Above: dancer Hsin-Ping Chang in the Met’s production of MADAMA BUTTERFLY; photo by Ken Howard
Monday January 20th, 2014 – Three sopranos are slated to sing Butterfly at The Met this season and I’ll be in the House for one performance by each; although I like the current BUTTERFLY production very much, as a matter of practicality I’ll be at a score desk for all three performances.
Pierre Vallet, an assistant conductor at The Met, took over the baton tonight as the scheduled Philippe Auguin seems still to be indisposed. Vallet has worked at The Met for several seasons; tonight was only his second appearance on the podium (in 2011 he led a FAUST during which mezzo-soprano Wendy White suffered a serious onstage injury). He got BUTTERFLY off to a brisk start tonight with a nimble prelude, and although there were some moments when pit and singers were not precisely coordinated, overall he shaped a very appealing performance.
Vocal honors tonight went to Bryan Hymel, the tenor who was a Met Auditions winner in 2000 and who returned to the House in triumph last season, replacing Marcelo Giordani in the arduous role of Aeneas in Berlioz LES TROYENS. Considering the difficulty, complexity and duration of many of the roles in Bryan’s current repertory, Pinkerton must seem like something of a ‘vacation role’ (that’s how Birgit Nilsson referred to Turandot). He sang with clear lyric thrust, with easy and sustained top notes zooming out into the House. The voice is fragrant and passionate; I had looked forward very much to hearing him in the aria and trio of the opera’s final act but in the event I didn’t end up staying that long.
Tonight’s Butterfly, the South African soprano Amanda Echalaz, revealed a vibrant and somewhat metallic timbre; her voice – which I would describe as ‘big lyric’ – projects well, but tonight much of the time she tended to sing sharp. This offset any pleasure I might have derived from her singing. By the end of the first act I’d decided that I’d heard enough, and I headed home after the love duet. The soprano’s bio indicates that BALLO and SALOME are in her rep; I’m wondering if she’ll wear herself out prematurely.
Tony Stevenson was an outstanding Goro: clear and musical in his presentation, he sang the role more as a lyric than a ‘character’ tenor. The pleasing singing of Elizabeth DeShong as Suzuki was another possible reason to stay beyond the first intermission but there was no guarantee that Ms. Echalaz would overcome her sharpness, and the rest of the opera is a long haul if the Cio-Cio-San is off the mark. Scott Hendricks’ Sharpless was reasonable enough and Ryan Speedo Green was a strong Bonze.
All the elements were here for a good BUTTERFLY except the essential one: a vocally inspiring heroine. In the coming weeks Kristine Opolais and Hui He will be taking on Butterfly at The Met and hopefully one or both of them will sustain my interest to the end of the opera.
Metropolitan Opera House
January 20, 2014
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
Giacomo Puccini
Cio-Cio-San.............Amanda Echalaz
Pinkerton...............Bryan Hymel
Suzuki..................Elizabeth DeShong
Sharpless...............Scott Hendricks
Goro....................Tony Stevenson
Bonze...................Ryan Speedo Green
Yamadori................Alexey Lavrov
Kate Pinkerton..........Maya Lahyani
Commissioner............Paul Corona
Yakuside................Craig Montgomery
Mother..................Belinda Oswald
Aunt....................Jean Braham
Cousin..................Patricia Steiner
Registrar...............Juhwan Lee
Dancer..................Hsin Ping Chang
Dancer..................James Graber
Conductor...............Pierre Vallet
Oberon's Glade 