Rufus Wainwright's valiant 'Prima Donna' takes a bow in Toronto
There was "Dark Star Requiem," which didn't quite have enough memorable material inside it, but was presented with terrific skill and sensitivity. There was "The Infernal Comedy," which was as distasteful and annoying as it was brilliantly rendered.
And now there's "Prima Donna," the much discussed and dismissed first opera by Canadian-American pop star Rufus Wainwright, which received its North American premiere Monday night in Toronto's historic, opera house-like Elgin Theatre. It’s one of the big attractions of the Luminato lineup (the festival was one of the original co-commissioners of the work), but there’s not much to write home about, except the quality of the production – a vibrant cast, especially soprano Janis Kelly, who gives a finely acted, warmly sung interpretation of the title role; the pretty scenic design by Antony McDonald; the highly atmospheric lighting by Thomas Hase; the smooth conducting by Robert Houssart; the fine playing of the orchestra; the deft directing by Tim Albery.
After that, things get a little more problematic.
To begin with, there’s the awful, frequently insipid libretto by Wainwright and Bernadette Colomine (in French, by the way – that language choice is ostensibly the reason why the Metropolitan Opera decided to opt out as original commissioner of the piece). We’re talking Cliché City here. “Prima Donna” has got plenty of company when it comes to operas with weak plots, of course. It’s just that great composers have a way of transcending them. Wainwright actually seems to believe in this trite tale that, dramatically speaking, is anything but convincing.
In brief, here’s the set-up: Regine Saint Laurent, a near-legendary soprano, gave up
The story evokes, to some extent, the last years of Maria Callas, right down to the Paris apartment, without being nearly as compelling. What’s worse is the hint of “Sunset Boulevard,” complete with a doting, fussy butler who is determined that Madame should sing again and throws a fit when she changes her mind. In the last scene, things turn downright silly.
Regine has fallen for Andre after their brief meeting and, it appears, he has fallen for her. But when he comes back that night, Regine sees someone else out in the hall (her inquiry “Who is that woman” is, of course, right out of “Madama Butterfly”). Somehow, Andre forgot that he had a date with his fiancée that night, so he has only stopped by with her to explain that to Regine and, oh yeah, ask for an autograph. Regine is left alone as the holiday fireworks light up the sky and strains of the French national anthem rise from the orchestra.
In the immortal words of a venerable Canadian, Anna Russell, I’m not making this up, you know.
As for Wainwright’s music, I couldn’t possibly stomp all over the music, as some of my critical brethren across the Pond did after the world premiere last year (I’m told the opera has been revised since then). There really is a lot of decent, thoughtful, attractive material in the score, including tenderly soaring melodic lines and effective instrumental coloring (Bryan Senti is credited as orchestration assistant).
Wainwright has proven that he’s comfortable departing from his regular musical turf. He just hasn’t yet proven that he has a distinctive stylistic voice for opera. He uses a whole bunch of voices, instead – touches of Massenet and Puccini (think “La Rondine”), a dash of John Adams, a hint of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and quite a bit more. (One application of Puccini isn’t derivative, by the way, but an actual quote – a couple notes from “Boheme,” cutely and subtly used during the first Regine-Andre exchange.)
Given how tonal, lyrical and just plain old-fashioned Wainwright’s music is (and I think there’s still room for tonality and lyricism today), “Prima Donna” might be better off if the libretto were refashioned to take place in a much more distant past than 1970, some time back when all the romanticism being reworked here would fit the story line.
In the end, it’s a valiant effort, to be sure, and Wainwright should try another. After all, it’s not easy to create an operatic masterwork the first time out.
It was fun to see the big crowd that turned out to cheer Rufus on. The encouragement started even before the curtain call. As Wainwright and his significant other walked hand-in-hand toward the theater from across the street, with a whole retinue of friends and relatives in tow (including a strikingly tall drag queen), a guy sitting near the intersection called out “Break a leg.” And a crowd at the lobby entrance greeted Wainright with applause as he walked in, like at a movie premiere.
You don’t see that sort of thing every day on your way to an opera. The large number of young people attending the performance was a rare sight, too. So, in terms of attracting interest, “Prima Donna” is certainly a star.
AP PHOTO
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Comments
If only the libretto would be as entertaining as your review, it would undoubtly be a smash hit!
Posted by: Robert | June 15, 2010 10:41 AM
Well, to be fair, Rufus's music has always been very operatic, so this really wasn't much of a stretch for him. The stretch was in writing music for other singers.
Having not have the pleasure of seeing this show (which would have been a pleasure regardless of the quality), I will say that Rufus is playing the Strathmore in early August. The first half of the concert will be devoted to a song-cycle he wrote for his recently passed mother (and includes one of the Prima Donna arias), while the second half of the concert will be more of his standard fare, but without the band. (The whole show will be just Rufus and the piano).
Thanks for letting me know about the upcoming show. I really am a Rufus fan (heck, I even made the trek to Carnegie Hall for his Judy Garland tribute). And I had hoped to enjoy his opera more than I did. But I think he deserves great credit for tackling the project, for producing a lot of attractive music in the process. The parts that don't work in "Prima Donna" could, I think, be refashioned to make the whole piece stronger. TIM
Posted by: Kris | June 17, 2010 11:00 AM
Did not have any expectation about the show, and was my first acquaintance to Rufus Wainwright's music.
The opera was arltess - super sentimental and overly melodramatic; the story had no message; although the singers were highly skilled, the libretto was constructed entirely on cliches and contained no story; the music was terribly repetitious; the characters did not develop or grow and could not connect with the viewers. It was a pity and comical to see Elgin theatre so full of spectators, who surprisingly would not stop applauding at the end.
Posted by: shqato | June 21, 2010 9:07 AM