Review: Ramin Karimloo Leads Jazz-Infused Opera Songbird in Washington, DC

Upon seeing the set for the Washington National Opera’s Songbird at the Kennedy Center, you might think you’ve walked into the wrong theater. A flashy bar with a New Orleans jazz band behind it conveys something a bit more akin to a pop musical, and the Mardi Gras theme circa 1920, deftly created by set designer James F. Rotondo III, is not something opera lovers might expect.

But that’s the beauty of this modern adaptation of Jacques Offenbach’s 1868 operetta La Périchole, and at just 80 minutes, it’s crafted for today’s musical theater lover who may be put off by some of the conventional opera norms, such as the long running times, superfluous singing, and heavy drama. This adaptation — by Eric Sean Fogel, James Lowe, and Kelley Rourke, with musical arrangement and orchestration by Lowe and book by Rourke — is a comic gem.

True, Songbird is sung in both English and French, another characteristic that might keep some anti-opera folks away, but a digital screen translates everything overhead, and the comedic farce is easy to follow, even if you’re not familiar with the original source material.

While La Périchole is set in a fantasized Peru, having New Orleans as a backdrop for Songbird gives way to fantastic jazz music led by conductor James Lowe and jokes about shrimp po’boys, and lets the celebrated Mardi Gras Carnival become a central theme.

The overture introduces the audience to the cast of zany characters who happen into the speakeasy, and it’s clear who the heroes and villains of the story are.

Originally commissioned by the Glimmerglass Festival in 2021, Songbird follows a pair of struggling artists, Songbird and Piquillo (the delightful Isabel Leonard and Ramin Karimloo), who are tired of starving for their art. He wants to settle down, but she knows with the life they lead, they could never afford it, so it seems like a losing cause.

However, when Piquillo leaves to find a meal for his ravenous gal, she is presented with an interesting offer from the town’s sinister Mayor Don Andrès (Edward Nelson), who has disguised himself to spy on his people in a speakeasy. He lavishes her with food and wine and invites her to live in his mansion, and the “obligations” are implied. But when his confidants Don Pedro (Jonathan Patton) and Panatellas (Sahel Salam) tell him it would be unwise to have a single woman move in, he orders them to find her a sham husband so he can have his mistress.

Starving, she accepts, and gets so hammered that she’s not exactly sure what she agreed to—which is a wedding. Being a farce, it’s not surprising when Piquillo is the one who has been picked to be the husband, and he agrees after a letter from his beloved tells him she is leaving, and he is offered $20 to play the part, along with a lot of alcohol for himself. What can only be described as zaniness ensues from there.

Mezzo-soprano Leonard is stunning as the title songstress, and though Karimloo might be leaning more into his musical theater sound than an operatic one — the recent Funny Girl star played Phantom on the West End after all — the pairing of their voices works so well. Even more than his singing prowess, Karimloo’s comic deftness makes him a perfect fit for Piquillo. Whether falling down drunk, fighting the mayor from a cell, or angrily lashing out at his wife-to-be who he thinks he doesn’t know, the actor shows perfect comic timing.

As the villainous Mayor, baritone Nelson is a hoot, seemingly straight out of a comedy movie with his over-the-top wicked ways. His lackeys, played by Patton and Salam, bring some key laughs as well, and are especially funny in getting Piquillo to the altar.

Songbird is only at the Kennedy Center for a short time, and will fly away on March 24, so whether you’re an opera lover or not, don’t miss the chance to see this highly entertaining jazz-fused opera.