BWW Reviews: LA FAVORITE at Caramoor, Conducted by Crutchfield, Provides Another Indispensable Bel Canto Rarity

At a time when we're often inundated with yet another TOSCA, BOHEME or CARMEN at major opera houses, the Caramoor Festival in Katonah, NY--a couple of hours north of New York City in summer traffic--manages to bring some relief. Thanks to the efforts of Caramoor's Music Director Will Crutchfield. Gaetano Donizetti's LA FAVORITE, heard July 11 for one night only, showed us that the composer of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, L'ELISIR D'AMORE and the Tudor Queens Trilogy, among so many others, had more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

The opera was Donizetti's second in French, after LA FILLE DU REGIMENT. It was written on short notice for Paris by Donizetti and Eugene Scribe, with one of the opera's four acts reputedly composed in a single evening ("after dinner"), though it was cribbed from an earlier, uncompleted work by the duo. (Luckily, Caramoor did it with only one intermission.)

But make no mistake: This is not one of those operas that sound familiar, with snippets of other, more familiar works thrown in for good measure, but an interesting piece that I was glad to have heard. Though it hasn't been performed consistently in these parts, it was popular enough in Paris to be an annual attraction for over 50 years after its premiere in 1840. It's easy to see why.

The story is a love triangle during the Moorish invasions of Spain, involving the King of Castile, Alfonso XI (the excellent baritone Stephen Powell); his mistress Leonor (a/k/a "La Favorite"), performed by mezzo Clementine Margaine, and her would-be lover, Fernand (the up-and-coming tenor Santiago Ballerini). Or is it a quadrangle? Religious interference in the form of an emissary of the Vatican plays a significant role, as the nuncio Balthazar (ably sung by bass-baritone Daniel Mobbs) arrives with a papal bull forbidding the king from dissolving his marriage to marry Leonor, which results in a standoff between church and state.

The format seems familiar from the operas of Verdi--ERNANI and DON CARLO, to name two, had similar set-ups, though the latter added an on-stage wife to the mix--and the work itself is not exactly unknown in these parts. A successful concert performance of the Italian version of the work, LA FAVORITA,by Eve Queler's Opera Orchestra of New York, headlined by Shirley Verrett and Alfredo Kraus, led to a Met staging in 1975, again with Verrett, but with Luciano Pavarotti and Sherrill Milnes. Opera Orchestra did it again in 2001 with Jennifer Larmore, using a new critical edition in Italian meant to replace the much-maligned version that Donizetti himself called "wretched." (Italian censorship had resulted in questionable changes to the story and score, which were done without the composer's participation or approval.)

Despite the Met's all-star cast, FAVORITA didn't make much of an impression back in 1975, so it was good to hear Caramoor's original French version, considered far superior, to see what the fuss was about. Under the baton of conductor Crutchfield, The Orchestra of St Luke's and soloists made a pretty good case for the opera, with the ensemble having its chance to show off in what was written as the obligatory ballet but, here, was an wonderful orchestral interlude.

The evening presented some first-rate singing, with the powerful baritone of Powell heading the list, commanding the stage whenever he appeared. So did the stentorian singing and stage presence of bass-baritone Mobbs as the "heavy" of the piece, the stand-in for the Pope. The find of the evening, I thought, was Argentine tenor Ballerini, who reminded me of a young Juan Diego Florez, and brought real commitment to his vocalism, particularly his ardent "Ange si pur" (better known as its Italian "Spirito gentil"). The Caramoor Festival Chorus, under Chorus Master Rachelle Jonck, made some key contributions to the proceedings.

The hole among the principals, however, was a large one: Mezzo Margaine was no favorite of mine. While having enough voice for the role, she was pretty much a dramatic cipher--a soft center in this Donizetti confection when something chewier was called for. It was hard to figure out what the two men were fighting over...but, luckily, the melodies, including her "O mon Fernand" ("O mio Fernando" in Italian) nonetheless, lingered on.

On July 25, Caramoor continues its excursion into French opera but of a very different sort: Poulenc's 20th century masterpiece, DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES. The opera was quite a success at the Met two years ago and the cast here looks good on paper, headed by soprano Hei-Kyung Hong as the New Prioress, mezzo Jennifer Larmore as Mère Marie, and, in a rare and much-anticipated New York appearance, soprano Deborah Polaski--she of Bayreuth's "Ring"--as the Old Prioress. FAVORITE's Daniel Mobbs sings the Marquis de la Force.

###

Photos by Gabe Palacio

To post a comment, you must register and login.