Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Rigoletto’ hits sour note at Ham Hall

Saturday night's performance of "Rigoletto" by Bulgaria's Opera Verdi Europa at UNLV's Artemus Ham Hall proved several things.

One: There is an audience for opera in Las Vegas.

Two: There are more talented singers available locally (and also in American opera companies, even second and third tier) who are more accomplished than the lackluster, amateurish OVE troupe.

Three: You know you're in for a long evening when the men's chorus and a page who sings for barely a minute have better voices than the featured artists.

Four: Ham Hall is totally inadequate for opera performances, though it is doubtful a change of venue would have salvaged this "Rigoletto."

Thats the Reader's Digest review of a disappointing evening. The painful details follow.

The large cast of Opera Verdi Europa rotates several roles. However, only Rigoletto, the Duke and Gilda were identified over the P.A. system prior to the performance. Respectively, they were Alex Krunev, Kamen Chanev and Elena Stoyanova. They would have been better off if they had remained incognito.

In general, the singers sounded as if they were partially strangled, or at least suffering from laryngitis or the infamous "Vegas Throat." Their voices were not musical, but instead heavy and gruff, more song-speak.

Their goal was to hit important notes and not worry about the ones in between. Regrettably, they often swung and missed.

Stoyanova's vibrato was so excessive that the listener couldn't tell from what note it originated or find the melody. Chanev was consistently off pitch by as much as a full tone.

As for the orchestra, the strings were thin and scratchy; the flutes, dull. The brass sounded tentative. The only quasi-acceptable tone came from the oboe. To make matters worse, the entire ensemble was not well-tuned or balanced. It often overpowered the singers completely or played at one tempo while the singers sang at another in an operatic tug of war.

The few bright spots in this dismal production were, as previously mentioned, the men's chorus, the momentarily seen/heard Page of the Duchess and, in addition, the Assassin, Sparafucile. The chorus was resonant, well balanced and cohesive. It sounded like the sonorous men's choruses identified with Eastern European countries.

Two singers' names were listed in the program for the Page and for Sparfucile. Since the actual performer was not identified Saturday night, it's a mystery who deserves the praise. Nevertheless ... either Vidka Tsenkova or Marta Kukularova, sopranos, as the Page, had a crystal clear voice that flowed like a stream. What a Gilda she would have been. No such luck.

Two basses, Diman Panchev and Plamen Beykov; were named as Sparfucile. Whoever he was, his voice was full, round, at ease from high to very full, very low notes.

Duets between Gilda and the Duke and Gilda and Rigoletto showed occasional moments of intensity and musical timbre, only to succumb to sloppy technique.

The Duke's famous aria, "Donna e Mobile" (woman is fickle), was Chanev's best effort. His tone was relaxed, energetic, as if he knew he could wow the audience with this one, no matter what, even when his final note wasn't even close to being on pitch.

Unfortunately, Gilda's exquisite aria describing her love for the Duke, "Tutte le Feste all Tempio" (one very festive morning), enhanced by a flute introduction and obligato, was devoid of the lyric grace, crispness and brilliance for which it is acclaimed. Another missed opportunity to excel.

The Act III quartet, "Bela Figlia dell Amore (fairest daughter of love), also did not fare well. It was unbalanced, lacking in drama and, overall, a muddy musical morass. However, true to the evening's philosophy that the audience will only remember the last few bars, the four voices came together at the end.

Gilda finally died in Rigoletto's arms in the concluding duet, which had highlights and emotion that, too late, revealed hints of what the evening's musical experience might have been.

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