Two great Wagnerian singers, Deborah Voight and James
Morris, performed yesterday in Tosca at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Vladimir Galousine joined them as
Cavaradossi.
It was an interesting, if not completely satisfying, evening
It seems that however long singers take to warm up, it's
never enough. Galouzine' problem was
exacerbated by the fact that his first big aria, Recondita Armonia,
(we have it sung by Zurab Andjaparidze) comes about 5 minutes into the
opera. The sound was guttural and
strained (he did get better as the opera progressed).
Deborah Voight also took some time: her first act pianos were
almost inaudible, her fortes rather shrill.
She too got better by the third act.
James Morris (Scarpia), a remarkable base-baritone, is in the twilight
of his career, but his intelligent singing is a joy to listen to. He dominated the second act, both vocally
and artistically. By the third act,
things got better for Ms. Voight and Mr. Galousine (his E lucevan le stelle was more natural in intonation and delivery).
Ms. Voight was also much more focused.
Is she a natural verismo singer?
Probably not. Still, she's a
very talented singer with a big voice, and it would be interesting to follow
her as she experiments with different repertory.
The Lyric's orchestra, so often almost an embarrassment (especially considering the quality of music their colleagues across town manage to produce), was quite good
this night under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis (OK, the strings lost their way on a couple of occasions, but it's minor). And the old (very old!) decorations by Franco Zeffirelli actually
looked great - very theatrical, but appropriate. With all reservations, an evening still worth a detour, as Michelin
would put it.
Two great Wagnerian singers, Deborah Voight and James
Morris, performed yesterday in Tosca at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Vladimir Galousine joined them as
Cavaradossi.
It was an interesting, if not completely satisfying, evening
It seems that however long singers take to warm up, it's
never enough. Galouzine' problem was
exacerbated by the fact that his first big aria, Recondita Armonia,
(we have it sung by Zurab Andjaparidze) comes about 5 minutes into the
opera. The sound was guttural and
strained (he did get better as the opera progressed).
Deborah Voight also took some time: her first act pianos were
almost inaudible, her fortes rather shrill.
She too got better by the third act.
James Morris (Scarpia), a remarkable base-baritone, is in the twilight
of his career, but his intelligent singing is a joy to listen to. He dominated the second act, both vocally
and artistically. By the third act,
things got better for Ms. Voight and Mr. Galousine (his E lucevan le stelle was more natural in intonation and delivery).
Ms. Voight was also much more focused.
Is she a natural verismo singer?
Probably not. Still, she's a
very talented singer with a big voice, and it would be interesting to follow
her as she experiments with different repertory.
The Lyric's orchestra, so often almost an embarrassment (especially considering the quality of music their colleagues across town manage to produce), was quite good
this night under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis (OK, the strings lost their way on a couple of occasions, but it's minor). And the old (very old!) decorations by Franco Zeffirelli actually
looked great - very theatrical, but appropriate. With all reservations, an evening still worth a detour, as Michelin
would put it.