Austin Lyric Opera, "Rigoletto"
A radiant Gilda, sumptuous conducting, imaginative set -- all
it needs is Dr. Phil
February 2, 2009There comes a point in Act III of “Rigoletto,” Giuseppe Verdi’s opera based (via librettist Francesco Piave) on an 1832 play by Victor Hugo, when one wishes the stage director would throw out the standard script and insert a new character -- call him Dottore Filippo -- to knock some sense into Gilda.
She’s the daughter of the Duke’s hunchbacked jester, Rigoletto, and she’s heard incontrovertible proof that the man she loves (aforesaid Duke) is a lying, lascivious, two-timing jerk. She should have figured that out in Act II, when the Duke bedded her nonconsensually, and you’d think Gilda would appreciate Pop’s plan to have the Duke murdered at the inn-with-benefits down by the river (Rigoletto evidently has some Texas roots). But Gilda presents herself to be killed in the Duke’s place. She just can’t help lovin’ dat man. Oops, wrong show.
Gilda’s sacrificial act underscores a chasm between the Romantic sensibility and the Modern one or, for that matter, that of the Enlightenment. Would the Countess of Beaumarchais and Mozart have given her life so Count Almaviva could continue his lecherous ways? Hell, no. Doubtless some women and men, even today, act as Gilda did, but we consider such people self-destructive, stupid, nutty. To certain Romantic literati, however, it was somehow ennobling for a woman to give all for love, even if she knew that the object of her affection was entirely unworthy.
It’s remarkable how much of Romantic opera, including most of “Rigoletto,” translates effectively into our contemporary terms. The Duke walks among us in the guise of spoiled-rotten frat boys. Rigoletto is recognizable in low-born outsiders whose skills and wisecracks buy them tenuous admittance into the orbit of power. As for Gilda in Acts I and II -- well, young people are fooled every day. But the Gilda of Act III is a bridge too far. We can’t wrap our heads around her. It’s hard even to feel sympathy for her. And there’s no way to make Gilda’s sacrifice understandable in contemporary terms without doing violence to the music and the text.
That problem was hard to sweep under the rug in the opening night performance, Jan. 31, of Austin Lyric Opera’s production of “Rigoletto,” in part because the Gilda of Russian soprano Lyubov Petrova was so ravishing, in every way, that she bore nearly as much of the dramatic weight as did the title role.
Baritone Todd Thomas, as Rigoletto, was a sterling, even stirring singer and a good actor, but he didn’t fully inhabit the role, command the stage or spellbind the audience as, for example, Mark Rucker had done in ALO’s 1995 production. Thomas has the vocal chops -- the right mix of honey and steel, a wide color range, ample power, a rough-hewn quality that was appropriate for the role. His “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” was a thunderous, splendidly sung indictment -- but it didn’t convict.
Petrova’s instrument was all satin warmth. She had the agility and range for the showy “Caro nome,” but she was even more impressive finding wonderful nuances of phrasing and dynamics in the delicate “Tutte le feste al tempio.” She riveted the attention not with raw power, but with finesse, astonishing accuracy and a pianissimo to die for.
Tenor Chad Shelton was a late substitution in the role of the Duke of Mantua. He seemed to be under some vocal stress in Act I, and he couldn’t quite grasp the high B-flats in “La donna e mobile” in Act III. But his youthful lyric instrument was often attractive, and he did a fine job with the Act II cabaletta “Possente amor mi chiama.”
Bass Peter Volpe made a deliciously menacing Sparafucile, the assassin. Mezzo-soprano Kirsten Gunlogson made an excellent showing as his sister and bait, Maddalena.
Nearly the entire performance was sumptuously shaped and intelligently paced by ALO principal conductor Richard Buckley. A strong aroma of oregano wafted up from the pit in Buckley’s moulding of tempi and rhythms -- sometimes a bit too much oregano, but fresh and of good quality. The whole of the briskly paced Act I unfolded as a single thought. The orchestra played well, and the chorus was well trained.
An apt air of decadence pervades Allen Charles Klein’s resourceful, eye-filling sets, built in 1979 for Cincinnati Opera but refurbished in 2005. ALO’s lighting designer, David Nancarrow, illuminated it with great care and subtle detail, though he went overboard with the strobe lightning in the storm of Act III.
Stage director Kay Walker Castaldo found plenty of convincing action for the crowd scenes and used the set’s levels and perspective to excellent effect.
"Rigoletto" coninues Feb. 4 and 6 at 7:30 and Feb. 8 at 3 in the Long Center. See austinlyricopera.org
Mike
Greenberg
