's something you might be interested in.
I Pagliacci at San Diego Opera
I hope San Diego Opera offers Eleomar Cuello multiple contracts
I Pagliacci at San Diego Opera
I hope San Diego Opera offers Eleomar Cuello multiple contracts
Whenever I attend an opera, I enter the theater and find my seat full of trepidation. (To clarify: I am full of trepidation, not my seat.) It doesn’t matter where the opera is being produced. It could be LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, or San Diego Opera. This is because I am exchanging a considerable chunk of time for a product that may or may not be worth the investment.
On Sunday, November 2, I settled into my seat to witness the San Diego Opera production of I Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo. I knew that the San Diego Symphony Orchestra would be solid as the pit orchestra. I also knew that conductor Yves Abel would be stellar.
The prelude started with a stage that contained only the theater’s “ghost light” — the light that is always left on in every theater to comfort the ghosts in that particular theater. It was a sensible choice, because Pagliacci is based on the spirit of theater. So far, so good. No conceptual BS.
Baritone Kidon Choi entered and began to sing the famous “Prologue." I had heard him in Madama Butterfly as Sharpless a few years ago, but I didn’t remember him sounding like this. It was magnificent operatic singing. The tone was full and carried all the way to the back row, where I was sitting. His high note near the conclusion of the prologue was everything that it should be. It contained the same resonance and timbre that were present in the rest of his voice.
Lesser baritones tend to have what could be called a hazy top. This means that shine of the voice gets covered up with a false space that sounds awful and doesn’t carry. Kidon Choi is not a lesser baritone.
The scene shifted as a sunset backdrop dropped, and Pagliacci himself rolled onto stage in a broken-down truck from another era. I loved it. The set piece was effective, and though it was technically an updated version of Pagliacci’s wagon, it worked. It didn’t yank the audience out of the rustic setting. The costumes also stayed in character. It was a simple and effective choice, and supported the story that the opera was telling.
Jonathan Burton as Canio, aka Pagliacci, sang well. His tone was pleasant and full. His voice was appropriate for the role. I relaxed. You never know what you’re going to get with an operatic tenor. While his singing was solid, I could have used a little more overt aggression from the character. We have to see bits of his temper erupt early in the proceedings to believe the double murder that ends the show. But it’s possible that it was there and I just didn’t see that characterization from where I was sitting.
Soprano Hailey Clark, in the role of the doomed Nedda, was yet another great singer in this production. She sang with both power and beauty. Her voice effortlessly filled the theater, and her acting was on point.
Now we come to baritone Eleomar Cuello. Cuello stepped in, on short notice, to cover the role of Silvio. All I can say is that I hope San Diego Opera offers him multiple contracts for future seasons. I will show up to hear Eleomar Cuello sing. The love duet between him and Hailey Clark was some of the best singing I’ve ever heard at San Diego Opera.
Video:
Pagliacci