This was Houston Grand Opera's second go at Britten's Midsummer Night's
Dream, one of only three full length Britten operas that I know the company
has produced thus far.  It was last seen here sixteen years ago.  A gently
aqua tinted green color pervaded the entire set for very much of the entire
evening.  Rear and side drops with drawings in black etched on them gave the
set design somewhat of a Japanese feel, as did also perhaps a wide swath of
green vellum, crossing stage from left to right. Looking and quite
brilliant, just somewhat opaque trapping as this was, it got physically
dragged down to cover Tytania and Bottom-as-ass in their slumber together in
Act Two.

The first several characters to enter the stage were Puck (Jon M. Hill in an
only speaking part), Oberon, king of the fairies and Tytania, his somewhat
sparring wife. Houston favorite Laura Claycomb played Tytania, with close to
ideally clear, agile line and vocalism, excusing just a little uncertainty
around the break and a couple of not quite fully supported high notes.  The
only thing that may have held up Claycomb from having more than mildly
qualified success with Tytania was perhaps a mild or perceived lack of
warmth. As more relevant further down, she was also working in an atmosphere
that was more cerebrally achieved than not or otherwise. She was costumed
very attractively in luminous blue and white, embellished with much fluff
and frills, with locks of her naturally red curly hair flowing down her
back.  Claycomb was ideally witty enough with again Bottom as ass, in their
central absurd love scene together.

Welsh countertenor Iestyn Davies (HGO debut) vocally had one of just a short
string of unqualified successes with their parts.  Less ostentatiously
costumed than is James Bowman on dvd of the Peter Hall production, he gave
his part the air of mystery, contemplation, and aloofness in a way that at
least some of the part calls for as well.  His vocal production was about
the entirely most even of the entire cast and could have been identified by
a few of us with that of Alfred Deller.  I hope it not heresy to say either
that I found his more subdued and thus more introspective and mysterious
interpretation of Oberon, in acting also, to be mildly preferable to the
more blowsy James Bowman on the wonderful Haitink/Peter Hall dvd..  This was
altogether a very fine piece of work.

The quartet then later sextet of lovers or couples was half successful. 
Best of all was the lyrical and ardent, always musical and most often in
tune Lysander of Norman Reinhardt, heard earlier this season as Benedict in
Berlioz. He also looked and sounded the most convincingly animated during
the difficult quarrel scene of Act Two.  This was overall a part that suited
him a little better than did Benedict.

Least satisfactory was the blustery and pitch-insecure Demetrius of Liam
Bonner, who sounded attractive enough when singing lyrically, but otherwise
was really pushing it and for too much of his part. Ryan McKinny as the Duke
of Athens Theseus, almost noble enough in appearance, was lacking in enough
authority for the part, with insubstantial legato and weak low notes.

Among the women, I was probably happiest with the Hermia of Kate Van Kooten
(HGO debut).  Very charming in appearance and most convincingly in love of
the two women among the first two couples, her voice and singing, perhaps
just slightly rich for what expectations are for the part, had lovely color
to it, with especially rich low notes and supple phrasing of her music.  I
just detected just a few pitch problems toward the end of her performance
here last night.  Marie Lenormand started off as Helena with less control of
pitch, often below it somewhat than fortunately how she ended, and was (in
addition to Puck) the least attractively costumed of everybody on stage. 
The two women looked indistinguishable in class from the rustics on stage,
Bottom, Quince, Flute, etc.  One easily gets the point. However, without
further insight, contrast between the two classes of people falls almost
immediately a little flat.

Leah Sandell-Pantaleo sounded somewhat more authentic contralto as Hippolyta
here than she did as Ursule in the Berlioz last fall.  It had me wondering
if she might have been feeling a little indisposed somehow then. Phrasing
her music sensitively, she looked and sounded trim, sufficiently
aristocratic in her brief part.

As for the rustics, Matthew Rose (HGO debut), other than a bit uncertain in
pitch at first then even later on for a few low notes, was the droll and
wonderfully just endearing enough Bottom. He enjoyed shilling to the hilt
the death of Pyramus to the great enjoyment of everybody. Otherwise, he
bantered about and sang animatedly enough among his team of six rustics
without on purpose either in acting or vocally overshadowing anyone else -
least of all the very lyrical Flute of veteran tenor Steven Cole, and the
hilarious Snout and sprechstimme Wall (in Pyramus and Tisbe) of Jon Kolbet.
 Though with acting matching well enough with the rest, the practically also
pitch-sprechstimme Quince of Robert Pomakov was a washout. There was so much
rattle to his pitch that it was seldom easy to distinguish any.

The act of Pyramus and Thisbe in Act 3, to entertain the aristocrats, was a
huge send-up for the entire hall, and for things that work this way
downtown, was for the most part very convincingly funny, as opposed to the
'look-at-us, we're funny brand of humor I (saw and) heard in two recent runs
of Mozart comedies here, Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, which I found
often very distracting in both. Since a wonderfully funny Barber of Seville
here in 2004, fully appreciated by all, I do not recall an episode of such
genuine and good laugh-out-loud humor as I found in Pyramus and Thisbe last
night.

The skit animated Patrick Summers as well in conducting the music of this
opera, though he tended to be quite good for three scenes for the rustics -
 only on the dry or academic side for them during Act Two. At the beginning
of Act One, the orchestra sounded insufficient in its lower reaches. This
robbed the music of a necessary sense of its having overtones that even in
notes not more than implied in the harmonic texture must somehow at least
seem to land on the ear for Britten's music not to sound dry or academic.
How would even orchestral forces as such, augmented a bit, be able to savor
the Mahlerian (disclaimer::not led astray here by seeing the Visconti film)
reaches of Death in Venice?  Britten, by then, the end of his career, had
very well cultivated a more internationalized style and became the richer
for it.  Even in its chamber music sonorities, Midsummer Night's Dream helps
pave the way to his underrated Owen Wingrave and Death in Venice.

Summers was best, accompanying Davies and Claycomb, Oberon’s noble aria in
Act One, "I know a bank", after manner of Purcell, included.  He gave good
ear to the second episode for lovers in Act One (an act that is organized in
rondo form), especially with the anxiety Hermia and Lysander express there.
 This and episodes of writing for celesta and strings revealed an ear for
color, though other passages through the evening sounded both tonally and
rhythmically a little flabby. Undifferentiated as to the harmonic changes
that occur in it, that is without sufficient nuance, the prelude to Act
Three went sour in intonation from the strings of the HGO orchestra. Playing
from the brass, which is to be often pungent in color frequently came across
as a bit timid, though otherwise all well played, in terms of accuracy,
pitch, etc.  

How flat in perspective and lacking a bit in depth was a stiffly conducted
final chorus right before the end of the opera, that should instead, marked
'slow and solemn', should be succulent in its tonal richness.  Thanks in
part to Summers, the best moment for childrens' chorus (otherwise lacking
courage with accents) came at the end of Act One with a well animated,
practically Stravinskian "You spotted snakes."  Overall, I would gauge that
Summers got the Britten about seventy percent right, but to avoid the hazard
of this music coming across as two-dimensional, some further effort was
necessary. It was also considerably unwise, not to allow an interval between
Acts One and Two.  For, in fact, those who do not know the score at all,
there was hardly at all any discernible break at all between Acts One and
Two - indeed very unwise.

What went the extra step of the way in making Midsummer Night's Dream
somewhat of a success at its opening was the mostly well gauged production
of Nell Armfeld.  Mentioned already was the faux pas in costuming in
particular one or two of the lovers, which for Helena, looked as though it
could have come off the rack from Ross or Marshall's. Though including
demonic looking Oberon and just a bit over-the-top for Puck that way, stage
direction was naturalistically very effective. All moved in as natural and
mostly unassuming manner as one would have desired on the minimalist set.
Gratuitous underlining of stuff was gratefully close to nonexistent.
Lighting for one scene, incisively conducted by Summers, with infusion of
the green on stage by bright white light - the chastisement of Puck by
Oberon in Act Two - was very effective. In the context of so much else, the
lighting here was startling.

For the state of the economy it is in and Britten's writing in this case
that shows significant departure from the more populist style of his Peter
Grimes and Billy Budd,  Midsummer Night's Dream gratefully received a quite
full house. After the full shenanigans of Pyramus and Thisbe in Act Three,
the audience vociferously showed their full appreciation at curtain calls,
including for seventh rustic, border collie Buddy, who during Pyramus and
Thisbe indulged us with, ad lib, a moment or two of how he barks.  If only
singers ….

David H Spence

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