What: Rinaldo
Where: Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St.
When: Thursday, April 19, through April 29
Tickets: $25-$165 through the Royal McPherson box office, by phone at 250-386-6121, or online at rmts.bc.ca
Baroque costuming and traditional storytelling are out for the Pacific Opera Victoria production of Handel’s Rinaldo, the composer’s 18th-century classic. Leather jackets, mermaids, dragons, a magician, and a witch are in during the Royal Theatre run for what its two prinicpal singers are calling a fairy tale of epic proportions.
“It’s boring to see everyone is period costumes,” countertenor Andrey Nemzer, who plays the titular Rinaldo, said in a recent interview. “There should be some fresh solutions. Opera does not have to be oversized people singing on stage with crazy-big voices. This is very beautiful art, very interesting art. It’s fashionable.”
Nemzer is joined in POV’s final opera of the season (in Italian, with English surtitles) by Montreal soprano Stéphanie Lessard, who plays Rinaldo’s wife, Almirena. The two were interviewed over lunch, with a view of the Inner Harbour providing much food for thought.
Pressure and stress relating to their performance is only half of the battle for professional singers who make their living on the road. The two performers, who have been in Victoria for three weeks, will not leave the city until next month, when Rinaldo wraps.
Glamorous lifestyle? Not necessarily, according to Lessard. “You are always out of your comfort zone. I’m happy to go back to Montreal and see my friends and family, of course. But at the moment, I’m happy to be here.”
“I will be missing all this wonderful hospitality,” Nemzer said, lunching on chicken, potatoes, and green beans. “But we have to choose, unfortunately.”
The leads — who are making their POV debuts at the Royal Theatre tonight — have backgrounds that differ dramatically. Lessard is the less experienced of the two, but has put in 10 years of hard work. Nemzer, who was born in Moscow, but has lived in Pittsburgh since 2010, sang in his first professional recital at the age of nine. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and Opera San Antonio during his decorated career.
However, Rinaldo, which runs until April 29, will be his final operatic production after several decades in the business. “It’s very difficult to be away from family for such long periods of time. I will not quit singing, but I will concentrate more on recitals, oratorios, concerts and recordings. I’m not going to sacrifice my whole career, but a chunk of my career I will gladly sacrifice for the sake of my family.”
Lessard doesn’t believe Nemzer will follow through with his statement, but she will enjoy the run with him while it lasts. “We are a good team,” she said, smiling proudly.
Rinaldo presents Nemzer with several challenges, including the difficult task of acting in bulky battle armour for some scenes. He carries a heavy load overall during the nearly three-hour performance, including an aria in Act I that runs for 10 minutes. “After that, I feel so exhausted and emotional, a couple times it has almost made me cry on stage.”
Timothy Vernon will conduct the Victoria Symphony through Handel’s music, including the German-born composer’s much-loved aria (Lascia ch’o pianga) sung by Lessard. Not much could be radically re-written where the music was concerned, but the decision by director Glynis Leyshon to lift the opera about love, war and redemption during the First Crusade ever-so-slightly out of its traditional guise has been a blessing for both Nemzer and Lessard (a radio features prominently in the opera, according to Nemzer).
The two singers are self-professed risk takers, with an appetite for adventure. That is the only way opera companies are going to bring new audience members to the form, which is important, Lessard said.
“It is not easy to stage this kind of story without falling a little bit into the ridiculous. But Glynis had the really good idea of making it like a fairytale. I like that. It’s really cool. When we do that, we connect with the little girl, the little boy.”
Nemzer and Lessard are joined in their maiden Victoria voyages by baritone Christopher Dunham (who plays King Argant) and Jennifer Taverner as (Armida), giving another layer of new-paint sheen to what is already expected to be a thrilling reboot. Lessard is happily along for the ride, whatever form that might take. “To see adults like us playing like that on stage, it’s a good example for children. Yes, it’s work, it’s very serious work. But if we don’t have fun on stage, audiences will see that.”
