Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Daniel Catán’s formulaic FLORENCIA EN EL AMAZONAS fails to engage the imagination

• By drediman
• June 28, 2016
• No Comments

The resuscitated New York City Opera’s first season came to a timid close with last week’s brief run of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas. Despite the excitement that accompanied seeing my first large-scale opera in Spanish and the work’s exotic setting, I was ultimately left cold by Marcela Fuentes-Berain’s formulaic, heavy-handed libretto. Florencia en el Amazonas tells the story of an opera singer, the titular Florencia, who journeys down the Amazon River in search of her long lost love. She slips onto a ship called the El Dorado in disguise and is accompanied by a group of rather unhappy traveling companions. Through the course of the opera, each character comes across challenges but they all, in the end, find fulfillment.

Despite the clunkiness of the libretto, Mr. Catán’s melodic music sparkled throughout, especially in key dramatic moments. Florencia’s arias, in particular, call to mind Richard Strauss’s luminous work for the soprano voice (the opera’s final moments are strongly reminiscent of Strauss’s Daphne). At the performance I attended, the brightly orchestrated score was handled beautifully by conductor Dean Williamson.

New York City Opera’s production, directed by John Hoomes, was originally staged for Nashville Opera. It features non-stop use of video projections (courtesy of Barry Steele), as well as a corps of dancers (here, the hard-working Ballet Hispánico’s BHdos) that conjure up the ever-mutating Amazon River itself. Although much work was clearly put into creating a unique theatrical experience, the production ultimately comes across as overly fussy and somewhat sophomoric.

The cast was mostly very good, particularly soprano Elizabeth Caballero as Florencia. Her voice easily penetrated the orchestra’s lush playing (something a few of the other singers had a hard time doing) and rang beautifully throughout. She’s a charismatic actress and a lovely stage presence, to boot. Her three big arias were deservedly given big ovations by the audience. In the end, though, the opera failed to engage my imagination. After a mediocre season (which got off to a rocky start with an under-rehearsed Tosca), let’s hope that New York City Opera proceeds onto their second season with some key lessons learned.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

FLORENCIA EN EL AMAZONAS
Opera
New York City Opera
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Closed