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March 23, 2007
La donna del lago
Last night, we saw our first New York City Opera (not to be confused with the Metropolitan Opera) performance. Rossini's "La donna del lago" is a not-often produced opera based on the romantic metrical poem written by Sir Walter Scott titled "The Lady of the Lake". Set in sixteenth century Scotland, the opera weaves the tale of the daughter of an outlawed Scotish clan leader, torn between her duty to her father to marry the man of his choice, to marry the man she loves, or to marry a man whose generosity humbles her. The man she loves was performed by mezzo-soprano Laura Vlasak Nolen. Yes, a woman played a man. A nice gender-bending twist. (A few years ago, we saw Ewa Podles perform the role of Julius Cesar, and she was spectacular! And don't forget that many female roles were played by castrati). Laura's performance was outstanding, and in my mind, she stole the show. It helps that we met her recently at an opera event on the Upper West Side.
While I recommend seeing this opera, I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again. The music is, at times, a little disjointed, and the first act is verrrrrry long. Which is made up for by the second act, which is much better. Go see it!
Posted by dave at March 23, 2007 09:44 AM