As the Luisotti Cavaradossi and Pinkerton he seemed over-parted, maybe even terrorized. This former Adler Fellow has at last shown that he is ready for the War Memorial and other important stages, that he a finished artist. Young American tenor Brian Jagde was the Cavaradossi. That she has the complexity of personality and the dramatic intelligence to become a great artist is yet to be seen. She has the beauty of voice, the size of voice, and the security of technique to immediately place her among the most sought after choices for these roles. Haroutounian does exude a purity of voice that casts her as the Verdi heroine. She exudes little innate dramatic temperament. Probably this wonderful young proto-diva will never be a Tosca, i.e.
Haroutounian may soon be a diva is without question, though divas come in all manner, shape and size. Young Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian was the Tosca. The pastoral beginning of the third act erased any hint, and there had been very few, of dramatic tension. These same relaxed tempos imposed a dramatically flaccid second act. However the melodic flow was uncomfortably broken from time to time to accommodate a singer’s need/urge to exaggerate the duration of a high note, a basic stylistic impulse of later Italian style. It was almost like you had never before seen the opera. The first act was a delightful revelation of relaxed tempos that allowed a melodic flow. It was music about singing, not about the brutal humanity of verismo. And this Tosca was pure bel canto - beautiful (pretty) music, lovely detail, flowing lines. Here in San Francisco he has earned critical accolades for the bel canto repertoire ( Lucrezia Borgia and I Capuleti e i Montecchi. If his program booklet biography is at all complete he has never before conducted a verismo opera.
Just now the conductor was Riccardo Frizza, an Italian maestro who has worked in many important theaters around the world. The conducting was strikingly different from the powerfully present performances of 2012 (Nicola Luisotti). Still it was an interesting and amusing experience. This is not a distinguished cast, and the production is the 1997 remake of the 1932 SFO production mounted for the umpteenth time. It begs asking why the opera comes back so soon.
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