Virtual Virtuosi: The Met Opera Series
at TSL
by Ross Rice
...Tenor Roberto Alagna brings not only
his proven talent to this Roméo, but just a touch of
scandal as well. Along with ex-wife and famous Romanian soprano
Angela Gheorghiu, Alagna had been dismissed from the Met in
1998 for objecting to the set designs for Verdi’s La
Traviata, and last December walked out on a performance
of Verdi’s Aida after being booed on his first
aria. Somewhat beloved as a bad boy of opera in his native
France, Alagna—though certainly no winsome teenager—still
manages to make the romance believable, and the performance,
with its excellent supporting cast and chorus, has a satisfying
resonance despite the fact that it’s, well, opera. You
don’t come to this format for gritty realism, it’s
the melody, the spectacle, the otherworldly vibrato.
Still, I honestly must recommend this experience,
even to those who would never consider actually attending
the opera in person. Between the attention to detail in the
broadcast from the Met (really, just amazing production values
here), and TSL’s excellent low-key and intimate environment
(not to mention low price), this is about the best opportunity
you will ever have to check out the wonders of the world of
opera. And yes, sometimes it all does come together into something
that truly feels timeless and ageless, and you may come to
understand why opera has lasted as long as it has in the history
of human expression
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