BWW Reviews: LA DONNA DEL LAGO is Far from Pitch-Perfect at the Met

Maria Callas got the world used to hearing singing that was not always pitch-perfect yet still essential listening. I kept thinking about this at the Met the other night during the new production of Rossini's LA DONNA DEL LAGO with a cast headed by a couple of stars, mezzo Joyce DiDonato and tenor Juan Diego Florez, who are known for their bel canto style.

LA DONNA--taken from Sir Walter Scott's poem, "The Lady of the Lake"--has many fans, including DiDonato, who has championed the work and led performances in London and Paris, as well as Santa Fe, where the Met's production started life. The program at the Met calls it one of the composer's "most ravishingly beautiful scores," which very well may be true. That doesn't mean that it's singable, even with a cast led by the eminent DiDonato and a great tenor in the form of Florez.

The score has, unquestionably, some gorgeous music, starting with DiDonato's first aria, "O mattutini albori" and ending with her last, the famous "Tanti afretti," wonderfully performed by the mezzo. However, the performance I attended the other night featured lots of fearless artists--and out of tune singing. There were lots of stratospheric high notes--and not all of them were pretty. I'm not saying that the singing was under-par most of the time; it was not. But there was enough of it to take more than a little pleasure out of the performance. It's true that it was written at a time when standard pitch was lower than it is today, which would have made it easier to sing, but that's no excuse.

And that wasn't the only problem. At least in this performance at the Met, the first act was pretty listless in director Paul Curran's production. I wasn't alone in feeling this way, as there were many empty seats after the intermission. Things livened up considerably in Act II, however, when Elena shows up at the Court of Giacomo (James) V of Scotland, Florez, to beg for mercy on behalf of her father.

Rossini was a prodigious composer who wrote 39 operas and not all of them were carefully wrought. Indeed, this opera was a rush-job for Rossini, who turned it out as a favor to the management of the San Carlo Opera in Naples in less than three months, in 1819. Criticism from the San Carlo, therefore, was hardly in order. It fell out of favor for any number of reasons, including the difficultly in casting two tenors and two mezzos up to the bel canto style of singing. It was not heard in the U.S. for 150 years, until mezzo Frederica von Stade sang it in Houston in 1981. This is the first production ever at the Met.

It's understandable why DiDonato is attracted to the work, because it offers her (1) the central role (Elena), which fits pretty well in her voice, though it is sometimes sung by sopranos, and (2) great opportunities to show off her technique. She came off best in the cast, though she, too, had some intonation problems. Florez, as Giacomo (after being disguised as "Uberto" earlier in the opera to meet Elena), came near to stealing the show, with his share of showpieces, including "O fiamma soave." But, surprisingly, even his highest notes seemed a strain--not necessarily off-pitch but sometimes leeched of color.

The next tier of singers down--two other suitors for Elena-- were well below the level of the two stars. Mezzo Daniela Barcellona, who first sang the pants role of Malcolm back in 2002 in Montpellier, France, had some good moments: Her first-act duet with DiDonato, in particular, was estimable. But her energy level moved in and out and she often seemed as drab as the Highlands scenery designed by Set and Costume Designer Kevin Knight and Lighting Designer Duane Schuler. (The production, as mentioned, debuted in Santa Fe, but didn't seem to fill the Met's stage particularly well, even in the palace scene in Act II.)

One could never accuse tenor John Osborn (Rodrigo, chief the the Highlander rebels) of not having enough energy. In fact, things only began to liven up with his first appearance, though his singing often seemed to lack nuance and his technique questionable. However, his "dueling tenors" aria with Florez, "No! Piu so frenami," was exciting theatre. Bass Oren Gradus, as Elena's father Duglas D'Angus, turned in a modest performance.

Could conductor Michele Mariotti have helped the pacing of Act I? It's hard to tell, though he drew a decent enough performance from the Met orchestra. I have the feeling more of the blame goes to director Curran, though I clearly felt the opera itself was not the masterwork others claim.

In the end, was this performance "essential listening," the shortcomings of pitch and tone notwithstanding? I say no, despite the efforts of DiDonato and Florez, though I seemed to be in the minority.

The opera will be shown live in the Met's "Live in HD" series on Saturday, March 14 at 12:55 pm, ET, with an encore, Wednesday March 18 at 6:30 pm.

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Photo: Daniela Barcellona, Juan Diego Flórez and Joyce DiDonato in the final scene.

Photos by Ken Howard/ Metropolitan Opera