A Tale of Two Operas

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis produces four operas a year and tries to cover the full spectrum.  This allows an opera-goer to go from one extreme to the other in a couple of weekends.

Take the Baroque masterpiece of Domenico Cimarosa, Il Matrimonio Segreto, or "The Secret Marriage".  This is a charming frothy bit of fun and the St. Louis production, done in English referred back to the libretto's source, a British play titled "The Clandestine Marriage" by George Coleman and David Garrick.  The vital young cast hammed up their stock characters wittily; the charming music was like ear candy; and the vaguely 1920's costuming was a visual treat.  Beyond that there isn't much to say.  The plot is A and B are secretly married already, but then C who is supposed to marry D falls in love with B while E is infatuated with A, and F (for Father) hasn't a clue.  My favorite part was when tenor (A) learns that the mezzo-soprano (E-unsuitable older woman) believes that he has proposed to her, he staggers around on stage wasting valuable oxygen singing of his shock and then faints on a convenient pile of cushions that we, the audience have been wondering about since the beginning of Act One.  All ends happily.

If this sounds silly, it is.  And one goes away with twittering little bits of Baroque music echoing in one's skull.

In contrast, John Adams' Nixon In China is surreal, blending the fact of Nixon's trip to China in February of 1972 with a fantastic rift on the inner feelings of the Nixons, Chou En-lai, Mao Tse-tung and his wife.  Henry Kissinger is the comic relief.  Twelve television sets in the background flash images from the newsreels of the day.  The minimalist opera score mixes in flashes of Wagner.  Heroic arias are sung; the libretto by Alice Goodman is a master poetic work.  Some scenes in the opera really happened; some of the words were really spoken.  Sometimes what is historic is more bizarre than the fantasy sequences designed to convey some inner truth.

The opera is like one of those Chinese puzzle pieces of intricately carved spheres nested one within the other, all rotating independently.  The brain tries to tease out the puzzle.  The opera starts with the surface truths: the Nixons arrive and drink a great many toasts at a banquet.  But each suceeding act delves more deeply into inner meanings, hidden conflicts and alternate realities.

It is a facinating work, but it has two great weaknesses.  First, it has no real plot.  Secondly, there is frequently too much going on.  I found the third act particularly frustrating, especially when Chairman Mao was singing an aria on one corner of the stage, Chou En-lai was singing another in the opposite corner and the orchestra in the pit is playing something that supports neither singer.  With both singers amplified the result was just intriguing noise.  That might be Very Significant of Something, but I'd call it a waste of a fine libretto and two excellent singers.

The cast was excellent with strong performances by all the principal singers.  Robert Orth's mellow baritone, crisp diction and dramatic flair made it actually pleasant to listen to Richard Nixon.  Chen-Ye Yuan turns in a strong performance as Chou En-lai; Tracy Dahl is a wonderfully bitchy Madame Mao.  However, Pat Nixon is brought vividly and sympathetically to life by Maria Kanyova.