Tokyo Performances

La Fanciulla del West

The final performance of “La Fanciulla del West” at Tokyo’s New National Theater was a musical treat but a theatrical mystery.

Ably conducted by Ulf Schirmer, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra provided eloquent support for a cast which included Stephanie Friede as Minnie, Lucio Gallo as Rance and Atila B. Kiss (what an excellent name) as Dick Johnson. Ms Friede replaced Carol Vaness who, according to a news bulletin from the opera house, was “unable to perform due to her physical condition”. I wonder what that means. In any event, Ms Friede reminded me of a young Tebaldi, and she brought lyricism and drama to the vocal demands of the role. Mr. Gallo sang beautifully, and Mr. Kiss, with the exception of a couple tentative moments in the highest register, carried off his role with distinction. Remaining roles were performed by Japanese singers who were entirely adequate but unmemorable. Wowkle, surely Puccini’s most bizarre creation, did utter several eloquent “Ughs.”

As is often the case at Tokyo Opera, the production itself threatened to overshadow the music. The director, Adreas Homoki, and the scenery designer, Frank Philipp Schlössmann, removed the setting from the Old West to a present day urban environment in which immigrant street people representing every ethnic group imaginable pushed shopping carts around an enclosure walled off by sky-high stacks of cardboard cartons. Is it a Wal-Mart warehouse?

In the opening scene, the ballad of longing was performed by a boom-box while Jim, clearly demented by his experience as a homeless immigrant, stared off-vacantly and slack-jawed. The accompanying chorus at that point sang so well that I was quite moved.

Enter Minnie in an orange jump suit. At first I thought she might be portraying a social worker. But alas, she actually ran a cart selling whiskey and cigarettes. She was able to produce a Bible from the cart for her lesson, so one was left to speculate what else she might be able to supply. Enter Rance, a black suited tough cop. Enter Dick Johnson, in blue jeans and flannel shirt.

So, if Johnson is a thief, exactly what is he supposed to be capable of stealing from the homeless? Further speculation about the production led me to wonder if it was an allegory of some sort in which Johnson represented the USA with the international community eager for its destruction. Then it would be hard to explain how Minnie could convince them to forgo this opportunity simply because she loves him. Of course, this ties in nicely with my favorite line in the opera, “L’amore e un’altra causa” – love’s a different matter.

I don’t object to reworkings of operas, but I do not enjoy being distracted from the music by trying to determine the meaning of what I’m seeing. This happens often in Tokyo: last year’s “Forza” set in the Spanish Civil War, a recent lunatic Ring Cycle, an even more recent “Daphne” with classic mythological trappings amidst which a quintet of modern dancers flung themselves around the stage.

This is one of my favorite Puccini operas and it’s not performed enough – the last time I saw it was in San Francisco in the late 70’s with Placido Domingo and Carol Neblett. That the music was able to prevail despite the idiosyncrasies of the production attest to the music’s value. Stage photos from the production can be found at http://www.nntt.jac.go.jp/english/index.html

As the curtain came down, along with the obligatory ass in the audience who has to scream “Bravi” before the conductor has had a chance to bring his arms down, I was left in an elevated state, by the music and by the singing. I can only speculate about what surprises next month’s “Der Rosenkavalier” will bring – perhaps it will be set in the Old West.

posted by Larry Wells @ 6:40 PM