Iraganeko Produkzioaren Iritziak
4The whole cast was very talented and I was amazed by the commitment to the characters and the high notes of Keely Futterer (Armida).
And fun is a fine description of this staging, which transplants a tale of the Crusades to 1980s Wall Street, turning what was once early-18th-century Christian propaganda into a wry commentary on capitalism. Full of imaginative costuming and staging ideas, it's also finely sung and acted, and that comes through clearly in Minnesota Opera's new North Loop venue, the Luminary Arts Center. Giacomo Rossi's libretto is all about love amid warfare, with sorcerers and psychics aiding each side in what was then a Christians-vs.-Moors story. In Minnesota Opera's version — the brainchild of director Mo Zhou — old money does battle with new, the silly-suited aristocracy trying to either swallow or merge with a successful startup where the leaders dress in pointy-shouldered, flame-emblazoned leather jackets, bodices and codpieces.
Puccini’s score is not lacking in the composer’s trademark lyricism with the hit soprano aria “O mio babbino caro,” a fine tenor solo and a soaring duet for the lovers Lauretta and Rinuccio. But the fifty-five minute opera is distinguished by quicksilver lightness and rapid patter in the manner of Verdi’s Falstaff that make it unique in Puccini’s output.
Martinez possesses a bass voice of cavernous resonance and carrying power, and he acted the part with fitting discretion.
