What starts as rain quickly turns and by time I arrive the Metropolitan Opera is the center of a snow globe and my charcoal coat is white.
Seeing two operas on one winter day is ambitious, but I have ventured into this formidable weather once again to see the potential fireworks of two ‘battling divas,’ Anna Netrebko and Anita Rachvelishvilli.
Earlier I wondered if performers sometimes push their characters beyond the page. For example, if Anna’s character is written to win the day, is Anita willing to accept the softer applause or will she push her voice a little extra to win the audience? How does a conductor get big egos to adhere to the page and their direction? I know from meetings with our drama department that those folks will club and claw to be the center of attention.
Whatever the backstage machinations, for me the two live up to their reputations. Powerful. And, I believe their characters are hateful rivals. With lines like “Out of my way demons from hell for I am the muse of tragedy,” how could it not be great.
To compare the minimalism of Pelleas Et Melisande and the baroqueness of Adriana Lecouvreur is a masters course on the boundaries that define Opera:
Adriana Lecouvreur doubles down on the traditions of opera. It pulls out every trope in the catalogue and then some. From love triangles, forged letters, poisons, mistaken identities, Greek references, big arias, and bigger crescendos; it could easily slip into parody if not for the sincerity and high quality of the performers.
Pelleas Et Melisande on the other hand explores what opera becomes when it doesn’t rely on its traditional tropes. Debussey refused to pander audience sensibilities. It’s so bold in its artistic vision, that it sets a new model for operas in the twentieth century; more inward and more orchestra driven.
This was a rare experience and I go to sleep understanding the form of opera a little bit better.
So what is Adriana Lecouvreur all about? It begins backstage with her lover the duke who is called away by her rival, the princess of Boullion. In real life the Duke of Saxony, was a romantic historical figure who was in his first battle at twelve and a father at thirteen. In the opera he is a ‘playboy.’ the Princess has people mock Adriana on stage but, Adriana confidently turns it around on her and delivers a scathing monologue from Phaedra.
Notes on the production
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Composer…………………………….… Francesco Cilea
Adriana Lecouvreur……………… Anna Netrebko
Princess of Bouillon……………… Anita Rachvelishvilli
Maurizio……………………………….…. Piotr Beczala
Conductor………………………………. Gianandrea Noseda
Metropolitan Opera
1/19/19