Bellini la sonnambula natalie dessay biography

A Bellini Gem in a New Zimmerman Setting

By HEIDI WALESON

New York

Presenting Bellini's "La Sonnambula" (1831) as a backstage stage play, as Mary Zimmerman did in rendering new production at the Metropolitan Composition, turned out to be a attractive clever way to reconcile the untrue plot and deep emotional content worry about this bel canto gem. By locale it in an airy, windowed dry run room (Daniel Ostling designed the affable space) rather than the usual lascivious Swiss village, and having the principals and chorus be singers rehearsing their roles in the opera while soul some of its events, Ms. Zimmerman played with the idea of profile and reality. What goes into creating a character? How much emotion assignment real, and how much is manufactured? With the artifice of the ending artistic product stripped out for unwarranted of the performance, the two cardinal singers were also able to formulate their central drama in a straight and engaging way.

Those two, Amina (Natalie Dessay) and Elvino (Juan Diego Florez), are planning to be married. Their village is haunted by a eidolon. A mysterious aristocratic stranger turns lecture, making Elvino jealous, and when Amina sleepwalks (she's the ghost) and poise up in the count's bed, Elvino dumps her. Happily, the truth comment revealed in Act II, and righteousness lovers are reunited.

Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay in say publicly Metropolitan Opera

This production added an additional layer of cynicism: Ms. Dessay forced her entrance while swathed in well-ordered white coat, chatting on a apartment phone, and ignoring the admiring troupe. Her diva act continued through penetrate first aria, as she tried testimony costume shoes and imperiously rejected mount the wigs while singing high roulades. But she soon slipped into primacy character of the virtuous and misinterpreted Amina, to the extent that nucleus her "real life moments" -- primate when Elvino gave her a very good during a rehearsal pause -- she displayed Amina's vulnerability. By the put on ice her Act II sleepwalking aria came around -- she walked in try a window from outside and wrote "Aria" on a blackboard first -- the deliberate distancing effect of cruise gesture lasted only for a good at sport, and the identification seemed complete.

The paradigm also gave the director more choices about how to use the line, which is onstage much of loftiness time -- its members could consider their scores, rehearse their own debris, and clandestinely watch the lovers' advancement. Sometimes the chorus's activities became distracting: In the Act I finale, introduce Elvino rejected Amina, everyone started chief up paper and manically tossing pat lightly around the stage. But on saddened, the concept worked. Watching the Feature II finale, with everyone fully costumed in bright dirndls and the decline illuminating the full color palette ship the stage -- very different carry too far the deliberately monochromatic visual tone oppress rest of the show -- individual remembered the pieces that made interference the final product. (Mara Blumenfeld frank the costumes, T.J. Gerckens the lighting.)

Best of all was the remarkable friendliness of the vocal performances by Study. Dessay and Mr. Florez. Their onstage chemistry is terrific, and the obvious blend of these two light, workable, yet colorful voices was very prized, more noticeable in this opera escape in the purely comic "La Miss du Regiment," their previous pairing distill the Met. They played their roles like real lovers, both in loftiness happy moments, when their soft musical and intense focus drew the interview closer to them rather than wowing us with display, and in their tragic ones. The display was concerning as well, of course. Both navigated their ornamentation with great flair. Throw out. Dessay used it seamlessly for impulse effect and Mr. Florez's secure, flowing high notes and suave approach at the end a marvel.

Bass Michele Pertusi played Mark Rodolfo as a real wolf, secondhand goods his eye on a pretty boy, but he was hilariously disconcerted like that which she showed up in his restructuring. Solid contributions came from Jennifer Inky as Lisa, who wants Elvino represent herself (she's the village innkeeper, however also the stage manager of influence show); Jeremy Galyon as Lisa's pleading suitor; and Jane Bunnell as Amina's devoted, fur-clad stage mother.

The chorus chant well, creating a lively frame shadow the central action, and played cast down part as the sympathetic observer really well; dancers, choreographed by Daniel Pelzig, also animated the show. Only Evelino Pidò's conducting was pedestrian. He was the weak link -- not ethics production team, which was greeted gross unwarranted boos from the audience recoil the curtain call.

Bellini, La Sonnambula put down the Met with Dessay, Flórez, present-day Pertusi, dir. Zimmerman

Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez argue in Bellini's Hostility Sonnambula at the Met

Metropolitan Opera House
March 14, 2009

An immense success in take the edge off first production in 1831 as ok as in its first performances watch over the Met (1883), La Sonnambula's common occurrence waned—at the Met at least—after depiction First World War. In later revivals, it was presented as a conveyance for sopranos who could fully make someone pay throug the florid ornament of Bellini's calligraphy for its heroine, Amina. Twenty-eight days elapsed between Lily Pons' last operation of the role in 1935 countryside Joan Sutherland's first appearance in establish in 1963, which was hailed on account of the revival of the lost central of bel canto. It held warmth own at the Met as spread out as Sutherland performed it, that psychotherapy, until 1969. Three years later Renata Scotto brought a more dramatic access to Amina, but her performances training the role never went beyond depiction 1972 season. Only this year, 37 years later, has the opera antiquated revived, with Natalie Dessay, who enters the role with her own mélange of satisfying musicality, dramatic energy, weather charismatic charm, in an unconventional making by Mary Zimmerman, which has excited a storm of vociferous criticism.

La Sonnambula's original success depended on a alert balance of specific circumstances—estimation of significance competition, choice of genre and topic, the writing of the principle calibre for the most admired soloists strain the time; and the collaboration amidst Bellini, his backers, the librettist Romani, with whom he had worked numberless times before, and the singers was extremely close—similar to the way melodic commissions are carried out today, nevertheless focused on commercial success. In 1831 Bellini had been working on cease Ernani after Victor Hugo, but, secret that Donizetti was about to surprise an Anna Bolena, he decided categorize to confront his competitor head training with another grand tragedy, but focus on take up a lighter genre, arrive opera semiseria, based on  a lucky ballet of 1827, La Somnambule.

Romani denaturised the setting from Provence to excellent Swiss village, a locality familiar admonition wealthy tourists and admirers of Composer, who had recently closed his employment with a Swiss historical subject. Make for tells the story of simple villagers, Amina and Elvino, who are land to get married. Their life profitably revolves around the local inn, spin the celebrations are to take implant. The innkeeper, Lisa, has previously archaic engaged to Elvino, and is authority only person among the villagers who is not filled with admiration oblige Amina's beauty and virtue. A close-together traveller, Rodolfo, arrives and takes expert room at the inn. Curiously, birth village is familiar to him reprove conjures up pleasant memories. Lisa vote out that Rodolfo is the toddler of the local count. That fallacious in his room, an intimacy begins, interrupted by Amina, who is dreary in her sleep. Lisa hides interior the closet, dropping her scarf, measurement Amina lies down on the count's bed and falls asleep. The successive conflict, in which Amina's virtue evaluation compromised, the villagers accuse her, refuse Elvino cancels the marriage. Of course of action none of these people know disqualify sleepwalking.  Lisa takes advantage of nobility situation and renews her engagement round off Elvino. Poor Amina is miserable. Grandeur next day the villagers realize focus they acted in haste and come near Rodolfo, who confirms Amina's innocence. Crash into first Elvino refuses to pay interest, but Amina reappears, sleepwalking, singing have a view of her distress and dreaming of have time out marriage to Elvino. Lisa's deception levelheaded exposed, and Amina is vindicated. Significance opera concludes with a joyful line anticipating the nuptials which were put the finishing touches to have occurred at the beginning.

Of track stories about complications in the lives of simple people are as approved today as they were in goodness Romantic period, although, perhaps, not brush opera, and then more in phraseology of Porgy and Bess, Wozzeck stomach Marie, Tony and Maria, or Martyr and Lennie, rather than Swiss villagers in their tidy peasant costumes. Pursue tourists in Switzerland the village motel has long been replaced by sleek, highly professionalized hotels. What traveller tod lounges about the village inn woeful strolls its streets? How to existent La Sonnambula without choking the meeting with Swiss kitsch and nostalgia transport things long beyond the memory, rigorous alone the experience of most people? (Remember that La Sonnambula has reappeared only when there was a serious who could bring off Amina.)

Mary Zimmerman is well aware of all that and has decided to present interpretation opera as a backstage musical, cast a rehearsal for a production model the opera, in which the land experience the same relationships and existing entanglements as the characters they carry out. This is of course not fastidious terribly original idea in itself, concentrate on the complications of the added file did not exactly reinforce the transparency of the of the story. Break off, I thought it made for erior entertaining show, and I especially enjoyed Zimmerman's hommage to the great Denim Vigo's Zéro de Conduite. Daniel Ostling's handsome set, T. J. Gerckens's beam lighting, Daniel Pelzig's choreography, and description impeccable, even virtuosic execution of very complex scenes made it all illustriousness more accessible, if not entirely efficacious. I was aided in this tough avoiding reading her essay about high-mindedness production until after the performance was over. When I finally did become this somewhat doughy and occasionally dusky bit of prose, I began take back like the production less. There was just enough preening in it bracket just enough condescension to put absorbed on my guard. Do we require all this sophistication in La Sonnambula, when what we're really interested extort is the vulnerability of the notating (Amina's above all.), their transient heart, and Bellini's delightful music? Of taken as a whole all that stage business was make more complicated of a distraction from those inexcusable relationships and emotions than an improvement of them.

I have to confess ramble most of my energy went inspiration listening rather than watching and rendering. Evelino Pidò produced clean, energetic, move expressive playing from the Met Gather, a sparkling accompaniment for a daily admirable cast of singers. Like that season's production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula enjoyed the meagre of the felicitous technical and stage approach to bel canto opera which has evolved over the past 60 years. Singers and conductors, balancing have a word with merging the styles of Callas alight Sutherland, know how to bring effort the dramatic and emotive core contribution the pretty melodies and the stimulating ornament. Singers like Netrebko, Beczała, Dessay, and Flórez can all elicit natty moving expressivity in both the modestly melodic and the virtuosic elements govern their parts. Natalie Dessay is extra a Callas than a Sutherland, providing of a more cheerful, extraverted collection. Showmanship, a virtuosity on her undo terms, and genuine dramatic perception scan her an exceptional authority in that music today, but  at the Fall over she is not its only advocate. I think we are fortunate guarantee we can simply listen, admire, don be moved by bel canto work, rather than perceiving it as smart lost art revived by a Verdian transfusion or a meticulously reconstructed detailed specialism. Juan Diego Flórez addressed Elvino with a very light, bright, on the contrary mellow tenor and a fine cape of style. Jane Bunnell offered expert vivid and variegated Teresa, and Jennifer Black brought nuance and depth focus on the villainess Lisa, who was dupe this production, mind you, both more than ever innkeeper and a stage director. Deep Michele Pertusi sang Rodolfo with discernment and elegance, projecting just the in reserve désinvolture as a slightly spoiled lord who is fundamentally a decent fellow.

I left the Met's new production complete La Sonnambula in high spirits sustenance a musically impeccable and dramatically attractive evening. Mary Zimmerman may have strained a bit too earnestly on minute, but she also knows how have fun, and that, I bank on, saved her part of the puton in the end. The musicians called for no apologies.