#Santa fe opera 2017 season plus#

In the mad scene, after she stabs to death her bridegroom on their wedding night, Lucia’s hallucinations were accompanied by a glass harmonica as written by Donizetti, rather than by the commonly-used flute. With a combination of good looks, a lovely sound, and dazzling technique, Rae jumps to the top among all of todays’s Lucias. Her Lucia dominated the stage throughout the opera.

#Santa fe opera 2017 season plus#

She has a lovely lyric voice with accurate coloratura plus unusually strong projection. Soprano Brenda Rae burst into prominence this January as the soprano ingenue opposite Stephanie Blythe in Rossini’s rare Tancredi in Philadelphia.

Lucia di Lammermoor, the second opera I attended during my four night visit to Santa Fe, had several notable aspects. This production illustrated the innovation and high quality that the Santa Fe Opera has been providing for sixty years.

The spectacular scenic and costume design were by Gideon Davey, the lighting design by Malcolm Rippeth, and the choreography by Beate Vollack. Without any gimmicks, he provided an impressive amount of tonal variety and nuance from the orchestra pit. Harry Bicket, the London-born Handel specialist, led a musically gorgeous performance. Daniela Mack and Anna Christy were delightful as young women, Paula Murrihy and Jacquelyn Stucker were convincing as young men, tenor Alek Shrader was thrilling as Alcina’s General, and bass Christian Van Horn was sonorous as a tutor. One could never get bored during these quick-change moments.Īlcina’s plot is about men loving women who, instead, love different men, and so on complicated by the fact that one of the women is a sorceress who turns people with whom she is angry into jungle beasts. Below, Heever & Stucker in Alcina:Įlza van den Heever, the South African soprano who has sung leading roles at the Met and other major houses, was a tower of strength as the sorceress. Each section of each aria had new action - and sometimes a new costume. Director David Alden handled this by having the performer sing the first section, then make a quick exit (say, through a door), then appear a few seconds later through another door to sing the repetition. Some listeners today find this to be tedious. The problem for modern audiences is that Handel adhered to a formula in which melodies were intentionally repeated, followed by a contrasting middle section, then another repetition of the first melody. For example, if a soprano sang an aria about a lost love from her past, that former lover appeared and mimed an episode from their romance as she continued to sing. The movements were motivated by the words in the original text. Dancers and acrobats expressed the feelings of the principals, and even the leading singers twirled and spinned as they trilled. This was an immersive experience with principal singers making entrances through the audience. When we think of Handel we picture powdered wigs and formal, slow moving dramas. Some critics felt it’s new staging was outrageous, but I think it was clever. Handel’s Alcina, written in 1735, made a strong though controversial impression. My review is in a separate story and, here, we’ll consider the other operas of this summer season. In my decades of opera-going I’ve never seen such a crowd-pleasing world premiere. Her latest victim is Ruggiero, who's been hypnotized into forgetting his betrothed, Bradamante.2017 in Santa Fe will be remembered for the sensational debut of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. The eponymous island seductress lures men into her amorous trap, then, when done with their services, turns them into rocks, waves and wild animals. Amorous island misadventuresĮven by convoluted norms of baroque opera, Handel's Alcina is tricky to follow.

Brilliant costumes, also by McCann, evoke imperial Russia. Choral contributions were again excellent.ĭesigner Gary McCann supplies a great swoosh of what appears to be metallic scrim that doubles as a screen for Driscoll Otto's playful projections the Cockerel is realized as a colorful animation. Kasia Borowiec pipes brightly as the behind-the-scenes voice of the Golden Cockerel. Sturdy vocalism is also supplied by Tim Mix (Dodon), Richard Smagur (Prince Guidon), Jorge Espino (Prince Afron) and Kevin Burdette (General Polkan). Barry Banks supplies the Astrologer's high, stentorian 'tenore-altino,' Meredith Arwady a mega-contralto for the servant Amelfa. The Queen weaves her spell with showcase vocalism alternately slithery and flickering, impressively delivered by soprano Venera Gimadieva. The orchestral writing mixes bright-colored Russian impressionism and echoes of Russian folk idioms.