I had the EXTREME pleasure of seeing Mariella Devia perform the role of Queen Elizabeth in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux at Carnegie Hall this past Thursday. Her beautiful legato lines, virtuosic bel canto phrases, and extreme use of dynamics were impressive and inspiring. With a calm and regal demeanor she commanded the stage with her presence and full bodied and agile voice. She received thunderous applause every time she entered the stage and for the final bows the boisterous audience applauded for what seemed to be about five encore bows! The rest of the cast featured many talented up and coming young singers as well as established young professionals. The Opera Orchestra of New York and opera chorus under the baton of Eve Queller were excellent as well. The orchestra and Queller were artistically symbiotic throughout the opera, and delivered the subtlety of bel canto orchestration perfectly. The robust tones of the opera chorus added drama to the story line, often splitting into Men’s and Women’s choirs, and ending with a dramatic tutti section for the finale. The opera chorus featured two very talented up and coming friends of ours, Amanda Gerome and Savannah Gordon, both of whom sang with such poise!
Devia was truly inspiring in her performance. You could tell everyone in that theater was moved by her, from the fellow musicians on stage to the person in the last seat of the hall, there was something special about this performance.
Bravi Tutti to the cast, chorus, and orchestra! And a very special “brava” to Mariella, a true artist, diva, and poshie!
~A
Christina found this on a wall in Milan a few summers ago. What is your answer?
JACOPERA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.