Natalya Polyakova

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

That English proverb seems to be the modus operandi to many of the Bay Area’s small arts organizations, including West Bay Opera (WBO), a tiny opera company with the lofty ambition to provide “a taste of grand opera in the heart of Silicon Valley” at the intimate Palo Alto’s Lucie Stern Theatre. As “the oldest opera company in continuous operation in the West” (after San Francisco Opera), now in its 69^th Season, WBO has also faced financial struggles that have forced the company to cut its productions to just two shows for the last two seasons. Nevertheless, the WBO’s promise of grand operas was spectacularly fulfilled with the current season’s closer, Giuseppe Verdi’s penultimate opera, Otello, which opened the last weekend in May and was seen on that Sunday’s matinee.

Otello has long been heralded as one of Verdi’s most significant achievements, as he and librettist Arrigo Boito transformed William Shakespeare’s tragedy into a different work of art of equal stature with soaring melodies and well-defined characterizations. Nevertheless, the work still proves to be quite a challenge even for large opera companies around the world, as the three leading roles are among Verdi’s most demanding both vocally and dramatically. Hence, any production of Otello becomes a significant event for the opera company that undertakes it.

Natalya Polyakova

For WBO, to pull out such an exceptional Otello was almost a miraculous feat, and that was mainly due to José Luis Moscovich, WBO’s General Director (for nearly two decades), and the conductor of the show. Moscovich led the 25-person orchestra in a reading that did the Maestro justice, bringing the glory and splendor of Verdi’s sweeping orchestration while being sensitive to his singers on stage. He chose a judicious pace that moved the story along, and he was particularly remarkable in building suspense, which is crucial for the terrifying Otello-Iago duet that closed Act II, and especially for the extended finale to Act III. In his hands, the orchestra sounded much larger than it actually was and time flew. Nevertheless, Moscovich allowed breathing space for the more intimate moments, such as the tender love duet in Act I and Desdemona’s “Ave Maria” in the final act.

In his program notes, Moscovich mentioned that “[r]everence for the composer’s and librettist’s vision is at the core of our approach.” Director Richard Harrell – a WBO veteran who directed many of WBO’s productions including the mesmerizing Bay Area premiere of I due Foscari six years ago – realized that approach beautifully, working closely with the production team, many of whom were WBO regulars as well.

Peter Crompton converted Lucie Stern’s small stage into a two-tier, static stage, adorned with stone columns, which was appropriate for the Cyprus location. In a rather amusing move, he included a sculpture of a lion’s head with an open mouth à la Bocca della Verità/The Mouth of Truth. The two-tier approach was practical in giving the stage depth, particularly in Act II, which required a castle’s hall and a terrace. Crompton also collaborated with Frédéric O. Boulay on the many excellent projections that transported the sets into Cyprus at nighttime and denoted the arrival of Lodovico, the Venetian ambassador, with flags bearing the Lion of Venice!

Natalya Polyakova

Shirley Benson provided the cast with the apt props called for in the libretto, while Callie Floor dressed everybody on stage in fitting costumes for the times. Daniele Ferguson lit the stage with soft lighting, gorgeously defining day and night, combined with streetlights on those stone columns that were rather temperamental (and noisy) on that matinee show. Ferguson also used strobe lights from the back of the hall for the storm scene at the beginning of Act I, which I wish that WBO had posted a warning about, as I saw a lady in front of me cover her eyes to avoid seeing it.

Personally, Harrell’s greatest strength was in directing the movements of everyone on stage, both the principals and the chorus members. This was clearly not a “park and bark” show; neither was this a case where the principals were wandering aimlessly while singing their parts. There was a heightened sense of naturalness in the movements, aided by the principals’ excellent acting. His direction of the extended finale of Act III was specifically exceptional, as one by one, everybody entered the picture as if in a tableau, culminating in the moment when Otello threw Desdemona to the ground, and all eyes were on her!

Moscovich chose a competent group of soloists to bring out the drama in Otello. In the title role, Korean-American tenor John Kun Park sang earnestly, powerfully demonstrating the downward trajectory of the short-tempered antihero. While his voice might lack the ringing top that I came to expect from the role, particularly in the first Act, he subsequently sounded angrier and more unhinged as the story progressed. His duet with Iago, “Sì, pel ciel marmoreo guiro,” was marked with terrifying force, and his scene at the end of Act III was almost too hard to watch.

Even more successful was soprano Julia Behbudov, who made her WBO debut as Desdemona. A full voice with a glorious top, Behbudov brought colors and nuances to her take, similarly showing the downward progression from a happy (and almost naïve) bride to a confused, misery-laden victim. Her renditions of “Willow Song” and “Ave Maria” were especially heart-wrenching in their delivery, as if all the happiness had been completely voided from her voice.

Natalya Polyakova

All the minor roles were handled handsomely. Tom Mulder began rather tentatively as Cassio, but he quickly found his footing and presented a charming Cassio. Laure de Marcellus sounded adequately defiant in Emilia’s too-little-too-late final scene, while Isaiah Musik-Ayala and Carmello Tringali respectively made a noble Lodovico and a cunning Roderigo. Daniel Morris, the fight coach for the production, turned in as a last-minute replacement for James Cowing to sing Montano, and he made his presence felt. Bruce Olstad’s 28-person choir rounded out the cast with their significant contributions as the Cypriots, soldiers, and sailors.

To my ears, the show belonged to bass-baritone Robert Balonek, who fully embodied the treacherous Iago almost to the extreme. With a deep, robust, booming voice and an ease of delivery, Balonek turned a diabolical Iago who stole the show every time he was on stage. Balonek utilized marked dynamics and nuanced colors to maximize the impact of each phrase. He was quite a stage animal, too, using every single body language and gesture in the book to deliver the punches. In his hands, Iago came alive, not just as pure evil, but also as a master manipulator and controller, doing justice to Shakespeare’s greatest villain. It was truly a tour-de-force performance that was truly transfixing to watch!

Otello was undoubtedly a resounding success for WBO, and it was astonishing to see the level of passion and dedication of everybody involved. Next season, WBO is celebrating its 70^th anniversary with a truly ambitious program, a trio (yes, they’re back) of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila, Richard Strauss’s Salome, and Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca! I can’t wait to see what they have in store! Who says grand opera is dead in Silicon Valley?