Reviews
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'Andrea ChÉnier' makes rousing debut in PhoenixAcoustics suspected as cause of only flawBy Kenneth LaFave The scenery was sumptuous yet intelligent, the singing memorable and strong, the staging credible and engaging Thursday night in Phoenix Symphony Hall as Umberto Giordano's 1896 opera Andrea Chénier made its long-awaited Arizona premiere. Arizona Opera has done justice to this small miracle of an opera, a work that tells a rather predictable love story against the unpredictable background of the French Revolution, and does so to music that hints of future Puccini scores and even bits of Richard Strauss. The set by Christopher McColloum takes us into the feathery salons of the aristocracy, then into the ideological chaos of the streets. Particularly effective are the reversed, scribbled-upon flats that encompass the revolutionaries, as a huge, distorted image of David's Death of Marat looms over them. As strong as this production and its singers are, however, a technical flaw marred Thursday night's performance: the imbalance of singers and orchestra. This has been a persistent problem when Arizona Opera performs at Symphony Hall - it is less problematic in Tucson - but here it reached a frustrating peak. Whether this was due to the orchestra overpowering the singers or defective hall acoustics was not possible to tell, though it sometimes seemed the singers moved in and out of dead spots onstage. That said, the singing was of the consistently high level that has typified Arizona Operas productions this season. The title role is certainly one of the more punishing tenor parts in the repertoire, with several demanding arias and duets from front to finish. Navigating the high tessitura and dramatic intensity of the role, Tonio di Paolo had moments of strain, especially later in the opera. But his performance of Chenier's first-act aria, Improviso, floated through the lyrical portions and pounced dramatically on the final images of poverty and shame. He made us always aware of his character's passionate idealism. Soprano Elizabeth Byrne as Maddalena had strength, resilience and a glowing sound. Her character's magnificent third-act aria, in which she recalls the Angel of Death impelling her life, was sung with intelligently nuanced power. Gerard, the nominal antagonist in this opera, is certainly one of the most sympathetic bad guys in opera. He is the antithesis of Scarpia in Tosca - another negative figure from the same era, but on the other side - because his intentions are noble. He has truly believed in the goals of the Revolution, and they have betrayed him to an existence of lust and envy. Baritone Nicholas Loren fully exploited both the sympathetic and dark sides of the character, and brought a sterling sound to his brief, but applause-getting Act 3 aria. (The three leads are double-cast. On Sunday, the singers will be Craig Sirianni as Chenier, Elizabeth Holleque as Maddalena and Allan Monk as Gerard. Thursday's cast repeats today.) Four Arizona singers shone in supporting parts. Mezzo-soprano Korby Myrick, long a regular in comprimarios for Arizona Opera, had a plum dual role as the Countess de Coigny and Madelon. The two parts - the first an aristocrat wearing an 18-inch-high rococo headdress, the second a devastated mother giving her grandson over to the army - allowed Myrick a wide expressive range that she shaped with dramatic elan. Benjamin Sorensen infused the bass role of Roucher with life; tenor Reynaldo Romo made sleaze sing charmingly as the revolutionary spy Incredibile; mezzo-soprano Laura Kate Moore brought sharp focus to th maid Bersi. Stage director Joseph McClain must be credited with giving this Chenier the flavor of love amid death, and an unerring sense of dramatic timing. The final scene of execution, which could so easily have gone wrong, was chilling. Cal Stewart Kellogg conducted, bringing verve to a score that would suggest a brilliant future for the then-30-year-old Giordano. Why Giordano virtually retired after composing the less-inspired Fedora two years later is a mystery.
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