Berlioz and Beatrice Come to Seattle

By Jessica Murphy Moo



Welcome to Seattle’s world re-premiere of Beatrice and Benedict.

World re-premiere? you ask. Is that a thing?

Well, not exactly. I just made it up. But in the case of this production the usual categories don’t really fit, so allow me to explain.

To Adapt or Not to Adapt…

On the one hand Berlioz was a purist who didn’t want anyone messing with the intentions of the masters. In his Memoirs he gives a few examples of how he reacted when hearing music altered from the way his idol, Gluck, had intended it.

In the middle of a performance of Iphigénie en Tauride, for example, he shouted from the audience, “There are no cymbals there. Who has dared to correct Gluck?” and “Why aren’t the trombones playing? This is intolerable.”

Then he sat with much contentment (and one would presume, self satisfaction) through a later performance, with the same conductor, where the cymbals were quiet in the right place and the trombones sounded.

At one concert, Berlioz shouted his critique in a similar fashion and essentially started a riot. The curtain came down, people started throwing chairs, then jumped into the pit and damaged instruments.

So that’s one approach.

Berlioz also revered Shakespeare. But when he transformed Much Ado About Nothing into Beatrice and Benedict, the composer seemed OK with making cuts, changing the story, and adding some language of his own.

Some of these changes were practical, to be sure. There is no iambic pentameter in the French language, and as Aidan Lang says, only Dave Brubeck seems to work effectively with a five-beat meter. And a libretto can contain only a fraction of the word count of a play.

But Berlioz also deleted whole characters from Much Ado about Nothing. He cut Shakespeare's dark subplot, including the climactic wedding scene in which Claudio accuses Hero of betraying him.

“The nature of Berlioz’s Beatrice and Benedict,” says John Langs, Artistic Director of ACT Theatre and stage director of this production, “is a light, frothy exploration of the resistance we feel to giving over to the feelings of love. For the people who may have been burned before, who may live ‘above’ falling in love—until step by step you find you can’t stop thinking about someone.”

The opera premiered in Germany, with Berlioz conducting. Then at its second outing, a few months later, also in Germany, Berlioz also conducting, the opera was performed in a German translation.

A German translation of a French translation of an adapted English play.

Revising and adapting a piece he was in the midst of performing appears to be something Berlioz did quite often. “Berlioz was conducting a lot,” says Seattle Symphony Music Director and this evening’s maestro Ludovic Morlot. “He had a lot in common with Mahler and Beethoven. He wouldn’t hesitate to rewrite or double something in the theater to strengthen the piece. Berlioz knew that by making these changes the opera would have a better chance of success.”

Which then raises the question: How would the opera have the best chance of success in Seattle?

All Seattle’s a Stage…

When the city announced plans for the 2018 Seattle Celebrates Shakespeare festival, nearly two dozen art organizations jumped on board. Aidan Lang, who played the role of Leonato in university, thought Berlioz’s opera would be a great addition to the 2017/18 season. Seattle Opera has never presented Berlioz before. He also saw this as a great opportunity to work with some of our sister arts organizations, particularly with John Langs, who has a lot of experience directing Shakespeare, and Ludovic Morlot, who has in many ways brought French music to Seattle and particularly Berlioz this season.

They got together and realized that the work might benefit from some of that adaptation that Berlioz did at the outset.

“Berlioz loved theater,” says Aidan Lang, “but he wasn’t sophisticated theatrically. Essentially, he needed a dramaturg.”

This assessment is more or less corroborated by Berlioz in his Memoirs. After the world premiere, he writes: “The critics who had come from Paris to hear the work praised the music enthusiastically, [Beatrice’s] aria and [the Nocturne] duet [between Hero and Ursula] in particular,” writes Berlioz. “One or two of them, however, decided that there was a good deal of scrub and dead wood in the rest of the score, and that the spoken dialogue was dull. This dialogue is taken almost word for word from Shakespeare.”

The way I read this last line is that Berlioz is thinking the critics must be wrong, because Shakespeare never could be.

Morlot admits it took him a little time to come around to the idea of adapting Beatrice and Benedict. Berlioz has earned a special place in his heart. The composer grew up only miles away from Morlot’s hometown, and they share a birthday. Morlot thinks of Berlioz as France’s Beethoven. “He is one of the composers who was writing music that mattered to him more than to the audience. He was pushing boundaries. I love the individuality of his voice,” Morlot says. The more he thought about Berlioz, the more he thought that the adaptations were in step with Berlioz’s own practices.

“Then I became interested,” Morlot says.

If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On…

Dramatically, John Langs thought it made sense to add back in the crisis moment for Hero and Claudio, where Claudio believes he has seen Hero betray him and he publicly humiliates her on their wedding day. This moment raises the dramatic stakes, and pushes Benedict to choose between his friend Claudio and his love Beatrice. Benedict chooses Beatrice.

If Claudio is back in with these dramatic moments, he’d need something to sing. John Langs and Ludovic Morlot decided he needed a “vertical moment.” In Shakespeare, that might be a monologue. In opera, he gets a rage aria.

Morlot turned to Berlioz’s earlier music to see if anything might work. He chose excerpts from La damnation de Faust, Benvenuto Cellini, and L'enfance du Christ. Then John Langs mined Shakespeare’s play for suitable imagery and language for those dramatic moments.

So with the Shakespeare back in, additional Berlioz musical excerpts in, and Berlioz’s French dialogue out, we have what John Langs calls both “a grand adventure,” and “a new form.”

Or…Seattle’s world re-premiere. We hope you enjoy it!

Praise for Beatrice and Benedict

Seattle Opera presents Beatrice and Benedict. Tuffer photo

"Imaginative ... Fast-paced, action-packed and nobly sung." - The Seattle Times 

"...an interesting and intruiging adaptation." - British Theatre Guide

"Langs and Morlot did a masterful job of making a full meal out of Berlioz’s tasty hors d’oeuvres, preserving the dash and insouciance of the original; the added pathos and drama enrich it without cluttering it." - Seattle Weekly 

Daniela Mack (Beatrice) and Alek Shrader (Benedict). Tuffer photo

"Constantly on the move, this production has the cast — attired in Deborah Trout’s spectacularly colorful costumes — leaping up and down stairs on Matthew Smucker’s versatile, multilevel set. Cheers to the versatile and active Seattle Opera Chorus (John Keene, chorusmaster) and to choreographer Helen Heaslip." - The Seattle Times 

"This kind of collaboration is just the sort of thing a city-wide festival ought to do—combining the forces of three leading cultural forces to make something new and a good alternative to the original. Purists might object but Seattle Opera's production is faithful to Shakespeare's original vision in a way that enriches both Berlioz and the Seattle Opera's audience." - British Theatre Guide

Brandon O'Neill (Don Juan). Tuffer photo

"On Saturday night, the impetuous and feisty title roles were taken by Daniela Mack and Alek Shrader — both high-energy singers and compelling actors who were completely believable as opponents and as lovers. Sunday’s show had the excellent and well-matched Hanna Hipp and Andrew Owens, respectively."  - The Seattle Times 

"When Seattle Opera decided to take it on in this season of tributes to Shakespeare’s art, it expanded the opera to give it more substance for today’s audiences, an expansion which works. How could it not, with all the words by Shakespeare and all the music by Berlioz, braided into the original score to include the more dramatic aspects of the play?" - The SunBreak 

"Shelly Traverse (Hero) charmed the audience with her voice and stage presence, both lovely and unaffected."  - The Seattle Times 

Daniela Mack (Beatrice), Marvin Grays (Leonato), and Shelly Traverse (Hero). Jacob Lucas photo

"As Somarone, Kevin Burdette demonstrated once again his comic genius, even turning to Morlot at one point and chiding him in French for his sluggish musical direction." - Seattle P.I.

"Craig Verm, as her would-be husband Claudio, sang beautifully and was a compelling actor."  - The Seattle Times 

"A Seattle Chorus member who has sung roles locally, Traverse did extremely well opening night, sounding secure in her part with a clear and pretty voice well balanced with the other voices, and a good actress (as were they all). We heard baritone Craig Verm last month in Seattle Opera’s Così fan tutte. He did equally well here, while bass Daniel Sumegi (remember him in recent Wagner operas here?) sang Don Pedro."  - The SunBreak 

Shelly Traverse (Hero) and Avery Amereau (Ursule). Tuffer photo

"Marvin Grays was an effective Leonato; Daniel Sumegi a powerful Don Pedro; and Brandon O’Neill and Avery Clark were the villains you love to hate. Kevin Burdette’s over-the-top Somarone was consistently hilarious. Christine Marie Brown, Chip Sherman and Avery Amereau all shone in smaller roles."  - The Seattle Times 

"The villain behind this deception, Don Juan, is included too as a non-singing part, and Brandon O’Neill makes him richly hissable." - Seattle Weekly 

Daniel Sumegi (Don Pedro), Andrew Owens (Benedict) and Craig Verm (Claudio). Jacob Lucas photo

"Seattle Symphony music director Morlot, a well-known exponent of Berlioz’s music, stitched up this varied musical fabric into a persuasive whole, giving the singers plenty of expressive opportunities while never allowing the pace to flag. Berlioz described his own opera as 'A caprice written with the point of a needle'; Morlot wielded that precise 'needle' as his baton." - The Seattle Times 

"This is lightened up by the gorgeous set, originally built for a Seattle opera product of I Puritani, and repurposed with great effect into sunny Italy by Matthew Smucker. It comprises a multitude of staircases going every which way, a bit reminiscent of Hogwarts (although they don’t move), and while the principals are singing and arguing in witty repartee in the foreground, dozens of chorus members are going about their daily chores up and down those stairs, providing a kaleidoscope of constantly changing color and movement." - The SunBreak 

Seattle Opera presents Beatrice and Benedict. Jacob Lucas photo

"Shrader is, refreshingly, charming throughout; in the era of #MeToo, it’s a relief to see this production avoid the misogynist trope of making the heroine inexplicably fall for a jerk." - Seattle Weekly 

"Shelly Traverse was a sweet Hero, in voice and manner, and Craig Verm full of naïvely youthful ardor as Claudio, with a resonant baritone that was particularly moving in his aria swearing vengeance on Hero. Traverse and Avery Amereau as Hero’s maid Ursula delivered an enchanting Nocturne. As Somarone the town constable, a role created by Berlioz, Kevin Burdette supplied an over-the-top humor reminiscent of Shakespeare’s fools." - Queen Anne News

Hanna Hipp (Beatrice). Tuffer photo

"But it’s Berlioz’ music which carries it all. Memorable trios and duets as well as choruses and arias give plenty of scope for singers to bring out the emotions inherent in the plot. Morlot paces it perfectly, his Seattle Symphony members in the pit responding to his every nuance. Connie Yun’s lighting and Deborah Trout’s timeless and colorful costumes add considerably to the décor." - The SunBreak 

"Matthew Smucker’s multi-level set, all bridges and spiral staircases, is as light as lacework; Deborah
Trout’s costumes splash color everywhere. Langs has a fantastic eye for simple yet powerful scenic effects; I won’t spoil the surprise of what happens at the thwarted wedding. The best sight gag comes during Hero’s luscious Act 1 aria, interrupted at the end by a regiment of soldiers jogging past, ending in a gallant gesture from Claudio." - Seattle Weekly 

Shelly Traverse (Hero), Craig Verm (Claudio) and Daniela Mack (Beatrice). Jacob Lucas photo

Beatrice and Benedict plays now through March 10, 2018.
Tickets & info: seattleopera.org/beatrice
#SOBeatrice

The Genius of French Opera

La Marseillaise (Jean Béraud, 1880)

In honor of Seattle Opera's upcoming premiere of Beatrice and Benedict, today we celebrate French opera! (We're singing B&B in English, since our production kicks off Seattle Celebrates Shakespeare; but it's a very French opera.)

Ever since opera first came to France from Italy in the seventeenth century, the French have had their own wonderful way of blending the arts to create the hybrid which is opera. French opera has always been a balancing act: balancing poetry with music, musical delights with visual spectacle, dance with stasis, public with private, sorrow with high spirits, and above all balancing—and sometimes encouraging the tug-of-war between—passion and reason.

The following survey of French opera history features moments from some of our favorite French operas as performed at Seattle Opera. CLICK HERE to listen to a full playlist without interruption.

GLUCK TAKES REFORM OPERA TO FRANCE

Orphée Leads Eurydice from the Underworld (Corot, 1861)

Opera is fundamentally a fusion of music and drama, words and notes.

AIDAN LANG INTRODUCES BEATRICE & BENEDICT

Listen to or read this downloadable podcast by General Director Aidan Lang. To kick off Seattle Celebrates Shakespeare, we're proud to offer our first-ever opera by Hector Berlioz: Beatrice and Benedict, an operatic amplification of Much Ado About Nothing. Conducted by Seattle Symphony's Ludovic Morlot and directed by ACT Theatre's John Langs, this one-of-a-kind, all-new and all-Seattle production plays for only seven performances, February 24-March 10.

Hello, everyone, it's Aidan Lang here, and this time I'm here to talk about Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict.

AN OPERA AND COMPOSER NEW TO US

We do like to give our audiences in every season one opera they've never seen before. This is the first time not only that Seattle Opera will be performing Beatrice, but also an opera by Berlioz.