In its West Coast Premiere of a modern opera based on Leo Tolstoy’s most famous novel, Opera San Jose follows its stellar record of handling Russian classic with taste and respect. Following in the footsteps of unforgettable Eugene Onegin in 2008, OSJ, led by its visionary founder and general director Irene Dalis, opened 2010-2011 season with a remarkably pleasing production of Anna Karenina, created by David Carlson, composer, and Colin Graham, librettist, and conducted by Stewart Robertson. The compressed literary version of the grand and highly nuanced novel manages to deliver the great author’s basic messages reflecting Tolstoy’s own soul-searching at the time. Love and passion, sin and redemption, betrayal and forgiveness, and an overarching notion of that special Russian spirituality that cannot submit to pressure of a physical being, come through in the libretto, in the music with remote Russian folk- and church tonal references, and in the talented cast’s inspired performances. Soprano Jasmina Halimic, just joining the resident company, shines in the title role, first as a tall, beautiful, dignified spouse of a state official, crème de la crème of Russian aristocracy, then as a wretched soul, torn by the affairs of her heart, destroyed by society, and pushed to her ultimate demise, which, according to her creator, was the only outcome for a female in pursuit of happiness outside marriage. Ms. Halimic leads her viewers through all the stages of her character’s transformation with grace and impeccable skill, even at the end, when music actually fails the singer. Anna’s final moments, clearly predicted in the libretto by multiple references to tapping sounds of metal on iron and her recurrent nightmares, were entirely missed from the score. Perhaps, the washed-out finale was imposed by the composer for the sake of the American viewership’s fragile psyche and indestructible longing for happy ending… That was conveyed, rather didactically, in the final scene of Kitty and Levin (wonderfully performed by Khori Dastoor and Michael Dailey) walking into the sunset… The entire production’s success and visual precision was in a large part secured by the stage director Brad Dalton, set designer Steven Kemp, costume designer Elizabeth Poindexter, lighting designer Kent Dorsey, and wig and makeup designer Jeanna Parham. Not-to-be-missed Anna Karenina will continue through September 26 at the beautifully restored historic California Theatre, 345 South First St., San Jose. 408-437-4450, www.operasj.org. Image: courtesy OSJ. Jasmina Halimic as Anna, Krassen Karagiozov as Vronsky.
Jasmina Halimic’s Anna Karenina Perfectly Alive in Opera San Jose
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By Emma Krasov
In its West Coast Premiere of a modern opera based on Leo Tolstoy’s most famous novel, Opera San Jose follows its stellar record of handling Russian classic with taste and respect. Following in the footsteps of unforgettable Eugene Onegin in 2008, OSJ, led by its visionary founder and general director Irene Dalis, opened 2010-2011 season with a remarkably pleasing production of Anna Karenina, created by David Carlson, composer, and Colin Graham, librettist, and conducted by Stewart Robertson. The compressed literary version of the grand and highly nuanced novel manages to deliver the great author’s basic messages reflecting Tolstoy’s own soul-searching at the time. Love and passion, sin and redemption, betrayal and forgiveness, and an overarching notion of that special Russian spirituality that cannot submit to pressure of a physical being, come through in the libretto, in the music with remote Russian folk- and church tonal references, and in the talented cast’s inspired performances. Soprano Jasmina Halimic, just joining the resident company, shines in the title role, first as a tall, beautiful, dignified spouse of a state official, crème de la crème of Russian aristocracy, then as a wretched soul, torn by the affairs of her heart, destroyed by society, and pushed to her ultimate demise, which, according to her creator, was the only outcome for a female in pursuit of happiness outside marriage. Ms. Halimic leads her viewers through all the stages of her character’s transformation with grace and impeccable skill, even at the end, when music actually fails the singer. Anna’s final moments, clearly predicted in the libretto by multiple references to tapping sounds of metal on iron and her recurrent nightmares, were entirely missed from the score. Perhaps, the washed-out finale was imposed by the composer for the sake of the American viewership’s fragile psyche and indestructible longing for happy ending… That was conveyed, rather didactically, in the final scene of Kitty and Levin (wonderfully performed by Khori Dastoor and Michael Dailey) walking into the sunset… The entire production’s success and visual precision was in a large part secured by the stage director Brad Dalton, set designer Steven Kemp, costume designer Elizabeth Poindexter, lighting designer Kent Dorsey, and wig and makeup designer Jeanna Parham. Not-to-be-missed Anna Karenina will continue through September 26 at the beautifully restored historic California Theatre, 345 South First St., San Jose. 408-437-4450, www.operasj.org. Image: courtesy OSJ. Jasmina Halimic as Anna, Krassen Karagiozov as Vronsky.
In its West Coast Premiere of a modern opera based on Leo Tolstoy’s most famous novel, Opera San Jose follows its stellar record of handling Russian classic with taste and respect. Following in the footsteps of unforgettable Eugene Onegin in 2008, OSJ, led by its visionary founder and general director Irene Dalis, opened 2010-2011 season with a remarkably pleasing production of Anna Karenina, created by David Carlson, composer, and Colin Graham, librettist, and conducted by Stewart Robertson. The compressed literary version of the grand and highly nuanced novel manages to deliver the great author’s basic messages reflecting Tolstoy’s own soul-searching at the time. Love and passion, sin and redemption, betrayal and forgiveness, and an overarching notion of that special Russian spirituality that cannot submit to pressure of a physical being, come through in the libretto, in the music with remote Russian folk- and church tonal references, and in the talented cast’s inspired performances. Soprano Jasmina Halimic, just joining the resident company, shines in the title role, first as a tall, beautiful, dignified spouse of a state official, crème de la crème of Russian aristocracy, then as a wretched soul, torn by the affairs of her heart, destroyed by society, and pushed to her ultimate demise, which, according to her creator, was the only outcome for a female in pursuit of happiness outside marriage. Ms. Halimic leads her viewers through all the stages of her character’s transformation with grace and impeccable skill, even at the end, when music actually fails the singer. Anna’s final moments, clearly predicted in the libretto by multiple references to tapping sounds of metal on iron and her recurrent nightmares, were entirely missed from the score. Perhaps, the washed-out finale was imposed by the composer for the sake of the American viewership’s fragile psyche and indestructible longing for happy ending… That was conveyed, rather didactically, in the final scene of Kitty and Levin (wonderfully performed by Khori Dastoor and Michael Dailey) walking into the sunset… The entire production’s success and visual precision was in a large part secured by the stage director Brad Dalton, set designer Steven Kemp, costume designer Elizabeth Poindexter, lighting designer Kent Dorsey, and wig and makeup designer Jeanna Parham. Not-to-be-missed Anna Karenina will continue through September 26 at the beautifully restored historic California Theatre, 345 South First St., San Jose. 408-437-4450, www.operasj.org. Image: courtesy OSJ. Jasmina Halimic as Anna, Krassen Karagiozov as Vronsky.
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