Lucia
Not his best, not his worst. The
piece has one big hit, the sextet and a mad scene but what opera of that
period didn't? Some have two, and arguably more, which makes me think
of Lady Bracknell's
line about losing one parent is a misfortune, losing both looks
like carelessness. So the opera is what it is. You're there for the
singing.
As productions go Lyric's Lucia is not bad
and an enormous improvement on the last one which was, as I remember,
drearily conventional. The singing was so-so to excellent. Nothing was
really bad except for the orchestra which I hate to call unresponsive
because it is an insult to the truly brain dead. They have played the
piece many times and should understand how to phrase a musical
line in Donizetti. Hardly a challenge yet musical phrases went nowhere
when they didn't end in a bump. Their disdain for the opera is
unmusical and unprofessional. Could it be that the unfortunate
inclusion of Broadway shows. Probably not. A good commercial pit can
run on energy for months. The Lyric orchestra can't make it through
eight performances?
So on to what the show is all about. The Lucia ( Albina Shagimuratova) has a nice voice with a certain amount of agility and a strong top. She is not however a bel
canto soprano. I understand her taking these roles since she can get
through them and they are good for her vocal health. If Lyric is smart,
which it is not, they would book her back in five years to do some of
the lighter Strauss. Unfortunately it is more likely in five years the
season will be eight weeks of Sound of Music and eight of Fiddler on the
Roof. She would be a good Dafne
and a possibly a great Arabella. Add middle Verdi and Mozart
Countess for vocal health, throw in some sensible curiosities and that
gives you 10-15 years with voice intact. Then you take chances. For
now her voice is too plushy for real bel
canto. The intonation in the passage work was not always in tune. She
has this strange need to over vibrate at the top of a phrase that
breaks the line which is what you must not do in this kind of music.
She can act a bit. She'll probably end up blowing out her voice on
inappropriate rep ( early Verdi, late Wagner and finally screaming a
Tosca).
The Edgardo ( Piotr Beczala)
was the real thing. It was the only truly satisfying part of the
evening. The only reason I didn't bolt after act one was to hear his
last aria and final scene. I was glad I stayed. Since he is so good
of course it means we might never hear him again.
Enrico ( Quinn Kelsey) was all over the place vocally. He started singing Verdi-ish
ok but ended up rather struggling. I don't know if he was tired or
ill or what but as he sang worse he "acted" more and he had a wig, that
he kept pulling at, that made him look like Meat Loaf. Doesn't anybody
say anything to anyone over there? Seriously.
