Lucia di Lammermoor at the MET

[whipped guy]

I was at the MET this past Saturday afternoon for the Lucia di Lammermoor that was broadcast live in HD to movie theaters. It was the first time in ages that I had been to a performance that was being either taped or broadcast live. My last experience was in the 1980’s when a performance was being videotaped for future broadcast. In those days the lighting in the theater was raised a bit in order to accommodate the cameras. This past Saturday the cameras were evident but were mostly concealed by the darkness in the auditorium. Still, a camera that was continually shifting back and forth at the foot of the stage was at times a bit distracting as were the two large booms that moved in various directions that projected out from box seats at either side of the stage.

 

As for the performance, I really can’t fathom anyone really wanting to preserve it for posterity as it was not exactly my most memorable experience at the MET. The star was actually the tenor Joseph Calleja who sang an ardent Edgardo… the voice is also quite interesting as it is a moderately large voice that includes a tight vibrato that gives his vocal production a pleasing and vibrant quality. As far as Lucia is concerned, it is sadly evident that Natalie Dessay is past her prime… or rather past her Lucia days. Still, her fans were out in droves and gave her quite the grand reception at the end. Actually, Calleja got quite the ovation and since Dessay was yet to take her curtain calls her fans really felt the need to outdo the tumultuous applause that greeted her star tenor. As for the production… another dud by Mary Zimmerman… The scenery alternated from minimalist to gaudy and almost every scene was littered with extraneous, distracting, and unnecessary stage action: the infamous photographer during the sextet being almost less offensive than the servants at Lammermoor castle rearranging the furniture during Raimondo’s first aria… I could go on… Actually this was the third time I have seen this production and usually corrective action is taken for revivals… not so in this case. Incidentally, I saw it when it was new and Dessay was in much better form, but alas time has unfortunately taken its toll… at least in my estimation.

 

I wonder how this all came across in the theater-cast… I would be interested to hear if others saw it… and if their opinions differed.

[jackcali]

Whipped, I saw Lucia two weeks ago (I think it was) and Ms. Dessay was in fine voice and sang beautifully and with great craft. I wonder if she just had an off day when you saw her. Calleja was also extraordinary in the performance I saw, and I'd throw a bouquet in the direction of the bass, whose name I cannot now recall. I agree with you on the distracting stage business and the disappointing sets. Also, 40 minutes for the second intermission was almost unbearable.

 

What's next in your subscription?

[whipped guy]

I wonder if she just had an off day when you saw her.

jack... I hope that is the case... Still, her acting was quite exceptional and almost made up for the lapses in her singing.

...and I'd throw a bouquet in the direction of the bass, whose name I cannot now recall.

Yes! I was impressed with the bass... with the unusual name of Kwangchul Youn... so you are forgiven for not remembering... of course I just looked it up!

Also, 40 minutes for the second intermission was almost unbearable.

The program note said to "change the scenery"... and it was closer to 45 minutes on Saturday!

What's next in your subscription?

Le Comte Ory... and I have high hopes for this one... Florez and DiDonato are natural Rossinians and with any luck will both be on top of their game. I am not a big Damreau fan, but she should suffice quite nicely. I am not sure I agree with Bartlett Sher's concept of the piece, but he has not disappointed me in the past (his Hoffmann was extraordinary!) so I will hope for the best. I think he will have fun with the "bedroom trio" where Rossini has quite a bit of fun with the sexual disguises and transvestite nature of the characters... a man dressed as a woman making love to a man who is played by a woman who is in turn making love to a woman... gotta love it and it was written in 1828!

[jackcali]

Well, we'll have to compare notes on Le Comte Ory. I'm not familiar with the opera, but it has a great cast and I'm looking forward to seeing it. (You're "not a big Damreau fan"? Tsk, tsk.)

[+ g56whiz]

Well I saw it in a theater in Laredo TX, one of maybe 8 in a theater seating 400. It was a very enjoyable afternoon (but lacking anything else memorable going on in Laredo that's not saying much). I too thought Dessay was not at her best. In the first act she had some particular difficulty that was noticeable to the theater but then little escapes when it is magnified maybe 10X. I too liked Calleja but that vibrato is wound way too tight. I kept having the idea that if were relaxed just a little, he could have some of the arching lyricism that made early Pavarotti so wonderful. Kwangchul Youn sounded wonderful and I thought he might make an interesting Rigoletto if only his acting were not so wooden. I also thought the Arturo was perfectly cast and think he could be a fine performer when he matures that is if his career is not mismanaged as so many are these days. I thought the best of the cast was the Brother - a fine singer not afraid to sound ugly when called for and good actor. Dessay may be past her prime, she started late I think, but her mad scene got to me like no other. I saw Sutherland do it many times at the Met and it was always gorgeous but never moving like this.

 

To say the production sucked is being generous. It's bad enough that Egardo has to make his mark after the mad scene. But to have the ghost of Lucia hawn in on his aria is just wrong. The reason that little has been done to correct these absurdities is that Zimmerman was actually in attendance Saturday in order to be interviewed for the intermission feature in which she claimed she was trying to incorporate some of additional ghostliness from the original Bride of Lammermore novel that so interested Donizetti in the first place. She clearly failed both the book and the opera.

 

I saw Count d'Ory when I think Jerry Hadley did it at City Opera years ago. I was underwhelmed. But then again Hadley was never in the league Florez now occupies. So I'll pay my $22 for a senior citizen ticket on 4/9. We also have Trovatore and Siegfried to complete the year.

 

Oh and those tracking camera shots were occasionally distracting in the theater too especially when things are so magnified you can almost count nose hairs. At least they no longer cut from close up to long shot and back so often. In Armida, singers gained and lost 50 pounds in the blink of an eye due to the difference in lens shots. It was very distracting. The sound is still a problem. It comes out at you en masse. There's no sense of aural space. In Wagner its not so bad but here it was a bit of a problem.

[whipped guy]

g56... As for all the ghastly ghostly business there was a program note from Zimmerman about it as well... It emphasized that the ghosts in the novel are real and not imagined and are not only seen by more than one character, but are even described by the narrator as well. Perhaps Ms. Zimmerman should have paid more attention to the music and been more faithful to its intentions... My God did I feel sorry for poor Raimondo with all the silly stage business that occurred during his aria... how could anyone concentrate on the singing with all the clamor going on!!!

 

As for Sutherland, she was "gorgeous" and one was moved by the power of her vocalism and the beauty and size of her voice... not her acting. With Dessay it was just the opposite. In all fairness when the production was new Dessay actually moved me... no, she did not sing it as well as Sutherland, but well enough so that when combined with her acting skills the overall effect of her performance was definitely greater the the actual sum of its parts. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me this past Saturday with her labored coloratura and strained high notes... but then again I am a tough marker I guess...

 

Incidentally I thought that he Arturo had quite a healthy sounding voice as well... as you say with any luck he might have a career... And speaking of the the smaller roles, the Normanno had virtually no voice during his opening scene and was barely audible in the house. I wonder if the microphones masked that fact...