I enjoyed the trio of Nina Stemme, Kathleen Kim and Sarah Connolly who sang the lead roles in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Each provided a different richness of voice to the opera. Kathleen Kim following along in the same path from her lighthearted and animated role as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffman sang the role of the worldly and fun-loving Zerbinetta. Her higher and agile soprano voice was of benefit here. Nina Stemme brought a royal presence and deep resonance of voice to the role of the Prima Donna and Ariadne. Sarah Connolly seemed a dependable bridge between the worlds of the other characters in her steady portrayal of the Composer.
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What if they gave an opera and only half of the cast showed up?
Last night's performance of Donizetti's La Fille Du Regiment was marked by the absence of its two lead singers due to illness. Neither Diana Damrau nor Juan Diego Florez appeared. This was a disappointment for me because the prospect of this combination had motivated me to get tickets for this opera which I had recently seen in a performance with Natalie Dessay. I knew something was up because the doors were closed until about five minutes prior to the scheduled performance time. I opened my program with trepidation as I saw that little telltale piece of paper slipped in between its pages. I was prepared for one missing singer, but not an epidemic. The show did go on with what was in my opinion mixed results.
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