Special to The Chief
The small, unassuming stage at the Brackendale Art Gallery was briefly transformed into a cloister inhabited with Italian nuns Sunday night (April 24) as the venue hosted a fully-staged production of Giacomo Puccini's opera, Suor Angelica.
Suor Angelica tells the passionate story of a nun in 16th century Italy who, after bearing an illegitimate child, is sent to a cloister. The tale begins seven years after Angelica has been in the cloister without receiving any word from her family. Tragedy soon follows a visit from Angelica's aunt, who bears some devastating news.
The all-female cast of the production was led by Soula Parassidis in the starring role of Angelica. A soprano with a wonderful voice, Parassidis managed to muster up sufficient hysteria for the role and by the finale, had the entire packed house glued to her performance. Parassidis will also be singing in the upcoming VOA production of Verdi's Masked Ball.
Running at just over 50 minutes, Suor Angelica was a perfect opera for the uninitiated, or those with short attention spans. It was sung entirely in Italian, but thankfully a brief synopsis of the action was included in the program, so audience members could follow along with the action.
Suor Angelica is part of a trilogy of works penned by Puccini called Il Trittico. Although quite good on its own merits, Suor Angelica does lose some of its impact when performed without the other two, one-act operas, which help to expand on the themes of retribution, contrition and mischief.
Due to the small size of the venue, a full orchestra could not accompany the singers, so audience members had to be content with a simple piano performing Puccini's often humourous musical touches.
However, the production was indeed well staged, well performed and sung by the talented cast - earning an eventual standing ovation from most of the audience following the curtain call.
Hopefully, the popularity of the performance will help to bring similar works to the Brackendale Art Gallery in the future.
"It is a dream come true for me to have opera up on this stage," said gallery owner Thor Froslev before the production got under way.
Upcoming gigs at the gallery include the third annual Brackendale Bluegrass Festival, May 13, the Mountain Bluebirds May 14, plus musical workshops and jams.
