The Trill Of A Donizetti Beheading

The Three Queens – Lyric Opera of Chicago

Patrons of Lyric Opera enjoy world-class productions in a stunning atmosphere. The repertoire is chosen to excite the palate of both the aficionado and the uninitiated. The designers, directors, and conductors are working at the top of their game, and the singers are the best in the world. Interviews with Lyric’s returning stars always have one common denominator: They say that every time they return, they feel like they’re coming home. Our City of Big Shoulders is as cosmopolitan as any other, but we’re also blessed with that midwestern enthusiasm that causes us to spontaneously open our hearts to those who come into our kind of town and raise the level of art and culture.

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky has been clasped to the bosom of Chicago’s classical music empire for many seasons. As she is a native of Berwyn, Chicago doesn’t hesitate to brag that this internationally acclaimed singer is our own, (if the traffic Goddesses are kind, Berwyn is only a quick jaunt away from The Loop), shortening her moniker to a single name, “Sondra,” first operatic cousin to “Madonna” and “Cher.”  Having appeared here in the prima donna roles in such operas as Norma, Ernani, Il trovatore, Aida, and her LOC debut as Susannah, “Sondra” makes a season subscription series shimmer like Fleming. Her unique, instantly distinctively voice isn’t easily categorized; There are so few big, colorful, dramatic soprano voices on the scene, it’s difficult to construct a yardstick. We can call her a Verdi soprano, and we wouldn’t be wrong. What Sondra has done now, however, is to prove herself a dramatic-coloratura, and whether that is her fach or just a style of singing with which she is currently engaged, her fans couldn’t give a rat’s patootie. They would simply like some more, please.

In the 2016/2017 season Sondra became the first soprano to sing the three “Tudor Queens” of the Donizetti operas in the same season at The Metropolitan Opera. As Anne Boleyn in Anna Bolena, Mary Stuart in Maria Stuarda, and Queen Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux, her voice turned and trilled in ways that surprised and delighted her audience, and the adulation was instantaneous. In the 1970s at New York City Opera, Beverly Sills stunned the operatic world by taking on these three bel canto Reginae in a single season. If some say that Sills could sing the first two queens but damaged herself portraying the third, Sondra (possessed of a very different voice than the lyric-coloratura Bubbles) shows no sign of wear from her outing, as was evidenced by one of Lyric’s famous “added concert events,” a little something out of the ordinary that Lyric loves to program on top of an already heady season.

In a concert titled, “The Three Queens,” LOC presents Sondra in the penultimate moments of each of these Tudor giantesses’ stories as imagined by Donizetti and aided by young artists from the Ryan Opera Center, Lyric’s fantastic orchestra, and Lyric’s chorus doing extra-credit work in an already full season,  the effect  is mesmerizing. Conductor Riccardo Frizza seemed to know exactly what Sondra was going to do in each moment. Either she was so precise and consistent in rehearsal that he never had to place a cuticle differently, or they were simply totally simpatico. The conversation they enjoyed across the footlights let the audience relax completely, secure that the music would flow without a bobble. In director Matthew Ozawa’s semi-staged event, the supporting characters and chorus appeared in black, tuxedos and placid dresses, while Sondra’s three costumes were of another galaxy. Springing from the psyche of the American designer Rubin Singer, I can only describe them as period-couture, which isn’t surprising since Singer has designed for other performers with only one name such as Beyoncé, and Shakira. The Roberto Devereux dress was so other-worldly that it is a reason for every fan of pop-culture fashion to see this concert. If Star Trek: The Opera ever happens, Singer must do the costumes.

This was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the singers currently honing their craft in the Ryan Center, and in a forum that might have challenged some other apprentice artists, they simply walked onstage and threw it all down. In particular, bass Anthony Reed performed beautifully as Lord Rochford in the excerpt from Anna Bolena, leaving us to wonder what it would be like to hear him in the entire role, bass-baritone David Weigel made a strong impression as Lord Cecil in Maria Stuarda, and baritone Ricardo José Rivera sang quite well as the Duke of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux. Mezzo-soprano Kathleen Felty was terrific in her portrayals of Hannah Kennedy in Maria Stuarda and Sarah in Roberto Devereux. As Smeaton in Anna Bolena, contralto Lauren Decker showed us what a fuller voice can bring to this role. This boy-character, sometimes essayed by lithesome lyric-mezzo sopranos, fares far better when delivered by a true “alto” voice, and this minimalist staging where it was clear that this Smeton was never “boy” added another dimension to the drama. Decker only continues to impress, and it is expected that when she leaves this training program her career will soar. Tenor Mario Rojas, singing Richard Percy in Anna Bolena and Robert, Earl of Leicester in Maria Stuarda sang wonderfully, never forcing his young, lyrical voice, and his acting was honest and ardent. I look forward to watching him perfect the craft of singing out to the house while still connecting with his scene partners. His entrances carried such a voiced electricity that it was clear the audience at Lyric considers him a heartthrob in the ilk of the young José Carreras, and this will not hurt him as he realizes the full extent of his talent.

Chorus Master Michael Black had to be incredibly proud of his chorus. They are already so busy this season, and then to prepare this concert, with difficult music, highly exposed such that the slightest discord in pitch or rhythm would be easily discerned, is admirable in and of itself. The tone of this Chicago chorus is so warm, and attuned to the drama of the moment, they can make the audience cry as if every number were The Slaves Chorus from Nabucco. Yet their acting was appropriate, never taking focus at the wrong time. Lyric Opera’s chorus is made up of the city’s finest soloists. It may not be common knowledge that they are doing other things during the year – making important recordings, filming commercials and doing voice-over work, singing stunningly difficult leading and solo roles in operas and concert. Chicago is blessed yet again with this talent, most of them singers who could easily have bigger careers but sing in our chorus as part of a life-choice that frequently requires balancing career with family. They outdo themselves in this concert. Black’s solo bow at the curtain call was for all of them, his humility in that moment proving that he knows it, and he and his chorus deserve the respect and adulation.

Naturally, Sondra is the star of this event. She has these roles well in hand and delivering a part of them in a single evening is much simpler than the performance of any of the operas in its entirety. However, singing these major hunks of all three in quick succession is a tightrope parlor trick. Approaching these three bel canto Queens is work that only a few modern-day divas have dared. Sills could trill and glissando her way through it, showcasing her formidable gifts for fioritura.  Joan Sutherland sang Anne Boleyn in her extended, years-long Farewell Tour, the trill always intact and, if the keys continued to lower over time such that the altos and basses in the chorus were a little wet about the eyes, she maintained the flexibility and dark color that was her trademark. Veering from Wagnerian roles and single-handedly dragging bel canto opera back into the contemporary consciousness by sheer force of will, Callas sang Anna Bolena while busy with Brunnhile simultaneously, and there is no doubt that she gifted her histrionic stamp. One of the reasons to add these operas back into the standard repertoire is that Donizetti’s writing-style invites invention, and the enterprising diva can truly make the roles her own. Sondra does this in spades (more of those later). While she doesn’t add the cadenzas that Sills (and her famous teacher Estelle Liebling) was famous for constructing, float as many of the pianissimo high notes that hurt Sutherland’s head so much that she had to retire to her flower garden, or present the calculated yet gorgeous dramata that made Callas the star of her time, Sondra uses all of the magnificent colors of her voice to carry the drama of every phrase. If the audience didn’t know the stories, it was hardly necessary to look up at the excellent subtitles, because the feeling, the emotional pigment of every moment was painted by this fine artist, heard here at the height of her powers. There were rapid-fire scales, of course, some trills that were so blindingly accurate that Bubbles may come up out of the grave for a listen, and phrases so long that we ran out of breath long before the apex, but the overall effect of these performances is due to Sondra’s inimitable sound and artistic temperament.

This is one of the events of the season. If you miss it, you will never forgive yourself. Nor will anyone else.

Oh, and the “spades” which were mentioned earlier: Radvanovsky makes her role debut as Lisa in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades this season at Lyric. We cannot get enough!

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Aaron Hunt

Presented December 1 at Lyric Opera of Chicago, 20 North Wacker, Chicago

More information about Lyric Opera of Chicago is available at lyricopera.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.