Opera Southwest | Rossini: Mosè in Egitto

Seeking respite from the swampy conditions battering the southeast in late April, Viardot-vs-Grisi traveled west, Albuquerque to be specific, home of Opera Southwest which closed its 2025-26 season last weekend with performances of Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto. While accusations of my being late in getting on the Opera Southwest train are warranted (35 seasons behind, to be exact), this first visit is the culmination of previous overtures thwarted by scheduling conflicts and the strangest of circumstances. The company came to my attention back in 2012, soon after the appointment of its new artistic director and principal conductor, Anthony Barrese, with a production of Rossini’s Otello. Not content with setting Opera Southwest apart from its regional sisters by mere programing, Mr. Barrese addressed the two performing versions of Rossini’s Otello with an ambitious integral approach, rehearsing both happy and tragic endings and delegating the final choice to the audience via polling during intermission. This was the beginning of the company’s redirection into the Rossini sanctuary it has come be to be known as (Opera Southwest leads American companies in having performed the most works in the Rossini canon to date), a position which has furthered the company’s reputation as a refreshing outpost championing historically informed performances of important operatic missing links, such as Bottesini’s Ali Baba, and Faccio’s Amleto (a passion project of Mr. Barrese). Such intrepid (and slightly chaotic) nod to the esoteric was enough to get my attention, and though scheduling conflicts kept me at bay, announced performances of the Weimar version of Wagner’s Lohengrin in March of 2019 proved too big a lure to ignore. As fate would have it, disaster would scrap those plans, for hours after my Delta complimentary ticket had been cashed in, I was notified that due to a bizarre fire at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the performance would unfortunately have to be rescheduled (details which left the staff at the Delta customer service counter thoroughly unphased). Scheduling subsequent visits would be further complicated by the events of March 2020, and the pervasive onslaught of the depressing news cycle would keep me away from the TSA lines for quite some time. At least this was the story I gave Anthony Barrese during our chance encounter in Sarasota this past March, when he all but secured my further haggling with the Delta people by notifying me of the programing of the very rare Mosè in Egitto, and the casting of the extraordinary Ashley Milanese as Elcia.

Tasked with resolving the very problems which kept Mosè in Egitto from scoring an unqualified success at the time of its premiere, director Keturah Stickann did not aim to reinvent the wheel, favoring a traditional interpretation while successfully maintaining a balance between the contrasting tone of the theopolitical and romantic vignettes. Her creative team had her back at every turn, even when the cards were stacked against them. In particular, the work of scenic & lighting designer Daniel Chapman established a sense of place with stark simplicity by his clever use of raised platforms, hung set pieces and video projections. His depiction of Mosè’s vision of the promised land at the end of the opera struck the right tone at the close of the curtain. As mandated by the libretto, he delivered three of the Ten Plagues of Egypt onstage with mixed success, most gracefully when combining practical effects with subtle technological assistance. The opening scene’s plague of darkness, realized by blindfolds, parting clouds and elegant lighting effects, was most successful. Those relying mostly on video projections, such as the storms of fiery hail and the thunderbolt which strikes (in the opera) the Faraone’s progeny, decidedly less so. Undoubtedly Mr. Chapman’s greatest challenge came at the end of the opera with the iconic parting of the Red Sea. Using waves of fabric juxtaposed against video projections, the effect threatened to get routed into the headspace where screen savers live, but ultimately succeeded, in both performances that I witnessed, in disarming an Opera Southwest audience already charmed by the palpable love emanating from the stage throughout the performance. Costumes by designer Kaylee Silcocks and wigs and makeup by Jacqueline Chavez, though limited by budgetary constraints, managed to get the production values past the finish line with few complaints. 

Staying true to its reputation, Opera Southwest could not resist a whimsical acknowledgement of Domenico Barbaja, the legendary Neapolitan impresario who commissioned Rossini’s operas for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, by hosting a raffle in the lobby (Barbaja famously financed his fortunes by promoting casino-style games in the lobby of his theater). Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto also allowed artistic director and principal conductor the opportunity to observe conventions of an altogether more impactful vein.

Having taken great care to assemble a coherent working score out of the multiple versions and scattered pieces available, maestro Barrese opted to bypass the go-to practice of staging the Italian translation of the opera’s sprawling Paris revision (Moïse et Pharaon) instead favoring the 1819 revision of the score, which includes the opera’s most famous number, the preghiera “Dal tuo stellato soglio”. His choice presents him with another set of problems, however, as Rossini famously delegated the composition of key scenes for Mosè and the Faraone in the original 1818 version to assistants, and only managed to replace the Faraone’s number for the 1819 revision – awkwardly leaving the opera’s leading character without a soliloquy of Rossinian stature. Though most revivals resolve this quandary by relegating the Faraone’s aria (Cade dal ciglio il velo) to Mosè, here Mr. Barrese went against the grain once again, allowing the Pharaoh his aria proper and, in a brilliant compromise, retrofitting the text of an aria from Pacini’s Amazilia and inserting it into the second act to serve as Mosè’s showpiece. This juxtaposition illustrated both the inescapable influence of Rossini’s hold on the Italian musical scene in his lifetime, as well as (despite the sophistication of Paccini’s ouvre,) the very qualities that set him apart from his most talented and capable imitators. 

Leading the 43 players comprising the orchestral forces in the pit, maestro Barrese gave his principals generous space to fight their vocal battles against a score often demanding superhuman effort. His performing venue, the Albuquerque Journal Theatre located within the National Hispanic Cultural Center, is another card up his sleeve, providing an intimate setting which seats under 700 and a good acoustic, empowering the voices to project past the otherwise restrictive barrier presented by the orchestral forces and be heard by the audience unencumbered.  

These amicable conditions would come to the aid of Hans Tashjian, who undertook the role of Faraone in these performances. A talented young singer recently entrusted with comprimario and cover assignments at Sarasota Opera, his Olin Blitch in scenes from Floyd’s Susannah at a covers concert recently revealed him as a viable contender. His developing talent has much to instigate its development, while also presenting him with some unique challenges. A handsome young man of towering stature (unconfirmed rumors have him at 6’7) he cuts extraordinary figure onstage, setting up the eye for a basso-profondo, or the fabled oktavist, and the ear for disappointment. At its present iteration, his bass-baritone sits high, heavily favoring a light baritone of attractive color but timid projection, capable of merely skimming the complexities of the Rossini vehicle. Beyond his shortcomings, Mr. Tashjian should be credited for his discipline and composure, the long evening found him focusing his interpretation well within his realm of possibilities. 

Such dignified disposition was not shared by tenor Blake Friedman, entrusted here with the near impossible role of Osiride. A part written to promote the legendary Andrea Nozzari, the role is an interminable test of a singer’s negotiation of heroic florid singing, completed with explosive forays into the extremes of the scale. After a tentative start, Mr. Friedman confronted the score with relentless fervor, one bar at a time, in a frantic effort to keep his head over water against a part well beyond his scope. Readjustments of all types could be heard throughout his phrasing, often relegating the singer to cartoonishly switch gears at random, even within isolated phrases. When the score gave him a break, such as in the duet with Elcia “Rendi a me poter divino” a very attractive tenore di grazia with a melancholic edge could be heard sighing and throbbing through the bars of the delightful duettino. He is likely to make his mark in more realistic and flattering assignments in the near future. 

Filling the vocal void left by the Egyptian royals, the stately singing of Justin Hopkins made for more congenial casting as Mosè. The possessor of a well-balanced, distinguished bass-baritone, Mr. Hopkins appeared well within his comfort zone exploiting the depths of his lower register. 

Tasked with leading the oratorio elements of the opera, he intelligently rationed the core of his sound, enabling it both authoritative and poised as it anchored the exalted pages of his first act ensemble “Celeste man placata” and the opera’s famous preghiera “Dal tuo stellato soglio, which precedes the parting of the Red Sea. He honored Mr. Barrese’s insertion of the aria in catene from Pacini’s Amazilia “Si miei prodi, il sol nascente” a practice once championed by Rossini’s star bass Luigi Lablache, through confident and swaggery delivery. 

The undisputed jewel of Opera Southwest’s production of Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto, soprano Ashley Milanese, measured her worth against a role written to exploit the proclivities of the celebrated Isabella Colbran, and scored a triumph in the process. Her interpretation of Elcia certainly validated this blog’s enthusiastic recollection of her previous performances at Sarasota Opera (Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci & Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme) and served up a new opportunity to revisit a representative of a school of singing recent decades have all but discouraged. The clarity of her production, aided by the intimate conditions presented by the Albuquerque Journal Theatre, invited further appreciation of her process. The finely tempered glow of her lyric soprano oscillates between a glamorous femininity and youthful morbidezza to grace the text and present the emotion, serving a complete impersonation primarily through vocal means, and making possible the “theater of the voice” experience modern ears are so starved for. The fundamentals of her method, which binds the core sound together by the meticulous integration of her chest register up and down her scale, empowers the deployment of instrument with equal distribution throughout her range. When applied to the language of Rossini, the gradation of dynamics was always within her grasp, and she revealed a natural flexibility when florid singing demanded it. Aspirates were undetected in her passage work.  In both timbre and her manner of phrasing, her singing remained idiomatically Italian, setting her apart from her colleagues in the showstopping ensembles showcasing the bulk of her participation. She was affecting during the extended duets with Osiride and devastating after his death during her grand scena in Act II, “Porgi la destra amata”.  Keeping track of her development and future assignments has become high priority in this neck of the woods. All should follow suit.

Spasmic, stiff vocalism marred an otherwise spirited interpretation of Amaltea by soprano Ingela Onstad, who frequently found herself poking past the tonal balance set by the ensemble. An explosive deployment of questionable pitch kept Ms. Onstad from fully realizing the potential of this key supporting character in important ensembles, thankfully mellowing out by the time the opera’s addictive quartet “Mi manca la voce” required her participation. 

Outmaneuvered by the Hebrew delegation, the Mambre of tenor Eric Botto was unable to flip a sinking scorecard in favor of team Egypt. A breathy production further restricted his efforts. 

It was a solid night for tenor John Tiranno, who’s sturdy projection and firm leggiero proved a great match for the role of Aronne. His upper middle has an attractive squillo, permitting him to easily asserts himself against the ensemble and provide reliable support to the august efforts of his Mosè. Ornate music called out a certain lack of liquidity which occasionally soured his line, but the part of Aronne avoids much of such pesky complications and projected Mr. Tiranno’s efforts in the best possible light.

These performances also marked the professional American debut (or anywhere) of Italian mezzo-soprano Chiara Biondani, who threw herself into her assignment, the small but rewarding part of Amenofi, with visible excitement. The part is small, mostly clocking in to join the group effort in the concertati. However, she does have a duet with Elcia “Tutto mi ride intorno” which invites a degree of finesse Ms. Biondani was more than willing to provide. Her harmonizing with Ms. Milanese made a feature showpiece out of their short collaboration.  As it stands, the production is blunt and a tad hooty, guarding the core and projecting it into the auditorium with imposing ease. Chest development will promote more clarity in diction and remove some stiffness in her line which, one hopes, may unlock greater expressive possibilities. With discipline, careful guidance and a lot of luck, those in the theater may have heard the beginnings of could become a very important career.

Though Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto closed Opera Southwest’s 2025-26 season, next season’s line up is set to include Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Mussorgky’s Bori Godunov (!) and Catan’s Salsipuedes. Those looking for holiday activities need look no further than the company’s revival of Armienta’s The Farolitos of Christmas, which premiered at Opera Southwest last year.

For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.operasouthwest.org

-Daniel Vasquez