Past Production Reviews
9During di Luna’s cabaletta “Per me ora fatale”, Thomas times a comedic moment absolutely spot on. The soldiers sing something like “Let’s go, let’s hide in the shadows” as they try to leave, bringing the Count with them, but he keeps heading back centre stage to bellow out his cabaletta, so they get all frustrated, roll their eyes and again try to drag him away, but no, there he goes again. The timing of the music perfectly fits this silly gag, which I found pretty funny.
Die grosse Sopran-Rolle der Oper, die Adelige Leonora, wurde von der wunderbaren lettischen Sopranistin Marina Rebeka gesungen, die ihren Part mit flexibler, in der Höhe strahlender, aber gleichwohl eher dunkel-timbrierter Stimme ausgezeichnet interpretierte. Die Koloraturen der Cabaletta der leidenschaftlich gesungenen Arie “Tacea la notte placida”, gelangen ihr vorzüglich, während das von wunderbaren Orchesterfarben getragene, fast im Raum schwebende “D’amor sull’ali rosee” mit dem darauf folgenden Miserere und der Cabaletta “Tu vedrai che amore in terra” magische Opern-Momente erzeugte.
Liparit Avetisyan was heroic in his limping on the side of the stage, but the obvious pain he was in didn’t hinder his performance. His tenor was youthful and enthusiastic, with bold high notes, a bit on the boisterous side, which doesn’t hurt, in this role. In the other “minor” roles, I want to mention Nadezhda Karyazina as Maddalena, whose deep, strong mezzo really made an impression, and provided a proper foundation for the wonderful Act 4 quartet “Bella figlia dell’amore”.
While the highly anticipated revival of The Music Man idles awaiting the recovery from COVID of its stars Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster and other Broadway shows have closed either temporarily or permanently, the Metropolitan Opera defied Omicron to present its annual New Year’s Eve gala Friday night. If the crowd was sparser and less nattily dressed than in previous years, enthusiastically grateful applause greeted the superb cast and conductor after the premiere of the company’s new version of Verdi’s beloved classic Rigoletto. Before a celebratory shower of glittering confetti fell from the ceiling, the response was decidedly more tepid for the production team as yet once again director Bartlett Sher demonstrated little affinity for opera.
The brilliant part of this Lyric Opera of Chicago’s streaming version of “Pagliacci” (directed by Peter McClintock, with film direction by Matt Hoffman and scenic design by Maria DeFabo Akin and Scott Wolfson) is the use of the Lyric Opera House itself as the set location.
Lyric Opera of Chicago has given us an excellent new film of Pagliacci that stirs the emotions of the viewer from the gorgeous overture conducted by Enrique Mazzola to Tonio's conclusive line. It is free to watch, too! Don't miss it.
The Royal Opera House’s latest revival of Richard Eyre’s version sees three different casts used during its run. The initial trio of Venera Gimadieva (Violetta), Samuel Sakker (Alfredo) and Luca Salsi (Germont) all pass muster on a difficult opening night: the original Alfredo Saimir Pirgu came down with a throat infection and was replaced on the day by the Australian tenor. Sakker, unsurprisingly, takes a little while to find his feet but absolutely nails his character’s pathos in the final act. In contrast, Salsi is a tour de force from soup to nuts, his acting perfectly complementing his character’s emotional arc. Russian soprano Gimadieva makes for a subtle Violetta whose impact is only truly felt from the second act onwards; her excoriating two-hander with Salsi is a no-holds-barred tearjerker which will stay long in the memory. Eyre’s production is a considerate and powerful piece. The set design is an expressive beast which ranges from the sumptuous opening party scenes to the denouement’s spartan mise en scène. Direction is fluid and punchy, especially towards the end; conversely the lighting makes a major impact on the first scene but adds comparatively little after. Down in the pit, Yves Abel conducts Verdi’s gorgeous music with verve and aplomb.
The Royal Opera House’s Il Trovatore is a war opera. Black and grey colours dominate. You will see tanks, machine guns, campers, smoke, wooden crosses, fires burning and, yes, passions raging. This is David Bösch’s modern-dress interpretation of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera. A bit of torture and war crimes can be gleaned but the final tableau will be a huge, fiery heart that could be interpreted as the triumph of love through death.Leonora, the woman who loved him to death does a much better job in the hands of Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian. Dressed in dramatic white amid the gloomy colours of the others, she sang with emotional conviction and dramatic effect. Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili outdid everyone as the gypsy Azucena. “Stole the show” is the catchphrase that comes to mind but that would be unfair and untrue. She did not steal it – she earned it. She delivered an outstanding performance in an admittedly marvellous role and the audience just loved her. Rachvelishvili has a marvellous, smoky voice that can spew venom and passion as she single-mindedly pursues vengeance. One enjoys every minute of her presence on stage.Ukrainian bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk deserves praise for his performance in the relatively minor role of Ferrando. He is the fine officer who carries out orders and Tsymbalyuk sang with commendable sonority.Il Trovatore is a highly approachable opera despite its somewhat turgid plot. It has some great melodies and between love duets and martial music it makes for opera the way most people imagine it to be. Bösch gives us a far more nuanced production and puts his imprimatur on the opera. That is what directors must do. The Orchestra of the Royal House Opera and Royal Opera Chorus were conducted by Richard Farnes in an exceptional night at the opera.
