Opera Review: Tango in the Night

The second cast lights up the Met's new Figaro.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Suzanne Mentzer (left) and John Del Carlo (right) are the only cast members remaining
as the Met revives its new Le Nozze di Figaro this month.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2014 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's new Richard Eyre production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (which opened the 2014 season in September) marched back onto the boards last night with an its second cast, featuring two new singers in crucial parts and bass Erwin Schrott in the title role. This run also marks the return of Dutch conductor Edo de Waart, and his steady hand in the pit propelled the show forward with no loss of momentum: a necessity in this most kinetic of operatic comedies.

Opera Review: A Grand Night for Singing

The 2012 Richard Tucker Gala.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Made in Brooklyn: opera tenor Richard Tucker.
The 2012 Richard Tucker Gala was held Sunday night.
Image © 1997 The United States Postal Service.

The 2012 Richard Tucker Gala was held this Sunday night at Avery Fisher Hall. The annual showcase for the philanthropic foundation named after the late, great opera tenor is always an important night in the opera season. This year, singers, industry people and opera lovers heard this year's Tucker Prize winner, soprano Ailyn Pérez in a program that put a heavy emphasis on the music of Verdi.

The Tucker Gala is a celebration of singing, honoring both the memory of the late Brooklyn-born tenor. The Tucker Foundation provides support and a showcase for young talent that is about to make a splash on the opera stages of the world. This year's concert also featured appearances from singers currently gracing the stage of the Met: baritones Gerald Finley and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, mezzo Olga Borodina and tenor Marcello Giordani.

Ms. Pérez is the first Tucker winner who happens to be married to a past winner--tenor Stephen Costello. (He won in 2009.) She opened the concert with a fiesty performance of Manon's gavotte, easily adding the difficult ornamentation in the repeated section and producing a high, clear tone above the stave.