Monday, June 12, 2000
CSO, Riverbend, Shakespeare blend into a satisfying mix
By Nicole Hamilton
The Cincinnati Enquirer
There is the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at Music Hall, and then there is the same orchestra at Riverbend.
There are similarities - the quality of the performance (excellent), most of the musicians are the same, and you still have to dip into your savings to afford a coke.
But Saturday night's CSO concert at Riverbend, “Shakespeare Saturday,” featuring music written for adaptations of the Bard's plays, was performed under stars instead of chandeliers, making it an earthy experience.
Watching guest artist soprano Theresa Santiago and conductor John Morris Russell laugh as they paused before Verdi's aria “Sul Fil d'un Soffio Etesio” from Falstaff, to let a noisy barge pass on the river behind the stage, was one human moment among many.
Felix Mendelssohn was 17 years old - the year most are happy just having a driver's license - when he completed the Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, composed mostly in his family's garden.
The evening's opener, the performance was tight and clean. The flourishing, playful violin part, written to emulate dancing elves, was especially articulate.
The chirping birds were fitting, as Mendelssohn, a lover of nature, strived to bring elements of the outdoors to his work.
Giuseppe Verdi's dramatic “Waltz” from the opera Macbeth is
a riveting and suspenseful piece, and the CSO's powerful interpretation was sharp and textured.
Clearly confident in her individual style, that is both rich and lyrical, soprano Theresa Santiago gave a strong, emotive performance of Verdi's “Willow Song” and “Ave Maria” from the opera Othello.
But acoustics are different at Riverbend and balance between Ms. Santiago and the orchestra was off, making it difficult to hear Ms. Santiago at times.
The balance was a little better when Ms. Santiago returned for Verdi's, “Sul Fil d'un Soffio Etesio” (Nanetta's Aria), from the opera Falstaff.
When Sergei Prokofiev first wrote the ballet Romeo and Juliet, he made a few changes. For one thing, he gave it a happy ending.
The CSO performed six parts of the ballet, that was eventually an enormous success in the Soviet Union (sans the happy ending).
“Montagues and Capulets,” an especially somber, haunting characterization of the feuding families, featured a dynamic brass section.
Under a pitch black night sky, the CSO finished the night's performance with “Romeo at Juliet's Grave.”
Powerful and haunting, yes.
But ironically it was a happy ending to the Prokofiev classic - and the evening - just the same.
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