Still dazzled and somewhat woozy after an extraordinary weekend of opera in Sarasota, Viardot-vs-Grisi headed west to Music City, lured by Nashville Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor – a cornerstone of the Bel Canto repertoire – featuring Rainelle Krause’s Lucia as the main attraction. Even during his heyday and up until the Bel Canto renaissance in the mid-20th century, Donizetti’s works failed to inspire the respectability enjoyed by his Italian contemporaries. One of the perks of this ratty reputation is that Donizetti’s music is certainly not part of a Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk-like concept, and can withstand some measure of abuse – many would argue that most of his lesser works actually thrive in it. But several of his greater operas clean up real nice, and Lucia di Lammermoor (alongside the lot of his Tudor operas, Lucrezia Borgia, Don Pasquale, L’Elisir d’Amore, Poliuto, Le Favorite, and others), besides serving as a vehicle for fine canaries, is definitely among these. And thus the set up for this recent run of Lucias at Nashville Opera, two performances in April 3rd and 5th to be exact, the second of which is the subject of the following account. As an added bonus, I was joined at will call by operatic frenemy Chris Myers (he’s with the Britten people) and what follows is a summary of our impressions.
For these performances, Nashville Opera retitled the opera to match the source material, Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor and the rebranding implied up a certain caveat: From the outset, several elements conspired to deter from the success of the performance. That everyone, Chris and I included, managed to still have a great time serves as a testament of the opera’s hardy disposition.
The first hurdle was Jackson Hall itself, a performance venue located inside the massive Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC). Seating a little under 2,500 spectators, the design and feel of Jackson Hall serves vintage Urban Renewal, and its cavernous acoustics match the vibe. For the purposes of producing an opera of the bel canto era, these were not ideal conditions. In the hands of the company, Donizetti’s opera has also undergone some hacking and reshuffling. Though we are not privy to the sequence of events that led to the performing version that made it to the stage, I suspect that it may have all started with a desire to close the opera with the mad scene, in itself not an altogether disqualifying idea (the opera’s anti-climatic final scene being the common complaint of many). Surely John Hoomes, Director, CEO & Nashville Opera Artistic Director, and Dean Williamson, Conductor & Nashville Opera Music Director know the gory details.
For context, Chris and I are not the squeamish type when it comes to cuts. There are several versions of Lucia in various states of completion out there, many which serve as reference to performance practice to this day. Before the availability of a critical edition, various numbers in the opera (such as the reprisal sections in compound arias) were customarily trimmed for the sake of dramatic pacing. Spearheaded by the work of some impactful divas (Maria, Joan, Beverly and them) forgotten performance practices were dug up, adding to the strength of Lucia as a searing drama worth of serious attention by the 1970s. Among these, two scenes which help provide clarity to the action have been rediscovered and they sometimes find their way into the occasional modern performance: A scene Raimondo and Lucia before the wedding banquet which puts some of Arturo’s blood in the hands of the priest, and another which opens the third act at Wolf’s Crag where Edgardo and Enrico are set to engage in a duel. Among these and the various repetitions that will find themselves back in favor at the whim of the company and the availability of the edition, certain boutique occasions designed to appeal to various cults have found Lucias reverting to the old practice of inserting an aria di baule (suitcase aria), sometimes replacing Lucia’s aria di partita with a scene from Donizetti’s own Rosmonda d’Inghilterra (a practice that was started by the first Lucia, Fanny Tacchinardi-Persiani herself). Others will dust off the French version of the opera, Lucie de Lammermoor for the public to determine its worth (it has not yet caught on). There is even a version by Jesus Lopez-Cobos (a fine conductor!) full of come scritto signaling, which omits most traditional ornamentation (including Melba’s signature variations in the mad scene which has permeated all, well most, modern performance of the opera within memory). He even got Caballe to make a full recording of this puzzling affair.
Nashville Opera favors the more abbreviated versions, and in fact inflicts new reductions to score to the point of forcing the projected supertitles to provide plot summaries to assist the audience in making sense of the drama. The opera’s three acts have been refashioned into a two act event, which affect the dramatic arch provided by the original. Instead ot bringing down curtain after Lucia and Edgardo’s tender farewell, we leave Act One on a somber note following the confrontation between the Ashton siblings. Act Two opens, inexplicably, with a reprise of the concerted harp solo which binds the first and second scenes of Act One, leading to the dramatic wedding scene which is then followed by Edgardo’s scene at the Ravenswood graveyard (which should end of the opera!). Edgardo exits after “Fra poco a me ricovero” never to be seen again, because clearly Lucia is not dead yet! The opera’s final scene takes place in the reception hall following Lucia’s wedding, allowing the famous mad scene to close the show.
Under these unorthodox conditions, John Hoomes’ direction pushed the evening further towards the chaotic. Not that his production team led him down. The sets designed by Ryan McGettigan (provided by the New Orleans Opera Association), costumes designed by Susan Allred (for Utah Symphony/Utah Opera), lighting design by Barry Steele, and wig and makeup by Brittany Rappise set up Mr. Hoomes for success, but his interpretation leaned towards the heavy-handed and grotesque, swinging from sugary sweetness (Edgardo and Lucia’s self-delivered nuptials) to stilted violence (Enrico’s patiently prepared slap of Lucia evocative of a yoga pose). By the time Arturo’s bloody remains were carried unto the stage (and left on display for over two minutes), the pendulum had swung towards camp. Shifting directions towards the pit, Dean Williamson is a fine maestro who knows this score (I heard him conduct a stylish reading of it back in 2001 in Minnesota) but seemed out of sorts in these performances of the opera. Whether infected by the happenings onstage, he often lagged behind his principals and his baton could have balanced the opera’s orchestration with greater care. Donizetti is a noisy guy, and if left to its own devices, his orchestra can quickly become the antagonist, and many of the most bombastic pages can strike the ear as a little cheap.
At the end of the day, any performance of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with rise or tank on the strength of its lead. For these performances, Nashville Opera secured the services of soprano Rainelle Krause, whose current engagement schedule is packed with performances of Mozart’s Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflote, a role which has dominated her repertoire in recent years. For many artists tasked to bear the cross of the Mozartian role, the part presents stressful conditions not unlike those of a trapeze act (which Ms. Krause knows a thing or two about), without genuine opportunity for full display of vocal endowments. For the kids on their phone, it is the operatic forebearer of a Tik Tok short. Successful queens can build careers out of the two (admittedly terrifying) arias, and if Krause’s performance of the role in Atlanta is any indication, she currently sits in a bubble will continue to open doors for her. Here at Nashville Opera, she is granted a curious break in this steady Mozartian diet to trial balloon Lucy Ashton, the first in her career, a part to consider as her artistic ambitions seek further outlets. Judging by this maiden voyage, it is likely to enter her core repertoire, and with greater experience and development she will surely become a valid exponent of the role.
Perhaps betraying an artist adjusting her technique to address new challenges, her singing remained pristine, correct and musical throughout the show. Her voice is a supple, light soprano which she can assert to fill the hall when necessary, though it does not extend past the lyric fach in dimension. The upper extension is expressive and a sort of comfort zone (she avoids trilling below middle C), and her placement in the upper tessitura rarely connects with the middle and lower registers. Chest resonance is sometimes hinted at but rarely showcased, and the middle register is pushed forward through some obvious darkening. Considering the size of the venue, she is blameless. Lucia’s journey into madness is indicated primarily in her acting, with her singing offering few insights into the mind of mad, mad Lucy. However, for those wishing to hear a prima donna delivery a solid account of the mad scene and toss e-flats into the auditorium, she more than satisfies. The win-win takeaway – there is opportunity for growth.
The recap of her leading tenor, César Delgado, is less favorable. As heard on April 5th, his interpretation of Edgardo was held back by an unbending and monolithic technique, which denied Mr. Delgado’s phrasing the necessary elasticity to shape his phrases into appealing melodic gestures. His tone hardened as soon as it strayed too far from its center, and a blunt, heavy-handed approach marred the various opportunities set up by the composer for the romantic tenor to assert himself. There is, however, blood in his veins afterall, and when the heat of the performance bubbled up as Lucia admits her marriage to Arturo he was able to rise to the occasion,delivering a dramatic, deadly blow to the unhappy bride (in a scene Verdi would build upon in La Traviata). Thus, though I found his performance of “Fra poco a me ricovero” (the opera’s most beautiful number) lacking in phrasing, legato, poetry, etc, I was disappointed that he was not afforded the chance to try his second solo: “Tu che a Dio spigasti l’ali”. I’ve had a nagging suspicion for years that Donizetti’s vocal line in this aria is meant to emulate the original Edgar drowning in quicksand as told by Walter Scott. Browsing his bio in the playbill, Mr. Delgado a young artist without an extensive resume experience to fall back on, so perhaps this starry assignment (the part was a vehicle for Duprez) was well intentioned but premature. The ear sensed his frustration as he attempted to do the damn thing, only to come short for lacking the technical tools to get his point across. It is a shame. We wish him sensible development and further growth, and hope he becomes the artist the ear occasionally sensed he can be.
Making his Nashville Opera debut with these performances of Lucia’s heartless brother Enrico was baritone Timothy Mix, and his involvement made for a sobering evening. As I recently mentioned last week, I first heard Mr. Mix as Stankar in an exciting performance of Verdi’s Stiffelio in Sarasota 20 years ago. Consulting my notes from the occasion, young me noted that “Timothy Mix has a large, striking sound. His voice naturally lacks the sweet edge needed to serve Verdi properly, but there’s plenty of repertoire that will likely gain from his participation. His Act III scena brought the house down. I need more of him immediately.” And then we parted ways. This performance of Lucia provided a window into the state of a voice heard two decades ago, then so full of promise. Sadly, the instrument before me betrayed the effects of substantial decay. The registers have separated, and the score demanded greater focus to smooth over the break than Mr. Mix was either able or willing to grant. As Scott’s Edgar is supposed to soon find out, the more one struggles in quicksand, the faster you sink in it, and Mr. Mix spent much of the evening lining up his method with the state of his vocal disposition. It was deflating. The participation of bass William Guanbo Su, making this Nashville Opera as Raimondo (the first in his career) improved the situation up to a point. His voice is fresh, steady and expands through the auditorium with confidence. It does not exhibit the qualities of a central approach (the core is not the attraction here), rather, the method used to project caused the knit of his instrument to dissipate over the large space at play, distilling the pleasure of his singing as a sonic experience somewhat. His tone can register as “woolly” if he is not careful. Deprived of his duet with Lucia “Ah, cedi, cedi!” which should lead into the wedding scene, Mr. Su had his satisfaction with the audience through the dramatic description of the crime scene, “Dalle stanze, ove Lucia”, which earned him a decidedly favorable reaction.
The rest of the cast satisfied for odd reasons. As Alisa, mezzo-soprano Sara Crigger served her lines well and lent a sympathetic shoulder for Lucia to cry on. This ride or die position went out the window during the post wedding festivities, where Alisa could be spotted hooting and hollering with the rest of the invitees. Most curious was the contribution of tenor Gregory Sliskovich in the dual assignments as Normanno and Arturo. As Normanno, he greets the audience at the start of the evening in the opera’s opening scene, where he was completely drown by the joined forces of the orchestra and chorus. When he was finally heard during the tempo di mezzo, his voice forward, wiry thing which he renders characterful. His reincarnation as Arturo afforded him a second chorus accompanied solo, where he revealed a shakier sound to match his character’s older, slimier nature. It left me wondering: Has a warrior stepped up to fight on behalf of the lost art of the operatic comprimario, as opposed to young artists wishing to graduate to principal roles? Mr. Sliskovich could very well be the evening’s unexpected hero.
Though the 2024-25 season at Nashville Opera has come to an end, intel on next year’s season got leaked prior to the performance, and it left Chris and I gagging. For more information on the company, and next year’s season, please visit www.nashvilleopera.org/
Until then, whiskey per tutti!
-Daniel Vasquez