Opera Review: This...is...Jeopardy!

The Metropolitan Opera revives Turandot.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

James Morris (center) celebrated 1,000 performances at the Metropolitan Opera on
Tuesday. Here he appears as Timur in  Turandot with Aleksandrs Antonenko (left) as
The Unknown Prince and Maria Agresta (right) as Liù in Puccini's opera.
Photo by Marty Sohl copyright 2017 The Metropolitan Opera.

Turandot is Giacomo Puccini’s final, unfinished work. It is a a grand fantasy of legendary China as reimagined through the lens of Italian romanticism. It is a farm tale, the story of an ice-hearted princess and the fearless Prince who wins her hand. It is seen (wrongly) as the end point of the genre of Italian opera. It is also, along with La bohème, the last of the Metropolitan Opera’s giant Franco Zeffirelli productions, crowded extravaganzas that evoke the opulence of a bygone era. (In this case, we’re talking about the 1980s.)

Opera Review: The Very Long Goodbye

The Met goes back to ye olde Meistersinger.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A tender moment: James Morris and Annette Dasch in Act III of Die Meistersinger.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2013 The Metrropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's current revival of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (seen last night in its season premiere) has a feeling of finality about it. Not only is this the last gasp for the company's picturesque Otto Schenk production, but it is also probably the last major Wagner role for James Morris, the Baltimore-born bass-baritone who won New Yorkers' hearts in the '80s, singing over 70 performances as Wotan in the Ring Cycle.

Opera Review: The Woman in the Moon

Angela Meade takes over the Met's Norma.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Angela Meade (top) and Jamie Barton share a sisterly moment in Bellini's Norma.
Photo © 2013 The Metropolitan Opera.

Since the premiere of Bellini's Norma in 1831, the opera's title role has become a career statement for any soprano. Malibran, Callas, Sutherland and Sills have all essayed the part to varying degrees of success. Thanks to Hollywood and the occasional TV commercial "Casta diva" has become one of those melodies known even to those ignorant of the world of opera--the biggest hit tune in Bellini's repertory.

Opera Review: Under the Serious Moonlight

Norma at the Metropolitan Opera. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The disco 'round: Sondra Radvanovsky enters in Act I of Norma.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2013 The Metropolitan Opera

The American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky has risen to prominence on the international stage in the last decade, with a combination of genuine acting ability and a steel-cored lyric soprano that can glide between passages of soft dolce singing and the white-hot rage required of a tragic opera heroine. All of these admirable qualities were on display Monday night, as Ms. Radvanovsky sang her first Norma at the Met. This was the first revival of the Bellini opera in six years, and another step toward superstardom for this talented American soprano.

Opera Review: The Song Contest Remains the Same

The Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Die Meistersinger. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Generation gap: Amanda Majeski and James Morris in Lyric Opera of Chicago's
new Die Meistersinger. Photo by Dan Rest © 2013 Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago's new production of Wagner's  Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is one that might be familiar to Superconductor readers. It's by David McVicar, and it's the same one that premiered at Glyndebourne in 2012 and was recently released on DVD. The Chicago version is pretty much the same show--with a few changes and tweaks from director Marie Lambert. (Most notable: the elimination of the stilt-walking fire-breathers following a rehearsal accident earlier this month. They now juggle tenpins.) Sir Andrew Davis conducted a brisk, muscular performance.

Opera Review: Injustice For All

The Metropolitan Opera (briefly) revives Billy Budd.

Ship rocked: Nathan Gunn (center) in the Met's
revival of Billy Budd. Photo by Ken Howard
 © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

by Paul Pelkonen

On Friday night, the Metropolitan Opera unveiled the final revival of this season: John Dexter's classic 1978 production of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd. This revival also marked the return of James Morris to a signature role: the evil John Claggart.

Set aboard a British warship in 1797, Billy Budd (based on a novella by Herman Melville) is the story of a young sailor (Nathan Gunn) press-ganged into service aboard the H.M.S. Indomitable during the "French wars." The idealistic young sailor becomes popular among the crew but is targeted for destruction by Claggart, the ship's scheming master-at-arms.

Mr. Gunn embodied energy and fresh, doomed innocence in the title role. He stirred the audience with his entrance "Farewell, O Rights-O-Man," (a paean to his former ship) and brought raw energy to the crew's shenanigans below decks. He was at his most moving in the Act II scene in the ship's brig, where Billy confronts his coming execution and comes to peace with his fate.

Opera Review: Sin City, Part Two

The second cast breathes life into the Met's Don Giovanni.

Isabel Leonard (l.) and Gerald Finley contemplate the horizontal mambo in Don Giovanni.
Photo by Marty Sohl. © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

When the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Don Giovanni opened in October, the big story was the injury to baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, scheduled to sing the title role. The ill luck continued for this run, when bass John Relyea was forced to cancel his appearances as Leporello. 

Happily, Tuesday night's performance proved to be something of a coming-out party for his replacement, bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen. Leporello is the more interesting role anyway, and Mr. Ketelsen brought a rough comic energy to the part of the Don's faithful servant. His Catalogue Song snickered and leered. The brief tryst with Donna Elvira (Ellie Dehn) was a highlight of the second act, as he threw himself into the role of impersonating the Don. 

Gerald Finley brought a light touch to the title role, emphasizing the comic side of the character. This Don was played as the character that inspired the Romantics. He may have committed murder in the opening scene, but he was fun to be around, pulling the audience along on his wild adventures and making his actions seem like small sins in pursuit of a philosophical ethos. 

The Canadian baritone borought acting ability and a bustling comic energy to the part, racing through the Champagne Aria in what sounded like one breath. On the other hand, "Deh vieni a la finestra" was sung with a smooth seductive edge. The final scene, with huge gouts of flame eructating from the stage was heroically sung, with Mr. Finley pulling the audience's sympathies over to the side of the unrepentant Don.

Don Ottavio may be the most unrewarding primo tenore role in the repertory, with just two arias and little to do other than being supportive to Donna Anna. But this production continues to have good luck casting the part. Matthew Polenzani made the most of his two arias, putting emotional weight into "Dalla su pace" and  "Il mio tesoro." 

The ladies were a major improvement in this cast. Marina Rebeka has settled into the house, although her bright-toned soprano can prove wearing as Donna Anna. Ellie Dehn was a luxuriant, sensual Donna Elvira, without the shrill manic edge. And Isabel Leonard stole hearts and the opera as Zerlina. Masetto, (the bluff bass Shenyang) is a lucky peasant. 

The only hitch in the casting was the presence of James Morris as the Commendatore. His bass-baritone is still noble, but wearing at the bottom and showing more signs of age. At 65, the singer cannot make the listener jump out of their skin, and his voice lacked the black power needed to stand up to Mozart's writing for the full orchestra.

Sir Andrew Davis conducted an engaging, red-blooded performance. By not having to split duties at the harpsichord, the British maestro gave an old-fashioned Romantic reading of the score, that kept all of its power and hellfire while sacrificing none of the humor that is essential to this carefully balanced dramma giocoso.

Opera Review: Never Listen to the Tenor

The Collegiate Chorale presents Moïse et Phaoron.

Moses supposes: James Morris utters prophecies in Moïse. 
To his right, Ginger Costa-Jackson as Marie. Photo by Erin Baiano, © 2011 The Collegiate Chorale.

James Bagwell led the Collegiate Chorale and an all-star cast of singers across the Red Sea last night. The ensemble kicked off its 2011 season at Carnegie Hall with the 1827 Rossini rarity Moïse et Phaoron. The concert performance featured bass-baritone James Morris as Moses, Rising sopranos Angela Meade and Marina Rebekah sang key supporting roles.

Rossini first wrote Mosé en Egitto for the Italian stage in 1817. Ten years later, the French version was reworked and revised for Parisian sensibilities. The result is unique Rossini: a four-act retelling of the Book of Exodus that inserts a conventional love story in between scenes of chained Israelites and Egyptians battling the ten plagues. At the climax, the Pharaoh charges into the waves of the Red Sea at his son's urging. The moral is: never listen to the tenor.

Marina Rebekah and Erik Cutler in Moïse.
Photo by Erin Baiano, © 2011 The Collegiate Chorale.

A crack cast was on hand to do justice to Rossini's work. Bass-baritone James Morris was imposing as Wotan, using his rich, still pliant baritone to lead his people out of bondage. Bass-barihunk Kyle Ketelsen was impressive as the Pharaoh, and more than a match for Mr. Morris until meeting his watery end.

This is French opera, which means you need two divas, not one for the principal female roles. Angela Meade was Sinaide, the Pharaoh's wife. This was another triumph for the fast-rising American singer, who displayed rich, potent tone in the slow section of her big Act III aria. She was a little more steely in the fast second section, a duet with tenor Erik Cutler, but one wished she had more music to sing.

In the larger soprano role of Anaïs, soprano Maria Rebekah was not to be outdone. Another fast-rising star (last heard as Donna Anna in the Met's middling new production of Don Giovanni, she made the most of the big Act IV aria "Quelle horrible destinée." She shared good onstage chemistry with tenor Erik Cutler despite the narrow concert setting and Mr. Cutler's constant fiddling with a creaky music stand.

As the Pharaoh's son Amenophis. Mr. Cutler met the most difficult casting requirement in this opera, an old-fashioned bel canto tenor who can sing with pliability, accuracy and still be heard over the orchestra. He did a splendid job, despite looking corralled in the close quarters of the concert seating.

The American Symphony Orchestra was on hand to play this score, which is one of Rossini's most innovative. It points the way forward to works like Verdi's Nabucco and Berlioz' Les Troyens, particulary with its use of woodwind textures, rhythms in the strings, accenting harp and heavy brass. This last was represented by the ophicleide, an archaic tuba that lends the music a different tonal quality than modern brass.

Mr. Bagwell commanded these forces in a vibrant, though cut reading of this fascinating score. He was helped by a superb performance from the Collegiate Chorale, who took on the roles of chained Hebrews or oppressive Egyptians as necessary. Though they played both sides of this Biblical drama, they did so with maximum commitment to the truth and power of this little-heard music.

Opera Review: Roméo is Sleeping

Roméo et Juliette at the Met

Piotr Beczala and Hei-Kyung Hong
at the rehearsal of Roméo et Juliette.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera

Monday night's performance of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera featured strong performances from tenor Piotr Beczala and soprano Hei-Kyung Hong in an otherwise unexciting revival of the Shakespearean opera.

This revival has already made headlines for the 11th-hour withdrawal of soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Her replacement was Hei-Kyung Hong. The 51-year old Korean soprano may be a little older than Shakespeare's 14-year old Juliette, but she sang boldly, going up for the high notes in Juliette's Waltz even though her voice thinned noticeably at the top.


As the performance continued (and her voice warmed up) Ms. Hong displayed the soprano warmth and bloom that has made her a longtime fixture at the Met. She was strong in the difficult fourth act, with the long "floating bed" duet with Piotr Beczala, followed by the difficult Potion Scene. Her onstage collapse the dramatic climax of the evening.

Tenor Piotr Beczala was a bluff, enthusiastic Roméo, singing with ardor in the balcony scene and generating real chemistry with his leading lady on the floating bed that is the setting for their Act IV duet. However, he looked lost in the Act III fight scene, standing about without any direction after killing Tybalt, as if the director failed to give him any directions at that point in the opera.

The biggest surprise of the evening was James Morris in the brief, but memorable role of Friar Laurence. The Met's former Wotan sounded ideal in this paternal role, using his woolly, well-oiled bass voice to give gravity to the priest's scenes in Acts III and IV. Mr. Morris has had some rough outings at the Met lately, but this short part was well suited to his fading fach.

Guy Joosten's staging uses the plays Renaissance setting and the idea of star-crossed lovers for a production that combines astrolabes, clocks, trompe l'oeil paintings and the streets of Olde Verona. Occasionally, the back wall cracks open to reveal cosmic landscapes, more suited to the work of Carl Sagan than Shakespeare. These ultimately prove distracting, although the "flying bed" duet remains a theatrical coup.

The performance was undermined by the conducting of tenor-turned-maestro Plàcido Domingo, which lacked that degree of lift that can make Gounod's melodic lines soar. That, combined with the librettists' decision to boil almost all the fight scenes and much of the excitement from Shakespeare's play  made for a long evening. But that's not the Met's fault.