SUOR ANGELICA & GIANNI SCHICCHI. Director: Magdalene Minnaar. Conductor: Jeremy Silver. Cast: Nobulumko Mngxekeza, Minette du Toit-Pearce, Conroy Scott, Lukhanyo Moyake, Dineo Bokala, Julia Portela Piñón, Members of the Cape Town Opera Chorus and Children’s Chorus and Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. Artscape Opera House.
BEVERLEY BROMMERT reviews
It would be hard to identify two operas more dissimilar in mood and intention than Suor Angelica (poignant spirituality) and Gianni Schicchi (vibrant buffoonery). All they have in common is their composer, the illustrious Puccini, whose versatility and genius are amply illustrated in marrying sublime music to engrossing plots.
Cape Town Opera’s double bill couples these short works to celebrate their composer’s centenary, and the result represents yet another triumph in the company’s growing catalogue of world-class productions.
Whether evoking the chilly discipline of a nunnery or the comfort of a well-furnished bedroom, the combination of set, lighting, projections and arrangement of tableaux to offset sterling vocal performance from soloists and ensembles alike, is a recipe that delights eye, ear and heart.
Established artists of the calibre of Conroy Scott and Lukhanyo Moyake share the stage with rising stars like Nobulumko Mngxekeza and newcomer Julia Portela Piñón, and most engaging of all is the recently formed Children’s Chorus, which adds lustre to the finale of Suor Angelica.
Reflective quietude
The evening opens in reflective quietude as the delicate strains of an Ave Maria waft through the austere gloom of a convent chapel; the mood set, Angelica’s woeful tale unfolds …
Doubly victimised by a harsh aristocratic family and equally draconian religious practice, the heartsore young mother finds succour only in death, and even this proves questionable consolation. It says much for Magdalene Minnaar’s direction that such grim subject-matter is presented with lightness of touch to retain dramatic intensity while rousing compassion. Soprano Nobulumko Mngxekeza, already impressive in her recent role as Tosca, confirms her maturing artistry as Angelica. Vulnerable but never maudlin, her portrayal conveys the nun’s pain with authenticity and conviction, while her vocal prowess is enchanting.
Equally noteworthy in this opera is movement director Fiona du Plooy’s artful use of tableaux throughout: the large ensemble of nuns group around the central figure of Angelica in eye-pleasing symmetry to evoke order and discipline without apparent contrivance.
Minette du Toit-Pearce, as Angelica’s flinty aunt, has an arresting stage presence in one of costume designer Allegra Bernacchioni’s magnificent creations, but her projection struggles to deliver the requisite volume, drowned in overly robust rendition from the orchestra.
Best of all is the arresting finale as a celestial young chorus, radiantly lit and in excellent voice, welcomes Angelica to another, transcendent world…
Manic, improvised fun
After such a soulful experience, interval is necessary for a clean break ahead of the manic, improvised fun of Gianni Schicchi.
Greed, hypocrisy, chicanery: where there’s a will there’s a family – in predatory mode, their materialism thinly masked by expressions of regret at the passing of a wealthy relative who is enticingly childless.
The deceased’s kin richly justify an unedifying view of human nature, matched in baseness only by the venal and wily lawyer summoned to help them in the matter of unsatisfactory disposition of legacies.
Enter Schicchi, intent on enriching just one individual, to wit, himself. Impersonated with enviable authority by baritone Conroy Scott, the eponymous lead occupies centre stage to delight and disgust in equal measure. His lung power victorious in competition with the orchestra, his personality dominant, Scott offers one of his finest portrayals in this cameo of nastiness.
Among the less self-serving characters (though not altogether innocent of duplicity), Schicchi ‘s daughter Lauretta and the dead man’s second cousin Rinuccio have the universal appeal of young lovers: Lukhanyo Moyake partnered by Dineo Bokala are well cast in these roles and deliver accordingly.
CTO Young Artist Julia Portela Piñón shines as the evil Zita, handling her characterisation with an insouciance unusual on début, her clear mezzo showing potential worthy of note.
As the second short opera reaches its boisterous conclusion, Scott alias Schicchi steps forward to express a hope that the production has met with approval. Small wonder that the response is an emphatic affirmative.
What: Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi
Where and when: Artscape on 16 and 17 March 2024
Tickets: Webtickets
WS
