 | DragonDiva In Review |  |
DragonDiva has been reviewed in Opera Canada! Very exciting news for us... check out what they had to say:
DragonDiva Operatic Theatre, a new company created and nurtured by Artistic Director Jeanine Fynn and Music Director John Arsenault, presented a polished Cendrillon by Massenet (seen Aug. 29). Given in an English translation by Arsenault and Dionne Sellinger, Fynn's staging achieved a delightful counterpoint between the broad humorr of a hen-pecked husband dealing with an imperious wife and two obnoxious Stepdaughters and the anguished romance of the principals.
It played out in the historic, 180 seat Bernie Legge Theatre, originally built in Queen's Park by the federal government in 1909 as a fisheries exhibition space. Arsenault conducted, with piano accompaniment by Angus Kellett.
Cinderella/ Lucette, sung by lyric mezzo Lisa-Dawn Kilthau, projected a resigned optimism in her carefillly shaped phrasing and clear articulation. Her voice warmed as she discovered love, then tumed to anguish with her required midnight escape. Lyric mczzo Dionne Sellinger was a very convincing courtly young man in the trouser role of Prince Charming. She has the dark, dramatic voice Massenet's score demands, and used it to full advantage. Her height and fluid movement, owning her space on stage, further added to a memorable portrayal.
Bass Max van Wyck combined humor and poignancy singing Pandolfe, the harried father. Still studying at the University of British Columbia, he has a strong, resonant bass that belies his years. Contralto Andi Alexander, as Mme. de la Haltiere, maintained a commanding disdain throughout the opera as she attempted to bring her unattractive daughters to the prince's notice. The stepsisters brought a touch of British pantomime to the stage in their exaggerations and awkwardness. The panto theme was emphasized by casting tenor Grant Wardlow as one of the stepsisters. He managed to be very funny without coming off as a drag queen, and played off his sister, Noemie, sung by soprano Dora Brooks, with great panache.
Entering through a picture frame on the wall may not make for a great entrance, but coloratura soprano Szu-Wen Wang made it work with her incandescent intonation and carefully crafted phrasing as the Fairy Godmother. Baritone Nicholas FitzGerald (the King), tenor Kevin Lee (Dean/herald) and Diana Sandberg (maid) contributed to the mix, as did the spirits/elves and ladies of thc court.
- Hilary Clark
Here's to many more successful reviews!
John Arsenault
Music Director
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