Metropolitan Opera – Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore. September 27, 2012.

Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center – Balcony, Seat C111 ($97.50).

Conductor – Maurizio Benini; Adina – Anna Netrebko, Nemorino – Matthew Polanzani, Belcore – Mariusz Kwiecien, Dulcamar – Ambrogio Maestri, Giannetta – Anne-Carolyn Bird.

Story.  See previous post.

There are a few singers whose appearance on a program would get me to buy a ticket for the performance.  Anna Netrebko is one of them.  While her voice isn’t the smoothest, it is always radiant, carries well, and enjoyable.  Her acting skills could still use some improvement, though.

Great acting skills aren’t necessary for this opera.  It is a comedy with interesting dialog and a ton of pleasant tunes.  As long as you don’t give it too much scrutiny, the story moves forward at fast enough a pace, and there are enough comedic moments to propel the relatively short program forward (2 hours 15 minutes, plus an intermission).

We saw a New York City Opera performance in 2006, so I don’t remember much about that occasion.  I do remember the setting was relatively modern (say 1940s) and all the action happened inside and around a diner.  Tonight’s performance was set in 1836.  I don’t understand why it needs to be so precise, except perhaps to explain why the soldiers have these interesting caps.  The sets are a bit more complicated than what we saw at the NYC Opera performance, and they work quite well.

The last Met opera we saw was in April, and I don’t remember the acoustics at our seats for being this good.  Most of the singing came across clearly, and both Netrebko and Polanzani put in great performances.  The other two men (Kwiecien and Maestri) were a bit spottier.  There were some high notes that Netrebko barely made, though.

Donizetti put in quite a few quartets in the opera.  I recall in Lucia he also had quite a few ensemble pieces – including the famous sextet.  Now I wonder if this is something he did regularly in his operas.  He wrote about 60 operas, and I have seen about five of them, so we have a ways to go yet.

Of course the best known aria is “Una furtiva lagrima” sung by Nemorino.  As far as I can tell, it isn’t the most technically challenging tune in the opera.  And when placed in the context of the opera’s plot, it is a bit out of place.  But by golly, it is just a great tune.  The wistfulness expressed is just perfect against the bassoon accompaniment.  The downside is it may end up being the opera, thus overshadowing all the other arias.  I have to say Polanzani did a superb job, the last few notes just floated across softly and effortlessly into the hall.

Before the concert, Anne and I met up with my former boss Marc and his wife Ellen for dinner at Atlantic Seafood Grill.  I certainly enjoyed catching up with him after all these years (although we do see each other every now and then), and the food was great.

The New York Times reviewer describes the story in quite a bit of detail.  He pans the Met for putting out Netrebko and Donizetti as the season opener, but then proceeds to sing praises about every aspect of the performance.  He has some interesting observations about Netrebko and Polanzani’s voices.