Il Trovatore classic opera at its best

Love, betrayal, passion, vengeance. Throw in a gypsy curse, switched babies and a love triangle and you have the makings of a good daytime drama, or a great opera.

Civil war has broken out in Spain between the Prince of Aragón the rebel Count Urgel. Leonora has fallen for a knight she met at a tournament. She professes to her maid her love for the man, who has returned and has been serenading her. Count di Luna, commander of Aragón’s troops, is jealous of the mysterious troubadour and sends guards to stand watch under Leonora’s balcony should he show up.

Then a serenade is heard in the background. Leonora, thinking it is her love, rushes out to greet him. In the shadows, she mistakenly grabs onto di Luna. The mystery troubadour arrives and accuses her of cheating. That is when his identity is revealed. He is the rebel leader Manrico. Not just the rival for Leonora’s affection, but his enemy on the battle field.

Il Trovatore opens with Ferrando (Arthur Woodley) a captain in Count di Luna’s army calling the guards to attention. If you have ever heard of the saying “singing to the rafters” this is what they meant. His voice projects loud and clear, demonstrating how good the acoustics are in McCaw Hall. He is brilliant. So much so that it is a disappointment how underutilized he is in the rest of the performance.

Lisa Daltirus, who performs the part of Leonora in half of the productions, was amazing. She seemed a little unsteady when she came out at the top of the performance, but more than made up for it later. If it was nerves, they were gone by the second act. She so completely threw herself into the role that she broke down after the curtain came down. Tears were streaming down her cheeks when she walked out during the curtain call. Her standing ovation was well deserved.

Gordon Hawkins (Count di Luna) and Antonelle Palombi (Manrico) were both vocally dynamic. Opera is acting while singing, they projected more than their voices. You could feel the fury of di Luna or how Manrico clearly wears his heart on his sleeve.

For acting, Malgorzata Walewska steals the show. As the gypsy Azucena, you watch her run the gamut of emotions as she takes a slow decent into madness while being continuously haunted by visions of 15 year-old memories.

It is easy to get so wrapped up in the performance to miss the music. Conductor Yves Abel leads the orchestra seamlessly through Giuseppe Verdi’s music. Although, I must admit that I think Verdi spun in his grave during Act two when in the gypsy camp I couldn’t help but be reminded of an old yellow pages commercial. One of the fun games to play at operas is to see what music was whored out for commercial gain. Outside that distraction, the music did what it was supposed to do, accent the performance.

The set was beautifully simple. Subtle changes in lighting were utilized more than props. One wall never moved, but was highlighted with different a delicate mix of light and shadow to better fit the setting. In between acts, the placement of the moon or brightness of the background showed the passage of time between acts. Encapsulating the stage was a large frame giving the effect that Il Trovatore is a painting come to life.

It is said that Il Trovatore is an easy production if you have the best vocalists in the world. This must have been the easiest production ever because I don’t see how it could have been performed better.

If you have no exposure to opera, Il Trovatore is the perfect one to cut your teeth on. It has high drama, an intricate story line, with excellent vocals and acting. For something a little lighter and fun, The Magic Flute by Mozart in May can’t be missed. It is one of my personal favorites.

For those on a budget, there are $25 tickets on the second tier side upper for every performance. With a valid ID, students can buy one $20 student rush ticket from the box office two hours before show time. While it may seem counterintuitive, seats on the upper areas can make for easier watching. The subtitles screen is above the stage for those not fluent in Italian. The higher up, the easier the transition from stage to screen.

Il Trovatore runs through Jan. 30.




*Photo credit: Lisa Daltirus (Leonora) and Vira Slywotzky (Inez) with chorus and supernumeraries. © Rozarii Lynch photo