The premiere performance of Houston Grand Opera’s 2008-2009 season, Beatrice and Benedict is a well-conceived, well-executed performance by a top company.
Though not exactly an opera in the popular sense – there’s a lot of dialogue, there is no Fat Lady to sing at the end and nobody dies – it is a beautiful piece. Performed entirely in English, Beatrice is quite accessible to first-time operagoers and is an easy crossover for fans of musicals, making it a perfect entry point to the genre.
True to the style of opera comique, the dialogue does most of the actual advancement of the storyline with songs scattered throughout. The songs really do more to explain back-story than anything else, often sung as punctuation on the theme at hand. This method works well for the opera, which is really an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
Beatrice, played by Joyce DiDonatto, clashes with Benedict, played by Norman Reinhardt. Both have quick wits, and well they should – the whole performance is based on their banter.
Somarone (Donald Maxwell) is a drunkard written to replace Dogberry and Verges specifically for the opera. In HGO’s production, his every line is improvised. His wit is quickest of the three, and he slings political jokes ("this is dedicated to Sarah; may she find the sun and cease paling; and to Joe, whose sudden popularity has made it difficult to find a good plumber") and stings the chorus with sly remarks about their vocal talent.
The two lead characters are bitter rivals until trickery by Don Pedro (Ryan McKinny) and Claudio (Liam Bonner) convinces the pair that they should be married along with Claudio and Hero (Ailish Tynan) at the end of the opera.
Reinhardt’s Benedict is emphatic, sharp and has excellent timing. The delivery of his lines is crisp and emotive, leading the audience to believe they aren’t watching an opera, but an actual battle of wits. DiDonatto plays Beatrice with the same qualities, heightening the effect.
Surprisingly, the lack of singing isn’t a drawback to this performance. Reinhardt’s mellifluous tenor singing is bolstered by a quite pleasant speaking voice.
The tableaux are incredible – nobody seems even to breathe. The chorus has an amazing ability to stand perfectly, unblinkingly still, mid-stride in some cases, for complete musical interludes. This is no small feat, considering the orchestra’s penchant for drawn-out overtures and entrances.
Set design was of the usual high quality for HGO, with convincing perspective achieved by angling the stage itself. Likewise, costume design was splendid, with immensely ornate dresses and uniforms for the main players and equally detailed outfits for the chorus.
The stage lighting was a tad on the warm side during the daytime scenes, as though the stage – supposedly set outside a Sicilian villa – were actually inside a quiet restaurant, but was perfect for the coolness of the night scenes, something which has occasionally been a problem for HGO.
Passage of time was handled elegantly by smooth lighting changes with subtle movement of a model moon in the background.
The performance was spectacular, and the cast did justice to such a well-written piece. It’s a shame that Beatrice and Benedict isn’t in the normal operatic repertoire, because it is truly a magnificent work.
