The Passenger

Last night Karen, David and I had a profoundly moving experience at Chicago Lyric Opera. The occasion was a performance of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger, which was having it's local premiere at the opera house.

The opera and the composer were unknown to me until last night, but judging by the amazing work we heard, we'll be hearing a lot about him in the future. He was a Polish Jew who went to Russia, was a friend of Shostakovitch, and a prolific composer. He was out of favor with Stalin, was put in prison, and would have been killed, had not Stalin died at that moment.

The opera was written in 1968, based on a story by Zofia Pomysz. It details a trip on board ship from Germany to Brazil. Walter and Liese are going to Brazil where he will have a position in the German embassy there. Liese sees a woman on the ship she recognizes as someone she supervised at Auschwitz when she was an SS officer during the war. As far as she knows, she sent the woman to her death. They both fear that if this woman recognizes Liese, it will ruin their position in Brazil.

The opera goes back and forth from the ship in 1968 to the concentration camp during the war. A very creative set is divided between a balcony, which is the deck of the ship, and the main stage which is the concentration camp. Everything on the ship is white, the set, the costumes, all gleaming white. The concentration camp is all dark and ominous.

The music is amazing. Jagged but lyrical lines for the singers, wonderful orchestration for the orchestra.

The cast was superb. Brandon Jovanovich sang the role of Walter with a strong, almost Helden tenor voice. Liese was sung by Davida Karanas, with a rich spinto soprano, Marta was performed by the amazing Amanda Majeskie, whose soaring high passages shone, and Tadeusz was sung by Joshua Hopkins. The rest of the very large cast was excellent. 



Davida Karanas




  Amanda Majeski





Brandon Jovanovich




Joshua Hopkins

If you are in the Chicago area, this is a production you must see, a major unknown work by a major unknown composer that is riveting. 

A perfect opera!

This evening David and I heard what may possibly be the most perfect operatic performance I have ever experienced. Of ANY opera!

It was the Chicago Lyric's presentation of Dvorak's magnificent Rusalka. It was sung by what may be the perfect cast. 

Rusalka  is a fairy tale of a water sprite who lives at the bottom of a river and emerges at night to walk the earth. According to legend, these creatures are the spirits of young women who died early, often after being jilted by their lovers. The tale of Undine follows a very similar path. I saw Audrey Hepburn portray this part on the Broadway stage in 1974.

Rusalka falls in love with a handsome prince who comes to the river and wants to become human so she can be with him in the world. She asks the Water Goblin how she can achieve this and he sends her to the witch, Jezibaba. She tells Rusalka that in return for turning her into a human she must remain mute whenever she is with other humans. Rusalka agrees to this and plans to marry the Prince. However, tiring of having a lover who cannot speak, he falls in love with a foreign princess, casting Rusalka out. She goes back to the witch and begs to be turned into a water sprite again. The witch tells her that this will only happen if she kills the Prince. He comes looking for Rusalka, having decided he can't live without her. She kisses him, he dies, and she is left to roam the river bank forever.

Whew! Quite a story!

Possessed of an amazingly beautiful voice, Ana Maria Martinez was Rusalka in every way. Her middle and lower range seem mezzo and contralto until she soars to sublime high notes. She even has a gorgeous messa di voce up there. This is one of the finest soprano voices I have heard in a very long time.

Equaling her in every way is Brandon Jovanovich as the Prince. He can produce stentorian high notes or give you a sweet, limpid voix mixte. His acting skills match Ms. Martinez in fervor and dedication. The two of them have performed these roles together previously which undoubtedly added to the evening's performance.

As Jezibaba Jill Grove used her wonderful mezzo voice to terrify and thrill. I would love to hear her as Azucena and Eboli. Eric Owens possesses an enormous bass-baritone voice which commanded the role of the Water Goblin.

The rest of the cast was equally fine. The set, designed by John Macfarlane, was a wonderful twisted mass of trees in Acts 1 and 3, and the palace kitchen and ballroom in Act 2. 

The orchestra was conducted by Sir Andrew Davis and was perfectly balanced with the singers at all times. This seems to be a welcome norm at Chicago Lyric. Singers don't have to shout to be heard.

All in all we were completely mesmerized by the whole production, as was the entire audience, who asked for curtain call after curtain call.

Bravo Chicago Lyric!

Dvorak was born on one of the estates of the Lobkowicz family in Bohemia. William Lobkowicz, who would be the 13th Prince Lobkowicz if titles were still used, studied voice with me at Harvard. I spent a wonderful ten days with Will and his family several years ago during which I heard a performance of Rusalka at the State Theatre in Prague.

Dvorak's wonderful score is simply beautiful beyond words and this opera marks the high point in Czech opera.