Review: Warhorses? Hi Yo, Silver, With Sierra, Grigorian, Radvanovsky, Jagde at Carnegie Hall

The program said “Christmas Night Opera” but it didn’t happen till the 27th at Carnegie Hall. The date didn’t matter, with such a grand evening for hearing some Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Delibes, Verdi with some top voices seeming to have fun while giving their all.

Soprano Azmik Grigorian may still be pretty unfamiliar to the masses here--except for her marvelous Met debut in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, she hasn’ted been around much. But she’s already carved out a special place with me, after also hearing her in TURANDOT and in some Lady Gaga songs in Vienna and the TRITTICO trifecta in Paris.

In short, I’ve heard her mostly in Puccini, though I’m not complaining.  At Carnegie Hall, she started out the vocal part of the concert by skipping the Dvorak “Song of the Moon” from RUSALKA listed in the program and going right to the powerful “In questa reggia” from TURANDOT, not needing to warm up.

Grigorian gave a crowd-pleasing account of the showstopper--a much better way to show why she’s in such demand in Europe. (She was also first-rate in the Dvorak later in the evening.) I can’t wait to hear her later in the spring at the Met as Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s EUGENE ONEGIN, because she was marvelous in the excerpt here, the opera’s final duet.

She was paired here with baritone Thomas Hampson, who couldn’t quite get by simply using his intelligence, as he did the last time I heard him. He did make a smart move by starting his part of the program with the Count’s aria, “Hai gia vinta la causa!,” from Mozart’s LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, which had no extended vocal lines to trip him up, instead of the aria from Verdi’s MACBETH, "Pieta, rispetto, onore," which he did later on and found more of a challenge.

The other two star sopranos on the program had very good evenings. Nadine Sierra did a gorgeous “Caro nome,” which is quite familiar to those of us who’ve heard her complete Gilda in Verdi’s RIGOLETTO at the Met. By now, she could probably do the aria in her sleep, but she doesn’t get by on her charm alone, of which she abounds. She was also lovely to listen to in “I Feel Pretty” from Bernstein’s WEST SIDE STORY score with Sondheim and her part in his “Make Our Garden Grow” from CANDIDE. The latter was billed as an ensemble finale to the concert, but was mostly her and tenor Brian Jagde, who proved an able partner.

Sondra Radvanovsky announced at the start of her duet from Delibes’s LAKME with Sierra that this was her “debut as a mezzo,” though it was clear elsewhere that, whatever she wanted to call herself, she sounded perfectly wonderful. (The duet is often done by two sopranos, as well as a mezzo/soprano coupling.) It was back to her soprano side for her aria from the Italian version of Verdi’s I VESPRI SICILIANI, “Merce, dilette amiche,” which might have been a hint to the Met to unearth its old John Dexter production for her (it hasn’t been heard there in years). The soprano also partnered well with tenor Jagde in the luscious duet from Pucccini’s MANON LESCAUT, "Tu, tu, amore? tu?"

Did Jagde dare fate by taking on that “tenor killer” of a role: the title character in Verdi’s OTELLO? As it turned out, the answer is no. He gave a fine account of Otello’s “Dio! Mi potevi scagliar,” though admittedly it’s not the part of the opera that has sunk the career of more than one tenor, with its almost superhuman demands. He also displayed his acting chops with a poignant rendition of Canio’s “Vesti la giubba” from Leoncavallo’s I PAGLIACCI.

Mezzo Anita Monserrat, a newcomer to me, showed a pleasing voice in Rossini’s “Nacqui all’affanno,” from LA CENERENTOLA, a showstopper for many a Cinderella. Here, Monserrat’s sound seemed a bit on the small side even in Carnegie Hall (intimate compared to the Met), especially next to the others on the program. That impression remained when she was paired with Grigorian in the Lisa-Polina duet from Tchaikovsky’s QUEEN OF SPADES.

Conductor Francesco Lanzillotta, leading the American Symphony Orchestra, showed great sensitivity to the singers’ needs during the wide variety of arias and duets, while also taking a firm hand with the ensemble in a couple of favorite overtures: Thomas’s from MIGNON and Rossini’s GUILLAUME (WILLIAM) TELL. Hi yo, Silver, indeed.*

Caption: (from right): Sondra Radvanovsky, conductor Lanzillotta, Azmik Grigorian, Brian Jagde, Nadine Sierra, Anita Monserrat, Thomas Hampson

Credit: Chris Lee

*Yes, it's officially, and legally, "Hi yo."