Capriccio (opera) by AVA

Last weekend we went to see Capriccio by Curtis institute. Capriccio is the final opera by German
composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". Having never seen the opera before, and arriving late, I was mostly disoriented about the plot and the dialogs between the singers. Germanic language is very different from Italian language, which derived from Latin. Eventhough, Germanic language is a part of old English family, composed of Dutch and Afikanns. It was hard to sense what the dialogs were about. During the intermission, we were served hot chocolate as in the opera, the singers were to take a "chocolate" break, it was very sweet for them to treat the audience using part of the plot. Our favorite soprano, Michelle Johnson, who is a second year resident artistis of AVA, play the Countess, the sister of the Count. Having performed on many bigger stages, it was an easy, relaxed time for Johnson to really emphasize her acting skills. (She is not being poisoned this time as she was in Il Trovatore :)) Another loud applause goes to Olivia Vote, who is also AVA second year resident artist. Her breathing technique was amazing, her voice was resonating in both high and low register. We really enjoyed her singing :) The opera is full of action, singing, talking, love and irony. At the end, the Countess could not choose between Music and words, and each represented a suitor. The opera ended purposely before the countess made her decision. I assume if there was an ending to Capriccio, the Countess would have chosen neither suitor because words and music is inseparable.

The final scene from Capriccio, the Countess struggling to make a decision.



Click here to see a review by Robert Baxter.