OPERA has its warhorses – those popular operas that everyone knows, at least by name. Downplayed by the snootier of critics, they are the people’s choice. And none the worse for that.
The past few days have witnessed a gallant procession of these warhorses returning to the Metropolitan Opera: the often unjustly maligned double bill of “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci,” followed by “Rigoletto” and finally, last Saturday night, “Tosca.”
Puccini’s “Tosca,” most eloquently conducted by a welcome Met newcomer, Nicola Luisotti, is high melodrama brought to vivid life with what Noel Coward would have called “its potent music.”
A famed opera diva, Tosca (Maria Ghuleghina), murders a corrupt chief of police, Scarpia (James Morris), in an attempt to save her revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi (Jose Cura) from the firing squad. Magnificent blood and thunder stuff set to a score of sugary beauty.
As the glamorous Tosca, Ghuleghina was replacing the ailing Andrea Gruber, but, fortunately, she is among leading Toscas of our day and has often appeared in this lush Franco Zeffirelli staging.
Here completely matched by Cura’s impassioned tenor with his splendidly natural acting, and Morris’ sturdily evil Scarpia – even though now some the role lies a little high for his voice – Ghuleghina’s carefully individual phrasing made this a Tosca of very proper romantic heartbreak.
Few operas can rival the popularity, or genius, of “Rigoletto,” which on its return was headed by that magnificent Spanish baritone Juan Pons as Verdi’s hunchbacked hero, here as superb dramatically as vocally.
Making their Met debuts were the other two leads – Joseph Calleja as the philandering Duke, revealing a penetrating accurate tenor that warmed in tone as the evening progressed, and Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina, sweet if small-voiced, making an affecting doomed heroine, Gilda, and managing the bel canto ornamentations with particular style.
The third promising debut here was that of the conductor Friedrich Haider from the Vienna Opera, searching out the zest and subtlety of Verdi’s score.
Finally, there was the cheerfully melodic but coarsely melodramatic emotion-strumming double bill of “Cav & Pag” by, respectively, Mascagni and Leoncavallo – names as firmly linked in opera as Lord & Taylor in merchandizing – in the familiar but still extravagantly appropriate Zeffirelli staging.
And, luckily, the singers in both one-acters at this first showing were in top verismatic form. In “Cav,” tenor Franco Farina made a robust Turridu, joining the rich-toned Ghuleghina (who only a few days later was to pinch-hit superbly as Tosca) as the wronged Santuzza.
The current cast of “Pag” is blessed with a full-throated, full-blooded Salvatore Licitra in a Met first as the cuckolded and vengeful Canio, the tragic hero of Leoncavallo’s troupe of traveling players, effectively singing his broken heart out with tear-stained vigor and a nice top C.
Matching Licitra is a masterly Lado Ataneli as the villainous Tonio, the fine Patricia Racette as Nedda, and the strong-voiced Dwayne Croft as her lover Silvio. Both operas are conducted with idiomatic authority by Marco Armiliato.
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MET
“Tosca” performances to Dec. 2; “Rigoletto” performances to Dec. 22; “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci” performances to Feb. 10; Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center; (212) 362-6000.