Opera Bel Cantanti

I had meant to see Opera Bel Cantanti's little production of Donizetti's comic opera La Fille du Régiment (premiered at the Opéra-Comique in 1840) earlier this month but never made it. French Cultural Attaché Roland Celette did see it and was so impressed that he invited the troupe to La Maison Française on Sunday evening, October 16, for an extra performance, which I finally managed to hear. Of the many interesting programs I have heard at the French embassy, this dippy little opera drew the largest crowd I have ever seen there, absolutely packing and sucking all of the good air out of the small auditorium.

Other Reviews: Mark J. Estren, Bel Cantanti Opera (Washington Post, September 20) T. L. Ponick, 'La Fille' fills bill as light offering (Washington Times, September 20)

Cities need minor opera companies, who present small-scale, affordable productions for the public at large. In that context, this production was a decent rendition of a silly opera, with its ups and downs in personnel. The two lead women were quite good, especially soprano Meghan McCall (Marie, the title role), who handled the vocal pyrotechnics and the comic acting of her role capably. She has just begun the masters program at the University of Maryland's Maryland Opera Studio, as a student of bass-baritone François Loup, so we will hopefully have more opportunities to hear her in this area for the next couple years. Mezzo-soprano Andrea Hill sang well as the Marquise de Berkenfield and had a better sense of French pronunciation than most in the cast. Among the male roles, baritone Matthew Osifchin (Sergeant Sulpice) was good, with a consistent voice. Tenor Lucas Tannous (Tonio) sounded pretty good on the merciless string of high C's in the famous aria "Ah! mes amis" in the first act. It was the other high notes below those high C's that sometimes gave the impression that the singer's head was going to explode from strain. Contributions from the supporting string quartet (with the company's director, Dr. Katerina Souvorova, playing capably at the keyboard) and the male chorus were uneven.

Opera Bel Cantanti continues with a fairly full season this fall. We are hoping to hear their spring productions of two rarely heard Russian one-act operas, Rachmaninov's Aleko in February and Tchaikovsky's Iolanta in April. In my humble opinion, this is the best reason that minor opera companies exist, to perform works that never get done by large companies.