Opera Review: Ghosts Busted

The Met brings back Lucia di Lammermoor.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Crazy for feelin' so blue: Olga Peretyatko-Mariotti (center, covered in blood) as the bride of Lammermoor.
Photo © 2018 Richard Termine for the Metropolitan Opera. Used with permission.

Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor carries a certain sense of expectation. It is that prolific composer's most popular tragic opera, and even those who are barely familiar with the work itself have heard of its landmark Mad Scene and the image of poor, deranged Lucy Bucklaw (nee Ashton) descending a staircase on her wedding night, her white, virginal gown spattered with her husband's blood.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Lucia di Lammermoor

The blood-stained bride returns to the Met stage.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
"Well, the bride was a picture in the gown that her mama wore
When she was married herself nearly twenty-seven years before
They had to change the style a little but it looked just fine
Stayed up all night, but they got it finished just in time." --Nick Lowe

Everything dies: Vittorio Grigolo and Olga Peretyatko in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Photo © 2018 Richard Termine for the Metropolitan Opera.

The Met revives Mary Zimmerman's controversial, deeply weird and really fun take on Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, for some the ultimate expression of the bel canto style. And yes, this is the opera with the blood-splattered wedding dress.

Opera Review: Piave's Eleven

The Met's "Vegas" Rigoletto breaks even.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Olga Peretyatko in Act I of the Met's current Rigoletto.
Photo by Richard Termine © 2018 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's economic model relies on a careful balance between modern operas (to remain relevant), rarities (to remain interesting) and tried-and-true war-horses like Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto. This month, the company revived its current Michael Mayer production, which moves the tale of a revenge-obsessed jester and a libertine Duke from Ye Olde Mantua to (of all places) Las Vegas, Nevada, roughly around the time that the Rat Pack held sway on the Strip.

Opera Review: Lost Vegas

<b>The Metropolitan Opera bets on Rigoletto.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

Tapped out: George Gagnidze is a hapless protagonist in the Met's "Vegas" Rigoletto.
Photo by Richard Termine © 2015 The Metropolitan Opera.

"You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em." --Kenny Rogers, The Gambler.

The Metropolitan Opera's current production of Verdi's Rigoletto transposes opera's action to Las Vegas in the 1960s. In director Michael Mayer's mind, the Duke is a cabaret crooner, surrounded by a "rat pack" of buddies in snazzy lamé jackets. Rigoletto is his opening act, warming up the crowd with insult comedy. The Duke's palace is a casino-hotel, where the outside world exists only behind heavy green curtains. When it bowed in 2013, Mr. Mayer's vision of the opera seemed fresh. However, as Wednesday night's performance showed, this show's luck is running out.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Rigoletto

A new cast takes over the Met's "Vegas" Verdi revue.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Shake it baby: Piotr Beczala goes Vegas in Rigoletto.
Photo © 2015 The Metropolitan Opera.

This year's revival features Simon Keenlyside's return to the Met stage in the title role. He'll be relieved by Željko Lučić who sang this production when it premiered in 2013. The Duke will be sung by original lounge lizard Piotr Beczala, who will eventually be replaced by Stephen Costello. The key role of Gilda--Rigoletto's treasured daughter and the latest object of the Duke's depredations--is sung by Olga Peretyatko, who made a splash a few seasons back in I Puritani. Nadine Sierra sings the later performances.

Five from Twenty-Five

The best of the Metropolitan Opera season 2013-2014.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The class of 2013-14: Diana Damrau in La Sonnambula, Olga Peretyatko in I Puritani,
Ambrogio Maestri as Falstaff, Christine Goerke in Die Frau Ohne Schatten
and Joyce DiDonato in La Cenerentola.  All images © 2014 The Metropolitan Opera.
Curtain photo by Jonathan Tischler. Photoshop by the author.

With the 2013-2014 Metropolitan Opera season in the books it's time to go over the very best (and worst) of an uneven year at North America's largest opera house.

Opera Review: Lightning Strikes Twice

The Met looks to its future with this revival of I Puritani.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Veil song: Olga Peretyatko sings the Mad Scene from I Puritani as Michele Pertusi looks on.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2014 The Metropolitan Opera.

Eight years ago, the Metropolitan Opera assured its own future for the next decade with a revival of I Puritani that made Russian soprano Anna Netrebko an overnight sensation. On Thursday night, the Met used the same vehicle to launch the career of another Russian soprano. Like her famous compatriot, Olga Peretyatko is a smoldering, dark-eyed beauty. At the season premiere of this faded but still serviceable production of Bellini's final opera, the younger singer proved that lightning can, given the correct conditions, strike twice.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: I Puritani

A new generation takes on the bel canto classic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Her heart's on fire for Elvira: Olga Peretyatko in I Puritani.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2014 The Metropolitan Opera.

This is Bellini's last opera.

He died at the age of 33, just nine months after the premiere, but not before he wrote some of his most beautiful tunes, with sky-scraping roles for soprano and primo tenore. Here, the lovers Elvira and Arturo are played by soprano Olga Peretyatko (in her Met debut) and tenor Lawrence Brownlee. Dashing baritone Mariusz Kwiecien and bass Michele Pertusi appear in key supporting roles.