In an era when even the worst shows on Broadway are greeted with standing ovations, there is something perversely appealing about the way that opera audiences have no hang-ups about expressing their displeasure with a production.
On the opening night of “La Sonnambula” at the Metropolitan Opera a few weeks ago, director Mary Zimmerman was loudly booed and the production has had the opera blogs buzzing ever since.
Mary Zimmerman is the theater director who caused a sensation with her production of “Metamorphoses” eight years ago. The gorgeous re-examination of myths — set in and around a giant pool of water — struck an emotional chord with jittery New York audiences in the wake of 9/11 and it became a surprise commercial hit.
Zimmerman loves bold “concept” stagings of old stories. Shifting to opera, she decided that the plot of “La Sonnambula” was rather ludicrous and that a rethinking might be in order to showcase the beautiful score and the male and female lead roles.
The heroine, Amina, nearly loses her beloved, Elvino, because she sleepwalks and one night ends up in the bedroom of another man. Elvino dumps Amina and becomes immediately engaged to another woman. Reason is restored when Elvino witnesses one of Amina’s sleepwalking jaunts — one which almost kills her — and realizes the error of his ways.
The story is silly and hard to swallow — No one in her small village knows that Amina sleepwalks? Elvino’s “love” is so shallow that he is ready to marry another woman almost immediately after he dumps Amina?
Zimmerman decided to experiment with the opera by setting the story in a contemporary rehearsal hall where a company of singer-actors is working on “La Sonnambula.” The logic of this premise is a little unclear — the performer playing Amina is named Amina and her co-star lover’s name in Elvino.
The director didn’t meddle with the starry charisma of Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez in the leading roles and their performances were greeted with tremendous ovations at the Saturday night performance I attended (Zimmerman didn’t risk a bow that night!).
Florez ended one spectacular aria with a sweeping bow and the subsequent pandemonium in the house kept him frozen in that position for several minutes
The boo birds at the opening night of “La Sonnambula” apparently did not think the performances were enough to redeem the night, but Saturday’s crowd seemed more than satisfied by the singing and acting of Dessay and Florez (they might be the sexiest couple on a New York stage at this moment).
I got a kick out of reading the hysterical condemnations of the production on Parterre Box — one of the funniest blogs on the Internet — but agreed with the one anonymous poster who went against the tide:
“My goodness people, you would think this was the first unsuccessful production in Met history…Some of you really need to take a breath, or three. Nobody died or was injured last night, not even Sonnambula. I really don’t think the Supreme Court would uphold the death penalty for green lighting ONE disaster…Artistic success is all about taking risks, and sometimes the results ain’t so great…Apparently the sophisticated opera goers of NYC aren’t able to deal with a wee bit of experimentation (or more to the point, they’re never satisfied with anything that didn’t die or retire at least 20 years ago).”
(“La Sonnambula” will receive its final staging this season on Friday at 8 p.m.)
