Meet the ladies of Mayor Fazzobaldi‘s family, descriptions courtesy of Mark Campbell’s libretto:
Mama Bernadetta (Heather Johnson, left) and daughter Beatrice (Anne-Carolyn Bird)
Bernadetta: Mezzo-soprano. 40s–50s. Physically akin to her husband the Mayor, but taller. Pretentious,
vain, and not above having a lust for power—and material gain—that is stronger than her husband’s.
Beatrice: Soprano. Late 20s. Their daughter. As thin and delicate in physique as her parents are not. She is attractive, though looks somewhat bookish. She attended a university for one year, but was withdrawn by her mother who thought her daughter was learning the “wrong” ideas.
“Make it Land”
The phrase of the day. Comedy is hard, and comic timing in opera feels like microsurgery. Work grinds to a halt in search of the right combination of sixteenth notes and eighth note rests. But when you make the joke land, the laugh is worth the compulsion.
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