Fantastic Fairy-Queen

August 4, 5, 6

Opera Popolare delivers summer sizzler
by Christopher Key

Opera Popolare impresario Rob Viens wondered if he was being blasphemous by taking liberties with both Henry Purcell and William Shakespeare in his production of The Fairy-Queen. He needn’t have worried. His blasphemies are completely delightful and far from the worst that has been done in the name of The Bard. Viens is one of Bellingham’s best-known vocal coaches, partly because he puts on terrific productions like this instead of the usual staid recitals for his students. His students obviously flourish under these circumstances and the productions attract far more people to the audience. Everybody wins. Purcell’s take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream is technically a masque or semi-opera. Rather than delving into those technicalities, I’ll let you look it up in Wikipedia and save my breath to sing the praises of Viens and his pupils. Viens’ wife Carrie chatted with me a bit before the show and hinted mysteriously at some surprises. She was not being hyperbolic. The venue for this confection is the Unity Church at 1095 Telegraph Road and it’s a perfect choice. A series of windows behind the stage look out onto a lush woodland and no set painter could create a better backdrop. Viens uses the whole auditorium to great effect, including a dramatic stairway landing. The most powerful moments come when the entire cast encircles the audience for choral numbers that will make your hair stand on end. It’s important to remember that those cast members are students, not professionals, and demonstrate a wide range of vocal and acting skills. That said, Viens gets the best from all of them and there’s not a sour note to be heard. As usual, time and space considerations prevent me from mentioning everyone who deserves it, so I will rush in where angels fear to tread and highlight a few performances with apologies to those whose names didn’t make the review. I’ve worked with Katie Kennedy a few times and she just keeps getting better and better. She has a superb voice to start with and has developed exquisite control as she has matured. As Titania, she shines both as an actor and singer. One young talent whose development continues to astonish is Caitlin Hill, who plays the Song Fairy and has a voice that belies her tender years. Another one is Serena Viens. She plays Juno with luminous presence and one has to suspect that heredity may have something to do with it. Sonia Alexis and Wendy Donaghy both have wonderful voices, but what really captured my attention was their magnetic stage presence. Their roles were relatively minor, but they both have the acting chops to make them stand out. Both should be onstage in many other venues. Photo credit - Christopher Key Quite frankly, the women own this show and that’s as it should be. But the men hold their own quite well. The hands-down standout among the men is Sam Muscatine, whose resonant baritone is a true wonder in his roles as Sleep and Hymen. Sage Hoag doesn’t sing much, but ties the whole show together with Puckish humor. Viens has assembled a stellar orchestra to back his singers. Keyboardist Katie O’Rourke and trumpeters Steve Sperry and Andrew Bybee deserve special kudos. There are only two more performances of The Fairy-Queen and I can’t urge you strongly enough to catch one of them. Not just because Opera Popolare is a local treasure that deserves your support, but because you will have an enchanting experience. Tickets for Friday, August 5, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, August 6, at 2:00 p.m. are available at the Community Food Co-op and at the door. At $10 per ticket, it’s the best entertainment bargain in Bellingham.

For more information, call (360) 733-2663 or see http://operapopolare.com/index.html.

http://www.ennw.com/