Eastman Opera Theatre - Dialogues of the Carmelites

As I freely admit, despite the many operas I’ve seen over the years (mostly in New York City), I am not an opera aficionado.  I much prefer a musical (especially if it’s Sondheim.  And a Sondheim musical performed by an opera company is the best of both worlds!). But opera offers something most other musical experiences do not - the opportunity to hear the finest singers, without unnecessary amplification.

One of the goals of Eastman Opera is to bring a wide variety of musicals and opera to the stage, both for Rochester audiences’ enjoyment, but also to add to the students’ versatility.  The choice of particular productions takes into account the talent and range of language and styles of the current student pool.  In preparation for their roles in this particular production, the students met with the Discalced Carmelites of Rochester, in Pittsford (who knew there was a monastery here in our suburbs?), and talked to them through their grate about their stories.

My friend Gwen and I attended the April 4 performance of Eastman Opera Theatre's Dialogues of the Carmelites.  The date is pertinent, because there were actually two separate casts, each performing on two different dates.  How and why are there that many talented singers studying opera here in Rochester?  Kodak Hall was fairly empty, so we were able to move at intermission to better seats than we had been assigned.  On the one hand, I felt bad for the singers, performing to such a small crowd.  On the other, I envied them this experience of performing in such a wonderful hall.

This was my first time in that space where the orchestra was in the pit and a curtain and set were used.  The staging was fantastic – we particularly liked the backdrop of Escher-like staircases, and the cross through which the nuns proceeded to the guillotine.  The entire performance was on a professional level. Both Gwen and I found it odd that there was no applause at the end of scenes, only the end of acts, since the students certainly earned it.  And I found the supertitles a bit distracting, since the students were performing an English version, and their diction was so good it didn’t require ‘translation.’

All of the singers had wonderful voices, which was to be expected.  I thought two of the students, however, stood out for their stage presence and their acting ability:  Katie Weber, as Mother Marie, and Athene Mok, as Sister Constance. Thirty years ago, when I was a member of the New Amsterdam Chorus in Manhattan, our director, Clara Longstreth, occasionally hired singers from the community, when there was a particularly demanding solo. I remember one particular soloist, and thinking she was pretty good.  There was something about her voice and her poise that was different, and destined her for greatness.  By now, most people, even non-opera-goers, have heard of her: Dawn Upshaw. (I was reminded of this because she will adjudicate the Jesse Kneisel Lieder Competition in Kilbourn Hall in May.)  I can’t but hope that someday Katie Weber and Athene Mok will be recognizable names as well, and I’ll be able to say I heard them when…