Glimmerglass back with ‘Flute’
With a cloudless sky above and the late afternoon sun at our backs, a few hundred loyal opera fans returned to Cooperstown on Thursday for an entirely new experience, the opening night of Glimmerglass on the Grass. The festival’s first post-shutdown season is being performed on an impressive new outdoor stage and with crystal clear amplification. Audience members were comfortably sitting, lounging and picnicking on the front lawn in socially distanced squares demarcated by paving stones firmly planted in the earth.
Fleets of young guides helped patrons get situated and Francesca Zambello, the redoubtable general and artistic director, seemed to be everywhere. Wearing jeans, white sneakers and a sweatshirt, she appeared onstage to offer her customary welcome but quickly got choked with emotion. She briefly acknowledged her hard-working team and wished the audience a good night. She didn’t even ask for money.
Before a bounty of bottled-up ardor for the grand art form, it hardly mattered what opera was to be performed, but Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” seemed to be the perfect choice. The 90minute English language production by stage director NJ Agwuna hewed close to tradition, keeping the focus on music and story.
Bass baritone Eric Owens as Sarastro presided over the proceedings from a seat stage right. He had the manner of a gentle storyteller, but was decked out like a pagan bishop. The balance of the cast was drawn from the Young Artists Program and they executed their roles with electric precision and sometimes great sentiment.
Music Director Joseph Colanari conducted the forces from the nearby Alice Bush Opera Theatre where the Glimmerglass Orchestra was spread out on the stage. Though no video monitors could be seen, they must have been there because the distanced singers and instrumentalists conveyed a sense of close alignment.
Sound designer Andrew Harbor utilized his audio tools to do the performers some favors. Vocal ensembles like the Three Ladies were heard in a kind of perfect balance rarely achieved from actors moving around on a stage. Also, certain passages in the orchestration — a pizzicato from the bass here, a bassoon line there — also benefited from the amplified mix.
In contrast to this close-range listening experience, the performers seemed miles away compared to what we’re used to inside the Bush Theatre. So bring your opera glasses along with a sun hat and a sense of adventure. There are seven more performances of “Magic Flute” and four other new productions in the season that runs through Aug. 17.