We're sitting in the opera house;
We're waiting for the curtain to arise
With wonders for our eyes;
We're feeling pretty gay,
[...]A feeling of expectancy,
A certain kind of ecstasy,
Expectancy and ecstasy... Sh's's's. "Curtain!"
With the above words, Charles Ives sang of the excitement of a child going to the opera for the first time. Similar enthusiasm is shown by director Nicolas Mansfield on Tuesday 20 February during his presentation of the new season. Although the Nederlandse Reisopera is based in Enschede, the venue is Theatre Carré in Amsterdam.
Regional pigeonholing
Later in the afternoon, Mansfield will deliver a tease to the assembled audience. The press representatives who are too lazy to travel to the eastern part of the country, as well as the policymakers entrenched in inveterate pigeonholing. 'Amsterdam too is a region,' he says with a sardonic smile. - A day earlier, De Nationale Opera unveiled its plans in the Stopera, a stone's throw away.
While The National Opera is generously subsidised, the Reisopera has to fend for itself with an extremely limited budget. Yet year after year, the organisation manages to controversial productions and also work on talent development. Three operas are scheduled for next season. Tosca by Puccini will be staged in a direction by up-and-coming talent Harry Fehr. British conductor David Parry leads the Orchestra of the East, Concensus Vocalis and a cast of young singers, with Norwegian soprano Kari Postma in the title role.
Reisopera comes to you
Die Tote Stadt by Erich Wolfgang Korngold is a co-production with Theater Magdeburg. Mansfield: 'I am very proud that from our regional background we are also building links abroad.' He confesses that it is one of his favourite operas, which he had always wanted to stage. 'It is a tragic love story set in a dark Bruges.' The opera will tour our country in early 2019. 'When does Die tote Stadt Well to you?" asks Mansfield rhetorically. 'That's just once in a lifetime!' Another stab at it: the National Opera performed this opera in 2005. - For that, audiences had to travel to the capital.
Sondheim underrated
The third production concerns A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim. Mansfield calls out the young American creators. Conductor Ryan Bancroft ignites in a rant: 'Sondheim is less well known than his work. We all know titles like Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, but we have largely forgotten his name. He is not valued, but I count him among the greats of American music. I regard him as highly as Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin.'
Director Zack Winokur also makes a comment. 'I love this 20e century masterpiece to be allowed to direct. Often A Little Night Music presented as a light-hearted sneering piece, but the play has true depth. The libretto is based on the film Smile of a Summer Night by Ingmar Bergman. The troubled interpersonal relationships and the associated sexual musical chairs are still relevant today. I am convinced that this opera can touch us deeply.'
To illustrate, mezzo-soprano Susan Rigvana-Dumas sings the evergreen from this musical Send in the Clowns. Her moving rendition is atmospherically accompanied by pianist Evert-Jan de Groot.
Pocket version Evgeni Onegin
Following this musical interlude, Mansfield presented some more achievements. For instance, the Reisopera has managed to secure a main sponsor for the first time, the innovative technology company THK. The production of La traviata had a room occupancy of 99%; the move downtown is almost complete.
Eagerly looking forward to the Draft Challenge for young opera makers. Young people are challenged to create a pocket version of Evgeny Onegin by Tchaikovsky. Dozens of proposals from home and abroad have now been submitted. Winners will be announced soon; the winning concept will be performed by the Reisopera in December 2019.
In short: We're sitting in the opera house; we're waiting for the curtain to arise!
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