Opera Atelier works with ‘appeal of sensuality’
Easter has come and gone, but the story of Jesus Christ’s resurrection is about to return to Toronto thanks to Opera Atelier’s decision to climax its 35th anniversary season with a rare staging (viewable online, of course) of Handel’s first Italian oratorio, “La Resurrezione” (“The Resurrection”).
True, our theatres and concert halls are still closed, so we won’t be able to troop down to Koerner Hall for a live experience of the young composer’s early masterwork. But challenge is scarcely an unfamiliar word to Opera Atelier.
As co-artistic director Marshall Pynkoski remarks: “When we were approached by (conductor) Marc Minkowski 20 years ago to present the work with him at the Handel Festival in Halle (Germany) we didn’t know it at all.” (The festival in Halle remains the place to go to hear rarely performed Handel. It was there that I made the acquaintance of his first opera.)
“‘The Resurrection’ was commissioned for performance in Rome and the sensuality of its Catholic imagery was something we had not experienced as good Protestants. But you can’t write off the appeal of sensuality. Why not take it and work with it?”
Why not, indeed. As someone who has followed Opera Atelier’s adventures from the beginning I have borne witness to the overt sensuality that has consistently characterized its productions. They can hardly be called typically “Protestant.”
Both Pynkoski and co-artistic director Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg came to the world of opera through that most sensual of kindred art forms, dance, and have scarcely ever missed an opportunity to incorporate the movement art into their staging.
Strictly speaking, “The Resurrection” is an oratorio rather than an opera, of course, and its premiere in 1708 took place without staging. Commissioned by Francesco Ruspoli, the Marchese di Riano, for presentation in the largest salon of his palace, it conforms to the accustomed character of an Italian oratorio in being a sacred drama performed as a concert piece.
And because of its sacred subject matter it comes as no surprise that the Pope was horrified to learn that a female was to sing some of the solos. He even threatened her with flogging if she dared to appear.
So she didn’t. As was common practice in the Baroque, the high voice parts were taken by a castrato. Opera Atelier, however, is employing three women: sopranos Carla Huhtanen and Meghan Lindsay, and mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy.
The premiere was apparently a success in its concert form, although Opera Atelier did present the work in Toronto a couple of decades ago semistaged.
Co-artistic director Lajeunesse Zingg makes no apology for that decision, pointing out that Handel often incorporated dance into his stage works. “And it is not our aim to recreate works exactly as they were originally presented,” she says. “We present them for today’s audiences in the spirit of the original.”
Pynkoski agrees, adding, “When we learned that we would not be able to stage the oratorio live we decided to film it. But we aren’t pretending it is being performed in a theatre.” Designer Gerard Gauci has had to adapt to the circumstance of filming in St. Lawrence Hall.
Structurally, “The Resurrection” doesn’t lend itself to a traditional dramatic representation in any case. It is basically a series of recitatives and arias, augmented by two choruses performed collectively by the soloists.
Incidentally, one of the soloists, tenor Colin Ainsworth, will reprise his professional debut role in Opera Atelier’s long ago semi-staged presentation as St. John. “Colin is typical of our company,” Pynkoski says. “Our artists are very loyal. We have a 22-year-old dancer who began studying with Jeannette when he was nine.”
What was different for the performers this time was the technical challenge of filming. With their voices pre-recorded, the singers lip-synched for the cameras, following daily COVID-19 tests.
Like Handel himself, Opera Atelier has been forced to be pragmatic. As Pynkoski puts it, “Handel wrote oratorios when he couldn’t stage operas. We perform virtually when we can’t perform live (although the company hopes to take “The Resurrection” live to Koerner Hall next Easter).
Streaming of “The Resurrection” begins at 7 p.m. Thursday and will be available until June 10. See OperaAtelier.com for information and tickets.