Dec. 29, 2002. 01:00 AM 
Smiles galore when
you leave this Land
GEOFF CHAPMAN
MUSIC CRITIC
Frank Lehár’s operetta The Land Of Smiles hasn’t ever been
really risible over the 73 years of its existence, since its theme of doomed
love amid cultural animosities lends it an irrefutable melancholy.
It could well
be called ‘the land of sorrows’ since China’s Prince Sou-Chong and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Countess Lisa are torn apart, duty and honour
triumphing over mutual desires and individual freedom. Then again, what do you
expect when a Western wife is told her husband has to marry four Manchu maids
that very day.
This
quasi-exotic tale, with plot skeins that could easily be transferred to a
present-day Toronto The Anxious trying to be genuinely multicultural, was a
huge hit when premiered in 1929 with Richard Tauber as the prince.
The `smiles’
of the title really refer to audience members after the show, still a splendid
vehicle in the hands of Toronto Operetta Theatre whose sold-out preview was
seen Friday. (It’s on again at Jane Mallett Theatre today, New Year’s Eve, Jan.
2, 4 and 5. Tickets: 416-366-7723).
It’s easy to
account for its phenomenal success and the consistent revivals, with TOT and
Mark DuBois in the lead performing it in 1989. Melodies are succulent,
sumptuously ripe in fact. Structure is smart, the first act set in 19th-century
Vienna, the second in pre-warlord China, an opportunity for appealing costumery
and tinkering with Western music to insert traditional Asian modes. The story
unfolds simply, just as well as dialogue was less compelling than the singing.
The current
production in English is too long, approaching three hours. It would have been
easy to contract parts of Act 2, which features three dancers and modestly
funny remarks about a chief eunuch’s woes by Eric Woolfe as Chi-Fu.
Promising
tenor Marcel van Neer as the prince gets the best songs (including the Lehár
signature tune "You Are My Heart’s Delight") and made good use of his
even delivery and warm tones, though he occasionally strained in high
registers.
It was soprano
Tamara Hummel as Lisa who deserves the biggest bouquet, however, for showing
off a rich vibrato, deep-textured colouration and buoyant, polished phrasing
that should have patrons waltzing in the aisles. The dainty
"Tea-Time" duet with Neer was entrancing among a succession of
soaring solos.
Another fine
interpretation came from Laird Mackintosh (a Stratford hit this year in My Fair Lady) as Gustl, Lisa’s would-be
suitor. He speaks well, sings with passion and energy and clearly inhabits his
role.
The big cast
oozed confidence, despite the simultaneous presence of around 20 characters on
stage. Musical direction of orchestra and singers by Robert Cooper was
precisely organized.
Photo: Eric
Woolfe as Chi-Fu
The Land of Smiles by
Franz Lehár
Directed by Guillermo Silva-Marin
Toronto Operetta Theatre, Jane Mallett Theatre, Toronto
December 27, 2002-January 4, 2003
by Christopher Hoile,
Principal Reviewer for Stage Door
“Hummel
Shines in ‘Smiles’”
The Toronto Operetta
Theatre production of “The Land of Smiles” is musically one of the best the
company has yet presented. The TOT has
assembled a fine cast and the orchestra under conductor Robert Cooper has never
sounded better. Highlighting the show is
the radiant performance of former COC Ensemble member Tamara Hummel in the role
of Countess Lisa.
“The Land of Smiles” (“Das
Land des Lächelns”) in one of a series of operettas Franz Lehár wrote for
renowned tenor Richard Tauber. In this
series Lehár sought to move operetta closer to the realm of opera by adopting a
more complex musical language and by choosing romantic stories with less than
happy endings. In this gender-reversed
“Madama Butterfly”, Countess Lisa has fallen in love with Prince Sou-chong
while on a visit to China. While in
Vienna as an ambassador Sou-chong declares his love for Lisa and she, despite
warnings from her friends and family, decides to move to China with him to be
his wife. Once there she finds the
constraints of Chinese court society too great.
Fortunately for her, Captain Gustl, also in love with her, has followed
her to China and helps her to escape while Sou-chong and his sister Mi, who
loves Gustl, are left heart-broken.
Like the other “Tauber
operettas”, “The Land of Smiles” is generally thought of as a showcase for the
tenor lead. As things turn out, this
production becomes more of a showcase for the soprano lead simply because
Tamara Hummel’s performance is so much more emotionally involving. The role of Sou-chong is a challenging
one. When we meet him in Vienna he is an
outsider and is naturally more formal than the Viennese around him. In China he is further constrained by an
elevation in rank and the necessity of complying with court etiquette. Only in his few moments alone or with Lisa
can he pour out his true feelings.
Tenor Marcel van Neer has
a beautiful, cultured voice with a glowing tone and refined phrasing. The difficulty is that he delivers the string
of famous numbers Lehár has given Sou-chong, including the celebrated “Yours is
My Heart Alone” (“Dein ist mein ganzes Herz”), more as a collection of separate
art songs than as parts of a dramatic or emotional arc. To be fully effective van Neer needs to show
the emotion behind the formality--behind the smiles (as the song has it)--and
to contrast it with the moments when Sou-chong gives his feelings free
expression. The song he makes most
magical is the apple-blosson song, “Von ApfelblŸten einen Kranz”, which is a
song sung on request. One admires van
Neer’s voice throughout but wishes he were more dramatically engaged.
This is not the case with
Hummel as Countess Lisa. Her clear,
rounded tone and secure high notes are a constant pleasure. Besides this, she successfully traverses the
emotional arc of a girl naively fascinated with an exotic culture and the man
who represents it through to the complex mixture of shame, anger and regret
when she realizes the folly of ever thinking she could ever be accepted in such
an alien world. Hummel brings this about
not only through her acting but by making each of Lisa’s numbers mark a new
stage in her character’s growth. Her
difficult operatic scena “Alles vorbei!”
is very powerful. Her portrayal is so
sympathetic it makes one rethink the story, for a change, from the woman’s
point of view.
Laird Mackintosh, fresh
from a summer playing Freddy in Stratford’s “My Fair Lady”, is excellent as
Captain Gustl. He gives the character a
suavity and poise lacking in what is usually treated as the comic tenor
role. Unamplified and in a smaller
house, he is more at ease and much more effective than at Stratford. Peilu Ni and Saemi Chang alternate in the
role of Princess Mi, Sou-chong’s sister.
Ni took the role at the preview performance I attended and her portrayal
was both charming and affecting.
The one fly in the
ointment is Eric Woolfe as Chief Eunuch and Majordomo Chi-fu, the only outright
comic character in this bittersweet story.
Woolfe, who has done such fine work elsewhere, plays up the eunuch jokes
but ends in being merely shrill with most of the poorly written or improvised
humour falling flat. I still have fond
memories of David Walden, whose Chi-fu for the TOT in 1989 was rather like the
Caterpillar in “Alice in Wonderland”.
Stage director and General
Director of the TOT, Guillermo Silva-Marin, manages the action with his usual
facility allowing the serious aspects of the plot to have the weight they
should. The TOT wisely engaged Artistic
and Movement Consultant Xing Bang Fu, who worked on the opera “Iron Road” last
year, to lend an air of authenticity to the staging and to choreograph the
dances with ribbons and fans that start Act 2 with a burst of colour. Design Consultant David Rayfield has chosen
impressive period costumes from Malabar, quite spectacular for the Chinese
scenes. His sets simply but effectively
suggested the lushness of both locations.
Cameron A. More’s lighting enhances the splendor of state and parallels
the work’s darkening mood.
From the very first bars
of the overture, I knew the operetta was in good hands under Robert
Cooper. He has a masterful sense of
rubato and draws such fine playing and colour from the 16-member orchestra one
might have thought Lehár had scored it for just such an ensemble. Cooper seems to relish the dissonances and
shifting harmonies that link Lehár’s writing more to his contemporary Richard
Strauss.
“Dein ist mein ganzes
Herz” may be the song everybody knows, but the score brims with one memorable
tune after the other. When played and
sung as well as here, it’s clear why the work has remained so popular. Four of the seven performances are already
sold out. Act soon if you don’t want to
miss out on this delectable musical feast.
(c)Christopher Hoile
Photo: Tamara Hummel as Countess
Lisa and Marcel van Neer as Prince Sou-Chong
Operetta Review -
Dec. 30, 2002
TORONTO
OPERETTA THEATRE - "THE LAND OF SMILES"
With each successive production,
Toronto Operetta Theatre comes more of age. "The Land of Smiles" is
well-sung and looks gorgeous. Conductor Robert Cooper has clearly gone for the
romantic with slow tempi that eke out the sentiment, punctuated by perky
moments where necessary. The TOT chorus is particularly good, and choreographer
Xing Bang Fu has provided effective Chinese movement. Director Guillermo
Silva-Marin has mercifully avoided slapstick and let the sad story play itself
out. Harry Graham's English version may be a bit stilted, but the sheer beauty
of the music overrides any woodeness of dialogue. Diction, overall, is good.
As Prince Sou-Chong, debuting tenor Marcel van Neer shows
tremendous potential. Still in his twenties, van Neer has a rich, fruity sound,
beautiful phrasing, and a wonderful middle register that promises Verdi and
Puccini down the line. He is also capable of dramatic power and is definitely
one to watch. The talented Tamara Hummel as Lisa sports a bright, crystalline
sound in her lyric soprano with just enough of an interesting edge to take away
any sugary sweetness. Coloratura soprano Saemi Chang as Mi continues to show
the stuff of greatness down the line with a feathery light, enchanting voice.
Handsome tenor Laird Mackintosh does good service as Gustl, and is clearly a
Broadway leading man. Diminutive Eric Woolfe is the perfect comic foil in the
non-singing role of Chi Fu.
"The Land of Smiles" continues at the Jane
Mallett Theatre until Jan. 4.
I'm Paula Citron, arts reviewer for CLASSICAL 96.3 FM.
From The Globe and Mail
– Canada’s Most Trusted News Source
Few glittering moments
at this royal court
By KEN WINTERS
Tuesday, December 31, 2002— Print Edition, Page R4
The Land of Smiles
Toronto Operetta Theatre
– Jane Mallett Theatre – in Toronto on Saturday
It’s possible to imagine
Franz Lehar’s The Land of Smiles working
almost as well as Puccini’s Madama
Butterfly,given a lavish production, a fresh, inventive staging, and exceptional
singing and acting in every part. The piece itself, although it has only one
great tune, has a more vividly scored musical continuity and a less vacuous
libretto than many of its kind, besides plausible romantic roles for its two
stars. And if its dated handling of the clash between European and Asian mores
seems quaint today, at least it makes an effort.
Lehar produced it in
1929 at the Metropoitheater in Berlin, creating it out of the sow’s ear of an
earlier, unsuccessful operetta (Gelbe Jacke,
1923) and turning it into a silk purse by means of numerous internal
revisions but mainly by the addition of the aria Thine is My Heart Alone. Lehafs inspiration for this was the
celebrated and hugely charismatic Austrian tenor Richard Tauber. Tauber repaid
his efforts by making the aria one of the two or three most famous tunes in all
operetta, and the operetta itself a hit in its time.
The Toronto Operetta
Theatre, lacking the largesse – and, to be blunt, the array of top talent – to
fulfill the exceptional demands of this Tauberized starring vehicle, has to
rely heavily on the nostalgia of its loyal audience and the hard-working
musicianship of its conductor Robert Cooper, as well as one or two of its
better singers, to see it through its seven virtually sold-out performances at
the Jane Mallett Theatre.
The orchestra gets
better as it goes along, but it’s skimpy and miscellaneous, and can’t seem to
do much with Act One. Nor is the misc en scene of that act -- a drawing room in a Viennese palace – enhanced by a
strange failure in the men’s costuming from the knees down: clunky shoes with
trousers stacked at the instep.
The Chinese palace in
Act Two is much better served by Malabar’s finest costumes, and prince
Sou-Chong, the star, is quite handsome in his golden robes. As the prince,
tenor Marcel van Neer is also the best singer in the cast. His top notes were a
bit stiff and stressed, but he has a sweet, steady sound and a dignified
manner, and he made an admirable job of his plum aria.
His co-star, soprano
Tamara Hummel, as the Viennese countess Lisa, although a neat and pleasant
presence, was less successful in her solo work. Her tone is often shrill and
forced, obediently in tune but lacking ease and nuance. She was at her best in
the operetta’s finest ensemble, Love said
Goodbye ,with princess Mi (soprano Saemi Chang) and her female attendants,
one of the musical high points of the production. Chang, incidentally, made a
charming princess, and sang her soubrette role very well.
The other high point of
the production, strangely enough, was the ballet: Three nimble and graceful
young women, first with long silk streamers, then with scarves, then fans, held
the eye in brief and vivacious choreography coached by Xing Bang Fu.
In the purely acting
role of Chi Fu, major-domo of the women’s apartments, Eric Woolfe was tartly
amusing.
Apart from these few
good things, it cannot be said the production invoked the luxurious vehicle
Lehar imagined for Tauber.
The Land of Smiles continues tomorrow, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
For information, call 416-366-7723.
Copyright
© 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Photo:
Saemi Chang as Princess Mi
Visit www.torontooperetta.com