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IN REVIEW: Lyric Opera finds chemistry in company premiere of Bellini classic

Considering the number of elements that must come together for an operatic production to succeed, it’s a miracle that it ever happens. When it does, it’s sometimes hard to say why it does, but it nonetheless makes for an extremely satisfying evening of theater. At the Lyric Opera’s Norma, which opened November the 6th at the Lyric Theatre, all the essentials — direction, singing, acting, sets, lighting, costumes, makeup, orchestra — worked together like a well-oiled machine to put that ineffable chemistry into motion. Not everything was ideal, but the outcome ranks among the more rewarding shows I’ve seen this company bring to the stage. No small feat for a highly problematic opera, and one that the Lyric had never staged before.

Bellini can be taxing on the ear and the patience, partly because of his static harmonic language and the leisurely pace with which his sometimes numbingly strophic arias unfold. But his dramatic instincts were prodigious, and the sheer spun-out beauty of his melodies makes the experience ultimately worthwhile. Because so much rides on the bel canto, good singing is essential to success here. The Lyric’s Norma, Brenda Harris, brought her gifts to bear. Her total immersion in the role was palpable, and provided her with a sort of inner fire that made this unlikely Druid priestess into a richly believable character. She adopted an aptly imperious bearing in the ritual scenes, and fine pathos in the intimate moments. She was especially gripping in the scenes with Adalgisa, where the two characters played off of each other’s contrasting energies — Norma’s stately dignity versus Adalgisa’s (Laura Vlasak Nolen) youthful impetuosity.

Though her voice is fairly large, it is agile enough to negotiate Bellini’s roulades, even if at times one feels too aware of the mechanics of the sound production. Her swells were perfectly gauged, and passages such as the ending of “Casta Diva” — with its descending chromatic scale sung in effortless, spot-on pianissimo — were breathtaking. In soft singing the voice had a plumy roundness, though when she pushed past a mezzo forte, especially in the higher ranges, it lost much of its variety of colors and took on an edge, like the flavor of a too-tart apple.

Tenor Rafael Davila as Pollione played well off of Brenda, with a haughty bearing befitting his character, and with a physical presence suggesting the couple’s conflicted relationship — now intimate, now distanced. He has a firm tenor with a brilliantine top and an often diffuse lower range; on the whole I found myself yearning to be more inspired. Luiz-Ottavio Faria sang Oroveso with granite-like solidity and command, his rich bass enhancing his dignified, fatherly presence. But the best singing of the evening came from Laura, a first-class mezzo-soprano who is called upon to sing what the authors called (in 1831, when the opera received its premiere) a soprano role. Her gorgeous voice is filled with complex colors and liquid fire — a lush mezzo imbued with multiple dimensions and emotions. Among the highlights of the production, as mentioned above, were her two scenes with Norma: the tender Act 1 duet and the melodramatic scene in Act 2 in which the two women learn for the first time that they both love the same man.

Much of the sense of natural flow and dramatic conviction in this production emanates from the skilled stage direction by Kristine McIntyre, who has been the brain behind several of the Lyric’s most successful productions in recent years. The choral scenes moved surprisingly well, with the crowd arranged on the intersecting staircases of Act 1 in symmetrical patterns appropriate to the sacred rite. In the trio that ends Act 1, the positioning of the three conflicted lovers is in constant flux, to represent the various shifting states of mind of the text: the heated emotions, the bold interactions. First Pollione is stage right and the two women are together stage left, then the women change places so that Adalgisa is farther from him, then Norma and he stand together while Adalgisa moves stage left, after which Pollione moves to the center and divides the women. It was deft touch that delivered a surprisingly potent dramatic effect.

The chorus sang splendidly, with a vibrant, polished sonority that shook the rafters (though the men were dressed in costumes and beards that made them look like visitors from The Planet of the Apes). The orchestra under Ward Holmquist’s direction played firmly, with notably few opening-night ensemble issues. Michael Gordon’s delicious flute solo in “Casta Diva” was full of wistful elan. The ingenious set, designed by Roberto Oswald and adapted by the Lyric’s R. Keith Brumley, included criss-crossing staircases with a central platform where they meet, which for Act 2 becomes sets of parallel stairs that can be entered from top or bottom.

Whether  you’re a Bellini fan or not, this production is a winner, and a lot more fun than you might imagine.

‘Norma’ runs through November 14. For tickets call 816-471-7344 or go to www.kcopera.org.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.

Paul Horsley, Performing Arts Editor 

Paul studied piano and musicology at WSU and Cornell University. He also earned a degree in journalism, because writing about the arts in order to inspire others to partake in them was always his first love. After earning a PhD from Cornell, he became Program Annotator for the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he learned firsthand the challenges that non profits face. He moved to KC to join the then-thriving Arts Desk at The Kansas City Star, but in 2008 he happily accepted a post at The Independent. Paul contributes to national publications, including Dance Magazine, Symphony, Musical America, and The New York Times, and has conducted scholarly research in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic (the latter on a Fulbright Fellowship). He also taught musicology at Cornell, LSU and Park University.

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