Anna & Rolando Have A Bad Night

 

(Photo Credit: Ken Howard.)

Bad night last night at the Met in Lucia di Lammermoor with the utterly glamorous -- and gloriously expensive -- Netrebko/Villazon duo, as Opera Chic at la Scala basked in the silver light of Henri Duparc's music:

Netrebko simply lacked the vocal agility to pull it off. She stinted on much of the usual ornamentation and failed to hit the final high E-flat squarely. The applause that followed was surprisingly tepid for a scene that usually stops the show in its tracks.

For Met audiences who have heard both Natalie Dessay and Diana Damrau triumph as "Lucia" in the last 18 months, the question is why Netrebko should undertake the role at all when her voice is so much better suited to other repertory.

As for Villazon, he sounded in bad shape from his first entrance, an ominous rattle infecting his high notes. During his solo outburst in the wedding scene, his voice cracked and he froze for several seconds, then continued a half-tone lower. Before the curtain rose for the final act, general manager Peter Gelb announced Villazon "was not feeling well" but would continue. He made it, just barely, through his final scene, but the ovation he received was surely more a sympathy vote than a true endorsement.

It's especially worrisome to hear this once-promising Mexican tenor in such ragged shape, since he suffered a vocal crisis nearly two years ago and stopped singing for several months. This was his first Met appearance since he resumed his career in early 2008.

If you're a glass half-full kind of a person, well, at least no one collapsed on stage!
 Still, it pretty much sucks, esp. given how many bad nights Rolandino seems to be having as of late (his comeback happened about a year ago already).

Comments

[Willym]

Sadly as I mentioned in my posting on the Verdi Requiem last month here at the Academia Villazon seemed to be having difficulties. Its heartbreaking that those vocal difficulties seem to have reappeared.

[Timm]

Massive fail. Gelb's expensive toys should be put on a shelf and not played with. The Met is becoming a joke. A shiny machine created to compete with Broadway's revenue, but opera should not be like that. Music of the masses it has become. And trim, pretty faces on stage are more important than singers who practice and pace their voices.

[Susan]

Maybe they can pull Diana or Natalie back for the Feb 7 HD performance...*sigh* a girl can dream, right?

[Rod]

To be fair to Netrebko the general reports were that it was (admittedly the crucial) "Mad Scene" where she came slightly unstuck, and the same AP report acknowledges this.

As for Villazon it is indeed worrying that he should suffer further difficulties - having seen him at Covent Garden in December it was noticeable that though the lustre of his voice was present the power was absent. Hopefully last night was down to ill health. I, for one, am hoping he returns to his best form.

[Andrew Naz]

Netrebko never works hard enough and her repretoire suffered. She's talented but lazy. And now with the new baby? Forget it. Villazon is OVER. He never recovered. It's a fact. The instrument is broken and you can't put the pieces back together now. Too bad. Five years from now she'll be too fat to make people forgive her limitations. Villazon will not be working in opera anymore. Lieder, perhaps. Or pop concerts with amplification. Keep that Salzburg Traviata DVD handy, it's a collectors item.

[flipstinger]

I don't understand singers who tackle a heavy roles beyond their vocal capabilities.I know it's good to take risks sometimes to find out your limits but in the case of operatic singing, it's quite dangerous as one mistake can damage a singer forever.

[Marshie]

Oh my. Have we a couple of brand-new Cheryl Studers in our midst? My oh my.

[Hal]

Well Villazon's limitations were evident in the Paris recital he did with Florez. The contrast was embarrassing. Netrebko has never even learned to trill well, so how can she expect to do coloratura right? She needs to get back to basics.

[alejandra]

I think Villazón's main problem is that he doesn't treat his voice properly, that he is not carefull with it... and you have to be nice to your instrument... he has a wonderful voice, but if he doesn't take care of it, with good training, medical care and good choices, he is going to lose it soon... and it would be a tragedy...

[ellie]

I mostly agree with flipstinger...it can be fatal to overshoot in opera. When I saw Villazon sing a couple years ago, it struck me how small his voice actually is, and how much he was clearly forcing it...so, yes, after all the glory of belting out Verdi in Salzburg, reality has struck: the cat only has so many lives, and he'll be lucky to get through a Handel recital. As for Trebska, she simply isn't a coloratura, anyone with a clue realizes this. The opera world would be a better place if she were still doing War and Peace with Gerghiev while letting the real bel canto masters handle a Lucia or an Amina. She is a great singer, but not for any of the roles she is singing now!

[Chaff]

Star Tenor Villazon Conks Out, Rallies, Triumphs in Met Show

Review by Zinta Lundborg

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The audience at the Metropolitan Opera got more drama than they paid for at “Lucia di Lammermoor” last night.

Tickets (as much as $275 in the orchestra) were gone weeks before Anna Netrebko and Roland Villazon showed up to sing in Donizetti’s opera about poor Lucia, a waif cruelly ordered to marry for money by her brother who needs some. Ticket-holders had to wade through a sea of hopeful fans holding pathetic signs.

The twosome used to sing a lot together until last season when Villazon quit the stage for a while, citing vocal difficulties and Netrebko departed to have a baby (with baritone Erwin Schrott).

It looked as if one of the opera world’s best-selling acts was kaput. But here they were back together again at the Met after a long rest.

In recent months, Villazon has been singing well in Europe, while Netrebko showed off baby pictures.

Netrebko got a loud ovation when she appeared, flourishing a few extra pounds and, though encumbered by an ugly gray outfit, she immediately captivated the audience with her singing. Villazon, rushing on for their first-act duet, was also warmly received.

Deadly Show

After that, it was nail-biting time. Looking thin and pale, audibly straining, the tenor sounded wan, especially next to Netrebko, the picture of radiant health, though that costume really must be destroyed today, preferably along with the flatfooted and unlovely production by Mary Zimmerman.

Things got worse at the end of the second act. By then Lucia has consented to marry Arturo, the money man, and Edgardo curses her and the whole clan. Villazon’s voice gave out on the high note, cracking into smithereens. For an eternal second, everyone in the house waited in horrified silence, wondering if he’d just walk off. He coughed and continued as the act limped to a close.

Not many expected to see him again. Once Lucia has sung her fabled Mad Scene, the opera continues with the tenor moaning his way through two arias as he kills himself to join her in heaven. Unless the tenor is superb, a lot of folks head home once Lucia has sung her high notes and died.

The Met’s general manager Peter Gelb came out before the last act and said the tenor was obviously not feeling well, but would continue. So most folks stayed glued in their seats after Netrebko dispatched the Mad Scene with aplomb.

Then Villazon came back. Some elixir must have been poured into his throat. He did not crack or sound like a has-been. He sounded like the star of old, singing with authority, ardor, and ease.

A great night at the opera.

[me]

This is what happens when something as delicate as a lyric tenor voice is over taxed and sings the wrong things too often. Sad- his A mes amis was beyond awesome.

And Netrebko, well, I'm not surprised. I never much loved her vioce for all her hype. Give me Damrau any day- that woman is pure Fierce!

[me]

PS- It's not all their fault- the Met has a penchant for making famous crowd pleasers sing too much and the wrong things...

[Vera]

At second Mariinsky performance at 17.01 part of Mad scene was even cut, because she has difficalties with it. But I hope she will make it at the next performances at Met.

[GtelloZ]

I only want Damrau for the february 7 transmition. I'm expecting a big dissapointment with this two. i'm waiting for a miracle to be able to c Damrau singing!

[fernandomachine]

Wow some people are just cruel. Let's remember that even the greats saw some bad nights. Netrebko and Villazon will continue to push through the extreme difficulties of making operatic art because they can and they will. Above all, the color of their voices goes beyond the generics of others and they pack a punch with, yes, their acting and their presence. This bad (mondays are not good for opera anyway) night is and will be overshadowed by future productions. Bad karma for all you player haters out there...and I don't mean you OC!

[El Cajon]

Sad to say, there has been and will continue to be other singers who crash and burn prematurely. Remember Carreras and those heavy Verdi roles?

Daniele de Niese will flame out in about three years if she doesn't resolve some of her technical issues. We all know greedy agents and impressarios desperate to fill seats rule the business. Singers are hyped outrageously, cajoled into taking roles they should eschew and ground into operatic meat pies.

Trebs was so, so talented and had so much potential maybe five years ago. But she wasn't given (and/or didn't give herself) the chance to mature as an artist. There are those who will try to convince her that her Norma, etc. will be legendary. Norina, not Norma, Trebs!

[Gianni Opera]

With all due respect to the above post from GtelloZ, may I point out that singers are tasked with the job of performing the masterpieces of the lyric stage. The creators of these works, were for the most part operatic geniuses and total men of the theater. It requires great vocal artistry to successfully bring these operas to life. Sure, every singer can have an off night. However, it seems that the empirical evidence, over many performances, would suggest that Ms. Netrebko has no business singing the Bel Canto repertoire. Mr. Villazon, who should find the role of Edgardo conducive to his vocal equipment, now seems to be overparted even in that role. I love singers and I love great singing and I am willing to forgive an offnight. But when a singer is clearly inadequate to the task of performing in a particular operatic masterpiece, it is akin to tossing red paint on a Michelangelo sculpture.

[Gianni Opera]

Forgive my error. The first line should have read: With all due respect to the above post from fernandomachine...

Sorry for the mistake.