In the event, the tenor was replaced by Michael Hendrick, who acquitted himself more than satisfactorily… the queen’s new paramour is her former slave Spakos, sung by Hendrick, who displayed a mellifluous, expressive tone that remained pleasant throughout his range, with none of the pushing so common among current tenors.
Opera Manhattan’s semistaged presentation of Massenet’s Cleopatre on June 26 at Alice Tully Hall seemed imperiled by the last-minute indispositions of Florence Quivar and Neal Harrelson. In the event, the mezzo was replaced by OM stalwart Marion Capriotti, the tenor by MichaelHendrick, both of whom acquitted themselves more than satisfactorily.
Massenet’s late oeuvre, written to a libretto by Louis Payen, assumes the audience’s familiarity with the story of the Egyptian queen and the Roman general Marc Antony, focusing instead on personal relationships. It starts as the victorious Marc-Antoine (Hector Vasquez) awaits the surrender of Cleopatre, boasting he will not succumb to her charms as Julius Caesar once did. She arrives and conquers.
Capriotti’s voice, which has deepened from a rich mezzo to a smoky contralto, was ideal in the title role, and the singer savored wrapping it around the composer’s sinuous melodic lines, seducing the ear with each turn of phrase. Vasquez’ firm tone and elegant delivery proved especially touching in a scene when, having been recalled to Rome to marry Octavie (the ample-voiced Tamara Wright Acosta), he hears that Cleopatre has taken a new lover. The queen’s new paramour is her former slave Spakos, sung by Hendrick, who displayed a mellifluous, expressive tone that remained pleasant throughout his range, with none of the pushing so common among current tenors.
Keren Bernbaum (Charmion), Robert Mobsby (Ennius), Robert Burner (Severus) and MichaelO’Hearn (Amnhes) were effective in supporting roles. As usual, artistic director Gabriel Guimaraes provided firm, stylishly impeccable guidance. His orchestra achieved a coherent sound, doing justice to Massenet’s lush harmonies.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-16560775.html
by Marylis Sevilla-Gonzaga
Opera News