Met Opera Lucia Di Lammermoor Pretty Yende Review
"When she sings, you think she sings for you," La Scala'southward casting manager once said of rising opera star Pretty Yende. The full house at Artscape certainly idea so every bit we clung to each euphonious note of Yende'southward 'Regnava nel silenzio'. Our applause roared on for a good infinitesimal or and then subsequently the aria's close; never mind that it was only Human activity I, Scene 2.
To say the crowd was excited would be a gross understatement. With the wriggling anticipation of an eager child, Cape Town was fix to welcome back its champion soprano – this fourth dimension with several La Scala performances, multiple acme prizes at international competitions, and a recent Metropolitan Opera debut under her belt which had the New York press fawning with praise. Accompanying her for the dark's performance was a stalwart cast including tenor Colin Lee, baritone George Stevens (recently acclaimed for his portrayal of Jago in Otello) and bass Xolela Sixaba (another massively popular vocalist since his phenomenal functioning in the lead role of Porgy and Bess). This all star bandage was under the baton of none other than Maestro Richard Bonynge. If there e'er was an expert on Lucia di Lammermoor, it would have to be Bonynge, the husband of the belatedly Dame Joan Sutherland whose Lucia performances rang in the bel canto renaissance from the 1950s to the 1980s.
No ane would believe the conductor to be an octogenarian, the way he commanded orchestra and audience akin in the opening notes of the Preludio. Requiring no visual embellishment, the mournful, ominous tone of the Cape Philharmonic's horns ready the phase for the dramatic narrative almost to unfold. Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor unveils the misfortunes of delicate Lucia who, torn in the enmity betwixt her manipulative brother Enrico and her lover Edgardo, goes mad upon beingness tricked into spousal relationship with another. Like all practiced tragedies the tale ends with the death of the luckless lovers.
Luckily for us, tragedy in the hands of Donizetti's melodic gifting produces some hauntingly magnificent tunes. Lucia and Edgardo's love duet featured lilting legatos and off-the-script runs sung in sweetness harmony, with Yende and Lee drawing out with their voices what they regrettably lacked in chemistry. In the famous sextet, the singers, including the Voice of the Nation chorus in the groundwork, worked every bit i to weave the well-known tune into a rich, layered sound.
What evoked the standing ovation at the end of Act Ii, however, was Pretty Yende's radiant coloratura which soared over the fifty or and then other singers on the phase. Hers is non a flashy, flighty voice but a ripe and steady one that belies her tender age of 27. She may not possess the superb control of Joan Sutherland, but the dulcet glow of her voice and her bravura in particular are traits even the prima donna did not come into until heart age. There was no smudging in Yende's trills, mordents, and arpeggios; her crisp, nimble runs could transport Mariah Carey home weeping. Pairing technical skill with dramatic undertones that evoked Maria Callas – especially in the center range – Yende delivered a seamless bel canto audio, at once frail and focused.
Most remarkable was the ease with which she produces those lovely notes. When she reached the famously challenging "mad scene", she did not attack the loftier notes; rather, she fabricated information technology seem like plucking fruit from a tree that was within easy reach. The true test of this came in the soprano and flute duet cadenza. Although in that location were a few wobbly lines, Yende triumphed in this boxing of agility, range, and sonority between human voice and instrument.
From the starting time shaping of the orchestra's sound in Maestro Bonynge's hands to the unrestrained "bravos" at the end as we rose to our anxiety, the tight cast of talents carried us through a concert that volition not hands be forgotten. It was a landmark moment for the Cape Combo Orchestra and the historic first of what will likely be many acclaimed Lucia performances on Yende's part. Pretty Yende sang for Cape Town tonight, merely she is non to be kept all to ourselves. The whole world awaits her.
by Esther Lim
The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra's production of Lucia di Lammermoor runs at the Artscape Opera House 18 & 20 Nov 2013.
Source: https://www.whatsonincapetown.com/post/review-pretty-yende-in-lucia-di-lammermoor/
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