Review – Paula Citron on the
Arts – Monday, November 20, 2006
Opera in Concert has finally
arrived where it should be. It now has projected surtitles, and the first
outing could not have been more apt. Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmelites is
exactly that – many scenes of conversations – and the surtitles made the experience
that much richer. The concert version of this opera would have been very
difficult without it.
The performance was a dry run
for acclaimed soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, who will be performing the role of
the frail, neurasthenic Blanche in Chicago in the spring, and she was
magnificent. Bayrakdarian’s expressive voice is increasing in power, and she
has always had command of text. Blanche’s pain was palpable.
In fact, there was a lot of
good singing in this moving performance including mezzo-soprano Lynne McMurtry
as Mme. De Croissy, soprano Deanna Hendriks as Sister Constance, mezzo-soprano
Jenny Cohen as Mother Marie and soprano Ashley Becker as Mme Lidoine.
Robert Cooper’s chorus of
nuns was superb, as was the sensitive piano of Alison d’Amato.