Arts & Entertainment
Genre-defying ‘Diva’
Opera legend Racette out with live album of cabaret and standards
Cover art for Patricia Racette’s new album ‘Diva on Detour.’ (Image courtesy GPR Records)
Opera legend Patricia Racette — who was just in Washington last month for the lead in Washington National Opera’s production of “Manon Lescaut” — is switching gears radically (at least temporarily) and has released a live album of cabaret-esque standards called, appropriately, “Diva on Detour.”
The album, recorded almost exactly a year ago, finds her covering standards such as “I Got Rhythm,” “Here’s That Rainy Day” and several French numbers associated with Edith Piaf (“La Vie En Rose” et. al.). For those of us who only know Racette by her stunning opera singing, this recording is a real jolt. I wondered, going into it, if she would still sound like an opera singer using, in some capacity, her opera voice — kind of the inverse of what Aretha Franklin does when she tackles opera. No matter the aria, Franklin sings them as a soul/pop singer would. Racette, however, sings in a totally different register and little on the disc would indicate to those unfamiliar with her career, that she even possessed the stratospheric range she does.
Racette, down to earth and unpretentious with the audience, makes a joke of this telling of how her late mother Jackie used to admonish her to “sing in your chest voice.” Racette also tells how this was the music — not opera — on which she cut her musical teeth.
Racette, who’s performed cabaret sets at Alexandria’s Birchmere among other venues, is convincing throughout. Her interpretive abilities with this kind of material are impressive and she’s a master of phrasing and nuance. However the singer — who’s been out as a lesbian for years — would not likely have ever gained fame had she used this kind of music as her launching pad. While a delight to hear, no other recording I’ve heard comes close to illuminating the musical concept of tessitura — the range at which a human voice is at its loveliest. It has nothing to do with range — Racette handles these relatively low notes (for her) with ease. At no point on the album does she sound in the least bit strained or vocally “reaching.” And while it’s a delight to hear, she’s no Linda Eder or Patti LuPone when it comes to this kind of thing.While they could never hope to hit the high notes Racette hits in opera, their voices have a luster and sheen in this range that Racette’s voice lacks.
Still no one should begrudge Racette a side project like this. Her aforementioned interpretive abilities more than justify the disc. Music lovers, however, should know that this is ultimately a curiosity piece. Brilliant pianist Craig Terry — the only accompaniment here — is perfect throughout. He supports the singer skillfully by helping to keep things moving while never getting in the way. Go here to find out more about the project.
Honoring Individual Power and Strength (HIPS) will celebrate its 30th anniversary by providing essential health and social services on Saturday, April 5 at 6 p.m. at 906 H St., N.E.
This event will be a celebration of the ongoing generosity of local D.C. business, philanthropists, and residents who step up to help us support those most in need in our neighborhoods. At this event you will join other HIPS stakeholders and community members for music and performances from local queer talent and learn more about some of the work the group has accomplished in the past 30 years to ensure everyone in our neighborhoods has access to HIV, viral hepatitis, and STI testing. For more details, visit the HIPS website.
Capital Pride Alliance and the Washington Wizards will host “Pride Night” on Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. Ticket purchases come with a limited-edition Wizards Pride belt bag. There are limited quantities.
Tickets start at $31 and can be purchased on the Wizards’ website.
Theater
Celebrated local talent Regina Aquino is back on the boards
Queer actor starring in Arena Stage’s ‘The Age of Innocence’
‘The Age of Innocence’
Through March 30
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $59
Arenastage.org
Actor, director, and now filmmaker, celebrated local talent Regina Aquino is back on the boards in Arena Stage’s “The Age of Innocence,” staged by the company’s artistic director Hana S. Sharif.
Adapted by Karen Zacarías from Edith Wharton’s 1920 masterpiece novel, the work surrounds a love triangle involving New York scion Newland Archer, his young fiancée, and the unconventional beauty Countess Olenska. The Gilded Age-set piece sets up a struggle between rigid societal norms and following one’s own heart.
Aquino — a queer-identified first-generation Filipino immigrant who grew up in the DMV— is the first Filipino American actress to receive a Helen Hayes Award (2019). She won for her work in Theater Alliance’s “The Events.”
In “The Age of Innocence,” Aquino plays Newland’s mother Adeline Archer, a widow who lives with her unmarried, socially awkward daughter Janey. No longer a face on the dinner party circuit, she does enjoy gossiping at home, especially with her close friend Mr. Sillerton Jackson, a “confirmed bachelor” and social arbiter. Together, they sip drinks and talk about what’s happening among their elite Manhattan set.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Do you like Mrs. Archer?
REGINA AQUINO: There’s a lot of joy in playing this character. She’s very exuberant in those moments with her bestie Sillerton. Otherwise, there’s not much for her to do. In Wharton’s book, it says that Mrs. Archer’s preferred pastime is growing ferns.
BLADE: But she can be rather ruthless?
AQUINO: When it comes to her family, yes. She’s protective, which I understand. When she feels that her family’s under attack in any way, or the structure of the society that upholds way of life is threatened, she leans hard into that.
The rare times that she’s out in society you see the boundaries come up, and the performative aspect of what society means. She can be very mean if she wants to be.
BLADE: Can you relate?
AQUINO: I come from a large Filipino matriarchal family. Mrs. Archer is someone I recognize. When I’m in the Philippines, I’m around people like that. People who will do business with you but won’t let you into their inner circle.
BLADE: Did you ever imagine yourself playing a woman like Mrs. Archer?
AQUINO: No. However, in the past couple of years diversely cast TV shows like “Bridgerton” and “Queen Charlotte” have filled a need for me that I didn’t I know I had.
With stories like “The Age of Innocence” that are so specific about American history, they aren’t always easily imagined by American audiences when performed by a diverse cast.
But when Karen [Zacarías] wrote the play, she imagined it as a diverse cast. What they’re presenting is reflective of all the different people that make up America.
BLADE: You seem a part of many groups. How does that work?
AQUINO: For me, the code switching is real. Whether I’m with my queer family, Filipinos, or artists of color. It’s different. The way we talk about the world, it shifts. I speak Tiglao in the Philippines or here I may fall into an accent depending on who I’m with.
BLADE: And tell me about costume designer Fabio Tablini’s wonderful clothes.
AQUINO: Aren’t they gorgeous? At the Arena costume shop, they build things to fit to your body. It’s not often we get to wear these couture things. As actors we’re in the costumes for three hours a night but these women, who the characters are based on, wore these corseted gowns all day, every day. It’s amazing how much these clothes help in building your character. I’ve found new ways of expressing myself when my waist is cinched down to 26 inches.
BLADE: Arena’s Fichandler Stage is theatre-in-the-round. Great for costumes. How about you?
AQUINO: This is my favorite kind of acting. In the round there’s nowhere to hide. Your whole body is acting. There’s somebody somewhere who can see every part of you. Very much how we move in real life. I find it easier.
BLADE: While the Gilded Age was opulent for some, it wasn’t a particularly easy time for working people.
AQUINO: The play includes commentary on class. Never mind money. If you’re not authentic to who you are and connecting with the people you love, you’re not going to be happy. The idea of Newland doing what he wants, and Countess Olenska’s journey toward freedom is very threatening to my character, Mrs. Archer. Today, these same oppressive structures are doing everything here to shutdown feelings of liberation. That’s where the heart of this story lands for me.
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