Sonnambula, Met HD

Met HD Simulcast

March 21, 2009

Pathé Vaise

Amina - Natalie Dessay

Elvino- Juan Diego Flòrez

Rodolfo - Michele Pertusi

Lisa - Jennifer Black

Conductor - Evelino Pidò

Director - Mary Zimmerman

Let's not waste any time on Mary Zimmerman's production: it's a total failure. In every aspect of it. On every level.

In a sense, she made it quite mandatory to focus on the music and the singers, which is actually pretty fine with me with this particular piece.

I've said it before, and I haven't changed my mind, I like Pidò's reading of the score, and the Met orchestra did a spectacular job to carry it through. I was pretty impressed by the four major roles; Jennifer Black was a delight to watch and listen to, and Michele Pertusi and Natalie Dessay were superb.

I'm sorry to say however that I only had eyes and ears for Juan Diego Flòrez.

Here he was, as perfect as I had hoped he would be. The first act reached a whole different level when he finally appeared onstage, and he already had left me extatic at the intermission (he did deliver an exquisite "Prendi: l'anel ti dono").

But his "perche non posso odiarti" and especially his five "infedel" overwhelmed me so vividly I couldn't really concentrate after that on anything but his lines.

Even Dessay's "ah non credea... ah! non giunge" couldn't really move me... until his two lines "Io più non reggo, a tanto duolo" that prompted yet another burst of tears. All that via a Met HD simulcast.

All photographs Ken Howard for the Metropolitan Opera.

About this Sonnambula's production at the Met:
- "Can't quite let it go yet", Maury D'Annato, My Favorite Intermissions
- "The Blunder" ; "The fallen idol", An Umamplified Voice