That’s the case at least in the Minnesota
Opera’s mesmerizing production of the largely forgotten work that opened
at St. Paul’s Ordway Center on April 16. Herrmann’s score,
completed in neighboring Minneapolis in 1951, is Romanticism writ large and
saturated with Weltschmerz. And it all hurts so good!
With the help of librettist — and first wife — Lucille Fletcher
Herrmann took much of the agony — but none of the angst — out of
Emily BrontÎ’s 1847 novel. It is now a gentler story; they have softened
the narrative line and made these forlorn credible in their passions —
and their frustrations. The frame of the 19th-century social novel is still
there, but these are people who would have a hard time building meaningful
relationships even without the barriers of caste. To make this clear, MO
assembled a great production team for a staging that — one hopes —
will be seen on other companies.
Only someone with a heart of stone could resist loving Heathcliff as played
by Lee Poulis, a Hollywood-handsome baritone who must be spectacular Don
Giovanni, a role he has played at Sarasota Opera. He’s moody, to be sure,
but Simonson does not place great emphasis on Heathcliff’s origins as a
Gypsy foundling taken into the stuffy and inhibited Earnshaw family. And his
problems are explained only in part by the social structure of the day. Poulis
shrouds him in darkness — that’s what makes him fascinating to
women (and at some point in the past to the elder Earnshaw who brought him home
from Liverpool).
Ben Wager as Hindley Earnshaw and Victoria Vargas as Nelly Dean
It’s clear that Heathcliff is an unlikely candidate for an enduring
Mr. Right in any era. He’s a complex guy — even when
“sanitized” and gussied up in fancy duds. (How he comes to wealth
so suddenly is left a secret by BrontÎ.) Thus it’s unavoidable that
Catherine Earnshaw will love Heathcliff even after her marriage to colorless
Edgar Litton, and that there’s no way out of this dilemma for her.
As Catherine Sara Jakubiac replaced Kelly Kaduce, originally slated to sing
the role. Although she might not yet have Kaduce’s polish, Jakubiac may
have an even richer and larger voice than Kaduce, the MO favorite who returns
to the company as Madama Butterfly next season. Jakubiac made the long solo
scene in which Catherine faces the hopelessness of her situation both gripping
and engaging.
Equally touching was mezzo Adriana Zabala in writing the confessional letter
that leaves no doubt about the miseries of her life with Hindley Earnshaw, sung
by bass Ben Wager. Wager, on the other hand, somewhat overplays his addiction
to alcohol in a scene that breaks with the overall resolute calm of
Herrmann’s score.
Adriana Zabala as Isabella Linton, Victoria Vargas as Nelly Dean, Sara Jakubiak as Catherine Earnshaw and Eric Margiore as Edgar Linton
It’s a pity that as Edgar, Eric Margiore, the only tenor in the cast,
has so little to sing. His one aria was lovingly delivered.
Although the part is small, bass-baritone Rodolfo Nieto brought one of the
strongest voices in the cast to farmhand — and religious fanatic —
Joseph.
One wishes one might have heard more of Jesse Blumberg — one of
America’s great young baritones and a MO regular — than was
allotted him as Mr. Lockwood in the opening scene.
Herrmann — most famous for such film scores as Citizen Cane
and Psycho —otherwise spent his life largely as a conductor. It
is not surprising, then, that Wuthering Heights is in concept
orchestral, and in Michael Christie MO chose a conductor who knew how to make
the most of this fact. Punctuated by many solo moments, Wuthering
Heights as drama is essentially through-composed, in light of which
Christie kept a sensitive finger on the pulse of the score.
Despite a staging at Portland in 1981 and a concert performance in France
last summer, Wuthering Heights has never found its way into the
repertory, because — allegedly — Herrmann was offended by any
suggestion that he shorten the 3.5 hour work. That the MO performance lasted
less than three hours seems to indicate that significant cuts were made in this
production. Despite the length of the performance Christie kept attention
riveted on the opera.
The sets and costumes by Neil Patel and Jane Greenwood, respectively, were
predictable, Wendall K. Harrington brought visual enchantment to the production
with the projections of which she now seems the national master. (She was
equally successful with her contribution to Ricky Ian Gordon’s
Rappahannock County, premiered at the Virginia Arts Festival on April
12.)
This production is part of Minnesota’s New Works Initiative, designed
to focus attention on new or neglected work. A “first” for the
company, the staging will be filmed in high definitive for digital
distribution. (Confession: I set out to read BrontÎ’s novel for the first
time in 65 years, but put it aside half way through. Herrmann’s version
of the story is far better entertainment.) Dates for broadcasts and showing
have not been set at this time.
Wes Blomster
image=http://www.operatoday.com/0519.gif
image_description=Sara Jakubiak as Catherine Earnshaw and Lee Poulis as Heathcliff [Photo by Michal Daniel courtesy of Minnesota Opera]
product=yes
product_title=Bernard Herrmann: Wuthering Heights
product_by=Catherine Earnshaw: Sara Jakubiac; Heathcliff: Lee Poulis; Hindley Earnshaw: Ben Wager; Edgar Linton: Eric Margiore; Isabella Linton: Adriana Zabala; Nelly Dean: Victoria Vargas; Joseph: Rodolfo Nieto; Mr. Lockwood: Jesse Blumberg; Hareton: Joshua Ross. Dancers: Jeremy Bensussan, Megan McClellan. Conductor: Michael Christie; stage director: Eric Simonson; Choreographer: Heidi Spesard-Noble; Set designer: Neil Patel; Costume designer: Jane Greenwood; Projection designer: Wendall K. Harrington. Minnesota Opera, Ordway Center, St. Paul, April 16, 2011.
product_id=Above: Sara Jakubiak as Catherine Earnshaw and Lee Poulis as Heathcliff
All photos by Michal Daniel courtesy of Minnesota Opera