It was thrilling — and moving — to see Placido Domingo’s performance as Maurizio in “Adriana Lecouvreur” at the Metropolitan Opera Wednesday night.
The role is the same one that served as Domingo’s Met debut in 1968. I wouldn’t know if his singing was better 41 years ago, but he couldn’t have had more stage presence or been more convincing as a man with two powerful women madly in love with him.
The production will have its last performance of the season tomorrow night. The sumptuousness of the staging by Connecticut director Mark Lamos matches the lush beauty of the score by Francesco Cilea.
Domingo has been a culture hero of mine for many years — for being a hard worker as well as a brilliant artist — and friends who know more about opera than me say he has managed to sing at a high level for more years than seems possible.
Here’s what Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times had to say on Feb. 8:
“Now 68, he remains a wonder of vocal longevity. He missed the dress rehearsal because of a cold and took time to clear his throat and warm up during the performance on Friday. But soon he was singing with vigor, stylistic insight and ringing top notes. Some of the music was transposed down to suit Mr. Domingo’s current comfort zone. ‘That’s cheating,’ purists might complain. But the trade-off is a Maurizio sung by a major tenor who still sounds like one.”
The plot of “Adriana Lecouvreur” is a jumble of political intrigue and marital infidelity but Lamos keeps the production steaming forward on the power of the love triangle and the wonderful portrayal of life in the French theater of the 18th century.
The character of Adriana is drawn from Adrienne Lecouvreur, a real stage star of the early 18th century who was famous for her off-stage romances as well as her performances in plays such as “Phedre.” Adrienne died under mysterious circumstances which in the opera are transformed into a rival poisoning her. Maria Guleghina (above, with Domingo) is a knock-out in the title role and Olga Borodina makes for a formidable love rival, the Princess de Bouillon.
It was Domingo’s night, however, and despite a rather weird vibe in the house (an audience stressed out by financial worries?), the singer-actor’s performance was greeted with the tremendous ovation it deserved.
(A Friday afternoon check of the Met Web site — www.metoperafamily.org — showed some seats still available for Saturday night’s performance of “Adriana Lecouvreur.”)
