the pittsburgh butterflies

that'd be a great name for a baseball team

then, again,...volleyball...might be more like it

on second thought,...badminton team -- that's it! -- in arabic, the badminton birdie is called reesheh (feather)

then, again,...could still be baseball -- papillon (butterfly)...being the french word for a knuckleball -- which...might mean...all the pitchers would have to be knuckleballers -- that would be some team

so, 'bob's your uncle,' we're back to baseball -- hallelujah

all right -- back to the real...pittsburgh butterflies -- the actual butterflies...that exist

i went to pittsburgh, yesterday, to catch a butterfly -- i picked that day's performance because they have a meet-the-artists event after the show, and because i was really looking forward to seeing bryan hymel, (pronounced hee'mil) and, maybe, getting a picture taken with him -- i was bowled over by his singing, as enée, in this season's met production of 'les troyens,' for which he came to the rescue, at the last minute, in place of marcello giordani

hymel, however, fell ill, and withdrew from tuesday's show -- i hope to see him, hear him, sunday

so, just as hymel saved the day for the met in 'les troyens,' roger honeywell...did the same, for pittsburgh's butterfly -- a bit more about this, anon

nicole rodin, who played kate pinkerton, and honeywell, in the post-opera discussion

honeywell, with opera general director christopher hahn -- seated, to the right, is conductor jean-luc tingaud

as for 'butterfly,' the show  is very well done (simple staging -- spare...japanese architecture (of course) -- it's all in the lighting) -- gorgeous music -- achingly beautiful, throughout (i realized, on my drive back to cleveland, listening to some of the puccini tunes on my i-pod, that, while verdi...is all about love, in all its forms and permutations (for homeland, romantic love, father-son, father-daughter relationships), puccini...is about...heartache, loss, deeply felt pain) -- deeper, maybe,...than verdi -- gets...to the gut...the heart...and other...internals -- while verdi...is, maybe,...more on the surface -- heart-on-your-sleeve

in the pre-opera talk, hahn's assistant (must be kristin gatch) related that the conductor, jean-luc tingaud, accentuated -- brought out -- the softer, more-delicate aspects of puccini's score

as butterfly, maria luigia borsi sang beautifully, throughout -- very clearly -- gorgeous -- and acted very well too -- she said she's always had a special connection with butterfly -- that she learned most (might have been all) of act two when she was seven, and was always asked (i think by her grandfather -- might have been her uncle) to sing 'un bel di vedremo' at family gatherings (she's from sora, which is an hour and a half southeast of rome) -- once, when she was 10, she sang it, and a trumpet sounded, nearby, in tune with her singing -- she said she cries, in every performance of butterfly -- and she once did it with her own daughter

borsi, with the star of the show, daniel frontz, who played dolore, to rave reviews

borsi, singing 'un bel di vedremo' in concert, from at least two years ago

anna moffo, from a 1956 italian television production of 'butterfly'

borsi said she watched callas's tosca when she was three, which hooked her -- callas being her reference point

mika shigematsu (suzuki) and dwayne croft (u.s. consul sharpless) were also excellent -- acting and singing -- croft looked so familiar -- took me a while, but... -- chorebe (cassandra's betrothed), from the met's 'troyens' -- made me think, boy, they brought top-flight talent...for this show -- croft said he's been driving, back and forth, between pittsburgh and new york, to make the rehearsals in pittsburgh, and the shows in the big apple (he's escamillo, in 'carmen')

the show held my attention, throughout -- was especially gripping, the second act

one attendee...noted the silences in the crowd -- which pleased maestro tingaud greatly

during the opera, i sat next to a couple, who are involved in bringing a late opera teacher's summer classes back to lucca (puccini's hometown) -- the woman sings rock 'n' roll -- the man produces pbs programs on the roots of rock 'n' roll [i didn't note the teacher's name -- must be lorenzo malfatti]

about hymel and honeywell, gatch said (in her pre-opera talk) that hymel called in sick, monday afternoon (christopher hahn, the company's general director, said later that hymel suffered from allergies, sunday, and made the call, monday), which kicked the company into action -- on many fronts -- they had to find someone (for the next day's show), who could sing the lyric tenor role (or, better yet, had sung it -- and, optimally, in the same production), who was available, and who could make it, in time for the next day's show -- the research, and search, was done, within an hour

the company had to make the contractual and financial arrangements -- and also notify the press...and, no doubt, the rest of the team -- honeywell had sung the role, was 'comfortable in it,' gatch said -- he was in the toronto area -- took an eight-o'clock flight from toronto (he said, after the show, that he dropped off his kids at his in-laws (i think that's where he said he dropped them off), then drove in the snow from stratford), arrived in pittsburgh at midnight, woke up before five (i think he said), and made it to the theater at noon -- during the pre-opera talk, honeywell was on-stage, going through his steps -- gatch said that the other players and chorus were brought in, to go through the steps with honeywell (he'd done the role, but not in this production; in the post-opera discussion, while honeywell was talking, dwayne croft got up, and to demonstrate the help honeywell got from the rest of the cast, croft put his arm around honeywell, and led him to the left)[update, 3/25: pittsburgh opera has a youtube channel, and one of the videos...is of roger honeywell, from tuesday's post-opera discussion, and, at 2:15, 2:20, croft gets up, and does his...'come walk with me, roger']

gatch also said something about adjustments having to be made to the supertitles, but i didn't understand what those would be -- adjustments also had to be made to his costume, as honeywell is taller and thinner than hymel

well, i was underwhelmed by honeywell -- his voice was weak, for most of his time on stage -- although it's amazing that pinkerton doesn't appear that much in the show -- far less than sharpless -- certainly far less than suzuki -- maybe even less than goro (the marriage broker) -- also, according to this review (for the first show, with hymel), the conductor and hymel toned down pinkerton

honeywell seemed to only let it out, when he and butterfly were finally alone, toward the end of act one, and, then, for parts of the final scene -- made me think, that he was asked...just to come in, and...be there, go through the steps, and sing the lines -- that he wouldn't have to exert his voice that much

well, i look forward to sunday

the company announced its lineup for next season, its 75th, and they're kicking it off with the biggest show of them all, 'aida,' in mid-october -- i wonder...how they'll do it -- my first thought was...what animals are they gonna have on stage -- then i wondered...how big a chorus they have -- i haven't seen, in the four productions i've attended there, many...choristers -- i'll ask, sunday, whose production it is, and...some other questions

they follow that, in november, with 'magic flute' (in english); 31-year-old nico muhy's 'dark sisters,' in january/february; 'la boheme' in march/april; and, finally, philip glass's 'orphée,' in april/may

* * *
follow-up, 3/24: what a difference a tenor makes

bryan hymel was back, as pinkerton, in pittsburgh's butterfly, and...it made...all...the dif-fe-rence -- really made...for a magical show, from start to finish

christopher hahn, the company's general director, said that hymel got his rest, sleeping very well, for three straight days, and...was back in the show, friday, and, again, sunday, when i attended

his voice is so robust -- and beautiful

here are some other musical clips, from parts of the opera, that, because of hymel, came out splendidly today

the love duet, in act one

first, a short clip, from the pittsburgh production, with borsi and hymel -- not able to put the video here, and this is the only video for the duet that turned up, for borsi or hymel

a recording of the full duet, by giuseppe di stefano and victoria de los angeles

anna moffo and renato cioni (from that 1956 italian television production)

finally, a concert with virgilijus noreika & violeta urmana

pinkerton's addio, with sharpless

hymel, from the pittsburgh production

pavarotti, in concert

franco corelli

finally, mario del monaco

caruso, 1910

there were just...so many...beautiful...musical passages...phrases -- turns of phrase -- a couple of notes, here, there -- throughout -- achingly...gorgeous -- some...so delicate, they had me...swaying...with the music -- or...cut at my heart -- or... just about...make you melt

here's one such clip -- heart-breaking -- achingly...beautiful -- and, interestingly, from cuban television -- live -- 1956

and the final scene -- again, from that live...cuban television production

makes me wonder...about the opera scene in cuba, before the communists...took over -- and...what happens...to an arts 'scene'...after a society...crumbles -- and if, conversely, people (as is the case with me), seeing...the deterioration...and ugliness, turn to art...and beauty

another final scene [great one, i came across later] -- from verona -- 2010

maria luigia borsi was magnificent again -- she's my newest love -- gorgeous singing -- acted great -- and emoted...perfectly -- maybe even better, today, than tuesday

sitting behind me, were daniel frontz's older sister and brother, and his grandparents -- they were...overjoyed -- very proud -- and said that daniel enjoyed himself tremendously -- he performed, as dolore, tuesday and sunday -- my luck

the production of 'aida'...coming to pittsburgh in october -- i was told by a woman who worked the subscription-renewal table in the lobby -- is co-owned by pittsburgh and utah -- she said it's very good

i asked her which animals they'll have, on stage -- she said that's getting more difficult to do -- i think she said...because of legal...complications -- or, maybe, just...because...it's more difficult

3/25: a more-studied review...by a local attendee

i agree with her, about the music...soaring above hymel -- and croft (sharpless) -- at least at one point (for me) -- must've been...at their...duet (?), in act three -- pinkerton's 'addio'; and her mention of the dream sequence...reminded me -- sheila and i...liked it, very much -- thought it worked, very well -- usually, i think...there's...just the music -- nothing happening, on stage -- sheila said, usually, it's just...cio-cio san...sleeping...on stage -- while the music...plays

but...how dare this reviewer...diss...my maria luigia -- i thought her acting was great -- what do i know -- certainly...not about...high notes

speaking of which, i learned...an opera...term, yesterday -- sheila (i forget why) brought up juan diego florez -- called him...'king of the high seas' (i had to have it explained to me)