TEATRO GRATTACIELO Press reviews for "Il Piccolo Marat"

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Opera-L Review

from Opera-L

Teatro Grattacielo Triumphs at Avery Fisher Hall With United States première of Pietro Mascagni’s Il Piccolo Marat
A review by Nino Pantano

The composer Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) is remembered primarily as the composer of the great Verismo masterpiece Cavalleria Rusticana at the age of 27 which premiered in Rome’s Costanzi Theater in 1890 and is still popular in all the world’s great and small opera houses. Mascagni had some degree of success with the charming pastoral L’Amico Fritz and other works once popular but now obscure, like Iris and Lodoletta (which were sung by Caruso and Gigli).

Il Piccolo Marat is Mascagni’s 14th and next to last work and had a spectacular premiere also at the Costanzi Theater in Rome with over 50 curtain calls on May 2, 1921. Ms. Duane D. Printz, founder Impressaria and fac-to-ta of Teatro Grattacielo chose this violent, impassioned French Revolution based work in its North American Première to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Teatro Grattacielo. Judging from the large enthusiastic crowd at Avery Fisher Hall, on April 13th, her efforts have earned this unique company quite a following.

What looked and sounded so perfect did not come easy as two principal singers cancelled a week or two before the performance and another the day before.

It seems that after Cavalleria, Pietro Mascagni literally turned himself inside out. The spiritually uplifting choral and vocal “Regina Coeli” from Cavalleria Rusticana is nowhere to be found in this score. It has been replaced by modern sounds far removed from Mascagni’s earlier work. This in no way denigrates the greatness of Cavalleria or the composer, but rather follows Picasso who evolved into different dimensions of his genius rather than following the same creative drummer. Some of the low brass sounds in Il Piccolo Marat evoked Wagner, others hinted Puccini, but the basic colors are Mascagni’s alone.

To summarize, the score is as the composer indicated, full of blood, rage and fury. I agree, but must add it also contains love, hope and triumph, grand duets, stirring solos tremendous orchestral and choral outbursts with a finale that is just as exciting as the finale of Stravinsky’s Firebird and Puccini’s (Alfano) Turandot.(which came later)

In the story of Il Piccolo Marat, while pretending to favor the blood thirsty revolutionaries, the little Marat manages with the help of a nameless carpenter to rescue the Ogre’s niece Mariella and his own beloved mother despite his being severely wounded.

Mascagni’s librettist for Il Piccolo Marat, Giovacchino Forzano also worked with Puccini a few years earlier in Il Trittico which for various reasons was a source of some conflict to Mascagni. Tenor Richard Crawley sang the role of Il Piccolo Marat, on short notice. Nonetheless he negotiated the dangerous tenor terrain with precision and ringing power aided by an occasional swig of water and emerged in triumph as an audience favorite. Gruff voiced bass Brian Jauhiainen sang the part of L’Orco (the Ogre) also replacing the scheduled performer and utilized his sound with body language that made for an obstinate and terrifying “on the mark” rendition of a would be terrorist. Paula Delligatti was a wonderful Mariella, her lyric soprano sometimes floating her tones magically, like Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff and yet singing some soaring and powerful love duets with Il Piccolo Marat.

Deligatti’s voice conquered the testy tessitura without a sense of strain. She can sing dramatic passages that are challenging and emerge fresh. One musicologist in attendance referred to the impassioned love duet as “L’Amico Fritz on acid” It in no way resembles the duets of Turiddu and Santuzza. It is mind boggling that the same composer could thrill you on such different levels of his art. In the role of The Carpenter, another last minute replacement Daniel Ihn-Kyu Lee scored a major success, his lovely, lyric, ardent baritone made a strong impression. Joshua Benhaim, with his powerful, manly baritone impressed as a soldier. His is a solid penetrating, robust sound that easily cuts through the orchestra and is never forced.

Also shining brightly but briefly was the golden basso of Alfred Barclift. Elizabeth Batton showed mezzo magic as La Princepessa. The rest of the stellar cast was Nelson Martinez as Il Capitano, Stefanos Koroneos as La Spia, Christopher Herbert as a prisoner and porter. Mr. Herbert, a baritone of promise, is a descendant of the great composer Victor Herbert. Perhaps Victor Herbert’s opera Natoma (1911), a favorite of tenor John McCormack and Mary Garden, will also be revived one day.

Lastly, HugoVera was impressive in the part of Una voce tenore. Each of the three acts of this opera in concert was brought to artistic truth by Music Director and conductor David Wroe and the splendid Teatro Gratticielo orchestra. Maestro Wroe practically danced on the podium to keep the enormous sweeping score like a giant wave from becoming a tsunami. This required skills of incredible magnitude and David Wroe was a miraculous steersman. The Cantori New York and the Long Island University Chorus contributed greatly to the evening and director Mark Shapiro earns high praise. The chorus sang with perfect diction, precision and clarity.

We were saddened to hear of the passing of friend and benefactor Harry Demarsky on Easter Sunday. He is now joined with his wife the beloved Lina Del Tinto who always included the Teatro Grattacielo on her cable television program. I am certain they were applauding from the heavens. At the conclusion of the opera, with its thrilling finale, the audience instantly stood and cheered for a prolonged ovation. It was absolutely an operatic moment to cherish and remember.

We thank Duane Printz for this unforgettable, timely operatic rarity and look forward to another treasure from the Teatro Grattacielo’s vault next year!