Past Production Reviews
2Returning from villainy and turning to romance, Szot sang "If Ever I Would Leave You" from Lerner and Loewe's Camelot. Guinevere wants to stay true to King Arthur, so she tells Lancelot, whom she loves, to leave her. His song explains why he isn't leaving. This was a most enjoyable program, especially since much of it was accompanied by Maestro Kellogg and an excellent orchestral ensemble, and I hope it foretells more good online performances to come from Arizona Opera. Episode One can be seen on the Arizona Opera website.
In the role of Butterfly, Hui He made a splendid entrance with Act one’s “ancora un passo,” flanked by her proceeding relatives and their eye-catching, traditional costumes. The soprano’s youthful tones carried wonderfully through the excited, legato phrases which blossomed into a soaring B-flat conclusion. Her infatuation lent itself to her flirtatious lines with Pinkerton, as she revealed her conversion to Christianity and willingness to leave her family, framing these as loving sacrifices. The character’s volatile emotions were expertly captured by Hui He throughout her time onstage, with her sensitivity to the words of others able to drive extended passages of suspicious or romantic fervor. This was powerfully heard in her Act two aria “Un bel di vedremo,” where her delicate passion quickly swept her up into a sonorous reverie, finishing as she demurred and closed the screen door as if to give herself a reprieve from the emotional excess. After the truth of Pinkerton’s return is made clear to her in Act three, Hui He’s utterly crushed lines were highly gripping as she readied for her suicide; her final aria “Tu? Tu? Piccolo iddio” was a thing of ruinous beauty as her grieving farewell to her child swelled to tremendous vocal heights.
