Past Production Reviews
17Big-voiced standouts in smaller roles included...Ms. Futterer as the slave trader Vanderdendur - her high E-flat in "Boy Voyage" brought back memories of her Armida the previous night.
The sterling cast includes...soprano Keely Futterer as the piratical slaver Vanderdendur
Keely Futterer was a thrilling whirlwind as Armida, ornamenting wildly and unafraid to take high notes into shriek territory.
In the role of the opera’s villainess par excellence, the sorceress Armida, Young Artists Program soprano Keely Futterer offers a richly realized character concoction. Seductive, red-maned, a lady ogress fully worthy of weird-sisterhood with the likes of Ursula the Sea Witch of The Little Mermaid, or Sigourney Weaver’s channeling of the demon hellion Zuul in Ghostbusters, so indelible is the impression Futterer makes that, in fact, one is tempted to wonder why the opera isn’t titled Armida.
The whole cast was very talented and I was amazed by the commitment to the characters and the high notes of Keely Futterer (Armida).
Among the new-monied outlaws of this adaptation, both Keely Futterer and Charles H. Eaton prove mightily memorable - Futterer as a power-hungry sorcerer bent on seduction and Eaton as a swaggeringly charismatic baritone...
In director Lawrence Edelson’s Opera Saratoga production, Marie is played by coloratura soprano Keely Futterer with spellbinding vocal variety and fearless comic brilliance. Decked out in Act I military mufti, her abundance of loose, honey-blond hair flying, she hoofs it with abandon and arpeggiates with tomboy-diva virtuosity. Then, in Act II, negotiating Marie’s faltering attempts at transformation into elegant upper-class lady, Futterer prompts side-splitting guffaws with her clodhopping Elly May Clampett-ry, impudent tantrums, and pitch-perfect sendups of art-song affections.
Lyric soprano Keely Futterer is, at least his equal – and many might rightfully argue better – since her role is more demanding. Futterer has one of the most gorgeous voices you can imagine with charm to match. Hers is a performance you will remember and speak about for years.
The standout singer was Keely Futterer as the daffy Jean Harlow-esque actress Angostura, who knocked out the bravura “Bel raggio lusinghier” from “Semiramide” (a Joan Sutherland staple) with total command.
Angostura (Futterer), a lightheaded starlet, spoke with a mousy squeak yet she sang with a rich and impressive sound. She was also given a delicious revenge aria, a welcome contrast to all the ardor and longing going about.
Keely Futterer and Zulimar Lopez-Hernández both play Abilene at different ages, each with strong voices and feeling.
