“A remarkable performance full of valor and verve” — words sung by one of the characters in “Songbird” — is a fitting description to Washington National Opera’s comic opera production at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater. Based on Jacques Offenbach’s “La Périchole,” “Songbird” maintains the nineteenth-century Offenbach French operetta tradition and the spirit of his can-can style, while also rendering the production modern and unique.
“Modern,” in this context, means updating the time and action to Mardis Gras in jazz-infused New Orleans during the Roaring Twenties. General Director Timothy O’Leary and Artistic Director Francesco Zambello, two of the masterminds behind this retelling of “La Périchole,” note in the program that “we landed on New Orleans, a place where the lyrics could be in French, as in the original libretto, and also in English — a hybrid Franglaise.” The rhymes in the lyrics shift between English and French, creating a very special charm. Similarly, the 1920s jazz reimagining has elements of French chanson added to the beautiful melodies of Offenbach. Instead of a large symphonic orchestra usually expected to accompany opera, there is a wonderfully versatile jazz band on stage. Pianist Jo Ann Daugherty played stride and has especially fine moments in “O mon cher amant.”
To enhance the humor, musical sounds and instruments were used not only for dance music and lilting arias but also for sound effects — not unlike musical accompaniment in a 1920’s silent film. Strobe lights and a Keystone Kops-style sequence at the end close of the performance also channeled silent cinema specifically and 1920s culture generally.
Having just come out of the Mardi Gras season ourselves, we must praise the costumes done in 1920s flare, complete with flapper dresses, cloche hats, and bobbed hairstyles. In the song “Celebrons,” there are over-the-top feather and butterfly costumes — all executed superbly by Marsha LeBoef and Timmy Burrow. Offenbach’s operettas are already a wonderful example of a segue between the worlds of opera, the American musical theatre, and the 1920’s ambiance — with Broadway, and vaudeville routines enhancing this feeling to the point that audience members were heard afterward to ask, with delight, “Did I just see an operetta or a musical?” What they saw was, in fact, an amalgamation of opera, jazz, and a little bit of Broadway. The talented conductor, orchestrator, and arranger James Lowe keeps the essentials and authenticity of all three styles.
Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard appears born to play the part of the heroine Songbird, dressed in flapper style, fluent in French chanson stylistics and able to sing American English colloquialisms with deadpan delivery. When asked to marry a man whom she thinks is a total stranger to fit the designs and satisfy the lusts of the notorious mayor Don Andrès, she sings a sonorous: “No way!” She then shows her operatic virtuosity in the beautiful aria “Ah! que les hommes sont bêtes!” (alternating in English with “Ah! Men are such fools!”).
“My Songbird” is sung by Ramin Karimloo as Piquillo, Songbird’s fellow struggling artist with whom she is in love and whom she unknowingly marries. Better known for famous Broadway roles, Mr, Karimloo displays his versality in a voice with qualities of both an operatic tenor and a musical theatre star.
Perhaps the most enjoyable character is Don Andrès, sung and enacted with joie de vivre by Edward Nelson. A highly negative character who shames Songbird through his evil plot to make her his mistress by, ironically, getting her married to someone else, he nonetheless dons many humorous disguises, sings with a delightful baritone voice, takes a turn at the piano with the band, and performs a duet with the clarinet as he intones “Nobody Tells Me No!” Another entertaining comic turn had Mr. Nelson dressed in a conspicuous splashy style while singing ironically about his “successful” incognito disguise.
It being Offenbach, there are can-can musical moments, and this being the 1920’s “Songbird” version of Offenbach, there are flamboyant Mardi Gras elements as well, such as streamers, “Queen of the Mardis Gras,” and the aforementioned costumes.
The production runs 75 minutes with no intermission and continues through March 23. For further information visit tinyurl.com/4jf436an.
