Opera Concert in Franklin Park
By the Opera Amateur*
If I described the June 20 Open Opera performance as it really happened, my readers would think I was making things up. Yet, the event at Franklin Park in Alameda was beautiful. The weather was perfect: dappled shade and intense sun moderated by a cool breeze. Chairs were set up, but readily pushed aside to spread picnics and make room for baby carriages and pets. The stage was only a few inches high, so that the performers and the audience of over 200 were interconnected. Here are some of the elements that made this event so spectacular.
First was the program. It was opera arias sung by well-known Bay Area singers – all pieces that opera lovers would know and newcomers would instantly love. If anything, it was too sweet, like falling into a giant cake and eating your way out. But that’s not a bad thing. I wished, though, for some American composers and more pieces in English.
Elizabeth Baker sang two of Cherubino’s arias from Le Nozze di Figaro. Her voice is a lovely lyric mezzo, and her interpretation of Cherubino brought the character to life. This bodes well for Open Opera’s Le Nozze di Figaro to be presented on July 25 and 26 at John Hinkle Park in Berkeley.
Alameda resident Eileen Meredith mesmerized the audience with her “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi by Puccini. She also contributed brilliantly to several ensembles, my favorite being the stunning “Flower Duet” from “Lakeme” by Delibes. She was joined by Sigmund Seigel’s beautiful tenor and Leland Morine, bass-baritone, singing “Bella Figlia” from Verdi’s Rigoletto.
Eileen joined Elender Wall for the beautiful “Sull’aria,” also from Figaro. Elender as solo performer sang “Da Tempeste,” Cleopatra’s final aria from Handel’s Guilio Cesare. Usually, big voices like Elender’s are saved for Wagner, and rarely sing the elaborate coloratura of “Da Tempeste.” But she sang it with fire and brilliance.
Heather McFaddin has an enormous, warm mezzo voice. Her “Voi lo sapete,” from Cavalieria Rusticana by Mascagni, was intensely passionate — breathtaking. Tenor Raymond Chavez sang a compelling “En fermant les yeux” from Massenet’s Manon. Katya Roemer was outstanding in singing the “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka by Dvorak.
Representatives of the next generation of singers also participated. Taylor Thompson, tenor, student of the event’s emcee David Tignor, and Kendra Dodd, mezzo, student of the event’s piano accompanist Jim Meredith, are graduating from high school and attending music conservatories next fall. Both have beautiful voices.
During the performances, the audience was in constant flux, and that was a great thing. Youngsters would listen to several arias, and then swing in the adjacent playground. One nine-year-old resisted efforts to get him to go play because he wanted to hear his aunt sing. After her performance, he trotted off.
A toddler, barely a year old hearing and seeing clapping for the first time, began running toward the performers, then turning toward the audience, clapping enthusiastically. People walked dogs and skateboarded. That led to the one glitch of the day: a skateboard dislodged a power cable in the middle of Handel’s “Da Tempeste.” I guess the opera spirits were having their joke: a power outage during a storm. People living in houses surrounding the park were listening from their front yards and balconies. One singer described the feeling of singing to the first balcony of a grand opera house.
Bringing the event together, setting up, making announcements and appeals for donations to Open Opera was soprano Ellen St. Thomas, who chose to stage manage the event rather than sing. She reminded us that this free event, with everyone volunteering their time, still has costs. Olivia Stapp, a retired prima donna and the founder of Open Opera, wants audiences to enjoy the day as well as the performance. Opera used to be a social event where people could come and go and talk with their friends – not just heard in the formality of a concert hall. Ms. Stapp wants to bring that freedom back into opera.
She certainly succeeded at Franklin Park. I wish there were more opportunities to experience open opera. The whole world could benefit.
Ellen Wall, English Professor, SF City College
Taylor Thompson: “Tell me, Oh Blue, Blue Sky” by Vittorio Gianinni