MUSIC REVIEW: "Prism Gives Voice to Mozart Classic"

by Richard Dyer

The Boston Globe, September 20, 2004

CHESTNUT HILL - "La Clemenza di Tito" was the last of Mozart's major operas and stood among his greatest hits during the first years after his death. Then the work fell from favor; the American premiere, at Tanglewood under Boris Goldovsky, did not come until 1952. In recent years it has entered the standard repertory, recognized as a masterpiece.

Written to celebrate a coronation, the opera tells a story of the nobility of Titus, a Roman emperor. Vitellia, passed over in the search for an empress, urges Sesto, Titus's closest friend, to slay the sovereign. Sesto is profoundly conflicted; he loves both Vitellia and Titus. The rebellion fails; Titus must choose between vengeance and forgiveness.

Prism Opera and the Sarasa chamber ensemble collaborated last weekend on a stirring production of an unusual version of the work. It was heard in a new English translation by Thomas Stumpf, with spoken dialogue replacing the recitatives, which Mozart, pressed for time, did not compose himself. Some of Stumpf's dialogue was elegantly turned - "He will always prefer unpleasant truths to false pleasantries" - and if some of Titus's self-conscious nobility brings laughter from the audience, it is hard to see how this could have been avoided in an age when presidents and monarchs invoke but do not embody nobility. And one of the extraordinary pleasures of the production was listening to American singers performing and communicating in their own language and that of the audience, without the distraction of supertitles.

Stumpf was one of the prime movers of this event, acting as designer and stage director as well as leading the performance from the fortepiano. The scenery was simple and geometric, and so were the unpretentious and emotionally pertinent stage groupings; the cast wore timeless formal dress. The music, heard in a chamber-orchestra version by Tony Burke originally devised for the Welsh National Opera, was exceptionally well-played on original instruments by the all-star Sarasa chamber ensemble; it wasn't its members' fault that they occasionally sounded a bit thin. Diane Heffner shone in the famous clarinet and basset-horn obbligatos. Stumpf set convincing tempos and was attentive to his singers, but sometimes his leadership lacked rhythmic profile and propulsion.

There was a good cast, with three outstanding performances. Mezzo Pamela Dellal sang her heart out as the conflicted Sesto, offering virtuoso command of coloratura, tonal beauty, lovely dynamic shading, and passionate emotion. Mezzo Krista River was also superb in the other trouser role, Annio, singing with firm, well-placed tone and acting with imagination and conviction. In the smaller role of Servilia, a very young soprano, Briana Rossi, offered a silvery lyric sound of captivating quality.

In the title role, tenor Arthur Rishi demonstrated sterling musicianship, sound technique and unaffected dignity, but monochromatic and limited tone. Susan Trout tore up the stage as the vengeful Vitellia and sang fearlessly, although she is still figuring out how to unleash all of her huge, dramatic voice instead of holding it in. Paul Guttry sang well as Publio, but let his characterization of this live-by-the-rules figure topple over into caricature. Mozart's glory is that, like Shakespeare, he gives every character his humanity and his reasons.

This story originally appeared in the Boston Globe, September 20, 2004 Page: B6 Section: Living