Utah Opera's The Marriage of Figaro

I generally prefer the tragic operas where everyone dies at the end but there are a few comedic ones that I really love and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is definitely one of them!  I had the chance to see Utah Opera's current production of this hilarious tale about a licentious nobleman and his scheming servants last night and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  Figaro (Adam Lau) and Susanna (Madison Leonard) are soon to be married but she is concerned because their employer, Count Almaviva (Michael Adams), wants to revive the feudal custom of bedding a servant on her wedding night.  The two of them devise a plan to get back at the Count by making him jealous of a fake dalliance between the love-sick page boy Cherubino (Mary Beth Nelson) and the Countess (Katherine Whyte).  Chaos ensues when the characters continue to plot and scheme, impersonate each other, and hide (often in plain sight!) in order to eavesdrop on conversations until there is a powerful and emotional moment of love and reconciliation at the end.  This opera features a lot of physical comedy, which had the audience laughing out loud, and I especially loved all of the over the top choreography as Cherubino tries to evade almost every character (a scene where he tries to hide in a chair is so funny).  The four leads are outstanding and, while this opera is definitely a farce filled with many recitatives, it does feature some lovely arias such as "Grant, love, some comfort" and "Where are they, the beautiful moments" sung very poignantly by Whyte and an emotional rendition of "Countess, forgive me" by Adams (a nice contrast to his caddish portrayal in earlier acts).  I also really enjoyed Lau's amusing version of "If you want to dance, Sir Count" as he vows to outwit Almaviva as well as the hilarious duet "After you, brilliant madam" between Leonard and Nina Yoshida Nelsen (as Marcelina, the Count's housekeeper who has designs on Figaro).  The costumes have a Downton Abbey feel to them (which makes sense for a libretto about class divisions in society) and the simple set featuring mirrored panels that rotate is very effective (although it was sometimes distracting when the stage lights are caught in the reflection).  Former Utah Symphony Associate Conductor Conner Gray Covington is making his Utah Opera debut with this production and his light touch with the orchestra is perfect for Mozart's instantly recognizable music.  Even though this opera is over three hours long, it is a lot of fun to watch so the time flies by and I think it is one that most audiences will enjoy.  There are two more performances and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Jazz vs. Celtics

It is always a lot of fun going to Utah Jazz games with my friend Angela even when it is not a very good game!  Last night the Jazz played the Boston Celtics and I think there were more Celtics fans at the Delta Center than Jazz fans (it definitely sounded like it).  The Jazz were without their leading scorer Lauri Markannen but they started the first quarter strong.  Then they relinquished their early lead at the 9:00 minute mark and never gained it back for the rest of the game.  They ended the first half down 72-57 but they rallied in the third quarter (and I started paying attention again) with some pretty three-pointers from Sexton, Collins, and Samanic.  Clarkson got them within two (and got the crowd back in the game) after trailing by double digits for most of the game and they ended the third quarter 98-91.  Then the Jazz had a disastrous fourth quarter and let the Celtics go on a 20-0 run which got the Celtics fans in the crowd (at least the ones around us) up and screaming at the top of their lungs.  It is pretty embarrassing when your team doesn't even score a basket for most of the fourth quarter!  George, who ended the night with 26 points, and Clarkson, who had 21, did what they could with a few nice jump shots in the final minutes but the Jazz had no answer for Jayson Tatum, who scored 38 points, and Derrick White, who scored 24.  They ended up losing 123-107 but I still enjoyed the game because it gave me a chance to catch up with Angela!

Io Capitano

Last night I went to the Broadway to see Io Capitano, which was nominated for the Best International Feature Academy Award and won the Silver Lion for director Matteo Garrone at the Venice Film Festival, and I was incredibly moved by this powerful story of migration.  Two Senegalese teens, Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and his cousin Moussa (Moustapha Fall), secretly work construction jobs for six months to earn enough money to emigrate to Europe for a better life. Seydou begins having second thoughts about the dangers involved but Moussa convinces him and they leave without telling their families.  They pay an exorbitant price to be taken across the Sahara Desert during a harrowing journey with a group on foot but they are separated when Moussa is arrested and Seydou ends up in a detention camp in Libya.  Seydou survives the horrors of the detention camp and being sold into indentured servitude with the help of a fellow detainee named Martin (Issaka Sawagodo) who takes him under his wing but he refuses to continue on to Italy with him in order to stay and search for Moussa in Tripoli.  He eventually finds Moussa only to discover that he was shot while escaping from prison.  Desperate to get Moussa to Italy for medical care, Seydou takes the only option available to him which is to pilot a boat, overcrowded with desperate woman and children for whom he feels responsible, in a daring journey across the Mediterranean Sea.  It was sometimes very difficult to watch everything that Seydou and Moussa go through but, even though there are lots of people who ruthlessly take advantage of their situation, there are just as many people who show them kindness and I loved the use of magical realism as a way of coping with the horrors they are experiencing.  Both Sarr and Fall give highly sympathetic and compelling performances but I was especially invested in Seydou's fate because we see everything through his eyes and he humanizes a global problem.  The suspense is almost unbearable in the third act because of how much I had come to care for these characters but I loved the ending because it is cautiously optimistic without minimizing the dangers they still face.  I loved this and would highly recommend it.

Encore: A Musical Review at the Eccles

Even though I just saw him in concert last summer at the SCERA Shell, I was so excited to be able to see Jeremy Jordan again, this time with fellow Broadway stars Kara Lindsay and Jessica Vosk, yesterday at the Eccles Theater.  I went to the matinee with my friend Wendy (we have had Broadway at the Eccles season tickets next to each other since the theater opened) and we had so much fun (we were practically screaming like thirteen year old girls during Jordan's entire set).  Voss took the stage first and began with a stirring rendition of "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl which got the crowd cheering (not for the first time).  She continued with "Almost Like Being in Love" and "Both Sides Now" and then Lindsay joined her for the beautiful duet  "I Will Never Leave You" from Side Show.  She followed this with a fun version of "Gimme, Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie and then told a funny story about having to go on as Golde in Fiddler on the Roof unexpectedly in Act 2 (she told lots of stories) before singing an amazing mash-up of "Do You Love Me?" from Fiddler, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, and "Everybody Says Don't" from Anyone Can Whistle.  She ended her set with a powerful version of "Heart of Stone" from SIX with everyone in the audience singing along (this was a really cool moment).  Lindsay took the stage next with "Not for the Life of Me" from Thoroughly Modern Millie.  She gave a hilarious performance of "Adelaide's Lament" (complete with props) and then the crowd went absolutely crazy when she sang "Watch What Happens" followed by "Something to Believe In" with Jordan (she originated the role of Katherine Plumber and he originated the role of Jack Kelly in Newsies).  I saw Lindsay as Glinda in Wicked when the Broadway touring company came to SLC (she is one of the best Glindas I've seen) so I was really excited when she sang "Popular" next.  She ended her set with lovely renditions of "My House" from Matilda and "Goodnight My Someone" from The Music Man.  Jordan began his set, as he did when I saw him last summer, with "Something's Coming" from West Side Story and then gave us a preview of the upcoming musical The Great Gatsby by singing "For Her."  He continued with "Broadway Here I Come" from the TV show Smash and "Movin' Too Fast" from the movie The Last Five Years.  Voss joined him for an incredible version of "You Matter to Me" from Waitress and then he had an audience member play Audrey II for his amusing rendition of "Grow for Me" from Little Shop of Horrors.  I was hoping for "Santa Fe" from Newsies and he obliged me with a performance that gave me goosebumps!  He was such a goofball on stage and I loved it so much!  This was a wonderful show and I'm so glad Wendy offered me the ticket!

Robot Dreams

Last night I went to the Broadway for an early access screening of Robot Dreams, a nominee for the Best Animated Feature Academy Award this year, and it made me feel all the things.  Dog lives a lonely life in a small apartment in the East Village where he spends his time playing video games, watching TV, and eating microwaved dinners.  He sees an ad for a Robot companion and decides to order one. Soon Dog and Robot are inseparable, riding the subway, roller skating in the park, rowing on the lake, eating hot dogs from street vendors, and watching The Wizard of Oz together.  At the end of the summer they take a trip to the beach and spend a fun day swimming and sunbathing but the water makes Robot rust in place and, when Dog cannot move him, he reluctantly leaves in order to get the tools to fix him.  Unfortunately, when he returns, the beach is closed for the winter and he can't get to Robot.  While they wait for the summer, Robot has a series of hopeful dreams in which he reunites with Dog while Dog goes on with his life trying to find another connection.  Eventually, Robot ends up in a scrap yard and is rebuilt by Rascal the Racoon and Dog buys another Robot named Tin.  When Robot sees Dog on the street he decides not to approach him because Dog has formed a new friendship with Tin and he has done the same with Rascal.  I found the message that friendships sometimes grow apart through no fault of anyone involved to be incredibly moving (and not at all what I was expecting) and it actually brought me to tears.  I loved that this is able to convey just about every emotion imaginable without any dialogue (I especially loved Robot's expression of wide-eyed wonder) and I loved the colorful 2-D animation.  The depiction of New York City in the 80s is perfectly realized with lots of little details that put a smile on my face and the sound design featuring the background noise of the city is very effective. Finally, the use of "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire is a lot of fun in the roller skating scene but it becomes increasingly more poignant and the movie progresses.  I do think that some of the dream sequences go on longer than they need to but I loved this more than I was expecting to and I highly recommend it when it gets a wide-release this summer.

Note:  This would be a perfect double feature with Past Lives (but only if you have enough tissues).