Rossini: Semiramide (2018), 8

Camarena - DeShong - Meade - Abdrazakov

Queen Semiramide is haunted by the ghosts of her past. Together with her lover Assur, she once murdered her husband King Nino...
3.5h | Musical | Episode aired 10 March 2018

Director: Barbara Willis Sweete

Maurizio Benini ... conductor

Roy Rallo ... stage director: revival

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6898654/

viewed on PBS. Will attempt to save it to dvd.


First performed 1823.

Cast (+ interviewed during intermission, aired after the full opera):
Idreno, an Indian king, t :: Javier Camarena+
Oroe, high priest of Magi, b (=bass) :: Ryan Speedo Green+
Assur, prince descended from Baal, b :: Ildar Abdrazakov+
Semiramide, queen of Babylon, widow of King Nino, s :: Angela Meade+
Arsace, commander of S's forces, contralto mezzo-s :: Elizabeth DeShong+
Azima, princess descended from Baal, s :: Sarah Shafer
Mitrane, captain of the royal guard, t :: Kang Wang
Nino's ghost, b :: Jeremy Galyon

I've run through this a couple of times now, while I'm engrossed in some tech stuff, and it does a good job of attracting my attention. The look of it is gorgeous: sparse sets, but ancient Babylonian royalty costume chic with lots of (precious) metal trim and rich primary colors. But the grabber is the voices and the music: gorgeous bel canto. I can't say I noticed the 3 minor characters, but the 5 principals are terrific, and I liked very much the 2 basses and the contralto. That's not to diminish the performances of the tenor and the soprano; it's just that these are the most common vocal types, since high voices travel better. All 5 got terrific music to sing. The contralto got to sing with a bass and with the soprano, and she hit both high and low ranges beautifully.

I did not pay such close attention that I followed the story. But it doesn't matter for now. If/when I do, I'll post an addendum about it.

I'm not listing the "director" for operas on this summary line, because I can't decide who is the most responsible. The official director controlled the camera work: when to go in close, what performers and angles to choose. The stage director shaped the action and perhaps the production's look. The conductor runs the pacing and intensity of the performance. I wonder how conflicting ideas get resolved.

The Metropolitan Opera HD Live, cond. Benini; 8