GIOVANNA D'ARCO
Reviewed by Warren Wilson, The Globe and Mail (Tuesday,
March 24, 1998)
"Joan of Arc opera lights
passionate fires"
"Giovanna d'Arco ,
based on the Joan of Arc story, was the composer's seventh opera. First
performed at La Scala in 1845 and a rarity nowadays, it finally received its
Canadian premiere on Sunday afternoon in an exciting and stylish performance by
Toronto's Opera in Concert."
"In the title role, soprano
Stephanie Bogle showed the wide vocal range, coloratura flexibility and melting
mezza voce that have made her the darling of critics. Obviously turned on by
the positive response from the sold-out house, Bogle just got better and
better."
"Whatever the inherent
silliness of the libretto, the music is impressive. The chorus of demons
representing the voices in Giovanna's head may fail to scare, and the heroine
does not perish in the flames, but this performance certainly lit the fires of
singers and audience alike."