Arts & Society

Mary Bird • June 18, 2012

First Lady Michelle Obama served as Honorary Chair of the 2012 Smithsonian Craft Show. The April 18 Preview Night Benefit drew an enthusiastic crowd to the National Building Museum. Craft Show Co-chairs Anne-Lise Auclair-Jones and Ann Peel joined with Wendy Somerville Wall, President Smithsonian Women’s Committee, for what is widely regarded as the country’s most prestigious juried show and sale of fine American craft featuring 121 distinguished craft artists for the 30th Anniversary Celebrating the Creative Spirit of America. [gallery ids="100765,123282,123241,123275,123249,123270,123257,123265" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

Basking in the stellar reviews of Alice (in Wonderland), The Washington Ballet is partnering with Imagination Stage in Bethesda for The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, which will run June 20-August 12, promising a dazzling fusion of dance, acting and puppetry. On April 19, Evonne Connolly, Jean-Marie Fernandez and Anna Marie Parisi-Trone hosted a spring trend fashion presentation at Saks Chevy Chase. WB Artistic Director Septime Webre and his companion stuffed lion encouraged everyone to “step through the wardrobe into the magical world of Narnia. [gallery ids="100766,123299,123272,123292,123280,123288" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

Ambassador of Japan Ichiro Fujisaki and Mrs. Fujisaki were the Honorary Diplomatic Chairs at this year’s WPAS Gala and Auction which took place at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel on April 21. NBC4 Anchor Barbara Harrison emceed the event which headlined musical giant Brian Stokes Mitchell. Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell astutely noted that “if we could get Congressmen singing and dancing together, we might get something done.” Among its many outreach activities, the WPAS Embassy Adoption Program has touched the lives of over 60,000 children. [gallery ids="123393,123327,123387,123336,123381,123345,123376,123361,123369" nav="thumbs"]

Gary Tischler •

We were almost late to the Washington National Opera premiere production of Giuseppi Verdi’s spectacular and inventive “Nabucco” last Saturday because our cab driver drove smack into the crowd scene surrounding the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton.

Rubberneckers hoping to see George Clooney or Lindsay Lohan lined parts of Connecticut Avenue in the beginning rain. We settled for “Nabucco,” aka Nabucodonosor, aka Nebuchadnezzar, plus his two daughters Fenena, the lovely, and Abigaille, the fierce, plus a host of Hebrews in captivity, a high priest of Baal and a cast of hundreds including a magnificent chorus.

I thought about the WHCD a little during the long course of “Nabucco” because director Thaddeus Strassberger (who also designed the sets) brought a two-edged sensibility to the production, a kind of showtime aspect as well a faithful presentation of the kind of opera for which Verdi was famous.

Strassberger’s main conceit or invention is to stage the opera as it might be seen on an opening night in Milan’s Teatro alla Scala on March 9, 1842, with the tuxedoed swells and their jeweled ladies in boxes watching from boxes, presaged by marching soldiers. He revisits the concept later in the opera when the stage is transformed, with a large, white-clad chorus assembling to sing the moving “Va, pensiero,” a musical piece so powerful that it became the unofficial national anthem of Italy once it achieved unification. Closer to the front of the stage, you can see a ballerina practicing, men and women milling at a table, and patrons of the time moving about.

This apparently approximated performance practices of the times–frequent intermissions, prologues, performances by ballet dancers, a kind of informality that was both grand and intimate.

Since “Va, pansiero” is a kind of longing, full-bodied lament on the part of the Israelites in captivity in Babylon for the lost homeland, one might think the business on the stage might distract from the plight. But the opposite takes hold–it becomes a moving, extended moment (which had echoes for a divided and occupied Italy), so moving that it is done again, with the hope that the audiences of the time might join in.

Historically, “Va, pansiero” is a highlight of any production of “Nabucco.” That was true for the WNO production, but Verdi’s music, so expansive and such a boon for the orchestra, draped itself over the principals, all of them in various degrees gifted with requisite vocal and acting skills. While several narrative strands emerge from the opera–there’s Nabucco’s calamitous, blasphemous destruction of Solomon’s Temple, the defeat and captivity of the Hebrews and the effect on their leaders — a love affair between one Fenena and a handsome Hebrew warrior, the anti-hero and anti-heroine of “Nabucco” are the Babylonian king and his low-born, grandly angry and resentful warrior daughter Abigaille.

While there are imposing vocals and star turns by bass Soloman Howard as a venomous high priest of Baal, Turkish bass Burak Bilgili as the Hebrew leader Zaccaria, French mezzo-soprano Geraldine Chauvet in a moving performance as Fenena and tenor Sean Panikar in heroic form as Ismael, the burden of the opera has to be carried by Italian baritone Franco Vassallo as Nabucco and Hungarian soprano Csilla Boross, as his usurping daughter as Abigaille. They occupy large chunks of this nearly three-hour opera, sometimes in cross-purposed, combative duets, sometimes by themselves, especially Vassallo as Nabucco moves in and out of madness alone in a prison cells. Boross hits the highest notes possible at the top of the scale in full rage, her bile and resentment boiling over, preceded by lower-level guile as she attempts to manipulate the king.

This is Verdi-style grand opera, of course, and not to be mistaken for history, per se, although the scale and sources are somewhat biblical–gods, the Babylonian Baal and the Hebrew Jehovah, are omni-present if not in the flesh. The production–subtle in some of its staging–also means to bowl you over with sheer grandiosity, and it succeeds. Mattie Ullrich’s diverse, eye-pleasing costume designs–the clean white of the Hebrews contrasts sharply with the rich, intricate, gold and greens of the Babylonian hierarchy, mixing in with more spectral presences and the 19th-century evocations of the on-stage onlookers.

“Nabucco” is being performed at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House through May 21. [gallery ids="102449,121127,121137,121133" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

The Helen Hayes Tribute, sponsored by Jaylee Mead, was presented at the Warner Theatre on April 23 to Kevin Spacey. Chairman of the theatreWashington Board of Directors Victor Shargai termed him a man who understands that theatre is a transforming experience. Spacey delighted the audience with tales such as when his mentor Jack Lemmon recommended him for an apartment in New York by saying of the then young actor “the only things he’s ever stolen are my scenes.” Greater Washington is second only to New York for the number of yearly productions.

Robert Devaney •

The parties before and after the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, April 28, are at least half the fun of running around town, whether to Vote Latino at the Hay Adams, NPR’s party at the Gibson Guitar Showroom, Tammy Haddad’s brunch at Mark Ein’s house on R Street (the former home of Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham), the newly launched Google party, the Time reception at the St. Regis, the Capitol File party at the Newseum or the MSNBC party at the Italian Embassy. Of course, the pre-dinner receptions at the Washington Hilton are great for checking out the scene. Just show a ticket to the guard at the escalator. And, of course, the main event itself, where the president and Jimmy Kimmel threw out jokes on the GSA, Secret Service, Mitt Romney, dogs and the media. Thank goodness for the McLaughlin Group-Thomson Reuters brunch on Sunday atop the Hay-Adams: a sunny, mellow way to recover from the parties with friends and colleagues. Yeah, it was sort of a nerd prom when “glitz meets geeks,” as one smartie observed, but it’s ours for a few days in April each year. [gallery ids="100769,123448,123441,123433,123428,123461,123420,123468,123413,123475,123405,123482,123454" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

Once again the Corcoran Gallery transformed into an exhibit gala of guests, dinner and dance for its 57th annual ball April 20. Under the honorary patronage of France’s Ambassador Francois Delattre and his wife Sophie and the honorary chair of artist Sam Gilliam, the ball chair Deborah de Gorter threaded the galleries with happy, art-loving partiers and patrons. [gallery ids="100771,123521,123514,123485,123508,123501,123493" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

The Mellon Auditorium glistened with red and gold as dancers celebrated the Washington Ballet’s own premiere take on Lewis Carroll’s fantasy. Guests were welcomed by Sylvia de Leon, Elizabeth Bagley and Septime Webre and treated to a dance selection of the work and performances by student dancers. [gallery ids="100772,100772,123530,123509,123530,123509,123517,123525" nav="thumbs"]

Gary Tischler •

(To read the review of “Nabucco”, pick up the May 2nd issue of The Georgetowner)

Look at it any way you want–and there’s lots to look at–“Nabucco” is a big deal. It is also the nickname for Nebuchadnezzar II, he of the hanging gardens and destruction of Solomon’s Temple.

The source: the Bible and the clash between the ancient Israelites and the ancient Babylonians.

The story: rivals for a crown, queens and kings, illegitimate royals, love, sex and violence.

The music: One of Guiseppe Verdi’s greatest and first hits, this opera includes a famous chorus which became Italy’s unofficial national anthem.

The numbers: 250 costumes, eight principals, a chorus of 68, a cast of 115.

For the Washington National Opera, it’s a first-time production of the epic opera, directed by the electrifying young American Thaddeus Strassberger and conducted by Philippe Auguin, running April 28 through May 21 at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House.

For costume designer Mattie Ullrich, making her WNO debut, “Nabucco” is “a dream assignment.” “I love my job,” she says.
“One of the great things about this is that I’ve worked with Theodore before. So, we know a little bit about each other. So, we can communicate, ” said Ullrich. A vivacious, energetic and articulate redhead (“It’s starting to get a little dark,” she quipped), she likes a challenge.

“And Nabucco is a challenge,” she said. “I mean we have over 200 costumes. So, it’s quite an undertaking.”

“It’s an epic, that’s true, but you have to treat the costumes in individual terms,” she said. “They have to say something about who the characters are, what they do, their role and their personalities.” She moves easily from epic to intimate, from grand opera to off-Broadway plays and onto film.

“The first thing you do is listen to the music,” Ullrich said. “This is grand, big, operatic music. I immerse myself. I try to feel and memorize the music so that when you sit down, you have the story, the music memorized and you start to think about the characters, the people. That’s how the designs emerge. You think about what fabrics would work, how they look on people and the drawings and watercolors emerge. Then, you work closely with the talented people in the costume shop. You listen to them and their ideas.”

“When I was a young child, I saw a costume shop in a summer theatre at camp and I thought, ‘This is my playground.’ ”

Downstairs below, you walk through the various rooms, where — just a few days from the opening of the opera — it’s a little like whirling through a hallway full of hidden rooms and mirrors. Actors are getting fitted for flowing robes, a crown–designed by Ullrich–lies waiting, dark, green silk is draped over a mannequin, and the warrior-daughter’s breast plate sits waiting.

“The paintings emerge first,” she said. “Then, there’s the hunt for fabrics. I’m hands-on but not in the sense that I do the actual cutting, that’s where the dyers, the cutters, the drapers come in, the wonderfully talented people in the costume shop.” (Marsha Leboeuf is the WNO costume director.)

Down here, it’s a kind of magic–the way silk flows and folds, the dazzling (costume) jewelry, the crown, almost for real. Words hardly ever heard or spoken in most persons’ conversations: the lustrous sound of “silk chiffon,” for instance. It takes you back–thousands of years, in point of fact.

“It’s not Cecil B. De Mille, exactly,” she says. “It’s more soulful than that. But it is big.”
Her husband, John Sharp, runs a gastro pub, rich in high-end beer, called Birdsall House, named after a famous Scottish tavern. The couple live in New York.

“I like big operas like ‘Les Huguenots,’ but I just worked on a film, ‘Year of the Fish,’ that went to Sundance Film Festival,” she says.

Looking at some of the sketches and watercolors of the costumes, you can see her soulful, colorful work–costumes that shine with the music, hearts and soulful story of “Nabucco.”
[gallery ids="100758,123133,123129" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

Conrad Cafritz, Chairman of Modus Hotels, welcomed fortunate guests to a preview of Avenue Suites and the West End’s newest outdoor cocktail destination A Bar. Guests enjoyed lychee martinis accompanied by tempting nibbles. DJ Neekola was joined by New York-based electric violinist Sarah Charness. Highlights were the sun dappled patio and a second floor suite draped in chocolates and desserts where guests could win a weekend stay at Avenue Suites, chef’s tasting at Marcel’s and a gift card to A Bar. [gallery ids="100761,123198,123161,123193,123168,123188,123174,123182" nav="thumbs"]