Opera Review: A Torrid Thespian Affair

Superconductor takes another look at Adriana Lecouvereur.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Dying young: Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala light up Adriana Lecouvereur.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2018 The Metropolitan Opera.

Opening Night was so nice that we had to see it twice. On Thursday night, my regular opera companion and I finagled rush tickets to see a second performance of Adriana Lecouvereur, the Met's current offering starring super-soprano Anna Netrebko as a famous French actress whose love for a handsome two-timer leads to her inevitable (but oh so refined) death.

Opera Review: The Queen of Stage

With this superb new Adriana Lecouvereur, the Met finally gets it right.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Anna Netrebko (top) lashes out at her rival in Act III of Adriana Lecouvereur.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2019 The Metropolitan Opera.

Francesco Cilea is remembered for one opera: Adriana Lecouvereur. A frothy combination of backstage infighting and murderous romantic triangle, Adriana is only revived when a star diva decides to take on the steep challenges of the title role. On New Year's Eve 2018, the Metropolitan Opera and Anna Netrebko unveiled their new Adriana in a handsome, traditional production by Sir David McVicar that surrounded the Russian soprano with an all-star cast. Set entirely on a unit stage with a rotating theater-within-a-theater, Sir David solved some of the scenic challenges of this work and did it in a coherent and well-managed manner, just as he has done with so many operas at the Met in this decade.