Review: Lise Davidsen Soars Over Naxos in Strauss's ARIADNE at the Met

I flipped over Lise Davidsen when she made her Met debut in QUEEN OF SPADES--the voice, the acting, the overall subtlety--but I was still unprepared for the performance she gave as the Prima Donna who became Princess Ariadne of Crete in Strauss's ARIADNE AUF NAXOS. She was altogether divine.

She arrived at the Met with much hype back in 2019 and, I must admit, lived up to it. While ARIADNE often strikes me as an opera that Strauss and von Hofmannsthal must have written on an early version of LSD--the wacky antics of combining commedia dell'arte and opera seria troops to shorten the evening for the bourgeois gentilhomme's guests seem way over the top to me--Davidsen made us buy anything that was thrown our way from the stage.

It was good to see her light-hearted, nonplussed responses to what would certainly have thrown off the typical prima donna. Both in the setup (the prologue) and in the midst of her TRISTAN UND ISOLDE moments (aka "the Opera") with the young god Bacchus (tenor Brandon Jovanovich, who sounded as heroic as possible as foil for a bold Ariadne who couldn't help dominating the proceedings), Davidsen was "the model of a modern major general" or whatever the female version might be.

The production by Elijah Moshinsky dates back to 1993 but it's as fresh as a daisy, thanks to the revival's stage director, Stephen Pickover, and, certainly, the Met's orchestra under the sure baton of Marek Janofski. Certainly, Michael Yeargan's set (with Gil Wechsler's lighting) and costume designs are one of his best efforts. In particular, I found the floating nymphs (soprano Deanna Breiwick, mezzo Tamara Mumford and soprano Maureen McKay), a charming yet physically fascinating fixture of the second half of the evening--simply amazing to watch and delightful to hear.

The cast is filled with smartly detailed performances. Isabel Leonard, for example, in a smaller role than we're used to seeing her fill, used her clear mezzo to become a serious, yet open presence as the Composer, while debut artist Sean Michael Plumb brought his smooth baritone to the delightful role of the Harlequin and, once again, bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green proved there are no roles so minor that he can't make them stand out.

Baritones Johannes Martin Kranzle and Wolfgang Brendel brought dignity and poise as the Music Master and Major-Domo in the prologue. I found soprano Brenda Rae somewhat disappointing in what is usually the showcase role of Zerbinetta, with its showstopper aria, "Grossmachtige prinzessin," less dazzling than expected.

In all, it was a felicitous evening that was more than the sum of its parts and a happy occasion to appreciate the particular charms of Lisa Davidsen.

ARIADNE AUF NAXOS will be presented at the Met through March 17, with the Saturday matinee on March 12 broadcast at 12:55pm as part of the Met's Live in HD series to theatres around the world. For more information, please see the website.

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