Opera Impressions

La Bella Norina

My first live performance at the Metropolitan Opera this year was Donizetti's Don Pasquale. It was a great pleasure to be at the Met again, the best part of which was hearing Anna Netrebko sing the role of Norina. Anna Netrebko was feisty and effervescent in the role of Norina in this comic opera. The role required Netrebko to assume various personae.

La Fille Du Regiment

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.

L'Elisir D'Amore

My own personal opera season ended with Saturday night's performance of Donezetti's L'Elisir D'Amore at the Metropolitan Opera. The last time I had seen this opera performed was with Pavarotti singing the lead tenor role also in a Met performance. This time around, the vocal leads were supposed to be Angela Gheorghiu as Adina and Rolando Villazon as Nemorino. Unfortunately, Mr. Villazon was indisposed and did not sing. His replacement was Dimitri Pittas who I had never heard of. Ms. Gheorghiu was her usual captivating self. Watching her expressive portrayal is half the fun. She seemed relaxed and exacting in her vocal performance. Mr. Pittas was also actually quite good and rendered a nuanced performance. During one aria which he sings alone at the front of the stage, you could hear the proverbial pin drop. At that moment, I felt pulled inside the character of Nemorino.

L'Elisir D'Amore is a humorous and very up-beat opera. It tells the tale of a love potion that Nemorino and Adina both need in order to realize that they are in love with each other. First, Nemorino pursues Adina and then Adina pursues Nemorino until they catch each other. I guess that is what a love potion is supposed to do.