A happy break

The staging of Giovanni Pergolesi's delightful intermezzo, "La Serva Padrona", wrapped in Gaetano Donizetti's miniature comic opera, "Il Campanello", at the small hall of Thailand Cultural Centre earlier this month, proved a crowd pleaser. That was probably more than anyone could have asked for from operatic rarities that were unheard of by most members of the audience.

Saran Suebsantiwongse, NUNi Productions founder and artistic director, skilfully juggled scenes from the two operas buffe that were composed more than 100 years apart, juxtaposing parallel plots to create a thematically consistent and entertaining evening.

The two operas are variations on the same theme: An old man who takes a young wife, the kind of subject that promises endless humorous possibilities, laden with no small amount of sexual innuendos.

"Il Campanello di notte" (The Night Bell), first performed in 1838, is about a resentful prankster, Enrico, whose repeated ringing of the night bell, keeps the ageing apothecary Don Annibale from consummating marriage to Serafina, Enrico's old flame. "La Serva Padrona" (The Maid turned Mistress), premiered in 1733, tells a story of a coquettish maidservant, Serpina, and her grumpy elderly master, Uberto, who discover they have been in love all along as the result, or in spite of, a scheme devised by her to entrap him into marriage.

Saran's portrayal of Enrico, with an appropriately pouty, spoilt-child look on his face, confirmed his natural comedic streak. His strongly projected baritone, splendidly pliant and unstrained, made it seem easy to sing against the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra (BSO) conducted by Yoko Takahashi.

 Enrico's tongue-twisting, impossible-to-fill prescription, with its long list of ingredients, showcased Saran's remarkable breathing control in this outstanding example of fast-talking "patter" that ranks alongside Figaro's "Largo al factotum" in Gioachino Rossini's "The Barber of Seville".    

Even though the BSO was pared down to chamber proportions, the volume it produced in the small hall during louder sections of "Il Campanello", threatened to drown out bass-baritone William Lim's Don Annibale and Monique Klongtruadloke's Serafina. The overpowering orchestra was less of a problem in "La Serva Padrona", with Pergolesi's lightly scored orchestral accompaniment.

William Lim's look coincidentally fitted that of the stereotypical Chinese pharmacy owner. His textured voice made the puffed-up Don Annibale much more than a cardboard character that is not so much set up for ridicule as something to be envied. Monique in her role as the blushing bride, Serafina, used her delicate, sweet voice and fluid phrasing exceptionally well. 

Soprano Catherine Sam Harsono shone as Serpina in "La Serva Padrona" that clearly demonstrated her mastery of the soubrette role. The role of Uberto was filled by Baritone Ken Ryan, whose voice was characterised by an uncommon lightness that made it sound almost tenor-like. If the matching of voices in "La Serva Padrona" was slightly off, the acting was superb with Uberto in a magician's outfit and Serpina in a sexy maidservant costume, engaging in a naughty fantasy.

Imaginative stage direction by Pattarasuda Anuman Rajadhon paid dividends. Alternating between two operas was done cleverly. Characters of both were on the stage together most of the time. Cast members of one opera did not leave the stage when a switch was made to the next scene from the other opera, they simply took up supporting, pantomime roles.

  Thanks to the sharp contrast in musical styles of the two operas, any confusion as to which opera was playing did not materialise.

As is usual with NUNi offerings, the settings can only be described as "sufficiency economy" in experimental performing arts taken to an extreme in a good sense. A pyramid of cardboard boxes represented a pharmacy and Serafina doubled as a wedding cake.

NUNi Productions appears to have broken new grounds in its effort to make opera accessible to young people. It has made considerable progress in the effort to blow away the cobwebbed notion that opera is a dull pastime for the moneyed elite.