Opera Japonica/Archives/Letters from America 2001

Maria Nockin's Letters from America 2001

January

Billy Budd in Seattle: Act II battle scene with the French

Photo by Gary Smith /Seattle Opera

This past January was a fantastic month for opera in the United States. Every major and regional company was in high gear and there were so many offerings that choices were extremely hard to make. The Seattle Opera presented its premiere of Benjamin Britten's epic Billy Budd on the 13th in a production by Francesca Zambello, originally for Covent Garden, staged in Seattle by Christian Rath with sets and costumes by Alison Chitty and dramatic lighting by Alan Burrett. This production, which has also been seen in Houston and Los Angeles, features a simple set involving a raked, elevated rectangle along with a single mast surmounting an open lower deck, with blue panels and swirling mists surrounding it to suggest the sea.

Christopher Maltman as Billy Budd and Jeffrey Wells as Claggart (left), and William Saetre as Red Whiskers (right)

Photo by Gary Smith /Seattle Opera

Christopher Maltman was a convincing Billy, young and handsome with a beautiful lyric voice and an impressive command of the stage. As his nemesis Claggart, Jeffrey Wells was both attractive and terrifying in his characterization of a man driven by self-hate. He was menacing vocally, as well, creating an aural as well as a visual picture of this evil man.

Steven Goldstein as Squeak, Christopher Maltman as Billy Budd and Gabor Andrasy as Dansker

Photo by Gary Smith /Seattle Opera

Peter Kazaras's portrayal of Captain Vere showed him to be full of agonizing doubt, Richard Stillwell gave an excellent interpretation of Mr. Redburn, and the other small parts were well sung and definitively acted. The new Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Spano, who had conducted the original presentation of this production at Covent Garden in 1995, successfully brought out both the lush textures and the vivid drama of this modern masterpiece.

Billy Budd: Act II battle scene with the French

Photo by Gary Smith /Seattle Opera

San Diego Opera presented its own brand new production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte by a team including Michael Hampe, who directed the action and designed the sets in conjunction with Alberto Andreis. The star of the show, however, was Zandra Rhodes whose atypical, whimsical and colorful costume designs were the heart of the visual concept.

In casting this unusual production, General Director, Ian Campbell, engaged some of the finest young Mozartians to be found these days. Jennifer Casey Cabot was a radiant Pamina who sang with gleaming silvery tones. She has a fairly large voice with an attractive bloom as she ascends the scale, and her unalloyed femininity made her perfect for this role. Danish tenor, Johannes Mannov, showed the audience that he has a warm resonant baritone voice capable of a great variety of expression and he proved to be a gifted comedian as well. Although this production was mainly traditional in its treatment of the libretto, the skin color of Monostatos and his minions was changed from black to blue, thus eliminating any racial stereotypes left over from eighteenth century European mentality, and allowing Peter Blanchet to portray him as an expressive comic alien.

The most difficult role in this work is that of the Queen of the Night, whose fiendishly difficult coloratura takes her up to F above high C. Yan-Guang Cui not only put forth some show-stopping pyrotechnics, but she sang her first aria from a silver moon flown high above the stage. Visually exciting, this setting did not have much behind it to project her voice outward, but one only noticed that when she sang her second aria downstage with a bigger, fuller sound and hit those stratospheric F's with ease.

Kevin Langan, an elegant Sarastro, hit all the notes with finesse, but with less power than one might wish for. The three ladies, decked out in crescent shaped wigs and iridescent silks, were sung with great precision by Barbara Divis, Priti Gandhi and Susanna Guzman who formed a beautiful melodic unit. Each of these young artists is worth watching in the future.

John Fiore led the orchestra in a spirited and flexible rendition of the score with only an occasional ragged edge, while the chorus showed off its lush tones and excellent dynamic ability. It was a truly wonderful evening at the Civic Theater which lived up to San Diego Opera's motto: 'We make music worth seeing'.

L'Opéra Français de New York took over Alice Tully Hall on January fifth with two seldom heard one-act works: Camille Saint-Saens's La Princesse Jaune and Georges Bizet's Djamileh in stylish performances led by Yves Abel. La Princesse Jaune is a delicate lyrical work with the same type of allusions to the Orient that one finds in Delibes's Lakme and Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. As Lena, Cheryl Hickman used her large, well focussed voice to project the emotions of her character and to regale the audience with beauty of her tonal colors. Tenor, Gerard Powers, responded with warm attractive tones and a powerful forte.

While La Princesse Jaune is a lovely musical soufflé about a young man's obsession with a picture, Djamileh tells of a more serious love affair between a Pasha and a member of his harem. It made a fine vehicle for the gifted mezzo-soprano, Dolora Zajick. Clad in sumptuous red and gold, she poured forth the creamy colors of her powerful voice while also paying careful attention to the subtle nuances of the role. Gerard Powers sang the role of the Pasha Haroun, ardently and with great sensitivity, but singing two roles in one evening would seem to be the reason he sounded tired by the end of the performance.

On January 8th, the Metropolitan Opera gave its premiere of Ferruccio Busoni's Doktor Faust. This co-production with the Salzburg Festival was first seen there during the summer of 1999 and there, as here, it was a triumphant success for Thomas Hampson. In this production, director Peter Mussbach attempts to achieve dramatic continuity by treating the character of Faust as an actor playing a role in a dream, thus glossing over the gaps between the scenes of the story. The sets, by Erich Wonder, are stylized and much is suggested, although there are beautiful dreamscapes and a fabulous snowstorm in the second act.

Thomas Hampson brought the piece to life with his authoritative performance. Although the part is extremely long, his warm, resonant voice retained its color, power and beauty to the end, a tremendous feat for which he was well applauded. Robert Brubaker essayed the fiendishly difficult, high tenor part of Mephistopheles with special attention to correct expression of the text, and he only seemed the slightest bit tired at the end of this long evening. The lone woman in this predominantly male opera is the Duchess of Parma, handsomely portrayed and magnificently sung by Katarina Dalayman. Smaller roles were sung by David Kuebler, an excellent Duke of Parma, and Peter Rose, whose Wagner was well characterized.

Even though he had only three rehearsals before taking over conducting chores from James Levine, Philippe Auguin paced the orchestra well and led that august group on to new glories. The realization of this most difficult masterpiece is an awesome achievement.

Opera Pacific's contribution to the revivals of this Verdi anniversary year was the staging of his tenth opera, Macbeth. The production was directed by Colin Graham of The Opera Theater of Saint Louis, and it utilized a revolving set of stone ruins built at the Teatro Municipal of Santiago, Chile, along with newly designed costumes by Joel Berlin.

In the title role, Richard Paul Fink gave unstintingly of his large vocal resources in an effective portrayal of this wicked, but nonetheless human, character. Despite a few difficulties with the coloratura that this role calls for, Cynthia Lawrence gave us both the human and the evil sides of Lady Macbeth, varying the colors of her voice so as to show not only the strength of her character, but her weaknesses as well. Andrew Richards was a smooth and fluent Macduff, Eric Owens a robust Banquo and Chad Berlinghieri a lightweight Malcolm. Conductor, John de Main, gave an intense reading of the score highlighted by generally smooth playing.

There were many more interesting performances this month, such as The Dallas Opera's Siegfried and The Houston Grand Opera's Cosi fan tutte, but it is not possible to cover every one of them.

February

Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Los Angeles Opera: Elizabeth Futral as Cleopatra and Bejun Mehta as Tolomeo

Photo: Ken Howard

Written in 1724 for the Kings Theater in London, George Frideric Handel's Giulio Cesare is one of his crowning glories, the performance of which is as exciting today as it was in the 18th century. On February 23, 2001, the Los Angeles Opera presented this opera in a production by Francisco Negrin first shown at Opera Australia in 1994 with a cast including: David Daniels as Cesare, Elizabeth Futral as Cleopatra, Bejun Mehta as Tolomeo, Susanna Guzman as Cornelia, David Walker as Nireno and Paula Rasmussen as Sesto.

Under the direction of Harry Bicket, the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra was augmented with historically correct instruments, including theorbo and viola da gamba, to tackle one of this composer's longest and most elaborate operas. In the original score Cesare and Cleopatra were allotted eight arias each, but in this performance which lasted over three hours, Cesare sang two da capo arias and Cleopatra gloried in four.

The scenery by Anthony Baker consisted of 4 rectangular slabs which were arranged in various configurations to fit the situation of each scene. In addition to the normal stage area, a runway was added that went from stage right around the orchestra pit and ended just past the conductor's podium. When used, it served to make a more intimate venue for singers and solo instrumentalists.

David Daniels started of with a thin sound but his voice gradually grew in power so that half way into the first act he was sounding as wonderfully round toned as his recordings, while his characterization of Cesare became more emotionally absorbing and theatrically satisfying. Elizabeth Futral, who starts out being a beautiful as any movie goddess, was in gorgeous voice as well. She was also strikingly gowned, except for the bath scene when she disrobed behind a towel, showing just a hint of breast as she descended into the tub. The only point at which one might have wished for more from here was during her aria 'V'adoro pupille', when she was permanently placed at the top of a long flight of stairs, rather fa from the audience, causing a slight diminution of her otherwise more than adequate volume. For the rest of the opera she sang with the utmost accuracy and clarity of tone.

Elizabeth Futral as Cleopatra in the Los Angeles Opera Giulio Cesare

Photo: Ken Howard

Bejun Mehta's Tolomeo showed his coloratura ability more than his character's more frightening aspects, but he acted well within the bounds constructed by the stage direction. Susanna Guzman, as Cornelia, looked enchanting in her red bare midriff harem outfit, and although slightly miscast in the contralto role, sang with characteristically smooth legato. Paula Rasmussen as her son, Sesto, was an excellent choice for this castrato role, singing with creamy tones and technical accuracy. Their duet was a joy to hear. In this energetic production Nireno, David Walker, was in constant motion, possibly accounting for his occasional lapses in intonation. More traditional male voices were ably supplied by baritone, Pablo Porras, as Curio and bass, James Creswell, as Achilla. Hopefully, the Los Angeles Opera will give us a chance to hear more of these artists soon.

Eighteenth century music authority, Harry Bicket brought forth crisp rhythms from his orchestra, never letting the tempi lag or phrases get overblown, and his players responded with accurate, fluent playing. All in all it was a memorable evening at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

On Feb 1, The Dallas Opera presented Massenet's Manon in an earthy David McVicker Production from English National Opera. It was an evening full of eventful drama and fine singing. McVicker placed the action in a lower socio-economic class than is usually seen, so the action involved impoverished women looking for men who could keep them fed as well as clothed and far wealthier men who were intent on pleasure. Tanya McCallin's costumes tended toward the grotesque and the choristers were actually dressed as caricatures as they watched the action from a gallery.

In the middle of this tough atmosphere, the tender relationship between Manon and Des Grieux became even more moving. Hei-Kyung Hong's Manon was unforgettable, as she grew from an innocent but calculating young girl to a flashy courtesan in all her glory. Her voice bloomed wonderfully as it soared easily to the higher reaches of the score, and she tackled the more difficult passages with dazzling accuracy. She is one of the joys of our age and is not to be missed if she appears in your city. Paul Charles Clarke, who has excellent stage presence, was an ardent Des Grieux who sang with an authentic, if lean, French sound and for him the aria 'Ah fuyez douce image' was an opportunity to display his most delicate phrasing.

Earle Patriarco was a brutish Lescaut with a bright well used baritone, while Jerold Siena was slightly comic and thoroughly grotesque as Guillot, Brian Montgomery was impressive as De Bretigny, Stephen West was imposing as the dignified Count Des Grieux, and Nathalie Paulin, Deanne Meek and Valerie Komer were a well knit ensemble as Pousette, Javotte and Rosette. The chorus under Alexander Rom provided a fine dramatic presence even though some of their entrances were a bit ragged, and Emmanuel Plasson, son of the better known Michel, led the excellent Dallas Opera orchestra in a lean, idiomatic and well paced reading of the score.

On February 4, at Avery Fisher Hall, Leon Botstein conducted the American Symphony Orchestra, soloists and the Concert Chorale of New York in Ernest Chausson's rarely heard masterpiece, Le Roi Arthus. Composed between 1886 and 1895, this work has some significant Wagnerian overtones despite the composer's protests to the contrary. What is less obvious is that Chausson also owes a debt to Cesar Franck when it comes to the use of a more decorative chromaticism than that found in Wagner's works. Botstein brought this neglected but powerful piece to life with brilliant playing by all members of the orchestra, highlighted by beautifully bowed cello solos and the use of unusual bass and contra bass clarinets.

This opera tells of the end of the reign of King Arthur and its melancholy music speaks to his resignation as he learns of his betrayal. In the heroic tenor role of Lancelot, Hugh Smith gave a forceful portrayal of the knight whose remorse is so great that he eventually lets himself be wounded by Arthur. Substituting for the indisposed Russell Braun, Andrew Schroeder was an Arthur who sang with burnished tones as he projected his resigned but still forceful character. Although he began a bit tenuously, he soon gained in security and his final scene was sung with full, round tones.

Nicolle Foland was an almost ideal Guinevere who sang with both power and delicacy and was only rarely covered by the large orchestra. In other roles, Francois Le Roux, who sang Merlin, made excellent use of his exquisite French diction, Shawn Mathey was an engaging squire, veteran bass, Don Yule, portrayed an effective Allan and Jung-Hack Seo was an able Mordred.

Funded by Alberto Vilar, Britain's Glyndebourne Festival brought Leos Janacek's The Makropolous Case to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for four performances beginning February 11th. The 1995 production conceived by Elijah Moshinsky was staged by Nicholas Lehnhoff and starred that charismatic singing actress who has very rarely performed in New York, Anja Silja. Her name assured sold out houses, even though she is known to be well beyond her vocal prime. The action of this production is set in the Prague of the 1920's and flamboyant Erte-inspired costumes by Tobias Hoheisel looked magnificent on the eternally slim diva.

Although conductor, David Atherton, had less than a week of rehearsal with the Brooklyn orchestra, the performance of its players was crisp and accurate for the most part with only a few ragged edges. The other members of the cast including Steven Page, Par Lindskog and Linda Tuvas, singers not well known to the New York audience, sang accurately and were effective stage protagonists.

In a conservative production directed by Linda Brovsky, the San Diego Opera presented Charles Gounod's Faust on Sunday, February 25. Richard Bonynge conducted. Octavio Arevalo was Faust, and Izabela Labuda was Marguerite. Mephistopheles was sung by Ferruccio Furlanetto, with Judith Christin as Marthe, Zheng Cao as Siebel, and Jeff Matsey as Valentin.

With so many productions utilizing new concepts which change the time and place of well known operas, it was refreshing to see a traditional production of this well known, but no longer often seen, opera. The sets and costumes for this Faust, originally constructed for Houston Grand Opera by Earl Staley, kept the piece set firmly in sixteenth century Germany, with slight invocations of the occult in the shadows.

Making his US debut, Mexican tenor Octavio Arevalo proved to be an important discovery. He has a beautifully resonant sound along with serious acting ability, and should be a happy addition to many opera houses in the bel canto and lighter lyric roles. Ferruccio Furlanetto's Mephistopheles is legendary and in this performance he certainly lived up to that status. He has a huge, flexible voice with burnished tones that seem to surround the listener. His song of the Golden Calf was impressive, his serenade, memorable, and his invocation of the night was awe inspiring.

As Marguerite, Izabela Labuda, portrayed her character effectively and sang most of it accurately, although she lacked the coloratura fireworks one generally expects from the Jewel Song. Zheng Cao sang Siebel with creamy, smooth and opulent tones, while in the comic relief role of the middle aged neighbor, Marthe, Judith Christin amused the audience with an obvious attempt to seduce His Satanic Majesty, even grabbing his cape at one point. For those who had not heard him before, baritone Jeff Matsey was an exciting discovery. He has a large well focussed baritone voice and acting ability as well.

Faust is an opera in which the chorus is an important part of the musical fabric, and the San Diego group sang with panache under the direction of Timothy Todd Simmons. Conductor Richard Bonynge is no stranger to this opera house, and his expert cohesive pacing with sprightly tempi made for a very effective reading of the score. It was a fine performance that showed off many of the best points of the San Diego opera.

March

Vladimir Galouzine as Alexei, Elena Obraztsova as Grammy, and Olga Guryakova as Pauline in Prokofiev's The Gambler at the Met

Photo: Winnie Klotz/Metropolitan Opera

On March 19 the Metropolitan Opera gave its first performance of Sergei Prokofiev's The Gambler, a dissonant, expressionistic opera from the 1920s with a libretto by the composer based on Feodor Dostoyevsky's 1866 novella. The good looking set by George Tsypin and attractive costumes by Georgi Alexi-Meskhvili, effectively lit by James Ingalls, gave a visual uplift to this otherwise difficult piece. Temur Chkheidze's production played up the lighter moments of the story and the staging did provide some contrast to Prokofiev's relentless repetition.

Olga Guryakova as Pauline and Vladimir Galouzine as Alexei in The Gambler

Photo: Winnie Klotz/Metropolitan Opera

The star of this production was Vladimir Galouzine who gave a stellar performance in the ungrateful role of Alexei. A true tenore di forza, he was able to follow long periods of declamation with a smooth, unerring legato, keeping his singing in tune, focused and resonant. Olga Guryakova's Pauline was both touching and sexy. Like Galouzine, her intonation was flawless, giving the impression that she could pull off this tremendously difficult part with ease.

Many readers remember Elena Obraztsova from some years ago when she sang leading roles all over the world. As the grandmother in this performance, she proved that she has retained her huge chest tones and her authoritative command of the stage. Like many older singers whose voices may no longer be fully intact, she still has a great deal to offer if given the right role.

The Met Orchestra played impressively under the baton of Valery Gergiev, whose grasp of the style of this piece makes his interpretation a very welcome addition to the New York operatic scene. Although many members of the audience were not immediately converted to this rather difficult opera, and the house was not nearly as full at the end of the evening as it had been at the beginning, those who stayed through all four acts had a truly memorable experience.

Vladimir Galouzine in The Gambler

Photo: Winnie Klotz/Metropolitan Opera

Carlisle Floyd's new opera, Cold Sassy Tree, which is based on Olive Ann Burns' best selling novel, takes place in a small Georgia town at the turn of the twentieth century. The name, Cold Sassy Tree, was given to that town because it was thought to be the coolest place in northern Georgia and because it had a large sassafras tree. The main story line tells of the marriage and ensuing love affair between store owner, Rucker Lattimore, a very recent widower, and his employee, Love Simpson. Love, a northerner, is considered an interloper by the townspeople and most especially by Rucker's two grown daughters. Only his grandson, Will Tweedy, who narrates the story, understands that Love is really the wife that the older man needs to make him truly happy.

Dean Peterson as Rucker Lattimore and Patricia Racette as Love Simpson in San Diego Opera's Cold Sassy Tree

Photo by Ken Howard

The cast presented by San Diego Opera on March 24 was much the same as that of the opera's world premiere in Houston, Texas, last May, with Patricia Racette as Love, Dean Peterson as Rucker and John McVeigh as Will. Floyd's melodic music and its set pieces make this work closer to La Boheme than to many later twentieth century operas. Love's music, for example, is beautifully tailored to Racette's considerable abilities and arias like the appealing 'Rented Rooms' show this wonderful young soprano off to great advantage.

Dean Peterson shows us Rucker Lattimore as he gradually changes from a new widower who thinks that the best thing about his prospective bride is that he can stand to be around her for an extended period of time, to an ardent husband who finds himself completely in love with his wife. Vocally, his secure rendition of the 'Sermon' on the hypocrisy of the townspeople was a treasure. John McVeigh had long and difficult part as the narrator of the story, Will Tweedy, but he paced himself well, singing accurately with a pleasant ring to his voice, while his love interest, Lightfoot McClendon, was portrayed in fine style by a silvery voiced former member of the San Diego young artist program, Megan Weston.

Except for one or two ragged entrances, the chorus sang accurately especially in the life affirming final scene, while conductor, Karen Keltner, who had obviously done a great deal of hard work, led the fifty-five piece orchestra in a performance that brought out both the dramatic and the sentimental aspects of this exquisitely written score.

Patricia Racette, as Love Simpson, shows off her millinery skills to Judith Christin, as Effie Belle Tate, in San Diego Opera's Cold Sassy Tree

Photo by Ken Howard

The Opera Orchestra of New York, under the direction of Eve Queler, does a great service by giving concert performances of works that are seldom seen on the stage. On March 7, this group presented an Italian version, La Favorita, of Donizetti's 1840 La Favorite. It proved to be a fine vehicle for the star baritone, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, whose totally commanding stage presence, round tones and smooth legato delighted the audience.

New to New York was the luscious dark bass of the Ukrainian Operalia winner, Vitalij Kowaljow, and after this taste of his talent many opera fans are hoping to hear more of him very soon. The rest of the cast was not quite up to the level of the lower male voices. Gregory Kunde was an adequate Fernando and Jennifer Larmore's somewhat uneven mezzo voice served up all the right notes, but not always in the best form. This was a night to hear virile voices, though, and despite a few flubs in the orchestra, La Favorita was well worth the price of its tickets.

On March 8, 2001, for only the second time in its history, the Metropolitan Opera presented a new production of Verdi's third opera and his first big hit, Nabucco. Perhaps the reason this opera has not been produced more often is that it demands a superhuman soprano. For its premiere in 1960, the Met presented that most beloved Viennese singer, Leonie Rysanek, and in 2001 they have another attractive, dramatically talented singer with a seemingly bionic voice, Maria Guleghina.

This season's well received, traditional production is by Elijah Moshinsky with a towering 35 foot set by John Napier and splendid costumes by Andreane Neofitanou. Besides Ms Guleghina, on this evening the cast included Juan Pons as Nabucco, Samuel Ramey as Zaccaria, Wendy White as Fenena and Francisco Casanova as Ismaele.

Listening to Ms. Guleghina's Abigaille was an exciting experience as she propelled her gleaming voice through some of Verdi's most difficult music. It is to be noted, though, that the composer's own chosen Abigaille, Giuseppina Strepponi, later to become Mrs. Verdi, did not keep this role in her repertoire long and one might expect the same from the Ukrainian soprano. Samuel Ramey was in his usual excellent voice and it, along with his acting, made him a convincing Hebrew priest, Juan Pons was a conventionally solid Nabucco and Wendy White a passionate Fenena. In many ways the meat of this opera is given to the chorus, and in this performance they repeated their 'Va Pensiero', thus breaking the Met's usually hard and fast 'no encores' rule. James Levine and the deservedly much feted Met Orchestra provided a solid foundation for this epic performance and the audience showed its delight repeatedly at the end of the evening.

This is the Verdi centennial year because it has been one hundred years since his death, and as a result some of the maestro's less often performed works are readily available. One of them, Don Carlo, in its Italian incarnation was presented on March 17 in the nation's capital by the Washington Opera. Missing was the Fontainebleau Scene and some other delights of the French version, but the presentation of the four act version is a very worthwhile endeavor even if, as in this case, the production borrowed from the Lyric Opera of Chicago is somewhat gloomy and the stage direction rather static.

The Don Carlo, Ramon Vargas, is one of the truly great tenors of our time, and he sang with solid, clear, robust tones, while his companion, Rodrigo, sung by Dwayne Croft, led the action with his intense characterization and his strong, seemingly effortless singing of this demanding role. Veronica Villaroel used her distinctive sound and expressive acting ability to produce a finely characterized Elisabeth, while mezzo-soprano, Elizabeth Bishop, bowled everyone over with her warm voiced Eboli.

Under the able baton of Sir Edward Downes, the Washington Opera Orchestra brought forth beautiful sounds and showed the virtuosic playing ability of its members. This has been an excellent year for this company and Don Carlo is definitely a large jewel in its crown.

April

From left: Todd Geer as Arbace, Joseph Hu as the High Priest of Neptune, Ruxandra Donose as Idamante, Scott Wyatt as Idomeneo and Ute Selbig as Ilia in Idomeneo at the San Diego Opera

Photo © Ken Howard 2001

Gaetano Donizetti's 64th opera, Don Pasquale, which premiered in 1843, was revived by the Los Angeles Opera in a production created by the late Jean Pierre Ponelle for Covent Garden. Directed by Stephen Lawless and conducted by Emmanuel Joel, the LA performances starred Simone Alaimo as the Don, Thomas Allen as Dr Malatesta, Ruth Ann Swenson as Norina, and Greg Fedderly as her sweetheart, Ernesto.

The highlight of this most enjoyable evening was Swenson's rendition of the aria 'So Anch'io la virtu' magica', in which she tells of her enviable prowess with men. Singing some of the most difficult coloratura in the soprano repertoire with seeming ease, she created a truly human character with her fine acting and sense of humor. Simone Alaimo's Pasquale was cast in a slapstick mold, which seems to be the fashion in many opera houses these days, and it tended to spoil the delicacy of the work, but his singing was accurate and resonant.

Thomas Allen as Dr Malatesta and Ruth Ann Swenson as Norina in the Los Angeles Opera Don Pasquale

Photo © Ken Howard 2001

Although Thomas Allen's voice no longer pours forth as easily as it once did, he is still a consummate singing actor who commands the stage. Before the curtain rose an announcement was made telling of the indisposition of Greg Fedderly, who sang despite sinus problems. He sang carefully, hitting all the notes at the right times, but without the ease and fluency normally expected of him. Emmanuel Joel's rather quick tempi resulted in some imprecise ensembles, but this evening was replete with gorgeous singing and delicious comedy, for which the audience showed its appreciation with tumultuous applause.

Simone Alaimo as Don Pasquale and Thomas Allen as Dr Malatesta

Photo © Ken Howard 2001

On April 20, 2001, San Diego Opera presented its first production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Idomeneo, King of Crete, an opera which hints at music to be found in Le nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan tutte despite being written in the style of an opera seria, already considered old fashioned in Mozart's time.

The title role was to have been sung by Jerry Hadley, but he became indisposed one week before the premiere and cancelled all the performances. Scott Wyatt, who had covered the role in San Francisco and Santa Fe but had never sung it on stage then stepped in to save the show, bringing off this difficult part with considerable grace. Wyatt has a moderately sized voice with an appealing timbre which he used effectively to convey the tragedy befalling the ancient king. With his robust tones, accurate diction and excellent acting ability, this young, inexperienced singer created a believable character old enough to have a grown son.

Joseph Hu as the High Priest of Neptune in San Diego Opera's Idomeneo

Photo © Ken Howard 2001

The role of Ilia was sung by the Dresden Opera's Ute Selbig, who had been an excellent Susanna in San Diego's Figaro a few seasons ago. She sang with cool purity of tone and delicate coloration, even though this music may be slightly heavy for her voice. Despite a few poorly intoned notes, her silken top opened with a beautiful bloom and her act three aria, 'Zeffiretti lusinghieri', was sung with soaring abandon.

Ruxandra Donose, making her San Diego Opera debut in the trouser role of Idamante, was impressive both as an actress and as a singer. She looked handsome in her form-fitting costume and her warm, opulent sound was a treat for the ear. Although she may not have the biggest mezzo voice around, she combines a dazzling technique with excellent musicianship, often floating two phrases on one breath. With charismatic temperament and intelligent interpretation, she gave the audience a graphic picture of her character's emotional turmoil.

Scott Wyatt as Idomeneo

Photo © Ken Howard 2001

The role of Elettra is rather unsympathetic, but Carol Vaness brought it off with volcanic power and gleaming laser-like high notes. Although I detected a slight excess of vibrato when she sang fortissimo, she triumphed at the end of the opera with 'D'Oreste d'Aiace ho in seno i tormenti'. Todd Geer, whose Arbace benefitted from clear, steady, well supported tones and a pleasant timbre, also showed that he had considerable acting skills. Taiwanese tenor, Joseph Hu, has a flexible, warm, lyric voice which he used with dramatic expression as the High Priest, while Dean Elzinga, as the off stage voice of the sea god, had resounding bass-baritone sonority to spare. The latter was a fine Figaro at Arizona Opera last year and will sing the King in San Diego Opera's forthcoming performances of Aida.

Conductor Edoardo Müller, as always, treated his singers with supportive dynamic nuances, a relaxed expansiveness and appropriately varied tempi. There are some extremely beautiful orchestral passages in this score and Müller made them flow like old wine. Directed by Lotfi Mansouri with sets by John Conklin, costumes by Michael Stennett and lighting by Thomas J. Munn, this largely realistic production was constructed with walls that slide in and out to change scenes and a painted backdrop to portray the sea. The costumes were eye-catching and consistently flattered the figures of the singers with their attractive eighteenth century styling.

Idomeneo at the San Diego Opera

Photo © Ken Howard 2001

On April 8, 2001, The New York City Opera revived Douglas Moore's 1956 opera, Baby Doe, with a cast featuring two up-and-coming American stars, Elizabeth Futral and Mark Delavan. Conducted by George Manahan, this production by Colin Graham with fast changing sets by John Coyne, shows how effectively Moore and his librettist, John Latouche, could evoke the essence of life in a 19th century Colorado mining town. The robust voiced Delavan as silver miner, Horace Tabor, and the vivacious mezzo-soprano, Joyce Castle as his first wife Augusta, created memorable true to life characters as did the charismatic, strong voiced Myrna Paris, as Baby Doe's coarsely mannered mother.

Futral sang Baby Doe's somewhat ungratefully written music with exquisite grace and portrayed a less flamboyant character than that which we remember from earlier productions with Beverly Sills. Futral's softer edged approach is, however, an equally valid interpretation and one handkerchief was not enough at the end of this evening.

George Manahan's conducting brought forth a buoyant, warm and vibrant reading of the score from the excellent New York City Opera Orchestra and it may be noted that this nostalgic, truly American opera seems to be earning a genuine place in the operatic repertoire.

Placido Domingo has been singing Parsifal for ten years, now, and he does it better each time around. The role lies in the best part of the dramatic tenor's molten gold voice which soars gracefully over the opulent Wagnerian orchestration, and although he is no longer a young man, he moves very well on stage and can portray the youthful hero with ease. At the 29 March Met premiere he had a well chosen partner in Violeta Urmana, whose fiery, dramatic sensuality and bright, extended upper range made her a triumphant Kundry. As Gurnemanz, John Tomlinson showed the vulnerability of this character while singing the long role with great stamina and a certain amount of dramatic fervor.

Hans Joachim Ketelsen was a somewhat dry voiced Amfortas, but his rich portrayal gained the sympathy of the audience nonetheless, while Ekkehard Wlaschiha's Klingsor projected evil incarnate with a rather monochromatic, stentorian voice. As with many Wagner operas, the total effect of this performances was greater than the sum of its parts due to the shimmering colors and refined tension of James Levine's orchestra which never lost continuity despite the Maestro's slow tempi. With its old fashioned realistic sets and costumes, this production may not be around very much longer, but let's hope we will have many more Parsifals with Domingo, Urmana and Levine.

Giacomo Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, first performed in 1836 is a quintessential French grand opera which has not been staged in New York since 1915. It is too expensive for today's producers and, complete with several ballets, it is too long for the busy opera goers of the 21st century. Eve Queler's Opera Orchestra of New York gave it in judiciously cut concert form in 1969 and again, to a tumultuously appreciative audience, on April 23, 200l.

This opera stands or falls on its cast and Ms Queler assembled an excellent group of singers who were more than up to the task of making it work. Sicilian Tenor, Marcello Giordani, had no difficulty at all with the high tessitura of his part and sang up to a D natural with well placed, ringing tones. As Valentine, Krassimira Stoyanova was totally immersed in her character and projected it with great sensitivity. Olga Makarina's coloratura was agile enough, but she lacks a truly noble timbre needed for Marguerite and she did not add much ornamentation to her lines.

Met comprimaria, Maria Zifchak, showed that she is ready for bigger parts with her accurate coloratura mezzo voice and charismatic interpretation of Urbain, while bass, Luiz-Ottavio Faria, singing Marcel also seems to be a major talent with his easily produced dark voice.

In the other parts the high baritone of Kamel Boutros made him a suave de Nevers, but Gary Simpson was an underpowered, rather bland St. Bris. The latter was, however, just the slightest disappointment in an incredibly wonderful evening, and with Maestro Queler's supportive, enthusiastic conducting, the entire piece was close to a dream come true for lovers of fine singing.

May

The Triumphal March Scene from Aida at the San Diego Opera

San Diego Opera's final production of the 2001 season was a spectacular one of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida with varied, neo-traditional sets by Michael Yeargan, attractive costumes by Peter Hall and effective lighting by Marie Barrett. In the title role, Elena Zelenskaya showed that she has a pleasant, strong voice with a clear, if slightly edgy, sound on top and resonant chest tones. She sang with a graceful legato and, when called for, a well produced messa di voce. With fine vocalism and considerable acting ability, she created a compelling slave princess still regal in captivity.

Richard Margison was a splendidly heroic Radames. Not only did he sing an Italianate 'Celeste Aida' with an easily reached 'vicino al sol', he then proceeded to sing the rest of his role with well focused golden tones. Marianne Cornetti, who sang Amneris, has a huge trumpet-like voice with a secure technique. Her Judgment Scene was memorable and she created a will-defined character: a royal Egyptian princess in love with Radames, ready to share her throne with him and to fight desperately for his life until there is nothing left to do but curse his judges.

Elena Zelenskaya as Aida and Haijing Fu as Amonasro at the San Diego Opera

Hai Jing Fu was a dramatic Amonasro, imperious and menacing. He created a character not to be trifled with, while singing with a firm baritone voice that showed none of the vibrato problems which had troubled him some time ago. As Ramfis, Hao Jiang Tian exhibited a strong bass-baritone voice, portraying his priestly authority in his bearing and with solid resounding tones. Dean Elzinga's well honed acting skills made an interesting character of the King of Egypt. Secure and dramatic in his well enunciated utterances, his firm, resonant bass baritone foretells a fine future for this young artist. The superbly disciplined chorus directed by Timothy Todd Simmons brought forth clear harmonies and excellent balances, while the ballet, choreographed by John Matashock, was acrobatic and inventive, if not authentically Egyptian.

Edoardo Mueller gave us the immeasurable benefit of his deep understanding of Aida as he elicited an idiomatic reading of this most compelling score from the players of the San Diego Opera Orchestra. His tempi were never slack and the dramatic tension built up, scene upon scene, to the great denouement with the lovers in the tomb and Amneris above, alone, having shed her wig to reveal a bald head, praying for her lost lover. It was a truly wonderful evening and we look forward to many more great performances from this company during their 2002 season.

Marianne Cornetti as Amneris and Elena Zelenskaya as Aida

The year 2001 is the one-hundredth anniversary of the death of Giuseppe Verdi and, in commemoration, San Diego Opera presented his magnificent and dramatic Requiem as a finale to the season at the Civic Theater on 19 May 2001.

Together with soloists Elena Zelenskaya, Marianne Cornetti, Richard Leech and Dean Peterson, Edoardo Mueller conducted the San Diego Opera Orchestra - which now, for a change, could be seen on stage. For this occasion, the San Diego Opera Chorus was joined by that city's Master Chorale and alumni of the opera's young artist program, bringing the number of people on stage to well over three hundred, and the huge visual display added to the effect of the opening of this piece, a barely audible prayer for eternal rest.

Zelenskaya, who was a fine Aida at the beginning of the month has the kind of voice that can be heard through any orchestration and Maestro Mueller used her ability to great effect. She sang with clearly understandable, if slightly accented, Latin and poured forth rich, brilliant top notes, a warm middle register and powerful chest tones, unfortunately, marred on one or two occasions by faulty intonation. She is an unusually interesting artist, though, and I hope we will eventually get to hear her in Russian opera.

Richard Leech sang a radiant 'Ingemisco' with clear lyrical tones and Maestro Mueller made sure that he was never overpowered by the enormous forces on hand. In the ensembles, too, his singing was Italianate and emotionally affecting as he utilized subtle colors and dynamic shading to bring his part to life.

Marianne Cornetti, who garnered rave reviews as Amneris here, proved again that she is the kind of Verdi mezzo one does not often encounter these days. She has the high extension, the smooth legato, the dramatic timbre, the chest tones and, above all, the power to tackle the most difficult of this composer's heavy roles with seeming ease. She blended her voice expertly with the other singers, lightening it when necessary, and allowing it to shine like burnished copper in her solos. Dean Peterson, replacing the indisposed Kevin Langan, offered some perfectly gorgeous singing, especially in his upper register, and he imbued the 'Confutatis' with commanding authority.

Maestro Mueller brought together all of these disparate forces with great skill, keeping the melodic lines distinct and stylistically well-shaped while making sure that the soloists' voices were never covered. As with many overpowering performances, there was an occasional stray note, but this is a piece that speaks directly to the heart of the listener and, at the end of the evening, the huge audience was so audibly affected that there was a moment of silence before the outbreak of tumultuous, well-deserved applause.

The merry wives of Windsor: left to right Mary Ann McCormick as Meg, Luretta Bybee as Dame Quickly, and Sheri Greenawald as Alice in Falstaff at the Seattle Opera

Photo: Gary Smith

On 5 May 2001, the Seattle Opera presented Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff in a perceptive and humorous production featuring sets by Hayden Griffen, costumes by Michael Stennett and stage direction by Chris Alexander. Alexander's keen knowledge of both Shakespeare and Verdi, along with his proven comedic ability, assured the audience of a rollicking good time.

The huge cast, including Alfonso Antoniozzi as Falstaff, Sheri Greenawald as Alice Ford, Frank Hernández as Ford, Jane Giering-de Hahn as Nanetta, William Burden as Fenton, Luretta Bybee as Dame Quickly, Mary Ann McCormick as Meg Page, Wiliam Saetre as Bardolfo, Seth Malkin as Pistola, and Joel Sorensen as Dr Caius formed an excellent ensemble. Conducted with enthusiasm by Gerard Schwarz, the performance moved along at a snappy pace.

Antoniozzi was the only singer with a truly impressive voice, but the ensemble of well matched comic characters revolved comfortably around him. Greenawald was a particularly fine comedienne, McCormick a sultry and smooth voiced Meg Page, Giering-de Haan a refreshing Nanetta with ethereal top notes, while Hernández was a properly jealous Ford, Burden an ardent Fenton, and Sorensen a comical Dr. Caius. Played with broad comedy and a great deal of action, including some cartoon-like pratfalls, this performance gave the audience an evening of constant laughter. The musical values were not neglected either. The Seattle Opera Orchestra played with energetic accuracy and the many cross rhythms of this piece were occasionally a bit murky but were never lost. It was a 'fun' performance and the audience obviously had a wonderful time.

Sir John is deposited in a dirty laundry basket: left to right, Mary Ann McCormick as Meg, Alfonso Antoniozzi as Falstaff, and Sheri Greenawald as Alice

Photo: Gary Smith

On 13 May 2001, the Opera Orchestra of New York presented Gaetano Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, juxtaposing two markedly different leading ladies: Lauren Flanigan as Queen Elizabeth I and Ruth Ann Swenson as Mary, Queen of Scots. Flanigan was every inch the queen with uniquely commanding stage presence and impressively dramatic vocal fireworks, and she sent Mary to the headsman with absolute glee, while Swenson portrayed a much softer-edged character, too much given over to affairs of the heart.

Unfortunately, because of the lack of staging of any kind, Mary was never humbled on her knees before Elizabeth and the most important scene of the opera was not as effective as it might have been. Swenson, however, sang her part with easily produced, well sustained legato phrases as she created her character with her voice rather than by her actions.

Gregory Kunde, who sang Robert, the Earl of Leicester, has a light tenor voice, much smaller than that of either soprano, but he had no trouble reaching the high notes which he sang with great bravado. Patrick Carfizzi poured forth a dark velvet bass-baritone sound as Count Talbot, while Chang Yong Liao, also an excellent new talent, was a resonant Lord Cecil and Eleni Matos gave us a finely drawn Anna.

Conductor Eve Queler, who produces so many fascinating concert performances of works that could never be staged by New York City's major opera companies, conducted the Opera Orchestra of NY with less than optimum tension, but this was a most interesting performance, none the less, and subscribers were overheard to be eagerly anticipating next year's selections.

On May 16, George Frideric Handel's Rodelinda, first performed in 1725, was presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music by the Opera Theatre Company of Ireland. It was a brave bid for a place in the New York City season by this Dublin based touring company, which normally plays the cities and villages of its own country and neighboring Great Britain.

The performance in Brooklyn featured soprano Helen Williams as Rodelinda and she sang with clear, bright tones while acting her role with great poignancy. Countertenor, Jonathan Peter Kenny, was vocally less secure but his acting skills enabled him to put forth a fine portrayal of Bertarido's tormented state. Iain Paton was a menacing Grimoaldo and his well-focused tenor voice was pleasing to the ear, if a bit small for the size of the hall. Charles Johnson, on the other hand, proved to be a strong and secure Garibaldo, while Yvonne Howard was an effective Eudige.

Under the direction of Laurance Cummings, the New York Collegium played accurately and with fine Handelian style, despite the fact that they probably did not have a great deal of rehearsal time with the Irish singers. Hearing this company was a pleasant new experience for New Yorkers and it is hoped that they will soon return.

June

Erie Mills in the title role with Carolyn Betty as Nanny in Miss Havisham's Fire at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Photo © Ken Howard

On June 3, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presented a revival of Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Fire, an opera written in the late seventies for Beverly Sills who, unfortunately, never appeared in it. Stage director, James Robinson, prevailed upon Argento to give it another chance and, after some significant revisions, it is again before the American public - looking like a winner this time.

The plot is based on material from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations but the opera has a different slant, as it opens with an inquiry into the death of Aurelia Havisham and proceeds with flashbacks. Erie Mills portrayed the title character with white hot emotion. This is a modern bel canto role with a logically created mad scene, and Mills interpreted it with well focused coloratura, dramatic expression, excellent diction and well honed acting skills. Although her voice is not overly large, it carries well and her exciting performance brought forth ecstatic cheers from the audience.

Others in the cast were: Keith Phares who sang the role of Pip with excellent technique, and Patricia Risley who enchanted the audience with the beauty of her evenly produced voice and her fine characterization. Conductor, Beatrice Jona Affron, made a most auspicious debut as she elicited exquisitely colored sonorities and precision of attack from members of the St. Louis Symphony. With help from all these fine artists, an opera which once seemed destined for oblivion became the hit of the season.

Patricia Risley as Estella and Keith Phares as Pip in Miss Havisham's Fire at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Photo © Ken Howard

Chicago, like New York, has more than one fine opera company. On June 6 the Chicago Opera Theater presented the Glimmerglass production of George Frideric Handel's intimate 1718 opera, Acis and Galatea. Mark Lamos's whimsically up-dated staging kept the onlooker's interest without diverting attention from the musical values of the piece. Building on John Gay's timeless libretto, the whole production reverberated with sensuality as the cast, wearing Constance Hoffmann's white summer dresses and sailor suits, frolicked on a mythological Arcadian beach. Michael Smallwood sang ardently with a clear voice, ornamenting the repeats in the da capo arias as he cleverly combined a lover's passion with moments of tenderness. Nathalie Paulin, making her Chicago debut as Galatea, showed that she has a well supported, sensuous and agile soprano voice which does not lose its quality or its power in the lower register. Like Smallwood, she ornamented well and never sang the same tune the same way a second time.

Of course, a good story must have conflict and it was well supplied by bass baritone, Derrick Parker, as the giant cyclops, Polyphemus. He sang the aria, 'O Ruddier than the Cherry' with thunderous power. Impressive, too, was the portrayal of Damon by Jackalyn Short, and her Act II coloratura aria was one of the highlights of the evening. A great deal of the credit for this fine performance goes to Nicholas Cleobury who devised the ornamentation for the arias and conducted the small orchestra of virtuosi playing on period instruments. Some times good things come in small packages. This was one of them.

Paolo Gavanelli as Simon Boccanegra

Photo: Ken Friedman

On June 16 the San Francisco Opera presented a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Simon Boccanegra originally conceived for Covent Garden in 1991 by Elijah Moshinsky. It was staged here by David Edwards with sets by Michael Yeargan and costumes by Peter Hall. The original 1857 libretto for this opera was by Francesco Maria Piave, but Verdi and Arrigo Boito revised it in 1881 and it is this later version that we usually hear today. Simon is one of Verdi's most moving father figures, and although he was at one time a sea marauder, for most of the opera he is shown as having mellowed into an excellent statesman whose past seems forgotten.

Paolo Gavanelli, the San Francisco Simon, is a magnificent singing actor and he proved to be a majestic protagonist, authoritative in the Council Chamber and compellingly tender in the scenes with Amelia. At the premiere his legato was smooth and his messa di voce the hallmark of his excellent technique. Here is an artist about whom a great deal more should be written. He is truly one of the major singers of our time.

As Amelia, Carol Vaness acted with finesse and sang with beautiful Verdian style, proving that she still has a trill as well as secure high notes. Samuel Ramey, appearing as Fiesco for the first time, was monumentally impressive and his sonorous voice flowed forth like an ocean. Thus, his singing of 'Il lacerato spirito' was a model of grace, fine legato singing and Italianate style. Making his San Francisco debut as the treacherous Paolo was Nikolai Putilin. He has a huge resonant baritone voice and should be a major asset to this company in other roles as well . Carlo Ventre, substituting for the ailing Marcello Giordani as Gabriele Adorno, has a pleasing lyric tenor voice but seemed out of his depth in this company. He sang with considerable ardor and acted effectively, but his voice tended to sound pushed when he sang forte.

Yeargan's settings were imaginative and effective, reducing medieval Genoa to walls, columns and a blue silk sea, while Edwards' staging was traditional except for the use of an actor to portray the composer. Conductor Donald Runnicles shaped the music of this score with consummate mastery, at various times emphasizing warm, passionate strings, virtuoso woodwinds and bright, rousing trumpets.

One June 22nd Simon Boccanegra was again presented with the same cast, but by the end of Act I it became evident that Gavanelli, who had a throat infection, would not be able to finish the performance. For Act II Putilin moved from Paolo to Simon and gave a subtle interpretation of the role with his warm baritone sound, while young Patrick Carfizzi, who has been singing smaller parts at major opera houses recently, took on the role of Paolo and made a dramatic tour de force of it with his dark bass baritone voice and fluent acting. All the other parts were sung by the same artists as at the premiere, but this performance, with its last minute exigencies, proved the depth of the casting at San Francisco.

Catherine Malfitano as Tosca with Tom Fox as Scarpia (alive)

Photo © Ken Howard

On June 6 the Los Angeles Opera presented a revival of its 1989 Tosca, as staged by Christopher Harlan with effective sets by John Gunter and lush costumes by Liz da Costa. Catherine Malfitano is one of the finest artists of our day and her Tosca is a true diva, vulnerable with her lover, but demanding of attention at all times. On this evening she was able to produce an amazingly wide range of tone colors while seeming to be so involved on stage that one wondered how she managed it all. As her consort, Cavaradossi, Richard Leech began with a few vocal problems but he gave a fine resonant performance after that and he showed himself to be an excellent acting partner for Malfitano. Tom Fox was a malevolent Scarpia, but one who sang his role suavely with insinuation rather than brute force and he made a distinct impression as a fine artist. In the pit, Richard Buckley propelled the performance forward at a firm pace, never overpowering the singers, and proving that 'Tinsel Town' can present opera on as high a level as any city in the USA.

. . . and Tom Fox as Scarpia (dead)

Photo © Ken Howard

July

Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Glimmerglass Opera

Photo: George Mott/Glimmerglass Opera

One of the best audience-building programs anywhere is the Metropolitan Opera's annual offering of free opera in New York City's Central Park, a natural oasis in the center of Manhattan. Among the crowd of 45,000 attending La traviata on July 2, 2001, were many people who had never before attended an opera. Verdi's La traviata was a perfect choice for this audience with young and pretty Basque soprano, Ainhoa Arteta, attractive tenor, Stuart Neil, and the well loved baritone, Dwayne Croft, singing their proverbial hearts out. Arteta, in particular, sang some exquisite pianissimi and colored her voice effectively in the more dramatic moments. Stuart Neil was a passionate Alfredo, although Maestro Barbacini chose to cut the cabaletta of his 'De' miei bollenti spiriti'. Dwayne Croft was not permitted the ending of his aria either but his was, nevertheless, a fine rendition of the role of Germont.

The Met in Central Park

Photo: Winnie Klotz

On July 7, The Glimmerglass Opera, a summer festival in Cooperstown, NY, presented Emanuel Chabrier's rarely performed 1877 opéra bouffe, L'Étoile. The music of this long neglected work is refined, elegant and full of interesting harmonies which were beautifully brought out by the sensitive conducting of Stewart Robertson.

Although the elaborate, surrealistic, mirrored sets by Andrew Lieberman, the colorful costumes by Constance Hoffman and the inventive lighting of Robert Wierzel added to the charm of this evocative work, Mark Lamos's stage direction required the singers to exaggerate their spoken lines to a marked degree and that seemed contrary to the light, frothy spirit of the piece.

The cast featured attractive soprano, Karina Garvin, as a fetching Princess Laola, honey-voiced mezzo, Christine Abraham, in the trouser role of the street peddler, Lazuli, with whom the princess falls in love, and tenor, Torrance Blaisdell, as a comically majestic, Ouf I. Also memorable were the performances of apprentice mezzo, Marie Lenormand, as Aloès and bass, Kevin Burdette, who together with Blaisdell enacted a hilarious drinking scene. What could be more fun on a summer evening than this magnum of musical champagne?

Caroline Whisnant and,Theodore Green in Vanessa at the Des Moines Metro Opera

On July 9, 2001, Des Moines Metro Opera presented Samuel Barber's 1958 opera, Vanessa, in a lavish production with eye-catching scenery and costumes by R. Keith Brumley and Connie Juranek. Conducted by Artistic Director, Robert L Larsen, Metro's middle sized orchestra poured forth the resplendent sonorities of this rich work and supported the singers' voices without ever overpowering them.

In the title role, Caroline Whisnant met the vocal and physical challenges of her role with smooth legato singing and expert stagecraft . Tenor, Theodore Green, looked the part of a suave suitor and he tossed off his difficult role with seeming ease while mezzo, Leah Creek, portrayed Erika with great musicality and dramatic verve. Although this Des Moines company only stages three productions per year, it works hard at doing them well with fine young artists who will soon be heard in better known venues. Caroline Whisnant, whose Norma was a hit at Metro last year, is just one of their singers who is beginning to make a fine career.

On July 14, The Glimmerglass Opera, presented a production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with a classically oriented set by Benoit Dugardyn and beautifully executed eighteenth century costumes by Johann Stegmeir.

Dean Ely was a cunning Figaro who easily outwitted his blue-blooded opponent, and his rich resonant sound set the standard for the performance. Nicole Heaston was a cute and winning Susanna whose smooth, dark toned soprano had both the delicate phrasing and the large range needed for this role. As the Countess, Joyce Guyer sang a show-stopping, poignant 'Dove Sono' in fine Mozartean style. Christopher Schaldenbrand was an arrogant count who sang with secure tones, while apprentice,Valerie Komar, was a passionate and amusing Cherubino. In lesser roles, David Evitts as Dr Bartolo and Lesley Leighton as Marcellina matched strong stage presence with good vocal performances. Apprentice, Steven Timoner, was an effective gardener, while another apprentice, Alison Trainor, as Barbarina, gave a fine rendition of her aria.

Stage director Stephen Lawless showed that he has a fine sense of comedy and a yen for perpetual motion. He never let his characters stop moving for a moment . . . not even when someone else was singing an aria. The Glimmerglass Orchestra and Chorus gave a first class reading of Mozart's score under the direction of their most able conductor, George Manahan, making this a truly fine performance amid the beauty of upstate New York's Adirondack Mountains.

Nicole Heaston as Susanna, Christopher Schaldenbrand as the Count, and Joyce Guyer as the Countessa in Le nozze di Figaro

Photo: George Mott/Glimmerglass Opera

On the same evening, July 14, The Opera Camerata of Washington, DC, under the leadership of its new artistic director, Gregory Buchalter, presented a concert of operatic favorites with soprano Sondra Radvanovsky and tenor, Francisco Casanova. Radvanovsky, who is fast becoming a major star in the operatic firmament, showed her versatility by singing arias from such different works as Verdi's La traviata and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. She sang a dramatic 'Ah, fors'è lui', with clean, accurate coloratura in the following 'Sempre libera', while her passionate rendition of the Letter Scene showed her huge dynamic range. Her voice has a distinctive sound and she is definitely an artist to watch.

Casanova was particularly impressive in the selections that called for soft legato singing: 'Federico's Lament' from Cilea's L'Arlesiana and 'Quando le sere al placido' from Verdi's Luisa Miller. His high notes were clear and they rang out more freely here than they have on some occasions at the Metropolitan Opera House. The duet from Un ballo in maschera was particularly well sung by these two artists who are able to sustain its long, sinuous phrases with ease and their single encore, a passionate rendition of the duet from the first act of Puccini's La bohème, sent this audience away with wonderful memories of this gala evening reverberating in their heads.

August

Summer in Santa Fe

Jeffrey Wells as Raimondo, Alexandra von der Weth as Lucia, Frank Lopardo as Edgardo, Jennifer Powell as Alisa, and Oziel Garza-Ornelas as Enrico in the Santa Fe Lucia di Lammermoor

Photo: Ken Howard

Austria has The Salzburg Festival, England has Glyndebourne and the United States has an equally unique summer opera festival in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains seven miles outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Against this magnificent background, The Santa Fe Opera Company newly headed by Richard Gaddes presented Mithridate, Re di Ponto, an opera written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was 14 years old.

Although not on a par with his adult works, this early opus is fascinating in its foreshadowing of great works to come. Donald Kaasch did a fine job of negotiating the fiendishly difficult title role originally written for a tenor with an extremely high range. Laura Aiken looked like a film star as Aspasia and her top notes were glorious as she tossed off her most intricate coloratura. In the trouser roles of Sifare and Arbate, Nicolle Foland sang passionately and Kathleen Callahan showed the evenness of her strong voice along with a fine technique.

One of this season's apprentices, Eliza Warner, substituting for the ailing Bejun Mehta on a few hours notice, gave an admirable interpretation of the role of Farnace. Last, but very definitely not least, Celena Shafer was a tremendous hit as the East Indian princess, Ismene. She has it all, a gorgeous, voluminous, flexible voice, fine Mozartean style and excellent stagecraft. Australian apprentice-tenor, Michael Smallwood, also revealed an interesting, warm voice in the small role of Marzio. We will probably be hearing a great deal more of both these young artists.

Conductor, Kenneth Montgomery, has a fine command of early Mozart style and he drew refined and accurate playing from the orchestra. Although Anthony Baker's scenery was minimal, it served its purpose while his costumes and unusual wigs did a great deal to make the women singing the trouser roles believable. This was a delightful evening providing fine music in a spectacular setting and the thunderstorm that occurred during the performance only served to heighten the effect in this theater which is covered but not closed in at the back and sides.

Mitridate at Santa Fe: (left to right) Bejun Mehta as Farnace, Kathleen Callahan as Arbate, Donald Kaasch in the title role and Nicolle Foland as Sifare

Photo: Ken Howard

On August 9 the Santa Fe presentation was Richard Strauss's Die Ägyptische Helena in the revised edition first performed at Salzburg in 1933. Although John Crosby relinquished his post as general director of the opera company at the end of last year, he is still a very able conductor, as was proven on this evening when he brought forth exquisitely blended sounds from the virtuosi of the orchestra.

The singing was generally excellent, too. Christine Brewer's opulent soprano easily encompassed the notes of her part and she bowled the audience over with gleaming, radiant tones. Judith Howarth was an appealing silver voiced Aithra and Jill Grove an amusing Omniscient Mussel who came equipped with a 'shell 'phone'. John Horton Murray looked the part of Menelas, but except for the very top notes, his singing was rather colorless, while Mark Delavan sang with well focused, resonant tones as Altair and John McVeigh was an effective Da-ud.

The sets by Adam Stockhausen were colorful, inventive and amusing. Most of his costumes looked well on the cast, but Brewer would have fared better with darker colors and longer, more slimming lines. It was a wonderful opportunity to see this rarely staged piece and the audience showed its appreciation with thunderous applause at the end of the evening.

Richard Strauss's Die Ägyptische Helena at Santa Fe: Christine Brewer as Helen and John Horton Murray as Menelas

Photo: Ken Howard

Alban Berg's haunting, monumental World War I epic, Wozzeck, was the greatest artistic success of the Santa Fe Opera 2001 season. An opera that does not always fill the house in the biggest cities, it came close to selling out here. Robert Innes Hopkins's unique sets were starkly intriguing and designed so that an entire room could be tipped sideways to a steep rake so that it coincided with the hallucinations of the title character. When accompanied by Rick Fisher's effectively garish lighting and the finely devised staging of Daniel Slater, Wozzeck was the kind of excellent theater one can only hope to experience in a world class opera house like Santa Fe's.

Under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski the orchestra played the difficult score with great power while Hakan Hagegard, interpreting the title role for the first time, made a deep impression as the hulking, disturbed, desperate, but very human character. From his very first step on stage you became aware of his inability to affect his own destiny. Equally strong was the sensuous Marie of the lovely Anne Schwanewilms, making her American debut. Neither she nor Hagegard were overwhelmed by the heavy Berg orchestration and their voices shone brightly above the climactic dissonances for which Berg is so well known. Veteran tenor, Ragnar Ulfung, was a clarion-voiced captain, Eric Halfvarson a menacing doctor, Jay Hunter Morris an impressive Drum Major and Judith Christin an amusing Margaret. Played through with no break, this opera struck the audience right between the eyes, giving rise to a very eloquent moment of silence between the last note of the music and the first clap of the thunderous applause which ended the evening.

Anne Schwanewilms as Marie and Hakan Hagegard as Wozzeck at Santa Fe

Photo: Ken Howard

The two biggest box office hits were Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff in a rollicking performance starring British Baritone, Andrew Shore, and Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor in an updated production featuring the American debut of German soprano Alexandra von der Weth. Both of these operas were given with the expected English titles, but this year the seat back translation was available in Spanish, as well.

Falstaff was brilliantly staged by Jonathan Miller who made the most of the opera's comic opportunities. With turntable sets by Robert Israel and colorful costumes by Clare Mitchell, the visual picture was a total delight. Shore gave a detailed, subtle but hysterically funny interpretation of his flawed, but nonetheless lovable character. As his cronies, Bardolfo and Pistola, Anthony Laciura and Wilbur Pauley were thoroughly amusing with the Laciura notable for his characterization and Pauley for his strong singing.

Alwyn Mellor, last year's Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, was a lady-like Alice whose floated some silvery tones, while Scott Hendricks was an appropriately threatening Ford. As the young couple who want to marry, Danielle de Niese and Gregory Turay both seemed a bit underpowered, but Rosemary Kuhlmann's Mistress Quickly was right on the mark, especially with her low notes. Alan Gilbert conducted this comic romp at an appropriately snappy pace and the evening seemed to go by much too fast.

Andrew Shore as Falstaff and Alwyn Mellor as Alice Ford in the Santa Fe production of Falstaff

Photo: Ken Howard

On Monday, August 13, Lucia di Lammermoor graced the stage in an updated setting with solid looking sets by Dipu Gupta and costumes in muted colors by Joel Berlin. There was a violent thunderstorm during the overture and it made a perfect backdrop for the wild Scottish story.

Frank Lopardo's sweet sounding, artfully colored tenor blended beautifully with the radiant soprano of von der Weth and they turned in fine renditions of their roles. Lopardo was especially effective in the tomb scene because he is both a fine singer and an eloquent actor. Von der Weth was a very sexy Lucia who showed hints of mental instability from the beginning of the opera, making her Mad Scene a logical conclusion to the story. Except for a few stratospheric notes, her singing was accurate and she has a very charming vocal delivery somewhat reminiscent of Joan Sutherland. As Lucia's brother, Enrico, Oziel Garza-Ornelas was appropriately nasty while Jeffrey Wells was an authoritative Raimondo. Richard Buckley's tempi varied widely and possibly, as a result of that, he did not seem to get the best out of the Santa Fe Orchestra, but the audience was extremely appreciative, nonetheless.

Like the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Santa Fe Opera is usually dark on Sundays. However, on the last two Sundays of the season, Santa Fe's apprentices present staged operatic scenes with piano accompaniment as a way of showing their progress along the road to becoming finished professional singers.

On August 12 the program began with Act I of Jacques Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann featuring the outstanding young coloratura soprano, Amanda Pabayan as the doll, Olympia, and Garrett Sorenson as a warm voiced, passionate Hoffmann. Stephanie Woodling was a dashing Nicklausse, Brandon Mayberry a dramatic Coppelius and John Bischoff a resonant, round toned Spalanzani in this well acted mini production. Together with music director, Brent McMunn and stage director, Ed Hastings, this group set the standard by which the other participants would be judged.

A scene from Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress followed with Sean Fallen as an interesting, complex Tom and Thomas Dickinson as a thought provoking Nick Shadow. In the Final Duet from Die Entführung aus dem Serail, dark voiced soprano, Kirsten Dickerson and rich toned tenor, Brian Register, exhibited their considerable vocal and acting skills. Soprano, Carolyn Rock, tenor, Jan Kvistborg, and baritone, Todd Payne, presented a fascinating interpretation of the St. Sulpice scene from Jules Massenet's Manon with musical director Peter Pasztor and stage director Daniel Slater. Rock was particularly memorable for her gleaming tones and her delightfully seductive acting.

After the intermission music director, Pedro Yañez, and stage director, Sheri Greenawald, gave a gripping presentation of The Apparition Scene from Benjamin Britten's Turn of the Screw, in which Amanda Pabayan as Miss Jessel and Michael Smallwood as Peter Quint gave outstanding performances. Smallwood, in particular, sang this difficult music with seeming ease and varied the color of his voice without sacrificing tonal quality.

An Act I excerpt from Gioacchino Rossini's Semiramide showed Mary Kristine Hughes to be an Arsace who has the building blocks of a fine mezzo voice. As Assur, James Lynn sang with assurance and competent technique. In an Act II excerpt from Britten's Billy Budd, Keith Harris sang the title character with a clear lyric voice, Jonathan Boxer was effective as the Novice and John Bischoff was a strong, dramatic Dansker.

The finale of the evening was the riotously funny, rousing Act II Trio from Rossini's The Barber of Seville, staged by Daniel Slater and under the musical direction of Michael Franciosi, with mezzo, Nicole Montany, as a charming Rosina, clarion-voiced tenor Chad Millar as Count Almaviva and fine comedian, Robert Garner, as Figaro. It was a delightful evening that presented many outstanding young artists who are destined to be a part of the future of this wonderful art form that we all love so well.

On Tuesday Evening, August 14, The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in conjunction with Santa Fe Opera presented soprano, Christine Brewer, and baritone, Patrick Carfizzi with the excellent accompanist, Roger Vignoles, in a joint recital that included some intriguing, rarely heard songs. Their program began with two duets by Henry Purcell, 'Sound the Trumpet' and 'Lost is my Quiet Forever', each of which showed the immense size, fine quality and excellent technique of these exquisite voices. Carfizzi continued with two sensitively sung pieces by Carl Loewe (1796-1869), 'Archibald Douglas' and 'Der Nöck' (The Water Sprite), in which he exhibited his ability to sing a smooth legato, vary the color of his voice and sing a dramatic fortissimo without the slightest hint of strain. Brewer responded with a poignant, beautifully phrased rendition of Ottorino Respighi's 'Il Tramonto' (The Sunset) accompanied by a string quartet featuring Jessica Linbach, Timothy Fain, Teng Li, and the outstanding cellist, Daniel Lee.

After the intermission Brewer sang a varied group of songs by Joseph Marx (1882-1964), utilizing the many colors and gradations of volume that her radiant voice encompasses, while Carfizzi returned with Maurice Ravel's better known Don Quichotte à Dulcinée in which he made good use of his fine interpretive skills. As a finale, they offered five beautifully sung duets by Peter Cornelius (1824-1874). Of these, 'Heimat Gedenken' (Thoughts of Home) with its lovely soprano obbligato over the baritone melody, the fast and light hearted 'Brennende Liebe' (Burning Love) and the poignant harmonies of 'Scheiden' (Separation) were the most memorable. After this wonderful evening of excellent singing, the artists sent the audience away laughing with a comic encore in which Carfizzi played a voice teacher who was not sure Brewer was worthy of his time.

New Mexico's car license plates refer to the state as the 'Land of Enchantment'. For lovers of classical music who come to Santa Fe in the summer it certainly is that and more.

See also Maria Nockin's interview with Richard Gaddes, the new General Director of the Santa Fe Opera and her report on last year's Summer at Santa Fe.

September

Arshak II, an opera by the Armenian composer Tigran Chukhadjian , at the San Francisco Opera: Tigran Martirossian as Nerses, David Okerlund as Vartan, Hasmik Papian as Olimpia, and Christopher Robertson as Arsace

Photo: Larry Merkle

This piece is dedicated to the more than six thousand people who died in the September 11, 2001, attack on America. New York, in particular, was most cruelly hit. Many of the people who perform and attend opera there lost a relative, a friend or a neighbor.

The Los Angeles Opera opened on September 3 with a controversial production of Pyotyr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Pikovaya Dama (The Queen of Spades) which featured a star studded cast performing an updated production that tended to stray from the clearly written libretto. German designer, Gottfried Pilz set all the scenes, even those taking place out of doors, in a huge, sideways tilted ballroom. Variations to depict the differing scenes called for in the synopsis were accommodated with lighting only. The musical aspects of this performance, however, were almost always on the highest level. Valery Gergiev conducted with the complete mastery one has come to expect from him in Russian opera, and he elicited magnificent sounds from the Los Angeles Opera orchestra. The chorus, too, was smooth and energetic, despite some awkward direction.

With Herman, Placido Domingo has added yet another fine portrayal to his vast repertoire. He is a phenomenon with a stunning talent and we are lucky to attend opera in the age which hears him live. Another artist of great accomplishment is Elena Obraztsova who created an eerie, unforgettable, aged countess. Vladimir Chernov, as Yeletsky, sang superbly with an effortless legato, while Sergei Leiferkus was an impressive Tomsky. Both of these singers appeared to be much more at home here than in some of their Italian roles. Only Galina Gorchakova as Lisa seemed to be having a few problems. Her high notes were somewhat inconsistent and she sang much of her role with covered tones. In the smaller parts of Pauline and the Governess, Susanna Poretsky, an Operalia winner, and Susanna Guzman, an LA favorite, created memorable characters.

Richard Leech as Hoffmann, with Denyce Graves as the Muse (left), and Sumi Jo as Olympia (right) in Les Contes d'Hoffmann at the Washington Opera

Photo: Carol Pratt

On September 8, the Washington Opera opened with Marta Domingo's new production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, using the new edition by Michael Kaye. Kaye has unearthed a great deal of material that was originally an integral part of this opera, and Placido Domingo has championed this more authentic and darker version which usually puts the sinister and violent 'Giulietta' Act last. In this production, however, the 'Antonia' Act is last and some music not written by Offenbach is included.

No complaint can be made about the cast. Sumi Jo is a marvelous doll, Alan Held sings Lindorf, Coppelius and Dr Miracle with a resonant dark timbre, and C Y Liao is an excellent Dappertutto. Richard Leech's characterization of Hoffmann is intense but he paces his singing well, pouring forth beautiful tones in every act, and the creamy mezzo tones of Denyce Graves coupled with her svelte figure make her a perfect choice for Nicklausse/The Muse.

Although all the female leading roles are often sung by one soprano, this production uses three different singers. Thus, the mezzo Giulietta, Victoria Livengood, was denied an aria but put across a fine characterization, while Andrea Rost sang the moribund Antonia with great panache. Conductor Emmanuel Villaume brought all his diverse forces together with wonderfully idiomatic French style, bringing out the vibrant colors and surging rhythms of this incredibly rich score.

Arshak II, a work completed in 1868 by the Armenian composer Tigran Chukhadjian, had its world premiere at the San Francisco Opera on September 8, 2001. A work of the time of Verdi and Wagner, it was originally composed to an Italian libretto which for this performance was reset in Armenian as part of a performing edition by contemporary musicologists, Haig Avakian and Gerald Papian. The score contains many moments of exquisite beauty and conductor, Loris Tjeknavorian brought out its many lyrical melodies which sometimes seemed at odds with the opera's violent story. Stage director, Francesca Zambello, did her best to make sense of the sinuously twisted plot, while Anita Yavich's costumes and John Coyne's sets were a feast for the eyes.

Hasmik Papian as Olimpia and Katia Escalera as Polisena in Arshak II in San Francisco

Photo: Larry Merkle

The cast included several artists new to the Bay Area, including Armenian soprano, Hasmik Papian who treated the audience to flamboyant vocal fireworks, and the beautiful French mezzo, Nora Gubisch, who portrayed a powerful Paransema. Christopher Robertson's Arshak seemed a bit underpowered, possibly the result of opening night nerves, but tenors Philip Webb and Gordon Gietz were both vocally impressive and they were able to create realistic characters despite the uneven libretto. Arshak II is an imperfect work and it will not be played by a great many opera companies, but it has many exquisite moments which enable it to provide an excellent evening's entertainment.

The New York City Opera was to have opened its 2001-02 season on September 11 with Richard Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer but, because of the attack on the World Trade Center that took place on that day, the New York State Theater was closed until the following Saturday, when the opera was premiered as a matinee. Before the start of the performance the entire cast came on stage for a very moving ceremony which included a memorial moment of silence.

The new production of Wagner's early opera was directed by Stephen Lawless who had his characters tell the story directly and with great impact. The set by Giles Cadle was solid and made use of expressionistic projections, while Ingeborg Bernerth's costumes were attractive and timeless. Mark Delavan, whose voice shone mightily in a small part at Santa Fe, was completely in his element as the Dutchman. His singing was powerful and his interpretation among the best seen in decades.

Susan B Anthony, who was an absorbing Chrysothemis in Santa Fe the summer before last, gave the New York audience everything it could want in a Senta. Although her voice is somewhat light for this role, it cuts through a heavy orchestration with seeming ease and it provides the crowning glory for her strong characterization. Carl Tanner was an eloquently smooth Erik, while Kevin Langan, although not at his best vocally, gave a fine portrayal of Daland. George Manahan got an excellent reading of the score from the New York City Opera Orchestra which, although not quite up to the standard of the Met's virtuosi, gave a fine performance which was sincerely bravoed at its end.

The San Diego Comic opera presented Emmerich Kalman's operetta, Die Czárdásfürstin in an English translation which calls it The Gypsy Princess. The cast featured Megan Weston, the much acclaimed 'Lightfoot McClendon' of Carlisle Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree which was seen last season at San Diego Opera. Her clear, accurate singing and vivacious dancing made her an excellent choice for the operetta's title role. As her blue-blood prince, Daniel Ebbers, a regular at the Los Angeles Opera, sang with a strong, pleasant voice which he used well in both the melodic and declamatory aspects of his role.

Priti Gandhi, a recent winner of the Dvorak Competition in Prague who sang in San Diego Opera's productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Die Zauberflöte, was a creamy toned, luscious looking Countess Anastasia. Count 'Boni' was impressively sung by Chris Thompson, a fine singing actor and high-spirited dancer, while the warm voiced Paul Gudas was a lively 'Feri' who proved that he could still keep step with the otherwise very young cast members.

Both the sets, which were based on those originally designed for the work's premiere, and straightforward, traditional stage direction were by J Sherwood Montgomery who effectively got the story across to the audience. The glue that held this performance together so well was the knowledgeable conducting of Leon Natker. He has mastered the Central European style to a degree that is rare in the US today. Thus, he kept the performance at a toe-tapping, idiomatic pace and the principals were able to sing and dance with ease. The audience at this matinee, which included a number of speakers of Central European languages, could not have been more appreciative and at the end the cast was greeted with overwhelming applause.

October

Los Angeles Opera's production of Verdi's La Traviata: Act One

On October 23 the Los Angeles Opera presented Giuseppe Verdi's tragic opera, La traviata, conducted by Placido Domingo and sung by a cast of promising young artists. Puerto Rican soprano, Ana Maria Martinez, made her mark as Mimi in the 1997 LA La bohème and, after a stint as a resident artist at the Vienna State Opera, she has returned as an exquisite Violetta - impossible not to fall in love with. She has the beauty of tone and warm vocal color for 'Ah, fors'é lui' as well as the dramatic impact for a most touching 'Addio del passato'. Her only problem all evening was with the coloratura in the 'Sempre libera' which she tossed off with rather too much abandon.

Mexican tenor, Rolando Villazon, is a fine addition to the LA roster and his Alfredo was wonderfully romantic. He showed his extensive vocal ability with a thrilling rendition of 'De' miei bollenti spiriti' and its caballetta, 'O mio rimorso'. Both Martinez and Villazon are excellent actors and they made totally credible young lovers. Jorge Lagunes was the elder Germont, a difficult character for a young baritone, but after some initial stiffness, he gave a convincing portrayal. Vocally, he could have varied his dynamics somewhat more, but he has a fine voice and will eventually learn that he can sing piano and still be heard in the farthest recesses of the house.

La traviata in Los Angeles: Pablo Porras as d'Obigny, Rolando Villazon as Alfredo and Ana Maria Martinez as Violetta

Susanna Guzmán was a gorgeous Flora whom one wished had more to sing. The same was true of Greg Fedderly, luxury casting as Gastone, while resident artist Pablo Porras was a notable Marquis d'Obigny. As Annina, Jessica Rivera was made to look plain, but her singing was well focused and her diction clear. She will have the more glamorous role of Frasquita in the upcoming Santa Barbara Carmen. Basses Louis Lebherz and James Cresswell sang effectively and portrayed their characters well as Dr. Grenvil and Baron Douphol.

Jorge Lagunes as Germont and Ana Maria Martinez as Violetta in Los Angeles

Placido Domingo conducted the well rehearsed Los Angeles Opera Orchestra with varied but traditional tempi, emphasizing Verdi's rhythmic side and he drew a well paced dramatic performance from his musicians. Marta Domingo's staging was traditional for the most part. Its only unusual feature was a death figure in the last act who picked up the sleeping Violetta and danced across the stage holding her in his arms. The colorful, intricate sets and attractively detailed costumes by Giovanni Agostinucci underlined the parameters of the 'demi-monde' in which the heroine lived and provided interesting stage pictures which formed an attractive background for this excellent performance. It would seem that Los Angeles has finally hit its stride as a major American opera city.

Ana Maria Martinez as Violetta and Rolando Villazon as Alfredo in Los Angeles

Baltimore, Maryland, is a city that has been performing opera since the 18th century. Its present company, The Baltimore Opera, opened its current season on 10 October with a star studded performance of Gioacchino Rossini's comic opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia. Vladimir Chernov was a nimble Figaro whose fast paced patter, resounding high notes and gymnastic ability made him a perfect choice for the role. He commanded the stage at this performance. Vivica Genaux has made a specialty of Rossini and with good reason. Her Barbie Doll figure and large, agile, dark timbred voice enable her to portray his most difficult heroines with seeming ease. Bruce Fowler was every bit her match as an elegant Almaviva, replete with power, flexibility and smooth phrasing. As the elderly Dr. Bartolo, Bruno Praticò was thoroughly amusing. Bass, Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, was a bumbling but resonant Don Basilio and Madeline Gray was an energetic Berta.

Conductor Claudio Desderi, whom many of us remember as a fine Rossini bass, kept the orchestra playing like a finely honed machine never letting its sound cover the voices of the singers, while Stefano Visioli's stage direction released this opera's hillarious comedy and let it flow freely in this fine opening performance.

Arizona Opera opened its 2001-2002 Phoenix season on October 11 with a production of Giuseppe Verdi's tragic but tuneful Rigoletto. Cal Stewart Kellogg, who led last year's Don Carlo, conducted an orchestra which has improved markedly over the last two years and its playing at this performance was excellent. The singers, too, would seem now to be more carefully chosen. Perhaps less money was spent on its visual aspects. The simple but solid two level set originally built for Atlanta was borrowed from its current owner, Utah Opera, and the colorful, attractive costumes came from Utah and Dallas. Michael Cavanaugh's direction was interesting but not distracting and the chorus seemed to move as individuals instead of a group that simply stands on stage and sings.

Gordon Hawkins is an experienced artist whose excellent interpretation of the title role can tug at your heart strings. His singing of 'Cortigiani, vil razza dannata' was both powerful and poignant as he excoriated the courtiers and pleaded for the return of his daughter. Playing opposite this veteran and commanding artist were two young singers was are starting what are expected to be fine careers: Jane Jennings, the lovely lyric coloratura soprano who sang the totally innocent Gilda, and John Bellemer who sang the licentious Duke of Mantua. Jennings has a clear, sweet voice and a well developed technique. Her 'Caro nome,' the aria in which she muses on her sweetheart's name, was replete with appropriate fioriture and that great rarity: a genuine trill. She trilled evenly while walking upstairs, across the balcony, and into the room beyond. Bellemer, both tall and handsome, sang with a rather soft tone in the first act during which he was occupied with a great deal of stage business, but in the second act he came into his own vocally with the aria 'Parmi veder le lagrime' and its cabaletta 'Possente amor mi chiama', which he crowned with a ringing high D. Peter Volpe was an awe inspiring Sparafucile with resonant low notes, while James Scott Sikon, the Monterone, uttered a bloodcurdling curse. As Maddalena, Isola Jones was a voluptuous siren whose low notes were effective in the last act, while Korby Myrick was a smooth-voiced, money-grubbing Giovanna, and Jeremy Aye gave Marullo a definitive characterization. This was an auspicious opening night for Arizona Opera. Lets hope it foretells more good things to come.

The Pittsburgh Opera opened its 2001-02 season on Saturday evening October 13 with a rousing performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni. Pittsburgh's new staging, a co-production with The NYC Opera, Opera Pacific and Tulsa Opera, features a sleek, angular and rather bare set by Riccardo Hernandez and attractive costumes by David C Wollard. Stage director, Thor Steingraber, gave us a Don less sociopathic than usual, at times tormented by his conscience. As played by William Shimmell, he was the essence of intensity.

All of the singing was an improvement over past years, and the new regime of artistic director, Christopher Hahn, is to be congratulated on its casting. Christine Goerke, for example, is one of the finest young artists on the opera stage today, and in this performance her huge, well focused voice floated over the audience with a smooth legato as well as clean, accurate coloratura. Patrick Carfizzi was a roguish Leporello who sang his Catalog Aria with glee. Pamela Armstrong gave a convincing portrayal of the jilted Donna Elvira. Rinat Shaham was a bubbling Zerlina with a warm flexible voice while two Pittsburgh Opera Center singers, Hugh Russell and Charles Castronovo, proved that they are valuable additions to the company.

John Mauceri conducted with fine Mozartean style and his orchestra responded in kind, except for one slight problem in the string section. It was a good beginning which hopefully portends more of the same to come over the rest of the season.

On Friday, October 19, The Virginia Opera presented Giacomo Puccini's powerful drama Tosca at the George Mason University Center for the Arts in Richmond. Stage director, Dorothy Danner, elicited strong performances from Argentine native Fabiana Bravo who was singing the title role for the first time, from Frank Poretta III as her lover Cavaradossi and from Guido Le Brun as a very evil Baron Scarpia.

Bravo's Tosca was loving and vulnerable with Cavaradossi but she turned into a hellcat when driven to desperation by her nemesis, Scarpia. Vocally, too, she had both the smooth legato needed for the early scenes and plenty of dramatic power for the later ones. Le Brun was a good foil for her, dramatically, while Poretta sang his arias with a warm lyricism and gave his 'Vittoria' plenty of dramatic punch.

The balance between voices and orchestra was well managed by conductor, Peter Mark, who kept the performance moving at an appropriate pace with varied dynamics that underscored this opera's dramatic values. With this quality of production being achieved, it is no wonder that there will be one more opera added to Virginia Opera subscriptions from next season.

November

The final scene of Houston Grand Opera's Tannhäuser :Stig Andersen in the title role with Tina Kiberg as Elisabeth

Photo: George Hixson

On 26 October 2001, Houston Grand Opera presented Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser in a new production directed by Werner Herzog, best known for his film Fitzcarraldo. The simple sets were by Maurizio Balò, with effective costuming by Franz Blumauer and lighting by Paul Pyant. The staging was simple, utilizing red to symbolize the wonders of Venusberg and white to represent the domain of Elizabeth. Blowing fans and lighting accomplished much in setting the mood, while the singing was allowed to be the main point of the opera.

Tina Kiberg as Elisabeth, Stig Andersen as Tannhäuser, and Guido Paevatalu in the background as Wolfram, at the Houston Grand Opera

Photo: George Hixson

Danish tenor, Stig Andersen, who was Houston's Tristan in 2000, had a tumultuous success in the title role. He sang with the subtle colors of his virile, dark voice and gave a fine, well thought-out interpretation of this highly conflicted character. Tina Kiberg, married to Andersen in real life, has the appropriate radiant soprano to portray the saintly character of Elizabeth. She looked like a vision and had a lyrical, bel canto approach to Wagner's romantic score. Michelle de Young, looking voluptuous as Venus, gave a fine account of herself in a vocally thankless role. As Landgraf Hermann, Stephen Milling sang impressively. The only weak link was Guido Paevatalu's Wolfram whose rather rough singing of the Hymn to the Evening Star was not up to the level of the rest of the cast.

The smaller roles were well done, with Marie Lenormand's beautiful shining voice providing an excellent Shepherd and Patrick Marques making a fine impression as Walther von der Vogelweide. The conductor, John Fiore, reminded us of Wagner's debt to the bel canto era with his lyrical approach to the work. As a result, the colors of this incredibly vibrant score shone through while none of the singers were unduly taxed. It was a truly fine performance, well appreciated by the Houston audience.

Don Giovanni in Arizona: Benjamin Butterfield as Don Ottavio and Regina Felsing as Donna Anna

Photo: Tim Fuller

On November 10th, Arizona Opera presented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni in an interesting production directed by Brian Deedrick. The rather bare set, which included reproductions of famous Spanish paintings, was designed by Nicholas Muni and the appropriate, if somewhat understated, costumes were by Karl Friedrich Oberle. Bradley Garvin was a good-looking Don Giovanni. At six feet, five inches in height his imposing frame easily commands the stage. His voice, too, is a large, luxurious bass and he gave a well acted interpretation of the legendary seducer. In this production Leporello was often abused by his master, however Dean Elzinga, a fine bass baritone and a capable athlete, rolled with the punches and his Catalogue Aria was one of the highlights of the evening, as he let the even expanse and attractive timbre of his voice pour forth.

All the male roles were extremely well produced in this performance. Benjamin Butterfield tossed off Ottavio's difficult arias with ease, while Jeremy Aye sang Masetto with a clear baritone sound and Benjamin Sorenson was a sonorous Commendatore. On the distaff side, Jennifer Casey Cabot was an effective Elvira, less shrewish than many, and she had no audible trouble with 'Mi tradì'. Regina Felsing, a much less experienced singer, seemed over parted as Donna Anna, and Allyson McHardy, a heavy-voiced mezzo, sang Zerlina's solo music beautifully but did not blend in well in the ensembles. Conductor Steuart Bedford kept everything moving at a sprightly pace and allowed a few interesting embellishments. Although it was not a perfect performance, the audience reaction at the final curtain showed that they had enjoyed it.

Dean Elzinga as Leporello and Jennifer Casey Cabot as Donna Elvira at the Arizona Opera

Photo: Tim Fuller

With excellent regional opera available in most states, a visit from a touring company is a rarity, so it was with great expectations that Phoenix fans awaited the performances of the St. Petersburg Chamber Opera from Russia. Naturally, a touring company cannot transport more than the barest necessities, and in this case that meant not only a minimum of sets and costumes but a very small orchestra and the use of solo singers as choristers whenever they were not performing their assigned roles.

On 3 November, the company presented Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in the original version (which does not include the romantic relief of the Polish scene). Stage director and company artistic director, Yuri Alexandrov, gave us a very different interpretation of this piece from the usual grand spectacle, orchestrated by Nicolai Rimsky Korsakov, that we sometimes see on the stages of the larger opera houses. Gone were the crowds for the outdoor scenes, replaced by some 20 singers and extras who were abusively ordered about by the Czar's police, as this production endeavored to show the seamy side of Russian history while giving the Pushkin/Mussorgsky libretto equal time with the music.

In the title role of the troubled Czar, bass-baritone, Edem Umerov, made good use of his attractively colored, mid-sized voice and gave us a truly thoughtful monarch whose evil deed, the murder of the heir to the throne he occupies, haunts him day and night. Russia is famous for producing the best in lower male voices and this company is no exception. Vyacheslav Luhanin, the Pimen, for example, exhibited another fine voice whose low notes were sonorous and seemingly easy to come by. More surprising were the resonant, trumpet-like tenor of Viktor Aleshkov who sang the false Dimitri and the creamy mezzo voice of the charismatic Innkeeper, Elena Eremeeva. She not only had focused, well supported tones, but she showed herself to be a superb actress as well.

Sergey Aleshchenko's interpretation of the simpleton brought home the core meaning of this great work of art. He sang with a somewhat nasal tone, but his interpretation and Umerov's meshed so that he became the conscience of the Czar. A fine actor and interpreter, Aleshchenko made an excellent impression with this small part. Other singers in this fine cast were Ekaterina Alabina, a sympathetic Fyodor, Olga Vorobeva, an attractive, if grieving, Xenia, and Vyacheslav Kaluzny, the Varlaam, who gave an unusually fast and up beat rendition of the Ballad of Kazan. Although the orchestra was small and sounded thin, the conductor's interpretation was excellent and the chorus were effective.

Umerov, who sang Boris on 3 November, sang the title role in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin on the afternoon of the 4th. It would seem that this kind of casting is fairly normal in many Russian companies! Eremeeva, the Innkeeper in Boris, sang Filippevna in Onegin and Aleshkov, the Dimitri, sang Triquet! Unfortunately their voices did not sound fresh. Umerov's voice did not have the same resonance as the night before, but he still gave a creditable performance thanks to his excellent acting ability.

The star of the Tchaikovsky opera was Tatiana Kovaleva, a good-looking young lady who is a fine actress and dancer but whose singing has no distinctive sound. Her interpretation of Tatyana's transformation from naive girl to sophisticated married woman was masterful and Alexandrov's staging made good use of her abilities as a dancer, but her bland singing of The Letter Scene garnered little applause.

Pavel Derkach was more of a traditional Lensky, with a warm tenor sound. He and Umerov made the duel scene both violent and emotionally touching in its inevitable outcome, while Alexandr Toradze gave a resonant rendition of Gremin's Aria. The Onegin scenery was sketchy, but the costumes were attractive and flattering to the singers. The orchestra was, of course, the same chamber group that we heard the night before and the huge sound to which we are accustomed in the ballroom scene was missing, but the singing was excellent for the most part and the interpretations of the various roles made this performance almost as worthwhile as the Boris of the night before.

Lilith, the brand new opera composed by Deborah Drattell with a libretto by David Steven Cohen, which was given its premiere by the New York City Opera on Sunday afternoon November 11, 2001, may or may not be an important composition but it is most certainly a controversial one. According to ancient Jewish tradition, Lilith was Adam's companion before the creation of Eve. In Drattell's piece, she is first seen at Adam's funeral which opens the opera. She is a female created separately from Adam who considers herself his equal, and that may be the reason she is replaced by Eve, the woman created from Adam's rib.

In her portrayal of Lilith, the debuting Beth Clayton used her well focused, honey-toned mezzo voice to give this role substance but, unfortunately, the abstract part gave her very little to interpret. Eve is shown to be a passionate but selfless lover and mother. As expected, Lauren Flanigan gave this role the full measure of her exuberant, radiant singing, but she, too suffered from not having enough of a story to tell. Dana Beth Miller was outstanding as the Daughter/Wind and Marcus de Loach gave a good account of his abilities as the Son/Serpent. Stage director, Anne Bogart, choreographed the intriguing dances involved with the piece and her own company was featured on stage along with the NYC Opera chorus and soloists.

Drattell's vividly colored music stirs the emotions with its percussive effects, middle eastern style melodies, dark brass effects and shimmering strings. The vocal lines are sometimes chant-like but include periodic vocal acrobatics, and the dance movements are interesting to watch, but only time will tell if the piece has the power to continue to draw the public.

December

Thérèse Raquin at the Dallas Opera: Sara Fulgoni as Thérèse and Richard Bernstein as Laurent (Act I)

Photo: George Landis/The Dallas Opera

One of the best productions of this current Metropolitan Opera season by all accounts has been the realization of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger. On Tuesday evening, November 27, it was presented with Karita Mattila as the demure German maiden, Eva, and the first-class lyric Wagner tenor, Ben Heppner, as Walther, the lucky suitor who wins her hand in marriage at the end. Mattila, whose voice seems to be developing a dramatic timbre, sang with gleaming, accurately placed tones and excellent diction. We are lucky indeed to have a soprano who both looks and sounds this well in a Wagner part. Ben Heppner has a truly beautiful, warm voice and, as Walther, his powerful well-supported tones soared easily over the heavy Wagner orchestration. He moves well on stage, too, and thus was able to give the impression of an impetuous young lover.

James Morris as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger at the Met

Photo by Christian Steiner

Although James Morris has been singing for a fair number of years, Sachs is a relatively new role for him and his acting, at this point, is somewhat underplayed, but he was well able to fulfill the almost inhuman vocal demands of the part in this uncut version of the opera. Although his singing was a bit rough at the beginning, he soon warmed up to portray a Sachs who is literally a master singer. Each member of the large cast added to the luster of this memorable performance. Jill Grove and Matthew Polenzani sang with great musicality as the second young couple, Eike Wilm Schulte provided comic relief as Beckmesser and René Pape portrayed Pogner with imposing presence and organ-like tones. The brightest star of the evening, however, was the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as conducted by James Levine. With a wide range of dynamics which never drowned out the singers, Levine also achieved a transparency of the orchestral fabric which only occurs when each player is approaching perfection in his/her part. This performance of Die Meistersinger transported its audience to a magical world for a few hours, a welcome respite from the troubles of the past year.

Thérèse Raquin at the Dallas Opera: Peter Kazaras as Monsieur Grivet, Gabor Andrasy as Olivier Michaud, Sara Fulgoni as Thérèse, Gordon Gietz as Camille Raquin, and Richard Bernstein as Laurent (Act 1)

Photo: George Landis/The Dallas Opera

On November 30, The Dallas Opera presented the world premiere of Thérèse Raquin, an opera composed by Tobias Picker to a libretto by Gene Scheer. Picker's two earlier operas were Emmeline, which was televised from the Santa Fe Opera in 1997, and The Fantastic Mr Fox which was produced by the Los Angeles Opera in 1998. Thérèse Raquin, based on Émile Zola's novel of lust, murder and haunting guilt, was telescoped into a workable opera libretto by Scheer who is a singer and composer as well as a librettist. In his version of the story, Thérèse is more likable than she is at the beginning of the novel and her aria recounting her sad story is, at first hearing, memorable. Most of the music is tonal and lyrical but, as the opera moves toward its tragic conclusion, it becomes increasingly dissonant with much more of an edge.

Sheryl Woods as Suzanne Michaud, Sara Fulgoni as Thérèse and Diana Soviero as Madame Lisette Raquin in Act 1 of Thérèse Raquin

Photo: George Landis/The Dallas Opera

Marie-Jeanne Lecca's scenery and costumes portrayed 19th-century Paris admirably, but not slavishly, adding immeasurably to the visual impact of the piece, while Francesca Zambello's direction told the story effectively and with impressive style. Portraying Thérèse was the English mezzo-soprano, Sara Fulgoni, who had some very difficult music to sing. As with several other operas premiered lately, Picker's music takes the singer's voice to the ends of its range and does not always allow its distinctive colors to shine through. Fulgoni's interpretation was solid, if somewhat understated, and her characterization seemed well thought out. It will be interesting to see what the singers performing this difficult role in Montreal and San Diego will do with it. As Camille, the husband murdered by Thérèse and her lover Laurent, Gordon Gietz's clear tenor shone brightly throughout the evening. He was particularly effective in the second act aria where he appears as a ghost.

Sara Fulgoni as Thérèse, Richard Bernstein as Laurent, and Gordon Gietz as Camille Raquin in Act 1 of Thérèse Raquin

Photo: George Landis/The Dallas Opera

Richard Bernstein's Laurent was the catalyst for the whole piece. With his dark baritone and natural good looks, one could well understand Thérèse's infatuation. His expressive interpretation and excellent diction added much to the delight of the performance, as did the portrayal of Camille's mother, Mme Lisette Raquin by Diana Soviero. Her interpretation of the old woman who becomes paralyzed was riveting and unforgettable. Graeme Jenkins's conducting kept the piece moving at an urgent pace and the Dallas Opera Orchestra responded well to his direction. This is an interesting piece well worth a trip to the theater. Those who may not be able to see it in the near future should be able to hear it on CD shortly.

Gordon Gietz as the ghost of Camille Raquin in Act 2

Photo: George Landis/The Dallas Opera

On December 7, the Palm Beach Opera opened its 39th season with Vincenzo Bellini's Norma in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Sicilian Composer's birth. In the title role Italian soprano, Maria Pia Piscitelli, proved to have a bright voice with attractive colorations and a certain amount of dramatic heft. Although she began rather tentatively, she grew in both stage presence and vocal power as the evening progressed and her final scene was exquisitely well done. Her Pollione, Mario Malagnini, also began slowly, but he sang with flexibility, good projection and excellent diction. With a good command of the stage he and Piscitelli made sparks fly as they faced death together in the final scene.

The most memorable performance, however, was by the Adalgisa, Kate Aldrich, a recent winner of the Palm Beach Opera Competition, who can sing accurate coloratura and phrase tastefully with a voice that is rich in creamy colors. Paul Plishka, the Metropolitan Opera's veteran bass, was a resonant, believable Oroveso while two other Palm Beach Opera Competition winners, John Matz and Rachel Fulton as Flavio and Clotilde, poured forth their mellifluent voices and exhibited good stage presence.

Bernard Uzan's skillful direction made a dramatic whole of this somewhat static opera and the final scene was particularly compelling. John Pasco's minimal set was effective with its ruined columns and silvery foliage reflecting the moonlight while John Lehmeyer's costumes easily transformed this attractive cast into the opera's characters. Anton Guadagno is the guiding light of this company. His conducting of bel canto operas is legendary. He led the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra in an accurately played, refined rendition of this treasured score. This was a worthy homage to Bellini with an excellent conductor and first class cast despite its being performed in one of the smaller cities of the United States.

Norma, Act 2, Scene 1: Kate Aldrich as Adalgisa with Norma's children at the Palm Beach Opera

Photo: Steven Caras

Performances of Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal are rare, and the premiere of the Metropolitan Opera's new production on December 13 was a jewel. German director, Herbert Wernicke, who designed the sets, costumes and lighting, created a dreamscape with kaleidoscopic colors and ingeniously contrived angular mirrors for the world of the empress, and a hard gray warehouse-like setting for the earthbound dyer and his family. The costumes, too, had a timeless fairy tale quality befitting this unusual story.

In the title role, Deborah Voigt, who was in excellent vocal form, sang with well-supported floating tones, musicianly phrasing and excellent diction. Although she did not attempt much dramatic acting, she drew the audience to her character as her voice soared effortlessly above the Straussian orchestral blend. As her consort, Thomas Moser gave a well conceived portrayal. His bearing was aristocratic and he sang with excellent intonation, elegant phrasing and fine diction.

The Dyer's Wife is not a very sympathetic character for most of the opera, but Gabriele Schnaut's incisive voice and excellent acting skills were just the right combination to give an effective interpretation. She was shrewish enough to need help but humble enough to realize the error of her ways and be happily reconciled with her husband in the final scene. Reinhild Runkel made an auspicious debut as the Nurse, singing this long role with great power and intensity throughout the evening. Wolfgang Brendel has had a long, illustrious career and his voice is no longer as fresh as it once was, but that made it perfect for a portrayal of the Dyer. The baritone used both his vocal and acting skills to excellent advantage in his fine interpretation of this character.

Eike Wilm Schulte, too, was outstanding as he embodied the messages of Keikobad with his dark voice. The oustanding performance, however, was not by a singer but by the conductor, Christian Thielemann, who presented this score uncut and kept the decibel level down to a point at which the singers could easily be heard. To his credit, he was also able to keep the orchestral blending translucent and inspire accurate but impassioned playing.

Samuel Ramey as King Philip in Don Carlo at the Met.

Photo: Winnie Klotz/Metropolitan Opera

On December 29, the Metropolitan Opera revived the 1979 John Dexter production of Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo. Russian conductor, Valery Gergiev, directed a performance which often seemed under rehearsed, especially with regard to the (usually outstanding) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra whose players seldom make as many mistakes as they did at the opening performance. Galina Gorchakova gave a sensitive portrayal of Elizabetta, the young woman who loves Don Carlo but is forced to marry his father, but in this performance she was not able to achieve the beauty of tone that one usually associates with her singing. Richard Margison's Don Carlo started off slowly, but his singing grew stronger as the evening progressed and his many ringing high notes delighted the audience.

Baritone Dimitri Hvorostovsky has great stage presence and a gorgeous, easily produced voice that carries well and allows him to be heard over a heavy Verdi orchestration. His aria and his duet with Margison were among the highlights of the evening. Irina Mishura was called in to sing Eboli in place of the indisposed Olga Borodina and, despite a few problems in the Veil Song she did well, eliciting a great deal of applause from the appreciative audience following 'O don fatale' which she sang with smooth legato phrasing and well-controlled dynamics. Bass Samuel Ramey dominated this performance, commanding the stage, vocally impressive in every one of his scenes. Despite the trappings of kingship, Ramey's Philip is a suffering human being with whom we cannot help but sympathize. His confrontation with the Grand Inquisitor as played by Paata Burchuladze was a study in the colorings of bass voices. Both men have huge sounds, but of differing timbres and the power of their duet was enormous.

It was a great pleasure to see this wonderful grand Verdi opera at the Met again, and it is to be expected that the few bumps encountered on the first evening will be ironed out by the next performance.

Maria Nockin grew up in New York. Born of a German Jewish/British/Bahamian family, She enjoyed a thorough-going musical upbringing, inspired by family friends like the violinist Mischa Elman, pianist Alexander Siloti, and soprano Grete Stückgold. Eventually concentrating on vocal studies, she became a soloist in New York churches, worked for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and later became a public high school teacher. Moving to Arizona in 1993, she started a new career as a music journalist contributing reviews and articles to Opera Japonica and other print and web publications. At her ranchito in the desert near Casa Grande, she paints watercolors and keeps two cats called Figaro and Siegfried.

See the current Letter from America and also Letters from America 2000, 2002, January to June 2003, July to December 2003 and 2004