|
|
L.A Opera'sLucia di Lamermoor
|
Netrebko
Photo by R. Millard
|
By Michael Van Duzer
Overflowing with gorgeous melody, romantic drama, and, most of all, the famous mad scene, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lamermoor was one of the most influential and popular operas of the Nineteenth Century. It has retained its status and is generally considered the true litmus test for coloratura sopranos. For their new production, Los Angeles Opera chose a Lucia who has been making quite a name for herself in opera houses around the world—-Russian born Anna Netrebko. Remember that name because she is the real thing.
Ms Netrebko has a radiant beauty that makes Edgardo’s falling in love with her, despite their family feud, quite understandable. But it is her vocal radiance combined with the spontaneity of her acting that carry the evening. In her first scene, the voice effortlessly conveys the limpid sweetness of a young girl in love, becoming darker and seemingly less controlled in the following confrontations with her brother. She attacks the mad scene with the assurance and verve of an Olympic athlete, without sacrificing the elegance of the bel canto line. And her coloratura is sharp, clean and delivered with bulls-eye accuracy.
It is not surprising that no one else in the cast was able to live up to Nebtrebko’s exacting vocal and dramatic standards. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t solid singing throughout the evening. Jose Bros was a strutting, clarion-voiced Edgardo whose impact seemed a bit diminished by directorial choices. Franco Vasallo was an old-fashioned plant-your-feet-and-sing Enrico who paid little attention the rest of the cast. Vitalij Kowaljow was a sonorous Raimondo, while Kresimir Spicer brought welcome animation and a true tenor ping to the luckless Arturo.
Marthe Keller’s direction was distressingly inert and pedestrian. One had the impression that she brought the singers into groups and told them to sing out. Only Netrebko was able to break the shackles and make the stage her own. The chorus was particularly hampered by this style of presentation except for the bizarre moment where they greeted Arturo with a series of hand gestures that appeared to be some kind of Scottish semaphore.
James Noone’s towers and cloudy sky were adequate to suggest the opera’s settings, and Alan Burrett’s lighting was subtle and effective. Julius Rudel conducted with the style and knowledge you would expect from a veteran of many Lucias.
Los Angeles Opera: November 22- December 20, 2003: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
www.losangelesopera.com
|
|
|
|
