Review: Damrau and Camarena Radiate Star-Power in the Met's PURITANI

The last time soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Javier Camarena appeared together at the Met, they reinvented the deadly Mary Zimmerman production of Bellini's LA SONNAMBULA and made it into something wonderful. This time around, while the duo tried their hardest, they still couldn't quite bring the company's elderly production of IL PURITANI (also by Bellini) back to life, although they came pretty close, using all the considerable star-power they could muster.

Considering the number of times the opera has been revived in the past few years, it's a pity that the Met couldn't swing an underwriter to help them update the 1976 Sandro Sequi production, designed by Ming Cho Lee with costumes by Peter J. Hall. After all, this one dates back to the heyday of Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti, when they were joined by baritone Sherrill Milnes and bass James Morris--another couple of forces to be reckoned with. (Still there were complaints that they didn't match the legendary quartet it was written for in 1835, Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini and Lablache, or the 1949 Callas performances in Venice. Tut, tut.) While some of its old-fashioned prettiness remains, the Act II set in particular is dark and dingy-like there had been too much cigar-smoking in the hall for too many years, making the walls dark yellow.

Elvira is a wonderful role for Damrau and she reveled in the fioratura and mood swings that are this batty heroine's bread and butter. She is unquestionably a fearless performer-in the past debuting new roles at the Met without seeming to bat an eyelash-and, here, her skills in dealing with the character's hairpin turns of sanity were amazing, both dramatically and vocally. It's understandable why Damrau continues to be one of the company's biggest draws-she's wonderful as Elvira, whether singing the giddy "Son vergin vezzosa" in Act I or the dreamy "Qui la voce" in Act II.

Yet, this time, there may have been marginally more interest in Camarena, the company's bel canto tenor de choix, to hear what's going on with his voice. He's starting to shift away from the BARBIEREs and DON PASQUALEs and LA CENERENTOLAs where his golden voice has been such a thrill, tossing of high Cs as if they were mother's milk. He announced after his last BARBIEREs at the Met that he was retiring the role-as he shifts to more dramatic parts. At Carnegie Hall's Marilyn Horne Celebration last month, I had a taste of this other side of his talent as Camarena caressed Liszt's gorgeous "Tre sonneti di Petrarca," showing his passionate side along with his ability to create the purist lyricism with dramatic insights.

A subtle, graceful artist, he never failed to satisfy in PURITANI. There was some griping that he didn't do that high F that everybody expects from Arturo at the end of Act III, but, so what? It always sounds a little like a freak show to me--not saying anything about musicianship but about determination. Frankly, he'd shown enough of that in the gorgeous performance that he gave from the moment he opened his mouth in Act I. The only disappointment was his long disappearance in Act II-while he goes off to help save Henriquetta, the widow of the Stuart king Charles I (who had been beheaded by Lord Cromwell). True, it sets off Elvira's amazing mad scene, but otherwise the scene that followed could have used some help from him.

Indeed, after Elvira gets all her angst off her chest through endless runs and roulades, the audience nearly has a mad scene of its own, with a long slog of a scene between her uncle, Giorgio (bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni) and would-be suitor, Riccardo (baritone Alexey Markov). It's not all the opera's fault, though. Pisaroni and Markov, better in other operas, lacked energy and focus and simply couldn't make their long-very long--duet memorable enough, in a staging that was static at best, with the chorus doing much standing (or sitting) around. Stage director Sarah Ina Meyers couldn't seem to help; neither could conductor Maurizio Benini, who otherwise did a good job with the Met orchestra. Mezzo Mary Ann McCormick, however, did a fine job as the queen.

All was well-for Elvira and the audience--when Arturo made his return in Act III with a couple of showpieces. In particular, his aria for and with Elvira-who, by the way, is not finished going mad for the evening-"Vieni, fra queste braccia" (the equivalent of "Come to these lovin' arms!"). Just as he's about to be dragged off to jail for being a Stuart sympathizer, he is pardoned and, surprise, the opera ends happily, with some extra high notes from all.

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The season's last performance of I PURITANI is on February 28 at 7:30 pm. Running time: 3 hours and 32 minutes, two intermissions.

Tickets begin at $25; for prices, more information, or to place an order, please call (212) 362-6000 or visit www.metopera.org. Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling (212) 341-5410 or visiting www.metopera.org/groups.

Same-day $25 rush tickets for all performances of I Puritani are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the Met's Web site. Tickets will go on sale for performances Monday-Friday at noon, matinees four hours before curtain, and Saturday evenings at 2pm. For more information on rush tickets, click here.

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