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OperaNotes Review
New York City Opera
March 20, 2004
By Charlene Frank
Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Music & Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Book: Hugh Wheeler
Conductor:
George Manahan
Production: Harold Prince
Set Designer: Eugene Lee
Stage Director: Arthur Masella
Costume Designer:
Franne Lee
Cast:
Sweeney Todd: Timothy
Nolen
Beggar Woman: Judith Blazer
Mrs. Lovett: Elaine Page
Johanna: Tonna Miller
Anthony Hope: Scott Hogsed
Judge Turpin: Walter
Charles
The Beadle: Roland Rusinek
Tobias Ragg: Keith Jameson
Pirelli: Andrew Drost
Jonas Fogg: William Ledbetter
When I was first interested in opera I thought that the difference between opera
and music theater was that opera had no dialogue. Well, the Merry Widow
has dialogue and even Carmen has dialogue and Les Miserables has
none, so that isn't the answer. I was curious about that question again
today. What is the difference between music theater and opera? After
a stellar performance of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd by the New York
City Opera I typed that exact question into Google. The first search
result brought up Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. Looks like I'm
not the only one asking this question. The response said that
when this question was posed to Sondheim he responded "When you
produce something in a theater, it's a musical. When you produce the same thing
in an opera house, it's an opera." There must be more to it than
that. Maybe Sweeney Todd is a fusion opera, walking the fine line between
opera and music theater and fusing both.
The cast was another fusion of theater and opera. The amplification made sure that those who were theatrically trained could be heard throughout the house, but it added a slight echo that was obvious at times. Elaine Page, a theater veteran, received entrance applause and lived up to them as the big hearted and murderous Mrs. Lovett. Timothy Nolen, an opera veteran, had no need for amplification. He is a strong baritone and an intense, convincing and sometimes scary actor.
I wanted very much to see Mark Delavan in the role of Sweeney Todd, but I chose this performance because I was impressed with Tonna Miller in her performance as Papagena in the Magic Flute earlier this season and I wanted to see her as Johanna. Mark Delavan may have been well loved in this role, but I was not at all disappointed with Timothy Nolen as Sweeney Todd, and Tonna Miller, a petite, pretty, lyric soprano was the perfect Johanna. So as much as I would have liked to have seen Mark Delavan, I am more than satisfied with what I got.
Sweeney Todd is a dark and tragic comedy. A story about a barber, Benjamin Barker, who was arrested and sent to prison for life on a trumped up charge by Judge Turpin and the Beadle. The barber escapes, changes his name to Sweeney Todd, to find out that the reason for his arrest was that Judge Turpin lusted after his beautiful young wife Lucy. He learns from Mrs. Lovett, who owns the Meat Pie shop below his former apartment that Lucy, left with no way to support herself or her infant daughter accepted Judge Turpin's invitation to discuss her dire straits at his home. When she got there he raped her while his wealthy friends looked on and laughed. She then informs him that Lucy poisoned herself, and the judge took her baby daughter Johanna to raise as his daughter. The obsession for vengeance begins.
How could this tragedy be a comedy? The comedy starts when Elaine Page (Mrs. Lovett) sells a meat pie to Sweeney Todd has no shame in singing The Worst Pies in London. She has the audience laughing out loud and she keeps it going almost every time she is on stage. She is every bit as demonic as Todd, but she is so funny that you'd really like her if you weren't afraid she'd welcome you to her establishment one second and serve you to her customers the next. Johanna is also the combination of tragic and comic. She sings Green Finch and Linnet Bird and you realize that she is really the sad captive bird. The comedy comes in during her part of the duet with the talented young baritone Scott Hogsed (Anthony Hope). For every tragic turn, there was a touch of comedy, albeit dark comedy, until the very tragic end.
Walter Charles' (Judge Turpin) Johanna brought more darkness to this comedy/tragedy. Ridden with guilt he intermittently whips himself while begging for redemption and then peeps through the keyhole as he lusts for the young woman he raised as his daughter.
Keith Jameson (Tobias Ragg) and Andrew Drost (Pirelli) both operatic tenors, were positive additions to the cast and I look forward to seeing them again.
Congratulations to Steven Sondheim.