SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Production:

Set and Costume Designer: John Bury

Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler
Stage Director: Herbert Kellner

Choreographer: Kenneth von Heidecke

Chorus Master: Donald Nally

Conductor: Leonardo Vordoni

 

Cast:

Figaro:      Kyle Ketelsen

Susanna: Danielle de Niese

Bartolo: Andrea Silvestrelli

Marcellina: Lauren Curnow

Cherubino: Joyce Didonato

Count Almaviva: Mariusz Kwiecien

Don Basilio: Keith Jameson

Countess Almaviva: Nicole Cabell

Antonio: Philip Kraus

Barbarina: Angela Mannino

The final work in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2009-2010 season is a well-cast revival of its delightful production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. Even though this work was part of a recent season, it is still more than welcome in this house and continues to attract large, enthusiastic audiences. This season’s production involves an international cast of fine singers whose solo work is outstanding and who also blend well with each other in the familiar ensembles of this opera. The challenges of this production include the planned absence of Sir Andrew Davis for several performances, and here he was replaced by the young conductor Leonardo Vordoni, who makes his debut at Lyric Opera with this work. Unfortunately, soprano Anne Schwanewilms, originally planned to sing the role of Countess Almaviva, took ill after the premiere of this run and was replaced, with the final performances sung by Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center alumna Nicole Cabell. These details did not impair the production at all and, in a sense, contributed to the excitement about it, especially in bringing Cabell into the pivotal role of the Countess.

In fact, the entire cast worked splendidly together in bringing the familiar comedy to life. The tension between nobility and commoner, an element in Beaumarchais’ drama which Mozart exploited in his setting of the work, came off beautifully, particularly in the fine characterization of Count Almaviva by Mariusz Kwiecien. Kwiecien delivered a convincing portrayal of the Count, in which he blended the character’s penchant for womanizing along with his bent for intrigue. While Kwiecien’s Almaviva can be calculating, he also maged to seem genuinely concerned about the Countess, while also giving way to his ego in taking the bait of Figaro’s letter to her. Musically, Kwiecien stands out for his resonant and nuanced voice as expressed particularly in “Vedrò, mentr’io, sospire” in the third act. His clear diction and fine phrasing brought a freshness to this familiar character, and his ensemble work was notable for his sense of balance in both the musical and dramatic dimensions of his role.

Likewise, Kyle Ketelsen cut a fine figure as Figaro, a role which this bass-baritone has sung internationally, and which rang true from the opening of the opera. Ketelsen’s deep voice stands out from some of the other baritones who take up Figaro, and it sounds out strongly during the ensembles, which require Figaro’s distinctive lines to be clearly audible. In solo passages, especially “Non più andrai”, Ketelsen was even and persuasive, as his voice has a pleasant consistency. More than that, his acting helped to carry off the fine climax in the fourth act, as he faces up to Susanna and the Countess’s deception.

As Susanna, Danielle de Niese was equally engaging as she offered the knowing glances that distinguish her character. She worked nicely with Ketelsen in the opening scene, and continued strongly in the ensembles which followed, as she matched the sometimes powerful sound of Andrea Silvestri’s Bartolo and Kwiecien’s commanding Count. It was a pleasure to see her interact with Joyce DiDonato, who brought her own sense of Cherubino’s personality to that role. De Niese’s Susanna sometimes offered a light sound, but was never obscured by the accompaniment. Rather, her clear singing allowed her to project her lines nicely. In the same way, DiDonato’s voice sometimes seemed rather muted than the character she gave to Cherubino through her acting, but this also fit with the sense of the adolescent boy that she had to create.

Nicole Cabell deserves to be congratulated for taking on the role of the Countess in relatively short notice. While she had sung the role with Cincinnati Opera, the circumstances in the Lyric production differed because of the relatively brief interval needed to have her return to Chicago to perform. That aside, she offered a solid interpretation of “Porgi amor,” with all the poise her character must offer at the opening of the second act. Yet with “Dove sono,” the tempos seemed, at times, to be at odds with the accompaniment, as Cabell’s lines were pushed along by the orchestra. As such, Cabell did not have the chance to linger on some of the phrases of this aria, as she had done with the earlier one. Even so, this did not detract from the overall result, which was received warmly by the audience, a sense confirmed by the enthusiastic appreciation that the whole ensemble gave her at the final curtain.

Of the other principals, Andrea Silvestri brought a fine stage presence and sonorous vocal image to the role of Bartolo. He is familiar to Lyric audiences for various other appearances, including a fine Osmin last season in Mozart’s Entführung. As his counterpart in Almaviva’s household, Lauren Curnow gave Marcellina a memorable portrayal in her spirited rivalry with Susanna, adding an extra dimension to the dramatic and musical tension in the first act, and setting up the revelation in the third. The musicianship Curnow brings to this role begs questions about hearing her in other, more prominent parts, which could allow her fine mezzo soprano voice to emerge.

Conductor Leonardo Vordoni gave a persuasive reading of the score, following the lead that Sir Andrew Davis had given with the earlier performances. While he might have allowed the woodwinds to overbalance the ensemble in the overture and first act, the problems were at most minor. Tempos were convincing and allowed the text and lines to bring the drama forward, as this work requires, and while one might quibble with the pacing of “Dove sono”, the overall impression left by Vordoni was unquestionably positive. This was a ending to Lyric Opera’s season.

The production itself continues to convince by allowing sufficient visual space for all the action to take place. The stylized eighteenth-century interiors give a real sense of the period in which the drama takes place, and the costumes reinforce the setting very well . More than that, the colors and lighting reflect the true spirit of the opera, with appropriate shading for the final act, so that the fireworks alluded to in the text can be seen clearly in the final tableau. This is a production which should serve for many future revivals, especially if cast with performers of the caliber found in this one.

James L. Zychowicz