AP News, September 26th, 2007
A case of the dueling divas seems to be settling over the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House _ and the only sure winner is the audience.
On Tuesday, one night after French soprano Natalie Dessay created a sensation opening the season in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," the spotlight fell on her Russian counterpart, Anna Netrebko, in Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette."
Perhaps by coincidence, perhaps not, Netrebko was reprising a role that Dessay had sung at the Met two seasons ago when the production was first introduced. More intriguing still, Netrebko is tentatively slated to take over the role of Lucia next year and also to star in Massenet's "Manon" _ the latter a role Dessay has recently added to her repertoire.
When singers are at as high a level as these two, comparisons can only be flattering. Netrebko gave a striking performance as the ill-fated daughter of the Capulets, sparkling on her high notes in the Waltz Song, blending smoothly in her duets with Romeo (tenor Roberto Alagna) and rising to great heights of dramatic expressiveness in the aria "Amour, ranime mon courage," when she takes the sleeping potion that is supposed to allow her to escape with her beloved.
She may not summon up the image of an innocent teenager as effortlessly as Dessay did in the opening act, but she and Alagna make as sexy a pair of young lovers as one could ever hope to see in the bedroom scene. (And yes, the floating bed that most distinguishes this production by Guy Joosten is still on display.)
Moreover, her sturdy lyric sound, tinged with that slight melancholy characteristic of Russian singers, is arguably better suited than Dessay's more fragile tone to fill out Gounod's lush melodic lines.
And what of Alagna, making his first Met appearance since his notorious walkout at La Scala last December after being booed for his opening aria in Verdi's "Aida"? The French-Sicilian tenor has always seemed most at home in the French repertory, and his Romeo was no exception. He has definitely lost some of the ease in the upper register that he displayed when he sang the role here a decade ago, but his singing was ardent and ultimately winning.
Alagna is singing only one more performance of the role, this Saturday, before switching over to Puccini's "Madama Butterfly." Originally, tenor Rolando Villazon was to be Netrebko's partner for the entire run, but he has canceled all appearances through the remainder of the year. Joseph Kaiser and Matthew Polenzani will sing later Romeos.
Repeating from two years ago, baritone Stephane Degout (subbing for an indisposed Nathan Gunn) was a dashing Mercutio, and bass Kristin Sigmundsson brought gravitas to the role of Friar Laurence. In the brief "trousers" role of Stephano, debuting mezzo Isabel Leonard showed she's a spirited performer well worth keeping an eye on.
Placido Domingo, who in his younger days sang Romeo at the Met himself, conducted the orchestra, showing a nice feel especially for the many tender moments of the score.
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