by David Kulma
A rare operatic treat graced the Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square on Saturday, June 16: a single performance of Stanisław Moniuszko’s 19th-century, Polish-language gem Straszny dwór. Designed to celebrate the centenary of Polish independence, this traditionally-staged production with Cleveland Ballet added up to an uneven evening. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
To mark the 100th anniversary of Polish independence, The Cleveland Opera and Cleveland Ballet will present Stanislaw Moniuszko’s 1865 opera, Straszny Dwór (“The Haunted Manor”), on Saturday, June 16 at 7:30 pm at the Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square.
“It was popular at its debut in the mid-19th century, but Poland was under partition between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, so there’s a patriotic undercurrent,” soprano, executive artistic director — and native Pole — Dorota Sobieska said in a telephone conversation. “It’s a Polish opera. We sing and I cry. It’s sentimental. It’s where my heart is.”
“The music is wonderful,” conductor Grzegorz Nowak said in a separate phone call. “It was all composed by Moniuszko, but it has a folk quality to it. The Mazur [Mazurka] has even been texted so it can be sung by a choir.”
Nowak, also Polish, is principal associate conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as music director of The Grand National Opera (Teatr Wielki) in Warsaw. He studied at Tanglewood, earned his doctorate at Eastman, then served on the faculty of Bowling Green State University. He’s quite familiar with Moniuszko’s piece, having first conducted it in Warsaw in what he describes as “quite a scandalous production.” [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Is there a more fun-filled, accessible opera than Mozart’s The Magic Flute? Its classic fairy tale plot — good versus evil combined with a search for enlightenment and love — is timeless. Its characters are sympathetic, and it’s filled with beautiful arias and catchy tunes that are certain to cause earworms long after you have left the theater [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale centers around the title character’s cynical marriage scheme, designed to disinherit his nephew, Ernesto, who wants to tie the knot with a widow the Don doesn’t like. It doesn’t go well for Don Pasquale, who ends up playing the fool. Although Opera Circle Cleveland’s production on Sunday at the Westlake Schools Performing Arts Center took a while to get funny, strong singing and acting added up to an engaging afternoon of comic opera. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
“This is my first time singing Don Pasquale,” Polish-born bass Pawel Izdebski said in a recent phone conversation, “although I have done concert performances of the famous duet with Norina and the Act II Finale, so I already knew about a third of the role.
Izdebski will make his debut in the title role of Gaetano Donizetti’s famous comic opera this Friday evening at 7 and Sunday afternoon at 3, when Opera Circle joins Robert Cronquist and the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra in a staged production at the Westlake Schools Performing Arts Center. Soprano and Opera Circle executive director Dorota Sobieska will be featured as Norina, tenor Matthew Miles as Ernesto, baritone James Binion as Dr. Malatesta (a.k.a. “Dr. Headache”), and Joel Rhoads as the notary and guitarist.
There are two new wrinkles involved in this weekend’s production. Don Pasquale takes Opera Circle into a new venue in the western suburbs, and admission for students, youth and children will be free with passes (check the company’s website for details). [Read more…]