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Royal Conservatory of Music/A Little Night time Music in Live performance, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, e-book by Hugh Wheeler, orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, directed by Richard Ouzounian, music path by David Briskin, Koerner Corridor, Might 26 to Might 28.
Mounting Sondheim musicals in live performance appears to turning into a cottage trade for the RCM. First Follies final yr, now A Little Night time Music this yr. Given the packed homes, Sondheim is clearly a winner for this august establishment, to not point out a showcase for the 25-member Glenn Gould College Chamber Orchestra, who had been terrific, by the way in which, below the sympathetic however taut conducting of David Briskin.
Within the first act of A Little Night time Music, we meet the varied characters of their varied abodes, whereas the second act takes place at Madame Armfeldt’s villa within the nation the place the collision of entangled lovers will happen, and a few house truths can be revealed.
First, it is very important know that this manufacturing is greater than a live performance. It’s not simply music stitched along with a little bit of textual content. Relatively, the efficiency has been skilfully directed by Richard Ouzounian. Sure, the set could be chairs and tables, however all of Hugh Wheeler’s witty e-book is spoken, and the singers should act.
Always, you felt you had been getting an actual present. There have been even costume adjustments, cleverly coordinated by Ellie Koffman. The one factor lacking had been units, however they weren’t actually lacking as a result of we had all of it with the phrases and music.
Ouzounian used the complete breadth of the Koerner Corridor stage in entrance of the orchestra to create scenes, which had been effectively arrange by the 5 Liebeslieder Singers (the present’s Greek refrain). Stage proper, left, center — the scenes dissolved seamlessly, one into the opposite, with the songs evolving naturally out of the scenes. The entire stage setup was Ouzounian at his most theatrically acute.
As for the singing actors, it was as in the event that they had been born to play the components. You would name it flawless casting. Notably noteworthy was everybody’s potential to spout off Sondheim’s rapid-fire infernal inside rhymes with ease.
Cynthia Dale (Desirée Armfeldt) acquired to indicate what a really marvellous actor she is, taking part in an actor! Her singing function is the smallest, however Desirée does get one music, and it’s the killer “Ship In The Clowns”, which was delivered with excellent remorse and heartbreak, accompanied by Maestro Briskin’s tender conducting. Tender may be a weird phrase, however I can’t consider one other that describes the quiet second of resignation that Dale and the orchestra created. She (and the gamers) introduced down the home.
Eric McCormack (Fredrik Egerman), the esteemed lawyer, and Desirée’s former lover, who’s now married to teenage Anne (Sadie Laflamme-Snow), I discovered a bit off-pitch in his singing, however an exquisite actor when it comes to textual content. Each phrase he sing/spoke was loaded with which means. As for Laflamme-Snow, she was suitably giddy and foolish as befits her age — and the truth that she remains to be a virgin after 11 months of marriage.
The opposite member of the Egerman household, son Henrik, a divinity pupil, was carried out with appropriate angst (as a result of he’s in love together with his stepmother), by Justan Myers, who had the clearest diction of all of the appearing firm. He confirmed simply the correct quantity of sexual confusion and raging hormones.
Fiona Reid as Desirée’s mom (Madame Armfeldt) hit it out of the park along with her sarcasm and irony, as she remembered the previous that was oh, so significantly better than the current. Desirée’s younger daughter (Fredrika) was carried out with severe dispatch by the charming Annie Grunwald.
Tess Benger had nice enjoyable performing the sexually good and prolific Petra, Anne’s maid, and gave a terrific rendering of her well-known music “The Miller’s Son”, with simply the precise contact of worldly knowledge. Her tryst with Madame Armfeldt’s servant Frid, carried out with exaggerated solemnity by Edmond Clark, was hilarious.
Dan Chameroy acquired to play essentially the most stereotypical & laughable character — Desirée’s present lover, the dragoon Rely Malcolm, with a poker up his ass, so to talk. Chameroy went proper for the jugular because the inflexible martinet, with overacting thrown in for good measure. I say, good for Chameroy. If you’re portraying this idiot, go for broke.
The saddest character is Countess Malcolm, who loves her husband a lot that she is keen to place up together with his infidelities. Gabi Epstein portrayed Charlotte with bitterness, true, however of the self-deprecating form, and so she acquired the laughs for her ironic one-liners.
The 5 Liebeslieder Singers, Jonelle Sills, Elena Howard-Scott, Lillian Brooks, Marcel d’Entremont and Colin Mackey, all had marvellous operatic voices, however right here is the place we get into difficulties.
Within the renown Koerner Corridor acoustics, why mike opera singers? There have been some changes made within the second act to convey down the extent, however nonetheless their voices overpowered the orchestra.
Conductor Briskin had adopted a lightness of contact for the rating as befits Sondheim’s sly lyrics and waltz time rhythms, to not point out Jonathan Tunick’s intelligent orchestrations, however all through the live performance, the music was muted. Might they not have turned the mikes on for spoken textual content, however off for songs? Simply asking…
Because of this, I really feel like I used to be shortchanged when it got here to listening to the orchestra. Within the strictly instrumental components, nonetheless, the gamers may very well be totally heard. I do know for a proven fact that different members of the viewers had been having issue in listening to seemingly tender music and over-miked phrases.
Nonetheless, designer Nick Blais did a marvellous job with the pin spot lighting, whereas Robin Calvert created appropriate choreography the place required.
So the query stays — what Sondheim is the RCM doing subsequent yr? (With hopefully a greater stability between voice and orchestra.)
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Paula Citron is a Toronto-based freelance arts journalist and broadcaster who hosts her personal web site, paulacitron.ca. For over 25 years, she was senior dance author for The Globe and Mail, affiliate editor of Opera Canada journal, arts reviewer for Classical 96.3 FM, and dance previews contributor to Toronto Life journal. She has been a visitor lecturer for varied cultural teams and universities, notably on the function of the critic/reviewer, and has been a panellist on COC podcasts. Earlier than assuming a full-time journalism profession, Ms. Citron was a member of the drama division of the Claude Watson College for the Arts.
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