[NEohioPAL]WOODEN, OVER-DIRECTED PATIENCE AT LYRIC OPERA

[Roy Berko]

WOODEN, OVER-DIRECTED PATIENCE AT LYRIC OPERA

	Roy Berko

	(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

	--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

	Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


Gilbert and Sullivan wrote fourteen operettas
including TRIAL BY JURY, H.M.S. PINAFORE, PIRATES OF
PENZANCE, and MIKADO.  The duo is noted for their
creativity and cleverness as well as their social and
political satire.  

The Gilbert and Sullivan partnership was absolutely
unique.  Neither could create alone, but as a duo they
were the light opera masters of their day.  This is
interesting since the two men did not get along very
well.   Sullivan, without Gilbert, seemed to lose the
gift of melody, and Gilbert, without Sullivan was
parted from that exquisite humor which made him, even
above Mark Twain, the merrymaker of his generation. 
Their works were often descirbed as vehicles which
convulsed audiences.

PATIENCE opened April 23, 1881 at the Opera Comique
and ran for 578 performances.  It concerns a bevy of
county dames who are in love with two poets.  The
poets, however, are both in love with Patience, the
village milkmaid. The dames are sought after by the
Dragoons,  a brigade of soldiers who don’t understand
or appreicate the need for aesthetics, such as poetry,
 but decide they had better give it a try to win the
women's love.

In reality, the opera satirizes Great Britain’s
aesthetic craze.  It also pokes fun at Oscar Wilde, an
acknowledged wit and dramatist, who became famous as
the leader of aestheticism in England.  The dialogue
of PATIENCE is witty and the music full of richness.

Productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works vary
greatly in their quality as their shows require a
special directorial touch and fine musical and comic
talent.  Credit must be given to a director who has a
clear image of what he or she wants from a cast and
production and achieves it.   Unfortunately, sometimes
that vision gets in the way of the production.

Cleveland Lyric Opera’s PATIENCE, under the heavy hand
of director Philip Kraus, comes off as wooden,
affected, and as one of the lines states, “Hollow and
unsatisfactory.” Much of Gilbert and Sullivan’s humor
was lost in the maze of over stylized movements and
lack of spontaneity on the part of the cast.  

The singing was accepatable, though many of the words
to the clever patter songs that G & S are famous for
were lost due to poor diction amd improper phrasing. 
This was especially true with the performance of John
Payonk, the Colonel Calvery.  Lance Ashmore, as
Reginald, one of the poets, sings well, but his overly
stressed facial expressions, affected speech patterns
and excessive makeup, made him come off more like a
marrionette than a person.  Marian Vogel, who
portrayed Patience, has a nice voice.   Todd Ranney
has a fine sense of comic timing, though, again,
stylization got in the way of meaning.  The chorus
sings well.

Don McBridge’s set design was funcitional and
attractive.  Though they sometimes drowned out the
singers, the orchestra, under conductor Dennis
Northway, had a solid sound.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas not only carry a
message, but are supposed to be fun.  Since the
performers in Cleveland Lyric Opera’s PATIENCE did not
appear to be having fun, neither did the audience. 
There were titters, but not the myrth that often
accompanies G &S.

Lyric Opera Cleveland’s next production, in their new
home, The Drury Theatre of the Cleveland Play House,
will be I WAS LOOKING AT THE CEILING, AND THEN I SAW
THE SKY on July 31, August 1, 3 and 4.  It is a modern
opera that takes place in Los Angeles in 1995.  It
follows seven characters as they grapple with life’s
issues.  Initially, they see only limitations, but
over time, each finds hope and promises--the “see the
sky.” For tickets and information call 216-795-7000
extension 4.

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