Simon Stone's Mad Lucy Takes the Met (HD of 21 May 2022)

 

I've purposefully not read any recent reviews (other than the opening ones from the press following the prima).  Here comes mine, which, I am certain, will be strongly disagreed with - so let's just get THAT out  of the way.  This is, of course, based solely upon viewing and listening to th is Lucia as an HD experience.  

In that vein, this was among the very best HDs I have attended in the entirety of the Met's HD series.  It goes right alongside Girard's Parsifal, McDermott's Akhnaten, and Satyagraha  Minghella's Butterfly and McVicar's Giulio Cesare (pace Dessay naysayers).  

I have a long history and love affair with this opera.  As a child, Lucia was the first opera I ever heard (Lily Pons - then Callas . . . then everybody and their mum), it was my first professional stage production (chorus) and role (Normanno) .  It is near and dear to my heart.

Stone's revolutionary updating was the most physically "drag you into the story" version in my experience with Donizetti's tragic maid.  For me - and for, it seemed, everyone at my HD cinema it worked on myriad levels - equal in both its visceral and intellectual appeal.  This was, as in Stone's interview, owing to the totality of the input from his cast who used his thoughts and production ideas as "a catalyst" to form their own characters in the most unique of ways.  

I've sung in - and never had a problem with - various locals and settings of Lucia, Donizetti's music providing the requisite, haunting spookiness of the tale in brilliant orchestrations - some of the best and most distinguished atmospheric writing of his entire, voluminous output.  If the artists are even "merely adequate"  one gets the sense of being in misty, musty, old-17th century Scotland   I wondered (and worried) how odd or jolting the juxtaposition might be.  I needn't have.  

As one of my companions noted during the first intermission, "this just sounds like MUSIC - it fits perfectly with the libretto and action.  It doesn't sound like "old" music," going on to say that the adaptability of Donizetti made the music feel new - or just timeless - whereas a traditional performance it always sounds like "an old opera."  I concur fully.  It sounded, particularly fresh especially performed by this outstanding cast and Maestro Frizza's gentle yet assuredly firm hand, guiding and controlling everything with the pacing of a great storyteller.  

Vocally, Nadine Sierra was, just about perfect, with a warm, more-lyric-than-coloratura voice - yet like the best lyrics who've essayed the role, undaunted by its fiery pyrotechnics, interpolating high notes into her savvy and pleasing ornamentations   That the voice is a rich and warm one, and wedded to a physically attractive young woman who combined an oddly insouciant innocence with a natural sensuality, she was impossible not to fall in love with, then pity, and then be horrified by.  She - as did every single member of this cast - moved with an athletic grace and sense of purpose that defined the character and stamping her own brand on it.  

Javier Camerena continues to be the most beautiful of the current crop of bel cantists with a rich, warm, sunny voice of such ineffable sweetness that when he exerts pressure - and darkness to it, makes him unique - standing out from other more popular singers of the same roles.  While I always defend Edgardo (I don't understand the disliking of this character, whose young life has been equally destroyed by Enrico's villainy) I have never before cried during this scene. Camerena changed all that.  Additionally, like Sierra's Lucia, Camerena made Edgardo impossible NOT to be loved.  Unless your name is, of course, Enrico.

In Enrico we had what may be, for me at least, the most exciting, performance of the afternoon by Polish baritone Artur Rucinski.  Rucinski took Lucia's dubious brother and turned him into a completely morally bankrupt villain, of such black hearted evil (the singer mentioned Putin as an inspiration for his pure, irredeemable evil)  that he creeped me out whilst thrilling me to my marrow with his singing.  I LOVE when that happens.  As he did in the prima - he held that final note ending the opening scene until next Tuesday, resulting in the crowd (and me) going crazy.  After the prima (heard on Sirius) I got into a minor argument who found Rucinski's "trick" to be "tacky."  I countered that, while I understood the complaint - I disagreed with it.  Rucinski (remarkably) held onto that note some NINE measures after Donizetti's written cut off and THAT for me established two things:  One, Enrico's malevolent dominance, and two, we were in for some "balls out" old-fashioned opera singing.  Besides, Rucinski is hardly the first singer to hold extend that note - Milnes, Panerai, ,Floravanti all come to mind immediately (though none held it QUITE as long as Artur). I firmly believe in giving the audience what they want in this instance, and if it's a long, held out high note, I say go for itl  This is not music of subtlety or grace.  

The glass harmonica has become a "must" for this opera, a flute simply will not do.

The staging of the wedding scene was brilliant - the chorus/extras as bickering white trash at the boiling point for a throw down, adding to the background frisson of the scene - I particularly loved the large "stress eating" guest who kept cramming her mouth as she looked o to the proceedings as if watching a NASCAR event.  The staging of the sextet was among the most perfect I've seen in years - combining a slowing down of he stage movements to the ideal motionlessness towards its end.  Stone had everything in place and just let it be - let the magic of Donizetti and his singers stillness work theatrical magic.

I also enjoyed (not quite the right word) Stone's employing a small army of bloodied "walking dead" corpses of Arturo clones clearly only seen by Lucia (and us) and the presentation of the ghost story in Lucia's retelling of it in Regnava nel silenzio.  

With no disrespect to the rest of the cast, I will only add the they all rose to the challenge, including Christian van Horn who stepped into Raimondo's clinical collar for an indisposed Matthew Rose.  

My HD audience - of which my companions and I, along with a young man with his far older, kilt-clad boyfriend, were the youngest members (by far) all loved the performance.  Several could be heard complaining pre-show, about the updating, but, to a one, couldn't stop talking about how surprised they were, and cheered and applauded the individual numbers and scenes as if live in the house.

The glorious day ended back at the home of my hosts with more relaxed musical fare, including my beloved Laura Nero, Bill Evans, some adorable playful kittens, and a homemade meal - of quiche, sausages and melon.  One of the best days in a long, long time!

Opera Maine Returns With A Sparkling Elixir!

They're baaaaaack!   

Like nearly every performing arts organization had to over the past year, Opera Maine had to take what felt like an interminable intermission, foregoing its long planned Die Fliegende Hollander which was due to set sail last summer.  (General Director Dona D. Vaughn announced that, after this hiatus, our Dutchman shall arrive next season.  Happy news, indeed!)

While I love Donizetti, I must admit that, since boyhood, L'elisir d'amore was an opera I avoided like, well, you know . . . that word.  Over the years I've grown to enjoy, if not absolutely love it . . . until this past Friday night.  

Vaughn's decision to set L'elisir in 1960 Naples paid off magically.  Against Donizetti's score, Portland's own Christopher Akerlind's (Broadway's Light in the Piazza, 110 in the Shade, Rocky, et al.) set and lighting design, along with Millie Hiibel's marvelous costume design, gave more than a wink and a nod to the feel-good Italian classic cinema. One could almost sense Fellini lurking behind a curtain.  While I may have longed for Wagner, this sparkling comedy felt life affirming andwas the perfect choice to bring back live opera to Maine.  La Dolce Vita, indeed!  

In  Vaughn's vision, the characters are just as stated in Romani's libretto, with the exception of Nemorino, whose legs we see before meeting the rest of him.  That is, he's an auto mechanic (the classic grease monkey, his coveralls - covered in the stuff) and that first appearance is beneath a bright green convertible.  Bright, is in fact the color scheme throughout the production which positively glows and pulsates with life. 

The role was splendidly sung by Joshua Wheeker who - at least in my opinion - stole the show whenever he was onstage, which was pretty much all the time.   A beautiful lyric tenor with lots of ping - or squillo as we call it in Operaland - with a dynamic range that fit his Nemorino fit like a glove.  That he gets the hit tune of the night, Una furtiva lagrima was a treat that earned Wheeker the greatest applause in a night that was positively (in the best sense of that word) clap happy.  A friend said, "he looked really familiar, like a friend of mine."  I explained it was because Wheeker's Nemorino looks like every third guy at Ruski's (a local West End tavern). This was a good thing. Wheeker was also a natural comedian, and his drunken escapades felt "real" as opposed to too frequently employed, stage drunkenness of the "Look at me, I'm drunk - and now I'm putting a lampshade on my head" school.  It was, if there can be such a thing, a refreshing drunkenness.  Like the rest of the cast, he had some pretty dandy dance moves, as well!

Adina was Sarah Tucker whose voice was full of surprises  . . . all good ones.  Moments of flighty, light coloratura delivered with pinpoint accuracy, which could melt into a creamy, more lyric sound.  She could dial up a little acid in the tone when called for but made Adina rather charming, instead of the shrew she can sometimes be.  Everything about Tucker's Adina was a delight,

Baritone, Luis Alejandro Orozco has an absolutely beautiful voice, though at times his projection of it could get a little lost or covered in the mix of the ensemble which is not unusual for a young baritone, whose music is frequently ninety percent dead center of the sound world they're inhabiting.  Almost ridiculously handsome, with great comic flair, a sense of bel canto style, tremendous ego and confidence oozing out of every pore, Orozco makes Adina's attraction to Belcore entirely believable. He was the bad guy you can't help but love.  

Gary Simpson's Dulcamara did what all great Dulcamara's doL  make you almost embarrassed to be laughing so loudly in an opera house.  Introduced with the roar of an offstage motorcycle (what no Vespa?) he enters walking the bike in with a wagon trailing behind him filled with bottles of Bordeaux . . . I mean his famous Elixir.  He owned the role Friday and his arias, duet, asides to the house, and escape plans provoked genuine belly laughs. 

Gianetta is not a major role in comparison to the central quartet, but here Shaina Martinez - in a sort of Rita Moreno mode, was captivating and hilarious from head to toe and beginning to end.

The splendid chorus, here almost ever present, were beautifully integrated into every scene, each creating a uniquely individual character that the production could not be imagined without.  I never tire of saying that in over twenty years of watching her productions, NO ONE uses and moves a chorus quite like Vaughn can. 

A shout out must go to the two old ladies on the bench watching, participating in, nodding . . .  and nodding off to the shenanigans, antics and joy that was taking place before them.   

Israel Gursky led a reading from the pit that made every note of this Elixir sparkle like bubbly, supporting and pacing his singers perfectly, and shading the score with nuance and love that spilled over us all.           

I can't have imagined a better opera to celebrate life, love and happiness after a year of  . . . well, you know. 

Fille-Nominal Fille du Regiment

Last night when the curtain came down on PORTopera’s new production of La Fille du Regiment it was with a roar more typically heard at a rock concert. The entire cast and charming production certainly deserved it, but it was clear whose fan club was in attendance as Maine native soprano made her big girl role debut with the company as Marie.

After a frothy account of Donizetti’s faux military orchestra (sans some horn issues) the curtain rose on an enormous barricade built of furniture – chairs and other household items. Flanking it, atop and on all sides, the Tyrolean villagers, ready for combat armed with rakes and other garden tools, and standing guard against the invading French army. Frequently first act stage pictures, (particularly the military camp), evoked the feel of a Bertrand Tavernier film (that is if he made comedies). Shannon Zura's moveable platforms adjusted quickly, instantly becoming whatever space the staging required. The second act set with its mile high drawing room (and gorgeous parquet flooring) was raked horizontally creating a physically off-kilter look which added to the onstage hijinks created by the awkwardness of plot situations. Jamie Grant's lighting design emphasized the natural brightness of the tale, and with restrained subtlety, added the perfect atmosphere in more gentle and introspective moments.

Fresh from a run of Fille in St. Louis, Ashley Emerson offered perfect comic chops, an instantly adorable stage personality and a face that expressed perfectly young Marie’s wide range of emotions. The voice, like its owner, is on the petite size, but as a critic once told me “some singers you really have to lean in to hear, but they are oh so worth leaning in for.” Emerson is clearly in that camp; the voice has a pure quality that positively gleams and as secure a technique as I’ve heard from a young singer. Her attacks were spot on - no adjustments, just there every time. She showed off a brilliant upper extension with no loss of vibrancy and zero strain and a renarkable evenness throughout the range. For such a clear, bright sound, Emerson is also able to summon up a remarkable warmth for moments such as "Il faut Partir" which was limpid and properly heartbreaking, bringing down the house. Throughout the evening I kept thinking “future Zerbinetta." I can also imagine a Semele, Cleopatra and a number of other Handel operas that would seem to be a natural fit.

PORTopera lucked out in nabbing tenor Andrew Bidlack as Tonio. A beautiful, italianate sound built for bel canto, Bidlack sailed through his assignment with aplomb, verve and boyish good looks - a perfect match for his Marie. Overall, while the voice is bright there is a slight tendency towards covering high notes - not all of them. Such was certainly not the case with those those famous nine high C's in "Ah mes amis" which he tossed off with an almost uncanny ease.

Jan Opalach has become a Portland favorite and last night his beautifully sung and hilarious Sulpice showed exactly why, nowhere more so then when joined by Emerson and Bidlack in the infectious trio "Tous les trois réunis" - (perhaps my favorite moment of this entire opera). The staging - and Donizetti's effervescent music - could not help but produce the broadest of smiles.

It's always a joy to see Judith Christin and as The Marquise of Birkenfeld, her speaking voice frequently dipped into the bass-baritone range adding an extra measure of fun. Her work in the Lesson Scene, was a masterclass in operatic comic acting. Teamed up with Jeffrey Tucker as Hortensius, they made quite the pair.

In a scene re-tooled for the Duchess of Krakenthorp, Ellen Chickering, in a matter of minutes, managed to practically steal the show with an interpolated (and ridiculous) aria about her character's bloated ego and the difficulties of being so beautiful and admired. A great and awful song done to perfection.

The PORTopera Orchestra and Chorus were ably led in grand bel canto style by Stephen Lord. At times balances (but never tempi) between stage and pit were a bit off, the orchestra covering the voices - though most of the time things sounded just right.

As ever, Dona D. Vaughn's direction was sharp, clear, uncluttered pointing every moment to its comic zenith without ever going over the top. It's clear to see why singers love working with her: the end result is a satisfied audience happily going along for the three hour tour. Honestly, I can't imagine a better way to spend a beautiful summer evening.

Netrebko as Anna: Can no one really touch her?

A lot of fuss is being made about Anna Netrebko's ability (or inability if you see it that way) to perform the title role in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. I've listened to the recordings and videos from the prima in Vienna and find her rather exciting, if not the last word (or even close) to real bel canto style.

Several friends have argued no one in the past - at least since Callas - can properly take on the role, and that "no one today" - or even in the last ten years can compete with Anna as Anna. I'd have to disagree.

Here is Carol Vaness, not a singer I (or anyone else) would typically associate with Donizetti, but here she is in an absolutely thrilling reading of "Coppia Iniqua":

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oAokjH6uu8&feature=related

Two more Anna's who take the unwritten high note option at the end adding a degree of frisson to the proceedings:

First up, Mariella Devia who seems as if by the role possessed - wonderfully so:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UfHMbPAqoA

And finally, a Netrebko contemporary, Elena Mosuc, who brings a Sills-like razzle dazzle to the role, and interpolates (wildly) some thrilling high notes and sends the crowd into a frenzy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc1JIHE2caw&feature=related

So, in my opinion the notion that no one can touch Nebs is a faulty one. She's exciting but hardly the last word in the role.

Damrau Debuts as Lucia

I listened rapturously to this Lucia last night over Sirius. It was one of the finest Lucias I've ever heard. Though I have enjoyed her (wildly so) in other roles, Damrau simply knocked me into next week with her Lucia. Her voice has everything in spades, creamy textured, appealing tone, a shining, glimmery quality to her high notes -which are so secure they should be patented! I wasn't expecting the Glass Harmonica to make an appearance and though she was so fully involved in the drama all evening, here she seemed almost inspired by its sound that I could "see" her unraveling before my eyes and ears in a manner that made the "radio" come alive in ways it rarely does. Those amazing high E flats were simply icing on the cake, and tossed off with such ease it sounded as though she could have interpolated something even higher. To think this was her role debut makes it even more mind blowing, so developed and passionate was her creation. Brava! Having only heard her this once (which is all anyone has), I'll go ahead and say she's the real deal and with repeated performances become THE preferred Lucy of her day.

I've heard Beczala before and was impressed, but perhaps inspired by everything going on around him, Armiliato's near perfect tempi and textures coming from the pit, he offered a passionately sung, often ear ravishing Edgardo. There can be a little bit of hardness to his otherwise "plush" sound, but even that was not unappealing. I'd like to hear just a soupcon more shading, gentleness to the voice - and that may well come, but regardless he was the real deal last night as well. (Friends and I have also discussed a bit of Pippo to his style - high praise, indeed!)

I was also impressed by Stoyanov and the rest of the cast. As previously stated, this was the best sounding Met Lucia in a long while and though I hate to sound greedy, but I would love this cast to replace the Netrebko-led one coming in June. As much as I like her, I can't possibly imagine Netrebko being as effective as Damrau was last night. Not even close, in fact.

This was a win/win night for the Met. Bravo & Grazie!p.