Minnesota Opera's Romeo and Juliet 1/29/08

My father, a loyal opera fan, only feels satisfied if we are sitting spitting-distance from the singers on stage—and yes, there is a lot of spittle in opera. I think Dad loves these arguably too-close-for-comfort seats because he can watch the sweat drip down the conductor’s forehead as he fights to keep the chorus on the same beat as the orchestra, and, more practically, because the guy is 6’3” and the front row guarantees extra legroom. Dad usually springs for tickets and therefore gets decision rights on where our family sits, so most of the operas I have seen have been through an off-kilter, tight angle lens. Opera is notoriously all about grand spectacle, and people back in nosebleeds still need to get their money’s worth. Stage direction, lighting effects, outrageous gestures, and a lot of oil fog in the air all help to transport the audience into the magical, mystical alternate reality of the show. For those sitting closer than row 10, however, it can begin to feel like getting a backstage look into the bearded lady’s tent at a circus. One keen front-row memory that will always haunt me is of watching Madam Butterfly somewhere I can’t quite remember. The lead diva was an undeniable vocal talent, but from my vantage point I was driven to distraction by the obvious fact that the character of a 16-year-old Japanese ingénue was being played by a very robust middle-aged African American woman. I was transfixed watching rivulets of her double-strength white plaster “geisha” makeup run down the sides of her ears and into the extra kimono material that kept her substantially hefty bosom swaddled into place.

The MN Opera’s production of Romeo and Juliet, luckily, starred two up-and-comers who, while very obvious not in their mid-teens as Shakespeare would have had them, at least had some real live chemistry cooking. I wouldn’t say knock-your-socks off sex appeal, but enough that I was not too disgusted to be flecked with their spittle during the prerequisite scantily-clad, roll-around-in-bed wedding night scene. Far more striking than their physical chemistry, however, was their incredible vocal chemistry –rising stars Ellie Dehn and James Valenti have significant experience singing together in various workshops etc. and their voices and talents blend like butter. Dehn has a lush, dark, and rich tone that made me wish she were a Mezzo so I could hear her sing Carmen, while Valenti has a sharper, clearer quality that is still comfortably removed from that more acidic/piercing tone that some young tenors have. On duets, their tones merged into something that was spectacularly greater than the sum of the parts. Their mutual comfort and trust also seemed obvious while they milked emotion through perfectly matched phrasing during the most intense swelling orchestra parts that my grandmother might have otherwise called “schmaltzy.”

Oddly, the lushness of the Valenti-Dehn duets, as well as the romanticism of Gounod’s score, made it a little more obvious that MN Opera had skimped on the vocal talent in all the supporting roles. The baritone priest who performs the illicit marriage was strong but unremarkable, and some of the lesser roles were actually pretty weak vocally. Other elements of entertainment were strong, including a swashbuckling sword fight which was aggressively choreographed and even featured decent fencing work by lover-not-fighter Valenti. A chorus of spritely dancers visually reinforce the star-crossed-lovers storyline and keep the action moving well (although my fiancé thought they were ridiculously over-the-top, for the record). The stark, minimalist set is enhanced by well-used video effects but I did wish for more visual lushness to complement the romantic orchestration. Bottom line is that this was a good production with outstanding musical moments. Would I say this is the show guaranteed to win over the hearts of first-time-opera-goers? Probably not. But if you have the time and can score a good deal on tickets (see info about Young Professionals Group here) I would say it’s a nice stretch-your-horizons night on the town, and you may even choke up during the final minutes before (spoiler alert!) R&J finally kick the bucket in this timeless story of bad timing.

PS: I can't resist giving a special shout out that Ellie Dehn is a graduate of my alma mater Anoka High School (although I did not know her, my sister did and so I am impacted by the brush of greatness!) I have also enjoyed fresh basil from Dehn's Garden (owned by Ellie's aunt, I think...) my whole life so truly we are kindred spirits. Ellie is probably the third most famous person to come out of Anoka and she arguably surpasses both Gretchen Carlson and Garrison Keillor in artistic talent.