Fine voices, gawdy sideshows brighten `La Cenerentola'
It's a great package deal: a sexy mezzo voice, a voluptuous figure in low-cut dresses, that sultry Mediterranean charm, not to mention music that's both easy to hear and to forget so that we can concentrate on the matters at hand -- namely, Ms. Bartoli's appearance and the opportunity to fraternize with the city's best.
Luckily, this tizzy lasted all the way through the first act, which is quite a feat given its length. Considering that the music sounds the same and there is no dramatic continuity to interrupt, I'm not sure why the intermission couldn't have broken things up a little earlier.
But on it went, and I guess that's not a bad thing. Bartoli as "Goodness Triumphant" really does have an amazing voice -- warm, even and embarrassingly agile. She doesn't get to demonstrate that until she's the prince's wife at the very end, but the scattered hints are nice.
Raul Gimenez as the tenor/hero/prince sang throughout with a fine lyric voice, the rare sort which can handle both the coloratura and the size of the hall; besides, he just seemed like a nice guy. In fact, the entire production was extremely well sung, with the exception of Laura Knoop's Clorinda, whose fragile soprano lacked the rigor to get through the fioritura.
The production is grandiose and traditional, which is convenient if you're trying to pay attention to other things. But as of opening night, not all of the technical kinks were worked out. It is obvious that La Cenerentola was not HGO's pet production this season and that HGO was depending on Bartoli's strength.
Bartoli was helpless when it came to the traditional slapstick and sight-gag elements which peppered the production. Is dropping a hanky over and over really that amusing?
No one goes to Rossini to watch the stage anyway, and if they do, they must see what it takes to make the sounds demanded from the singers. Watch Bartoli's neck; it goes through all sorts of movements to produce the score's fun bells and whistles. This side show would have been a distraction in a different opera. In this case, just like the parade of Versace-wanna-be dresses, it was just part of the fun Houston calls Grand Opera. 227-ARTS.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the November 3, 1995 issue.
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