A Night at the Opera: Roberto Devereux
Stephanie Applin
Photo Credit: Gene Wu
Two weekends ago I had the great fortune to snag an opera ticket to see the Canadian Opera Company’s latest production, Roberto Devereux, written by Gaetano Donizetti. The titular role was played by Leonardo Capalbo, who admirably “brought it” (technical operatic term), as the Earl of Essex beloved by Queen Elizabeth the first, but himself in love with another woman, Sara, Duchess of Nottingham; the performance was kind of like watching ‘The Tudors’ through the lens of 19th century Italian opera – all of the pleasure, with none of the guilt!
The set is designed after London’s Globe Theatre
Though the opera is named for a guy, make no mistake, it’s the women here who are the stars: Allyson McHardy as Sara, and Sondra Radvanovsky as Elisabeth were outstanding. The cast members brought a lot of strong acting to their roles, and McHardy and Radvanovsky blew me away with their voices – they were so rich and big, that the guys had their work cut out for them in trying to keep up.
Allyson McHardy as Sara, Duchess of Nottingham, and Sondra Radvanovsky as Queen Elisabeth
The set and costumes also contributed nicely to the story; like many young women, I’m a sucker for a big dress and jewels, which led me to remark to my date (my mum), “I should probably only see operas about wealthy people, the costumes are so much more interesting”. Radvanovsky does such a stellar job of embodying the aging queen, using tremours, a stooped figure, and, of course, her voice, to portray a queen who is in turns growing decrepit, vengeful, and finally, broken by heartache. The standing ovation was long and enthusiastic, a rare thing, according to my mum, who remarked that folks are usually keen to book it to the subway once a performance wraps up.
Leonardo Capalbo as Roberto Devereux is admonished by the Queen
Another feature of this opera which was a real treat was seeing a friend on stage: Stephanie Applin, who plays the role of one of four ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth. After seeing the opera, I asked Steph a couple questions about what it’s like to don the makeup and costume, what’s going on backstage, and how she became involved in the COC…
Can you introduce yourself and your role in Roberto Devereux?
My name is Stephanie Applin and I am a supernumerary, or super (for short!) in the Canadian Opera Company (COC) production of Roberto Devereux. A super is a non-speaking role in an opera, something I usually liken to being an extra in a movie. Male supers are often guards, soldiers, sailors, townsfolk while female supers are often ladies-in-waiting or courtesans. And of course it takes everyone to fill up a crowd or market scene! In Roberto Devereux I play one of four ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.
How long does it take for the whole cast to get their hair and makeup done for each performance? How long does it take to get ready, just yourself? Is it fun to get so dressed up?
Call times, the time you must be at the theatre in order to get your hair, makeup and costume on, vary depending on the production, the amount of work and complexity to the hair/makeup/costume and also the total number of people. By that I mean that if there are more people in a show your call time will likely be earlier to allow for enough time. So, with that said, I can tell you how long it takes for me, as everyone is different. My official call time is one hour before the curtain in the makeup chair, however I have to be dressed in the bottom half of my dress since nothing can go over my head once my hair and makeup are done. So, an hour and fifteen. In this show they use my real hair, whereas in previous shows my hair has either been too short or they needed to use a wig because they wanted a different colour or look. The makeup is pretty minimal by stage makeup-standards: it’s very natural-looking and if I don’t take my makeup off after the show and just jump on the TTC no one’s the wiser! It IS fun to get so dressed up! It’s such a unique experience to wear these huge period gowns as our contemporary formal wear does not compare. We have a dresser who helps us get dressed and that, too, is such a throwback. There are uncomfortable and/or challenging aspects to the dresses – we have to sit on small stools as we can’t fit into regular chairs, we barely fit through door frames – but those are barely worth mentioning for the short amount of time we get to wear these dresses.
What goes on back stage during intermission?
For the ladies-in-waiting, not much! We come off stage about 10 minutes before the end of the first act and there is nothing prescribed during the intermission for supers. We visit with each other, with other folks in the cast and take fun photos in costume.
How did you become involved in the COC?
I became involved when my neighbour, who sang with the COC Chorus, came home after a rehearsal of Madame Butterfly and mentioned to my mum how difficult it was trying to find a boy to play the title character’s young son (something about not sitting still…). So I was in my first opera when I was four, in the COC’s 1990 production of Madama Butterfly, as Butterfly’s 3 year old son. As Butterfly is Japanese and the opera is set in Japan they spray-dyed my hair for each show! Since then I have been in a dozen or so shows, including singing in the children’s chorus in Hansel & Gretel in 1998 with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company. I have been a flower-seller, a contessa, a dead-bride, a courtesan, a Greek villager and a turban-clad Algerian servant. This is the second time I have worn an Elizabethan dress, as I was in the second instalment of this Tudor Trilogy, Maria Stuarda, in 2010.
Thank you so much, Steph!
If you’re under 30, you can get tickets to COC productions for $22! Roberto Devereux plays at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto until May 21, 2014. Get your tickets here!
Update: Stephanie wrote about us, writing about her on her own blog! Check it out here. …what a gem!
