Shakespeare & Verdi

To celebrate Shakespeare's 441^st birthday, The Collegiate Chorale, under the direction of Maestro Robert Bass, presented a stunning evening that alternated scenes from Shakespeare's plays with corresponding scenes from Verdi operas inspired by Shakespeare. The Collegiate Chorale's Artistic Director, Roger Rees, joined forces with acclaimed actors Dana Ivey and Richard Easton, who read selections from three Shakespeare plays while Mark Delavan led a group of strong opera singers in selections from Verdi operas.

The first half of the evening was dedicated entirely to Othello, both Shakespeare's play and Verdi's operatic adaptation. Messers Rees and Easton read the roles of Iago and Othello, respectively, with Ms. Ivey reading Emilia. The chemistry between the actors was strong and vivid, and Shakespeare's poetic dialogue was treated with perfect care by these three masters of the craft. Reading selections from Act One, scene three, and Act Three, scene three, they conjured the characters out of thin air and immediately captured their complex relationships– the all-consuming love of Othello for Desdemona, the cold-burning hatred of Iago for Othello, and the more distant, less passionate relationship between Iago and his wife, Emilia.

And then Verdi took over, and we were treated to the entire first act of his opera Otello. The Orchestra of St. Lukes, under the direction of Maestro Robert Bass, conjured brilliant musical images of a storm at sea, setting the dark and dangerous mood instantly. The Chorale served as the chorus of Cypriots, and Mark Delavan burned up the stage as a sinister and sexy Iago. His chemistry with Rodell Aure Rosel's Roderigo was particularly magnetic, and. Unfortunately, Act One of both the evening and of Otello ended on a weak note, with the romantic scene between Otello and Desdemona insipidly performed by Lando Bartolini and Kallen Esperian. Whereas the three Shakespeare actors showed an immediate, intense chemistry amongst themselves, Bartolini and Esperian might have been blocks of wood for all their passion. No matter how passionate Verdi's music is, the wrong singers can make it all come crashing down.

The Macbeth portion of the evening fared much better, however, opening with the three actors performing the famous Weird Sisters incantation from Shakespeare's play. The female members of the Chorale picked up their cue and sang the corresponding section from Verdi's opera, the voices echoing and building on top of each other to create a powerful cacophony of sound.

The next Shakespeare selection was brought to vivid life by the incomparable Dana Ivey. Intense, passionate, and fierce, her reading of Lady Macbeth's Act II scene i soliloquy was simply riveting, performed without gimmickry or style, but with raw emotion and pure strength. Forming a nice contrast to the intensity of the Shakespeare, the next Verdi selection was "Lady Macbeth's Drinking Song," (yes, you read that right) in which Lady Macbeth, hiding her true intentions, welcomes the doomed king to her home. Bright and cheerful, Cynthia Lawrence nicely captured the calculated sham that is Lady Macbeth, and it was easy to see why men would be taken in by her charm and overlook the menace lying beneath. Mr. Easton next read Macbeth's famous "Dagger Soliloquy," and the moment moved smoothly into the chilling Act One Finale of the opera, in which the murdered king is mourned by those who loved him– and those who killed him.

To end the evening on a brighter note, the final third of the concert was dedicated to the legendary character of Falstaff, who appears in both halves of Henry IV and in the comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor. Verdi combined moments from all of these sources into a single opera. Richard Easton happily chewed on the scenery as Falstaff, making one wish for another revival of Henry IV at Lincoln Center, and Mark Delavan once again effortlessly stole the moment with the comic aria "L'onnore." Ms. Ivey proved that her comic chemistry with Mr. Easton in the recent revival of The Rivals could be repeated as she played both Mistresses Ford and Page to Easton's Falstaff in a comic scene from The Merry Wives of Windsor. Once again, the action flowed seamlessly from Shakespeare to opera as Mark Delavan picked up the mantle of Falstaff, Heidi Grant Murphy sang the part of Nanetta, Queen of the Fairies, and the Chorale played her subjects.

The evening ended with a cheerful toast to Shakespeare's birthday, read by Mr. Easton and Ms. Ivey, and the bright and witty "Tutto nel mondo P burla," the finale of Falstaff that provides an upbeat twist on Jacques famous monologue from As You Like It. According to Verdi, all the world isn't just a stage– it's a laugh, too.