March 31, April 1 & 2, 2023
Ray Charles Performing Arts Center, Morehouse College
Atlanta, Georgia – USA
Joseph BOLOGNE, Chevalier de Saint-Georges: The Anonynmous Lover
Emily Senturia, conductor; Maria Todaro, stage director. Cast: Maria Valdes (Léontine), Frederick Ballentine (Valcour), Indra Thomas (Dorothée), Jonathan Bryan (Ophémon), Cadie J. Bryan (Jeannette), Christian Patterson (Colin). Creative: Stéphan Moravski, set designer; Ari Fulton, costume designer; Blake Manns, projection designer; Stevie Agnew, lighting designer; Melanie Steele, wig & makeup designer.
William Ford | 3 APR 2023
Friday evening’s performance of Joseph Bologne’s The Anonymous Lover marked a series of firsts for The Atlanta Opera. It was the company’s first performance of this work by a long-neglected composer and their first production staged at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center (RCPAC) at Morehouse College, the historically Black liberal arts school in Atlanta. The local opera company is forging a longer-term relationship with the school that will next host the 96-Hour Opera Project in June.
The RCPAC includes a 650-seat concert hall named for Charles’ long-time manager Joe Adams and his wife. The auditorium is quite attractive, with warm wooden walls and deep purple seats. The sightlines are unobstructed, and there is a traditional proscenium stage. The seating layout is reminiscent of the Schwartz Center at Emory University. The auditorium’s acoustics are good and tend to flatter the human voice.
Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a prominent 18th-century composer, violinist, and fencer. He was born on December 25, 1745, in Guadeloupe, the son of a wealthy plantation owner and a slave woman. Saint-Georges moved to France with his father at a young age, receiving an excellent education in music, fencing, and horsemanship. He quickly became known as an accomplished violinist and composer and was soon appointed as the conductor of Le Concert des Amateurs.
Bologne composed a wide range of music, including symphonies, operas, and chamber music. During his 53 years, he also wrote several violin concertos. His music combined the elegance and refinement of the French classical style with the rhythmic energy and vitality of African and Caribbean music. Despite his many talents, Bologne faced discrimination due to his race throughout his life. Today his music is being reconsidered and appreciated for its charm.
l-r: Indra Thomas, Frederick Ballentine, Maria Valdes, and Jonathan Bryan in The Atlanta Opera’s production of “The Anonymous Lover.” (credit: Raftermen)
The Anonymous Lover, the composer’s only surviving intact opera, is a one-act comic work. The story takes place in eighteenth-century France, where a wealthy merchant, Valcour (performed exceedingly well by tenor Frederick Ballentine), is secretly in love with, Léontine (soprano Maria Valdes). However, Léontine is in love with an unknown gentleman (actually Valcour) who has been sending her anonymous love letters. The plot follows the humorous attempts of Valcour and his friend Orphemon (played with comedic perfection by baritone Jonathan Bryan) to uncover the identity of Léontine’s secret lover and thwart their romance. In the end, Valcour openly confesses his hidden love, and all ends with everyone happily singing and carousing!
The plot is as thin as a butterfly’s wings but provides ample opportunity for arias about the joys of love, the pain of unrequited love, and the thrill of intrigue. There are several group gatherings that contain Caribbean-inspired costumes and dances. Between arias, there was spoken, rather than sung, dialogue to carry the meager plot forward.
There were two somewhat discordant pieces at the beginning and middle of the opera. The first had Bologne address the audience expressing some pique over the attention afforded Mozart while he still labored in his shadow. The second involves a Bologne-authored letter about the French revolution and its impact on him and his family. Both pieces seemed gratuitous and were inharmonious with the Chevalier’s high-spirited opera.
The stage setting was wonderful! A French-inspired wall with windows and sconces became a screen upon which a projected cupid twitted about before the story began, and as the story progressed, it morphed into a garden scene again employing sophisticated projections. Wheeled set pieces were moved around when the story required interior furnishings.
The 12-piece orchestra was seated stage-left, and it was ably conducted by Emily Senturia. The smallish orchestra was the right size to support the singers while not becoming the driving force of the opera. To its credit, Bologne’s music supported the slapstick antics on stage but never became a character itself.
Both the singing and the acting of the performers were outstanding. Ballentine has a fine romantic tenor voice that nicely expresses a broad range of emotions. Valdes’s soprano was warm and was easily up to any challenges the libretto and music provided. Baritone Bryan not only sang well, but he has a gift for the comedic physicality required by the role he was playing. Indra Thomas, an audience favorite, portrayed Leontyne’s friend, Dorothee. She, too, combined vocal skill and ample comedic timing to her role.
Kudos to all involved in this engaging performance.
Taking opera into neighborhoods is a great idea, and Morehouse is fortunate to have such a wonderful facility for hosting such a production.
The greatest compliment I can give is that I found myself wanting more and that I was surprised that an hour and a half passed so quickly! ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- The Atlanta Opera: atloantaopera.org
Read more by William Ford.
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