Sunday, March 15, 1 p.m., Orcas Center
— from Artha Kass —
The dazzling Joyce DiDonato and the stunning Juan Diego Flórez star in Rossini’s bel canto tour-de-force La Donna del Lago, in its first-ever Live in HD performance streaming live from the Metropolitan Opera to Orcas Center on Sunday, March 15 at 1:00 pm.
In this Rossini classic based on the work by Sir Walter Scott, DiDonato sings the titular lady of the lake role of Elena who is pursued by two men, with Flórez in his fifth Live in HD bel canto role as Giacomo, the benevolent king of Scotland who falls in love with her.
La Donna del Lago was the first opera by a major composer to be based on the work of Sir Walter Scott and is a prime example of the fascination that Scottish settings held for the nascent Romantic movement in Europe. Taking advantage of the early nineteenth century craze for Scott’s novel that had swept the continent, Rossini composed La Donna del Lago in 1819.
American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is renowned for her performances of bel canto heroines at opera houses around the world. In 2012 she sang the title role of in the Met premiere of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, and her Rossini portrayals with the company have included Isolier in Le Comte Ory, the title role of La Cenerentola, and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
Few modern tenors have taken on Rossini’s high-lying tenor roles with the mastery of Juan Diego Flórez. The Peruvian tenor made his Met debut in 2002 as Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and has since appeared regularly in numerous leading bel canto roles: Ernesto in Don Pasquale; Tonio in La Fille du Régiment, and the title role in the Met premiere of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory.
“The wondrous Ms. DiDonato sang Rossini’s beguiling phrases with soft yet penetrating richness, subtly folding ornaments and runs into the long melodic arcs… Mr. Flórez makes a youthful, charming and impassioned king. Vocally he was at his best… He tossed off runs and roulades effortlessly and dispatched exciting high notes.” – The New York Times
“Joyce DiDonato emerges triumphant. It doesn’t take much courage to tell the listening public that DiDonato is among the world’s greatest singing actors of any voice type; on Monday she was beyond perfect… a performance that may ultimately stand as a high point in her already lofty career… her tone was pure honey, her coloratura effortlessly fluttering, her ornamentation fearless.” – NY Classical Review
Tickets for The Met: Live in HD’s La Donna del Lago are $18, $13 for students, $2 off for Orcas Center members, and may be purchased at www.orcascenter.org or by calling 376-2281 ext. 1 or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from noon – 2 pm. For more information about Orcas Center’s 2015 season visit www.orcascenter.org.
