Review: GRAMMY® GREATS UNITE – LATONIA MOORE AND J'NAI BRIDGES IN CONCERT at Balboa Theatre

The San Diego Opera’s opening for this season featured the high-powered singing and emotional depths of soprano Latonia Moore and mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges. The duo’s more than capable backing was provided by a near full complement of the San Diego Symphony conducted by Bruce Stasyna.

Stasyna is the Resident Conductor and Chorus Master for San Diego Opera and has been on the conducting rosters of the New York City and Boston Lyric Operas. He conducts with vigorous authority. The orchestra opened the concert with a fleet reading of the bubbly overture from The Marriage of Figaro and later returned for a regal-sounding "Polonaise" from Eugene Onegin.

Soprano Moore came to the stage first with “Allora rinforzo i stridi miei...Or sai chi l'onore” from Mozart's Don Giovanni.

The relatively long aria brought immediate attention to her seemingly effortless power and soaring sustained high notes.

Mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges chose the seductive “Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix” from Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saens for her first aria. This clip is from a recital she sang in 2020. The piece shows her range, dynamic control and plush sound. The impact was amplified with the San Diego Symphony backing her.

That aria is one of many that have inspired pop songs. Its main melody was transformed to a Jackie Wilson hit recording of “Night” many years ago. Rachmaninov is my favorite composer as a source of pop tunes. Try this extended version of "All by Myself" by singer-songwriter Eric Carmen as it transforms (purists might say "disfigures") Rachmaninov's second piano concerto.

But wait, where was I? …..

Moore and Bridges combined for their first duet in “Scuoti quella fronda di ciliegio” from Madame Butterfly. “Poor Butterfly” (think Sarah Vaughn) shares with her maidservant Suzuki an excited anticipation of her unfaithful American lover’s return . The aria, written for soprano and mezzo, showed how well Moore and Bridges blended and how much they seemed to enjoy doing it.

“L'altra notte in fondo al mare” from Arrigo Boito”s Mefistofele, his only finished opera as a composer, was another of Moore’s choices. It was based on Verdi’s Faust, for which Boito had written the libretto. The aria has been described as the best you’ve never heard, and it may be, so I’ve linked to a version by Maria Callas because you really should.

Now that you’ve dried your tears…

Moore too brought tragedy to her interpretation, but the power, dynamic control and range she displayed are more likely the main reasons she debuted at the Met as Aida in 2012.

Mezzo-soprano Bridges made her debut at the Met in 2019 as Nefertiti in Philip Glass’s Akhnaten. Its recording won a Grammy. While the role of Nefertiti is for a contralto rather than mezzo, her voice is rich and agile over the extended range. She followed her costar, also a Grammy winner, with “My Man’s Gone Now” from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

The 90-minute concert had only a quick pause for a costume change from two stunning form-fitting full--length dresses to two even more stunning. Moore went from glittering white to glittering night-sky dark; Bridges was in solid colors, going from a gorgeous lilac to a soft green, with a long slit that made her operatic expressions of love even more compelling.

The short break also allowed time to roll a piano to the side of the stage for the only time the orchestra sat out. The pianist was Stasyna, who often appears as an accompanist in operatic recitals. Moore had replaced the program-listed “La vie en rose” with an aria from jazz-trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard’s opera Fire Shut Up In My Bones, the first opera by a black composer to be performed at the more than century-old Met. Moore played Billie, one of the leads, and her reviews were complimentary. A recorded performance of the Met’s production won her a Grammy.

The night of two orchestral pieces and nine arias and songs was a thoroughly enjoyable one for those familiar with operatic singing and repertoire. It would have been a better introduction to opera for newcomers attracted to a concert by Grammy winners if it had displayed supertitles and the singers had pampered a bit by including a few more of the best known hits such as ‘O mio babbino caro’ or ‘Un bel dì vedremo,’ by Puccini. Renee Fleming lists her top six here.

Quibbles aside, a good start for the new season.

Karli Cadel Photography

A full schedule for the San Diego Opera's new season is available here.