Review: Opera Theatre's Center Stage concert honors company founder Richard Gaddes

Tuesday night (June 25th) Opera Theatre of St. Louis presented the ninth edition of its justly celebrated “Center Stage” concert.  I was looking forward to this year’s annual showcase of opera and musical theatre selections for two reasons.

[Watch my interviews with Patricia Racette. and Daniela Candillari on Chuck's Culture Channel]

First, the performances by the young singers from the Richard Gaddes Festival Artists and Gerdine Young Artists programs have been consistently excellent since I started attending these concerts in 2019.

David Wolfe Photo: Eric Woolsey

Second (and every bit as important) is the fact that they are backed up by the full St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO). In the past, the orchestra has worked under a series of guest conductors. That changed in 2022 when OTSL appointed their first-ever Principal Conductor, Daniela Candillari—thereby providing a continuity of musical leadership that is cause for applause.

I was not disappointed. Once again, the evening was immensely entertaining, with a wide variety of music and excellent performances all the way around.

Working in the limited space in front of the nearly 80-piece orchestra on the Loretto-Hilton stage, directors Ian Silverman, Olivia Gacka, and James Robinson, and Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs Patricia Racette, provided enough staging for dramatic context while still maintaining a brisk pace.

L-R: Madeleine Lyon, Brad Bickhardt Photo: Eric Woolsey

Rather than go into details on every number (which would tax both your patience and my memory) I’m going to concentrate on what were, for me, the more notable moments (your mileage may vary). For inquiring minds who want to know, you’ll find the complete program below.

The evening got off to an energetic start with, appropriately enough, a Prologue—specifically the one from “Pagliacci” as baritone David Wolfe, in the role of the clown Tonio, took the stage to welcome the audience. It was a funny, captivating performance.

Wolfe’s Tonio stood in stark contrast with his dark and vengeful Rigoletto in the Act III quartet from the Verdi opera of the same name.  Soprano Laura Santamaria was a tragic Gilda, the naive daughter of Rigoletto who remains smitten by the Duke (played with cynical assurance by tenor Brad Bickhardt) even as she and her father, concealed in the shadows, watch him seduce Maddalena, sister of the assassin Sparafucile. Mezzo Madeleine Lyon was a cheerfully flirtatious Maddalena.

L-R: Elijah English, Luke Elmer Photo: Eric Woolsey

This has been a good season for countertenors, as Luke Elmer and Elijah English demonstrated in “Hark! How the Songsters of the Grove” from the masque “Timon of Athens” by Henry Purcell. The song demands (and got) virtuoso close harmony as the singers mimicked birdsong, accompanied by flutes and harpsichord. The harpsichord was virtual (Peter Henderson on the synthesizer), the flutes were real (Matthew Roitstein, Andrea Kaplan, and Jennifer Nitchman), and the results were delightful.

Soprano Jouelle Roberson was Cio-Cio-San (a.k.a. Butterfly) and mezzo Michelle Mariposa her long-suffering friend Suzuki in “Il cannone del porto,” from Act II of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”. It’s the scene in which the two adorn the house with flowers in anticipation of the feckless Pinkerton’s long-awaited return. It’s one of the more heartbreaking moments in opera, delivered with all the tragedy one would wish. Cio-Cio-San is one of the most tragic and sometimes most annoying characters in 19th century Italian opera. Roberson let us see the pure tragedy.

L-R: Michelle Mariposa, Jouelle Roberson Photo: Eric Woolsey

The course of true love runs more smoothly in Act II of Richard Strauss’s “Arabella” as the wealthy Mandryka (baritone Titus Muzi III), smitten with the title character (soprano Kathleen O’Mara), tells her of a custom in his country in which a woman offers her fiancé a glass of water as a love token—to which the equally smitten Arabella happily agrees. Muzi and O’Mara—this year’s Gaddes Festival Artists—sang this lush, rapturous music beautifully.

Wrapping up the first half of the evening was the Act III finale of Offenbach’s “Les contes d’Hoffmann.” Tenor David Eatmon was the foolishly passionate Hoffman, so entranced by the courtesan Giulietta (soprano Chase Sanders) that he lets her steal his reflection, much to the delight of the evil Dr. Dapertutto (a menacing performance by bass-baritone Justin Ramm-Damron). Hoffman’s friend Nicklausse (Lyon), the appropriately named Schlemil (bass-baritone Jared Werlein), and the dwarf Pitichinaccio (tenor Hakeem Henderson) look on helplessly as the music rises to a powerful climax, with the soloists and chorus singing their hearts out.

L-R: Jared Werelein, Justin Ramm-Damron,  Chase Sanders, Devin Eatmon, Madeleine Lyon, Hakeem Henderson Photo: Eric Woolsey

It was a thrilling moment, just as Offenbach intended.

Candillari and the orchestra kicked off the second half of the concert with a sizzling reading of the overture from the operetta “Gräfin Mariza” (“Countess Mariza”) by Hungarian-born Emmerich Kálmán (1882–1953), one of the many composers who kept the flame of classic Viennese operetta burning well into the early 20th century. They’re all mostly forgotten these days, at least in the English-speaking world, but this lively batch of tunes, in which the csárdás plays a prominent role, is a reminder of why they were so popular in their day.

Violetta’s death scene from “La traviata” is one of Verdi’s great tear jerkers. It begins with Alfredo (tenor Brad Bickhardt) pleading with Violetta (soprano Jennifer Kreider) to leave Paris (“Parigi, o cara”), unaware of just how close she is to death. Verdi’s music is aware, though, as Violetta’s rising and falling vocal line contrasts with Alfredo’s impassioned legato. Bickhardt and Kreider squeezed every bit of pathos out of this, under the masterful direction of Racette.

L-R: Patrick Wilhelm, Georgia Belmont Photo: Eric Woolsey

Comic relief followed in the “Duo de la mouche” (“The Fly Duet”) from Offenbach’s satirical “Orphée aux enfes” (“Orpheus in the Underworld”). Eurydice, in this version, is seduced by Jupiter, who is disguised as a fly so that he can slip through the keyhole into her boudoir. It’s quite an accomplishment since, when he isn’t addressing the audience in asides, his disguise limits his dialogue to buzzing (“Zi-zi-zi”). Soprano Georgia Belmont was the easily-persuaded Eurydice and baritone Patrick Wilhelm was Jupiter, attired in a fancifully silly fly costume. Hilarity ensued, along with some great singing (and buzzing).

Racette also directed the showpiece “Carceleras” ("The Prisoners' Song") from the zarzuela “Las hijas del Zebedeo” (“The Daughters of Zebedeo) by Ruperto Chapí (1851–1909), Spanish master of the form (he wrote 15, plus a few operas). The title notwithstanding, this spicy and quintessentially Spanish number is all about Luisa (mezzo Gabriela Linares) enumerating the outstanding qualities of her lover Arturo. Linares delivered a scintillating performance, complete with some nice dance moves.

Gabriela Linares Photo: Eric Woolsey

Not all operatic finales are tragic, as demonstrated by the trio “Marie Thérese! Hab’ mir’s gelobt” (“Marie Thérese! I have promised myself”) which begins the last scene of Strauss’s “Der Rosenkavalier”. In it, the Marschallin (O’Mara) realizes that the time has finally come to release her teenage lover Octavian (Mariposa), the titular Cavalier of the Rose, from his promises so he can marry his true love Sophie (Belmont). This trio, along with the duet for Sophie and Octavian that follows, constitutes one of the most sublime examples of writing for women’s voices in all of opera. All three performers did it full justice; brave!

L-R: Kathleen O'Mara, Michelle Mariposa, Georgia Belmong Photo: Eric Woolsey

The concert closed, as it always does, with some numbers from Broadway musicals. This time, though, there was an additional (and delightful) surprise—two Gilbert and Sullivan patter songs. Jared Werlein and baritone Joseph O’Shea dashed the tongue-twister lyrics of “When I Go Out of Door” from “Patience” with impressive precision while throwing in a Vaudeville-style dance duet. Titus Muzi III returned, this time with the full ensemble, for a hilarious “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General.” Director James Robinson included a bit added for Joseph Papp’s 1980 Public Theatre production in which the conductor dares the Major General to repeat the final chorus “really fast.” Which, needless to say, Muzi did, with panache.

From Broadway, we had a first-rate “Fugue for Tinhorns” from “Guys and Dolls” and an equally fine “Together Wherever We Go” from “Gypsy” with mezzo Sophia Baete and a commanding Mama Rose. The pick of the litter, though, was “Make Our Garden Grow,” the harmonically rich finale from Bernstein’s often-revised 1956 musical-cum-operetta “Candide”—and also the finale of the concert.

L-R: Joseph O'Shea, Jared Werelein Photo: Eric Woolsey

Musically, this is Bernstein at his most ecstatic, growing from a simple duet for Candide (tenor Levi Adkins) and Cunegonde (Belmont) into an overwhelming wall of vocal harmony (including a killer a cappella interlude) with just enough contrapuntal and harmonic complexity to give it a bit of spice. I could not have asked for a better way to close this stunning showcase of young operatic talent. Congratulations to everyone involved, including any singers I have missed. You were all terrific, trust me. I just wish this annual event could run for more than one night.

While we’re on the topic, a footnote regarding OTSL’s Young Artist Programs is perhaps in order.

The full company in the Candide finale Photo: Eric Woolsey

Gerdine Young Artists is an intensive nine-week professional development program for rising young singers that includes master classes, extensive vocal coaching, and performances in both the OTSL chorus and supporting roles in the festival season.

Admission is highly selective. This season only 28 of over 1100 applicants who submitted video auditions made it into the program. Add in the two performers who were admitted to the Gaddes Festival Artists program—an honor reserved for “exceptionally remarkable young singers”—and you have quite the all-star lineup.

This year’s Gaddes Festival singers were baritone Titus Muzi III and soprano Kathleen O’Mara. If you saw Muzi in this year’s “La Bohème” or last year’s “Tosca” or O’Mara’s Lucia (from “Lucia di Lammermoor”) or Marguerite (from “Faust”) at least year’s concert, I think you’ll agree that they fully deserve to be called “exceptionally remarkable”.

Christine Brewer Photo: Eric Woolsey

The Gaddes Festival Artists program was named after OTSL’s founder Richard Gaddes, who died last December at the age of 81. This year’s concert, as a result, included fond remembrances of Gaddes from OTSL General Manager Andrew Jorgensen, Artistic Director James Robinson, and celebrated OTSL alumna Christine Brewer. As part of her tribute Brewer and pianist Kirt Pavitt gave us a moving performance of the 1934 song “When I Have Sung My Songs” by Ernest Charles (1895–1984), which Gaddes had requested she sing, as a memorial.

Added to the 22 other musical numbers, the tributes to Gaddes made this one of the longer programs, but only a die-hard curmudgeon (which I am not) could object to such heartfelt sentiments about the man who made OTSL possible. Besides there was, as usual, so much musical variety and so many strong performances that it hardly mattered.

The Opera Theatre season is over now, but the 2025 season has already been announced. Check the OTSL web site for details.