BWW Reviews: CAV/PAG, Those Verismo Twins, Still Tied at the Hip at the Met

It was "out with the old, in with the new" for another of the Franco Zeffirelli productions that were once the Metropolitan Opera's bread and butter, designed for audiences to cheer for the scenery even when the cast might not have been top drawer.

This time, the victims of changing times (and administrations) were the twin bill of Mascagni's CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA and Leoncavallo's PAGLIACCI--better known in the opera world as CAV/PAG--the last new production of the Met's 2014-15 season. They have been replaced by a new approach from a current Met favorite, Sir David McVicar, that is a study in contrasts: black-and-white versus a rainbow of colors, though both portray the poverty of southern Italy and snowball to the same bloody conclusion. The result, as they say in Italian, was "mezzo-mezzo."

"Kissing cousins" since 1893

These two mainstays of Italian verismo style of opera have been kissing cousins since the Met first performed them as a double act in 1893. But it wasn't always that way. Neither is considered long enough to command an evening of its own--no SALOME or ELEKTRA here--so they have been paired with such diverse (and unlikely) partners as LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, IL TROVATORE and IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA. (The Met program reports that PAG was even teamed with HANSEL UND GRETEL for almost 100 performances between 1906 and 1938!)

In CAV, the new staging, with set design by Rae Smith, costumes by Moritz Junge and lighting by Paule Constable, takes the "given" of small-town life and puts it center stage: You can't run and you can't hide, because everyone knows everyone else's business. Here, the townspeople bring their chairs and watch everything that's going on center stage. It works here...up to a point, when it becomes too heavy handed. The main thing missing is light: It takes place around Easter Sunday, but seems more like a black Sabbath before the end of the world. It was something that Zeffirelli caught brilliantly: the blinding sunlight of Sicily.

CAV is the stronger opera

One thing comes through decidedly in McVicar's staging, however: CAV is the stronger opera, with gorgeous music all around, whether in the arias, the chorus work (the "Easter Hymn" in the hands of the Met chorus is luminous) or the overture and famed "Intermezzo" that give the great Met orchestra under deft Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi a chance to shine on their own. The work was written for a contest for one-act operas--too bad, because it's one time an opera leaves you wanting more and leaves us wondering what he could have done with another half hour or so.

In the wrong hands, both these operas lend themselves to scenery-chewing, but luckily, there was a minimum of it, except when the director specifically asks for it in PAG. As Turiddu in CAV, tenor Marcelo Alvarez had a good night vocally, up to the stringent demands of the role, particularly in "Mamma quel vino e generoso." But his emotions seemed perhaps too much in check, as if he were thinking about the next note he had to hit.

Seduced and abandoned

But Turiddu is not really the center of the opera, even though it's usually thought of as a tenor showcase. That goes to Santuzza, whom the tenor has seduced and abandoned, sung here by soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek. She is a powerful presence, as she was earlier in the season in LADY MACBETH OF MTENSK, but her voice sounded tired, with a decided edge. Baritone George Gagnidze, whom Met audiences have heard as a particularly creepy Scarpia in another Zeffirelli castoff, TOSCA, knows just how to play the "vengeance" card. There is more than a little coarseness in his voice, but certainly does a good job in putting the role across. Kudos to mezzo Jane Bunnell as the very motherly Mama Lucia and the sexy Lola of Ginger Costa-Jackson, who was very Sophia Loren-esque (if La Loren didn't have the voice of Renata Tebaldi, as she did in a film of AIDA).

McVicar has gone on record as saying that the comedy in PAG is usually not funny enough and set out to remedy the situation, hiring a Vaudeville Consultant, Emil Wolk, to beef up the yuck-level, where a more traditional commedia dell'arte approach is usually taken. It begins with Tonio's opening prologue (another forceful performance from Gagnidze), where he is taunted, slapstick-style, by a trio of comics (Marty Keiser, Andy Sapora and Joshua Wynter). Soprano Patricia Racette, looking more glamorous than usual, was a lively presence as Nedda, the object of everyone's affection, and throws herself into the role with abandon, both in the comedy and romantic scenes.

Vocal power and subtle shading

Although Alvarez sang the tenor leads in both operas at the production's premiere and most other performances, this time around he only took on Turiddu and left Canio in PAGLIACCI to tenor Carl Tanner. I'm glad he did. Tanner has only made occasional appearances at the Met, but has proven himself a reliable cover (standby) in several roles. He took full advantage of his chance in the spotlight of a new production to show Met audiences the power of his voice and some subtle shading in a role that is frequently over the top. He's a fine performer, with a big voice, used to great effect in the evening's most famous aria, "Vesti la giubba." Andrew Stenson and Alexey Lavrov did well in the smaller, but key, roles as Beppe and Silvio, respectively.

CAV/PAG have long been central to the Met's repertoire; yet the new productions had only a handful of performances this year. At the end of PAG, Canio tells the audience "La commedia è finita" ("The show's over"). Is it true for this double bill as well? Not by the reactions of the audience at the performance I attended--not by a long shot.

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Photos by Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera

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