John Osborn as Rodrigo, Joyce DiDonato as
Elena, and Juan Diego Flórez as Giacomo V in Rossini's "La Donna del
Lago." Photo: Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera
Reviewed by James
Karas
Rossini’s La Donna del Lago premiered in 1819. It was first produced at the
Metropolitan Opera this year - a mere four years short of two centuries later.
There may be good reasons for giving the opera a wide berth but after
the Met’s production the artistic reasons should be reduced even if the
financial demands may discourage productions in the less well-heeled houses.
The Met production capitalizes on all the virtues of the opera – its
outstanding music and superb solo and ensemble vocal pieces and minimizes the
static nature of the opera which can make it appear like a set piece which can,
in the long run, be deadly.
Let’s start with cast. The cast is as good as you can get. Joyce
DiDonato delivers such vocal finesse, prowess and beauty that her interpretation
of Elena becomes a defining performance. With her red hair she looks like a Scottish
lass whose conflict between love and duty is preformed superbly.
Juan Diego Flores does not sing; he soars and his King James V is virile,
romantic and sung to perfection. If Flores deserves to be called King of the
High C’s, John Osborn as Rodrigo is right up there with him. Combined with a
fine voice he has an expressive face and a nice tendency to raise his eyebrows when
making a point.
La Donna is a ménage a
quatre instead of the frequently met soprano being pursued by a tenor and a
baritone and the latter going home empty handed if not dead. Here we have two
tenors vying for the hand of Elena and the winner is a mezzo-soprano. The
winner is Malcolm sung by mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcellona. She has a beautiful
and expressive voice and she made a good Malcolm.
Rossini makes serious demands on the choruses and the Met has the wherewithal
to fulfill the needs of the opera. The end of the first act requires three
choruses and the scene is as thrilling and magisterial as you are likely to get
in opera.
Splendid as the individual pieces can be La Donna can become
static. Director Paul Curry has managed to reduce that danger dramatically. He
makes the singers interact and no scene is permitted to linger with singers
sitting on different parts of the stage as if their feet were nailed to the
boards. He creates drama through interaction and brings the opera to life the
way Rossini may or may not have imagined.
Michele Mariotti conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at a brisk
pace without hurrying through the arias that require a slower pace.
The set by Kevin Knight gives the lie to the title. Elena may be called
the lady of the lake but she is more the lady of the mountains. There is some
indication of a body of water in the background but Gary Halverson, the
director for the cinema, does not really want us to see it.
Knight’s design shows us barren mountains and there is no attempt to
prettify them. If you don’t care about the title of the opera and Rossini’s
directions, you will not mind. But Rossini had a specific vision of the set
with a densely wooded mountains rising above a valley where there is a lake and
a bridge. Elena is in a boat and she is watching the morning light and
commiserating about her love. Forget the boat and the rest of Rossini’s ideas
for the set and enjoy the production.
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La Donna del Lago by Gioachino Rossini was transmitted Live
in HD from the Metropolitan Opera in New York on March 14, 2015 at the
Cineplex VIP Don Mills Shops at Don Mills, 12 Marie Labatte Road, Toronto
Ontario M3C 0H9 and other theatres. Encores will be shown on May 9 and May 11,
2015 at select theatres.. For more information: www.cineplex.com/events
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