Marlies' ArtBeat: Rossini's "La Donna del Lago" -a First Ever at the Met

By Marlies Wolf

It may not be a “Barbieri,” this Rossini La Donna del Lago, in that you won’t come out singing any of its arias to yourself. But that is because unless you are a fully trained bel canto coloratura singer you simply cannot. The opera, based on Sir Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake, composed by Gioachino Rossini to premiere in Naples in 1819, and a decided favorite in Italy still, finally made its debut at our Met. It’s about time!

Arriving here in a co-production with the adventurous Santa Fe Opera, it is the brainchild of Paul Curran who is also making his Met debut. He is wise enough to place it in a traditional brooding setting, with a backdrop of misty projections (by Drisdoll Otto) and with appropriate 16th Century costumes (by Kevin Knight.) Probably the next time it gets a new production here, it will take place in the dry Grand Canyon! But it will be produced, because we are now blessed with a set of outstanding singers to handle it.

The resultant vocal pyrotechnics were dazzling. Every single singer showed almost inhuman full control of the continuous coloratura challenges. How they manage the staggered filigree riffs with such apparent ease is unimaginable.

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868 ) was the son of a horn player who made his serious living as an inspector of slaughter-houses. (Most musicians, then as now, unless extremely successful, have had to seek mundane work to feed the family.) Rossini’s mother was a baker’s daughter with a lovely singing voice.

The boy wonder, Gioachino, was a handful, but evidently super-talented. Upon hearing a complicated melody once, the ten-year-old could reproduce it perfectly, not unlike Mozart, whose work he adored.

Initially taught by uninspired music teachers, he ultimately received great training when the family moved to Bologna. Endowed with a good voice, (he had already soloed in church) he expected to become a singer. Luckily for the world, he started to compose and rose to become the most successful opera composer of his time.

He composed 39 operas plus one unfinished one. At the outset he stuck to formula-limited “opere serie,” but evolved into the far less confining comic form for which he is best known.

A sensitive, intolerant-to-criticism personality, he stopped composing operas at the age of 37, evidently never to compose in the medium again for the remaining 39 years of his life.

But when in his heyday, he composed specifically for the resplendent voices available to him – often tailoring arias and their placements to the great diva, Isabella Colbran, who was his second wife.

Rossini fled Italy during its violent mid-century turmoil and died in Paris in 1868. Initially buried there, his body now is entombed in the famed Santa Croce Cathedral in Florence.

La Donna del Lago was composed at midpoint of his tenure at the well established Teatro San Carlo in Naples. With a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola based, as mentioned before, on the romantic poem by Sir Walter Scott, it was the first usage by a well-known composer of Scott’s works. After a few years, more than 40 operas were composed to Scott-based libretti.

The somewhat complicated story, set in the Highland’s revolt against the tyrant king, basically boils down to this: Three suitors, “Uberto” (King James V in disguise,) the leader of the revolt, Rodrigo, and Malcolm, (the Lady’s true love,) all pursue the enchanting Elena, who’s father has promised her to Rodrigo. Uncharacteristically it all ends well. Rodrigo conveniently dies in battle; love has reformed the king who pardons all; and The Lady Elena gets to marry Malcolm.

Normally, I prefer romantic opera to give me, great music, a believable plot and superior singing. In other words, like Wagner’s concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, (Total Art Experience,) I want it all. Here, I made allowances for the almost silly libretto, zeroing in on the superb vocal performance by this exceptional cast.

The American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato in the title role, indeed set the high standard from the start. Attractive, she also is a fine actress. I still remember with great admiration her Maria Stuarda performance we heard/saw in HD two seasons ago. Since then I noticed she has developed, (undoubtedly on purpose,) a continuous vibrato, even in the strictly legato sections of her bel canto role. Her seemingly effortless coloratura riffs were simply amazing.

The role of “Uberto,” the king in disguise, fell masterfully to Juan Diego Florez, the popular Peruvian tenor. As usual he hit his high C’s and all flourishes with the precision and beauty we’ve all come to expect.

John Osborn, the Iowan tenor as Rodrigo the head of the revolutionaries, acquitted himself fantastically as well. Interestingly, his voice has much of the same timbre as that of Florez.

Oren Gradus the basso who comes from Brooklyn, sang Elena’s father Duglas, with strength and vigor. To make us swallow his insensitive demand that Elena become the wife of a man she does not love, Curran’s direction more than hints that Duglas is an alcoholic.

The Italian mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcellona was our very able Malcolm, here a trouser-role that is a kilt-role instead. As the lively Patricia Racette, who hosted this HD transmission announced with glee: “In this opera, the mezzo gets the mezzo!”

The rest of the cast, chorus, and our always outstanding Met orchestra, under the sure baton of the Italian conductor Michele Mariotti, made this indeed an afternoon to remember.

An intermission appearance by Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager, outlined what operas we will be offered in HD next season. The roster sounds most exciting.

Those who saw La Donna in Westchester’s White Plains City Center were up against real challenges with the closing off of streets for the St.Patrick’s Day parade. But when the opera started, there were no seats left empty. Westchester opera buffos are indeed a wonderfully determined lot.

If you did miss the matinee performance, you can catch the encore on Wednesday, March 18th, at the WH City Center or the NewRoc at 6:30 PM.