The New York City Opera devoted its fall and winter season primarily to highly unusual operas, which added some excitement to New York’s opera season, since the Met has done a lot of warhorses this year.
The City Opera opened with Strauss’ Daphne,which had never been staged in New York, despite its successful 1938 premiere in Dresden. Richard Strauss is always interesting, even minor Strauss, and this work turned out not to be so minor.
Elizabeth Futral’s singing of the title role was undoubtedly the reason for this production. Futral has been primarily a coloratura soprano and had not sung much Strauss—but given the success of this performance, she was born to sing Strauss. Her lovely, high soprano voice coped with the vocal demands of the role with ease, and easily soared over the orchestra. Even her German diction was excellent.
One of the reasons this opera is rarely done: It demands two tenors, and here the singing was not quite as successful. Robert Chafin’s Apollo (a killer role) was shaky on opening night, but he got better and better as the run of performances continued. Roger Honeywell was better as the shepherd Leukippos, and he acted with conviction and intensity.
Ashley Martin-Davis’ production made life difficult for the singers, with a curved floor and lots of water, so they were hard pressed to keep their footing. Strauss wanted a transformation scene at the end of the opera, as Daphne becomes a tree—but in this production she was left standing on a pole.
In terms of more visual success, Puccini’s La rondine was a real hit. This too is one of this composer’s lesser-known works, but his genius for melody and subtle orchestration calls for more productions of this wonderful work. The work began as an operetta commissioned by a theater in Vienna, but Puccini turned this work into something through-composed and much more wonderful.
This opera depends on its Magda, and Pamela Armstrong sang and acted the role beautifully. She has a large and lovely lyrical voice, and she acted credibly as well. Gerard Powers also was excellent as Magda’s young lover, Ruggero. He possesses a large, lyrical tenor voice. Tracey Welborn sang Prunier with comic flair, and Angela Turner Wilson was a perky and bird-like Lisette (a perfect coloratura foil for the lyrical Magda).
The City Opera’s production, by Lotfi Mansouri, is more than 20 years old now, but it still looks very good—using a colorful but minimal approach with a realism that is still stylish—and Stephen Lord conducted so as to emphasize the melodic sweep of the score.
Another rarity, Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, was very moving. The opera is based on an actual incident from the end of the French Revolution during the Reign of Terror—when a convent of Carmelite nuns were all guillotined. This opera needs a real ensemble of women singers, and the City Opera provided a committed cast of acting singers.
Rinat Shaham was very moving as the fearful Blanche, who wanted to become a nun to find safety, but instead finds martyrdom. Joyce Castle was very dramatic as the Old Prioress, who has a horrible death despite her strong faith. Gwynne Geyer sounded wonderful and was credible as Madame Lidoine, the new prioress who wants martyrdom but is denied it. Sarah Coburn was also moving as Sister Constance, and Eugenie Grunewald became quite dramatic as Mother Marie.
All these artists created a real ensemble—and Donald Eastman’s fine sets emphasized closed spaces and the entrapment that finally kills these characters.
City Opera clearly had an exciting fall/winter 2004 season. Doing rarities served its purposes quite well, and served to entertain and inform the New York opera-going public.
