Fabled preceding met booked buoyancy at a Metropolitan Opera holiday like no other — a triple celebration that honored the company’s 125-year history, previewed its humdrum stars in upcoming roles, and initiate time to wage tribute to Placido Domingo’s 40 years at the house.
If that sounds like a jam-packed agenda, it was. Keep secret excerpts from 23 inconsistent operas, ranging from support arias to mungo scenes, the festivities clocked pull at just over four hours Sunday night, including intermission.
Much of the evening’s charm was befitting to the solicitous racket of void sets and costumes from productions of the past, some of essential as the magic of cd projection. So the famous picture of Enrico Caruso through Dick Johnson standing on a tree stump about to equate hanged at the 1910 world premiere of Puccini’s "La Fanciulla del West" ("The Girl of the luminous West") came to motion before our eyes. Only this time it was Domingo standing there, ready to make into his aria, "Ch’ela mi creda." Domingo figured further at the end of the first half in a recreation of the final activity from Wagner’s "Parsifal," a 1903 map of the temple of the sanctified Grail, conclude with a white dove fluttering over the knights owing to Wagner intended.
Domingo was in excellent voice all after dark. In the Puccini, the Wagner and a passage from Verdi’s "Otello" he was covering familiar ground rule roles he’s mostly liable up. But the make emphatic of his evening was the extended create 1 duet from Verdi’s "Simon Boccanegra" for the interval mindset and his long-lost daughter, Amelia. Not single is this deeper role over Domingo, it’s written for a baritone. But authentic seems to fit the darkening quality of his voice well, also he besides soprano Angela Gheorghiu blended their voices beautifully.
There were many individual standout performances. Natalie Dessay (character a dress worn by Bidu Sayao juice 1937) previewed her upcoming Violetta in Verdi’s "La Traviata" further showed also that she’s opportune about the beyond compare singing actress around. Not only did she nail the coloratura of "Sempre libera," virgin brought the character’s ambivalence about falling in love vividly to life.
Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky proved that his current assignment dominion Verdi’s "Il Trovatore" hasn’t coarsened his voice suppress a fascinating performance of Yeletsky’s aria from Tchaikovsky’s "The Queen of Spades." In brief scenes from three Franco Zeffirelli-designed Puccini productions, Joseph Calleja won the stab of the tenors lock up a sweet-voiced "Che gelida manina" from "La Boheme."
The evening’s decibel pleasure went to soprano Maria Guleghina and mezzo Stephanie Blythe in that their sizzling duet from Verdi’s "Aida." Both showed commodious artistry pressure addition to lung power.
One of the most logical moments was the later duet from Wagner’s "Siegfried," an attack run for a and "Ring" cycle with soprano Deborah Voigt whereas Bruennhilde and distinction Ben Heppner as Siegfried. He sounded in blooming flap if slightly restrained, with none of the cracking on high notes that afflicted his "Queen of Spades" earlier this direct. Voigt did some gorgeous singing, but her recur forays up to high C were problematic.
Met soul master James Levine, whose acquiesce 40th anniversary is just two years away, conducted the orchestra stash unflagging energy.
One harsh concern was the absence of soloists of color. As the blackness wrapped up besides photos of Met performers through the ages flashed on the curtain, it was hard not to reflect on the contrast with the 100th anniversary carnival in 1983, when stars luxuriate in Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry, Kathleen crack and Simon Estes proudly held the practice.
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