The champagne snuggled within my inside pocket is gripped by the security guard. She considers for a moment, but then lets me thru. It is New Years Eve after all.
After that brief moment of hesitation, we are under the chandeliers, in a cavalcade of fashion for the premiere gala event of Fedora, and while I look as understated as normal, my date for the evening looks mighty gorgeous.
Impressive considering its been a long rainy day of running around the city to catch an early performance of “The Little Shop of Horrors,” to support one of my old students who is now the sound engineer for that production. It’s been an extra tight threading of the social needle as this evenings performance is a very early 6:30 so everyone can make it to their New Years Eve celebrations, which I assume like ours is watching old movies on TCM.
We have been looking forward to hearing Sonya Yoncheva who sounds as gorgeous tonight as Chaltin looks and rising to the expectation she graces us with lovely vocals and nuanced transitions.
Tonight’s opera is a wonderful bel canto drama full of melody, melody, and melody.
My champagne is for after the opera, but I’m afraid not everyone in the audience has waited. I hate when I let a rude audience member disproportionally ruin shows for me, but when they are sitting right next to you it is extra problematic. Tonight wasn’t terrible, but definitely a little distracting. Generally speaking, orchestral audiences are the politest, ballet audiences are the sexiest, and opera audiences are insecure social pecking degenerate wind bags, generally speaking.
The woman behind me is a loud person. Her makeup is loud, her size is loud, and even her hair points in exclamations. Before Yoncheva can finish a song this woman sounds like she has just devoured a decadent cupcake, “MMMMMmmmmm. Yes!” She proclaims during each aria before they finish. “Oh, myyyyyyyy.”
I run through my Rolodex of options; maybe I could shush her, maybe a swift elbow to the solarplex, perhaps a signature handkerchief soaked in chloroform would do the trick. But, I’ve encountered this archetype of an audience member before and none of these will be effective against such a personality. What to do?
During the intermission I have had enough! I turn toward her. Then with my kindest voice I ask if she is a singer herself and echo that Yoncheva is truly rising for the occasion of the Met News Years Gala.
The second Act isn’t completely silent, but better and that made the voice from the star of the evening, Yoncheva, sound better.
Pop!
I was surprised walking home when Chaltin turned to me and said, “you did that thing, didn’t you?” “What?” I say. I didn’t think she knew me so well. “When you try to love the thing you hate?” It’s true I confess, that woman really bothered me, but trying to understand her and make friends… well you know, honey vs. vinegar and all that. I say, “I have to say, either she was a little less the 2nd act, or knowing her better I was bothered less.”
So What’s Fedora all about? This feels like a Agatha Christie case made for Pierot or Mrs. Marple. The wealthy and recently widowed Fedora is set to marry Count Vladimiro, but the count has been shot twice and murdered. Fedora begins a relationship with Loris Ipanoff to see if he is the Count’s murderer or not. Not all is as it seems! Letters will be written and sent whilst the police look for Ipanoff, an attempt is made on the Tsar’s life, and Fedora wears a necklace with poison inside. Only if there was a sleuth worthy of pulling all the players into a room to question one by one and then reveal the true murderer.
Notes on the Production:
Composer………………………. Humberto Giordano
Conductor,………………………. Marco Armiliato
Princess Fedora Romazoff……. Sonya Yoncheva
Count Loris Ipanoff…………….. Piotr. Beczala
Baron Rouvel……………………. Scott Scully
Countess Olga Sukarev………… Rosa Feola
Cirillo……………………………… Jeongcheol Cha
Desire’…………………………….. Tony Stevenson
Giovanni De Siriex……………….. Lucas Meachem
Michele……………………………. Ross Benoliel
12/31/22
Met Opera