With Rigoletto, a tale of depravity, deformity, delusion, decency and devotion, Verdi reached a new peak. For all the quality at work in his previous 15 operas, it was Rigoletto that first reflected the full power of the composer's genius. Not even the brilliant works he wrote afterward overshadowed its musical and theatrical virtues.
Many of those virtues could be appreciated Saturday night in the Baltimore Opera Company's production at the Lyric; fewer came through on Sunday afternoon with a different set of principal singers.
Providing an arresting center of gravity on Saturday was Mark Delavan in the title role of the hunchbacked court jester whose every move invites the fierce retribution of a man he foolishly mocked. Delavan's baritone had a bit of grain in the texture, but the occasional rough note could not detract from his commanding vocalism.
He filled out the melodic lines with uncommon depth of expression, creating an aching poignancy in the last scene when Rigoletto cradles his dying daughter, her fate directly traceable to his own actions.
In those closing moments, Youngok Shin crowned her endearing portrayal of Gilda with exquisitely shaped phrases spun of rare silk. Although the soprano encountered some vocal unevenness earlier, her consistently sensitive work made Gilda an affecting presence from her first entrance. She was all girlish innocence in Caro nome, making the coloratura sound like a perfectly natural extension of her inner thoughts; she was clearly the budding woman after her brush with an operatic form of date-rape.
As the amoral seducer, the Duke of Mantua, Stefano Secco compensated for a slender tone with considerable vocal stylishness - well, except for the tendency to scoop into notes. By varying the dynamics and by pointing up certain words and even syllables, Secco made each line register. (He might have done the same for Possente amor in Act 2, but that passage has unfortunately been cut in this production.)
Burak Bilgili didn't have the juicy low notes needed for the role of the hired-knife, Sparafucile, but showed promise. David Langan, too, could have used greater vocal heft as the curse-hurling Monterone. Sarah M'Punga brought a big, husky voice to Maddalena's music; the sound (like the mezzo's acting) was not without its earthy appeal, but it made a very awkward fit for the Act 3 quartet.
Among the supporting cast, Edward Albert fleshed out the role of Marullo with firm, colorful singing. A ragged attack or two aside, the men of the chorus proved reliable.
Conductor Andrea Licata kept the performance more or less on track; whatever was lost in coordination between stage and pit was usually redeemed by considerable expressive heat and admirably flexible tempos. At its best, the orchestra tapped the coloristic and atmospheric riches in Verdi's score.
After his conceptually bankrupt production of Lakme for the company last month, it was surprising to find designer/director Robert Lagana Manoli overloaded with ideas for this Rigoletto. Too bad they weren't entirely thought out. In a note distributed to the press (and greatly condensed for the audience by means of some introductory surtitles), the director explained that the setting "pays tribute" to the San Carlo opera house in Naples and also signals that there's an opera-within-the-opera at work.
This means a lot of unnecessary business before the performance begins involving revelers and the sight of Rigoletto arriving as an actor who somehow gets caught up in real-life drama. Removing his wig and costume at the critical moment in Act 2 when he realizes the duke's ultimate debauchery doesn't really enhance or intensify the drama Verdi has already put into the music.
On the other hand, the fall of a stage curtain at the very end to reveal haughty courtiers staring down at the desolate Rigoletto certainly makes a striking image. So do some other stage pictures; the Act 3 setting is especially atmospheric in a comfortably old-fashioned way. But everything has to be contained within the same large, blond-wood super-set, with its stairs and sliding walls, not to mention giant candelabra and other accoutrements that would be at home on the set of the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
Sunday's performance enjoyed the same knowing guidance from Licata and had in Stephen Gaertner a vocally healthy, theatrically accomplished Rigoletto. His delivery of the Act 2 plea to the courtiers had considerable impact.
Yeghishe Manucharyan offered vibrant, often tellingly nuanced, sometimes pressured singing as the Duke. Like Secco, he scored extra points when he softened the start of the second verse of La donna e mobile. M'Punga resorted to a lot of coarse shouting this time, but the rest of the cast was on par with the night before.
As for the Gilda, Nicole Biondo's not-ready-for-prime-time performance raised serious questions. What was a former mezzo, who previously had sung only bit parts, doing in such a demanding, lead-soprano role? She had trouble projecting and sustaining tone, except in the lower register; she had trouble keeping time and pitch. Coloratura passages were approached with extreme caution. Her closing trill for Caro nome was more of a faint bleat. Her hand-driven acting was rudimentary.
Biondo's musical interests proved sound; she made an admirable attempt to shape Gilda's closing lines eloquently. But she has a lot of work to do. And a serious opera company does not use its full-price productions as a training ground.
Opera
When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, 8:15 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave.
Admission: $37 to $132
Call: 410-727-6000