Gallery A of “Il matrimonio segreto”
Gallery B of “Il matrimonio segreto”

If an audience’s enthusiastic response to an opera performance can be taken as an indicator of a successful production, then the U of A’s Opera Theater presentation of Domenico Cimarosa’s 1792 opera buffa, Il matrimonio segreto can be considered as one of its best.

Cast 4/8 4/10
L to R: Asleif Willmer- Carolina • Katie Vanderhooning- Elisetta • Mackenzie Romriell- Fidalma • Greg Guenther- Count Robinson • Chris Herrera- Geronimo • Dennis Tamblyn- Paolino

This enthusiasm for Il matrimonio can be traced back to its premiere in 1792 at the court of Emperor Leopold 11 in Vienna. Leopold commissioned Cimarosa to write an Opera buffa and was so pleased with the results he requested a repeat performance the same evening- after a sumptuous dinner, of course.

The opera was an immediate hit with the public and up until the end of the 18th Century, it was performed over 70 times in Vienna alone.

Cast 4/9 4/11
L To R: Erika Burkhart- Carolina • Angeline Chairez- Elisetta • Seth Kershisnik- Count Robinson • Orquídea Guandique- Fidalma • Kyle Connor- Geronimo and Alan Stevens- Paolino

Fast forward to April, 2010, to the Opera Theater’s four performances at Crowder Hall where audiences discovered to their delight that Artistic Director Charles Roe and Musical Director Charles Bontrager had woven an aura of deja vu into their interpretation. They decided to execute the set and fit the costumes to an elegant acting style that seemed right out of what the production looked and sounded like in 1792.

In today’s operatic climate, with so many loony revisionists puncturing unrelated, chaotic holes into many operatic masterpieces, Roe and Bontrager came up with a radical idea; they opted for a traditional interpretation. It proved to be a very astute decision.

The curtain opened on Sally Day’s detailed set of an 18th Century house in Bologna, actually Geronimo’s spacious and elegantly furnished living room with two staircases on either side of the stage and a small loggia connecting the two. It was a good omen that the evening was going to be a very enjoyable one.

It appeared that Day and costumer Adam Dill worked together to foster a picture that showed unity, and, happily, good taste. The costumes Dill chose from Costume World Theatrical were a colorful spectrum of mostly browns and blues and were designed to fit the personalities of the performers. The different costume designs and colors for each singer in the two casts showed the Opera Theater’s commitment to Cimarosa’s opera.**

Well, what about the opera as a musical and comedy vehicle for audiences today? As stated in Grove Book of Opera, “The directness, exuberance, spontaneity, gracefulness and musical sincerity of this opera gave it an international appeal.” Roe and Bontager’s production was able to capture the essence of these qualities by sticking to the text as written, allowing the musical interpretation and the singing to speak Cimarosa’s musical language as clearly as he wrote it.

In Opera buffa, the notes on the page and how they are played can become a contest of artistic wills. Cimarosa’s measures are simply laid out, but the musical execution requires stamina, rhythmic vitality and an understanding of the style- without any of these, the show doesn’t fly. And for sure, Cimarosa’s music flies.

As Bontrager said to his orchestra at rehearsals, meeting the challenge of the many starts and stops in the musical phrases and the dexterity in the string fingering would be two artistic goals he hoped his players would reach.

The overture strikes at the heart of the opera. In Gordana Lazarevich’s comments in the New Grove Dictionary of Opera, we can see immediately why the overture plays such an important part in a production’s success.

“…in the Largo of the overture with three initial D major chords, the brilliant orchestration…not only provides a festive atmosphere but shows a melodic effusiveness and inventiveness full of verve, vitality and exuberance.”

On opening night on the 8th, Bontrager was able to lead his forces right into placing Il Matrimonio in a “festive atmosphere.” If there were some glitches in the strings, they did not tarnish the overall effect: an infectiously rhythmic and vibrant reading of Cimarosa’s well-designed overture, one of the best to be found in Opera buffa. What followed was all uphill.

For this Il Matrimonio production, Roe was able to put together two casts* who were evenly matched. Considering the casts were a mixture of graduate and undergraduate students with varying vocal and interpretative skills, the director made them shine in an opera that emphasizes ensembles more than individual arias. The detailed attention Roe and Bontrager gave to the trios, quartets and the ensemble that ended each act is what produced the audience’s hearty and joyful reaction to the work. Even in the duets, one could hear the pleasing and delicate harmonies that make Cimarosa’s opera the lively, droll work it is.

Individually, some performers were not able to achieve the vocal projection required, or showed some awkwardness in matching body and voice to the swift musical currents that Opera buffa thrives on. But when it came to putting their voices together, their vocals blended with ease, their bodies relaxing into Roe’s direction. Their enjoyment traveled over the footlights, picking up the audience on its way.

As the opera opens, we find that Carolina and Paolino have been secretly married and are very much concerned about how her father, Geronimo, will take the news. Both Cimarosa and his librettist Giovanni Bertati provided plenty of humor, both text-wise and musically for Geromino. As in many operas of this genre, the parental figure tries, but never succeeds in getting everyone to agree with him. Fortunately the production had two performers who presented very different, but very believable interpretations of Geronimo’s familial trials.

Chris Herrera’s Geronimo was befuddled and perplexed with his daughter Elisetta’s complaints about her arranged marriage to Count Robinson when she discovered the Count has an eye for her sister Carolina. Kyle Connor took a different approach. His Geronimo grew steadily annoyed and put upon by the Count’s lusting after his other daughter Carolina. In the end, Geronimo is forced to accept his social climbing ambitions are a bust. Herrera and Connor’s performances showed there is more than one way to play one of Cimarosa’s most endearing characters. Both singers gave good readings to the role’s vocal impersonations, with Herrera capturing the complete vocal range of the role.

Dennis Tamblyn and Alan Stevens as Paolino were a good match for their Carolinas, Asleif Willmer and Erika Burkhart. Tamblyn’s abundant stage experience showed up in his varied vocal dynamics and his easy acting style. Stevens’ somewhat hesitant portrayal did not hamper his clean vocals in expressing Cimarosa’s musical line. Willmer filled her Carolina with vocal humor and an acting manner that the audience took to immediately. Burkhart had the vocal goods for Carolina but seemed to be holding back on the music’s expression. Still her lovely rendition of Carolina’s short lament in Act Two proved she can manage quite well.

As Fidalma, Mackenzie Romriell showed the mezzo knows her way around this buffa style. Her understated vocals in portraying the maiden aunt’s thwarted amorous longings for Tamblyn’s Paolino made their scene together, where she confesses her love and he faints dead away at the shock of it all, into a delicious comedic moment for the pair. Orquídea Guandique’s Fidalma was somewhat under projected, but that did not hide her beautifully tuned vocal line.

Both Angeline Chairez and Katie Vanderhooning showed Elisetta’s spirited indignation concerning Robinson’s roving eye without losing the dignified restraints that permeated the production.

Filling out the cast were the aptly stuffy, slightly pompous readings of Seth Kershisnik and Greg Guenther’s as Count Robinson, the man responsible for the jittery reactions filling Geronimo’s household. Kershisnik’s vocal aplomb captured all of the Count’s devious amorous attempts throwing in some quirky dance moves. Guenther’s Count, as befitting the singer’s natural look, projected a boyish charm and a unforced vocal style that made the audience smile with approval.

The last time the Opera Theater performed Il Matrimonio, the production was in English. This time Roe opted for the original Italian. It was a great choice because the Italian text is a natural compliment to the score and certainly contributed to the overall success of the production. However, there were times during the performances when this listener wished Roe and Bontrager had had the cast spend more time working on the text.

As a participant in the Riddle Endowment for conducting with the Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Keitaro Harada was given the opportunity to conduct the April 11th performance. He showed the same attention to Cimarosa’s score and in helping the singers to best interpret it as Bontrager. In the overture, however, Harada emphasized the lower parts of the score, while Bontrager went for a lighter touch in the upper parts. It was a real pleasure to hear both versions; better yet, to experience such musical variety from a music school production was a rare treat.

Cast April 8/10
• Paolino: Dennis Tamblyn
• Carolina: Asleif Willmer
• Geronimo: Christopher Herrera
• Fidalma: Mackenzie Romriell
• Elisetta: Katie Vanderhooning
• Count: Greg Guenther

Cast April 9/11
• Paolino: Alan Stevens
• Carolina: Erika Burkhart
• Geronimo: Kyle Conner
• Fidalma: Orquídea Guandique
• Elisetta: Angeline Chairez
• Count: Seth Kershisnik

** This synopsis is from the The University of Arizona Opera Theater’s program.

Geronimo, a wealthy citizen of Bologna, has two daughters, Elisetta and the more attractive Carolina. His sister Fidalma keeps house for them. Carolina is secretly married to her father’s bookkeeper, Paolino, whose former employer, Count Robinson, arrives from England with the intention of marrying Elisetta. When he sees Carolina, however, he changes his mind and decides that he will marry her instead. Elisetta and Fidalma decide to send Carolina to a convent so that Elisetta can marry Robinson and her aunt can marry Paolino. The misunderstandings which develop are cleared up when Carolina and Paolino reveal their marriage. All is forgiven, and the Count agrees to marry Elisetta.

–Quaintance Eaton