Review: Portland Opera's "Marriage of Figaro" spot on with singing and comic timing

Jesús Vincente Murillo as Figaro and Leela Subramaniam as Susanna | Photo by Philip Newton

Mozart’s timeless comic opera, “The Marriage of Figaro,” received a spot-on performance opening night (October 28), lifting the spirits of the audience in Keller Auditorium, which was fairly full although the upper balcony was not used. Given that a lot of operas nowadays are updated to reflect the modern era, it was actually refreshing to see traditional dress and scenery. Under stage director Fenlon Lamb, the entire enterprise ran seamlessly, spotlighted by the stellar singing of Leela Subramaniam in the role of Susanna.

With traditional dress designed by Christine A Richardson this production of The Marriage of Figaro offered colorful period costumes, replete with bustles and buttons. The scenery designed by Cameron Porteous and built by Pacific Opera Victoria complimented the fashions imaginatively with huge mirrors in gilded frames that extended from floor to ceiling, mimicking the real deal in old European palaces. Connie Yun made sure that everything was enhanced with superior lighting.

Subramanian sparkled throughout the evening with her vibrant soprano perfectly matching Susanna’s dialogue and mood at every twist and turn. Her “Signore!” number when she emerged from the closet, quelling the enraged Count Almaviva (Richard Ollarsaba), was just one of many highlights. Jesús Vicente Murillo’s Figaro exhibited energy and style with a robust baritone and singing with a broom for a guitar. But his voice sometimes became lost in the big hall, especially when he had to descend into the lower register.

Richard Ollarsaba as Count Almaviva, Deepa Johnny as Cherubino, Roland Hawkins II as Basilio, and Leela Subramaniam as Susanna | Photo by Philip Newton

Ollarsaba created an assured and highly suspicious Count Almaviva with a resonant bass-baritone, racking up the laughs when the Count fumed over his teenage page, Cherubino (Deepa Johnny) and could not figure out what kind of trickery was being played on him. Mezzo-soprano Johnny, in the pants role, had a field day, evoking Cherubino’s infatuation for women in “Voi che sapete” with elan. After Susanna and The Countess Rosina (Laquita Mitchell) dress up Cherubino as a woman to escape the notice of the Count, it was absolutely hilarious to watch Johnny play a boy who then has to awkwardly walk like a woman. (One wonders if any opera with pants roles can be done in Florida, given its anti-drag laws.)

Conveying the sadness of The Countess over the loss of love with her husband, soprano Mitchell delivered a lovely and heartfelt “Dove sono,” which made the scene of forgiveness at the end of the opera genuinely striking. Bass-baritone Matthew Burns was an agile Dr. Bartolo, skillfully tripping and falling off of couches while singing. As Bartolo’s housekeeper, Marcellina, mezzo-soprano Tesia Kwarteng elicited much laughter when she got into a catty spat with Susanna in the first act and when it was revealed that she was Figaro’s mother in the second (with Bartolo as the father).

Tesia Kwarteng as Marcellina, Matthew Burns as Bartolo, Leela Subramaniam as Susanna, and Jesús Vincente Murillo as Figaro | Photo by Philip Hampton

Portland Opera resident artist Sankara Harouna stirred up the comic brew with an outstanding Antonio, The Gardner, who saw Cherubino jump from the balcony and scamper away. Harouna’s resident colleagues excelled in their roles, Roland Hawkins II as Basilio, The Music Master, and Judy Yannini as an Barbarina.

The Portland Opera Chorus, prepared by Nicholas Fox, added to the fun with a superb ensemble sound. Conductor Elizabeth Askren paced the orchestra and singers extremely well so that the story flowed like a stream. Now and then it seemed that the orchestral volume was too loud, but the large size of the Keller is always a head-scratching challenge for musical forces.

There has been a lot of talk in the media recently about retrofitting the Keller for earthquakes. Someday Portland will bite the bullet and spend the money to prevent a catastrophe, but at the same time it should also consider re-sculpting the inside of the hall to reduce the seating and bring the audience in the balcony closer to the stage. Seattle had the same problem when it tackled McCaw Hall, and that resulted in an excellent space for Seattle Opera. Finding enough money, of course, is the issue. Somehow, like Figaro and Susanna, we’ve got to use our wits and ingenuity to figure out how to get there – and end up smiling.

Laquita Mitchell as Countess Almaviva and Richard Ollarsaba as Count Almaviva | Photo by Philip Hampton