Heavyweight Opening

By William Bender

Manrico, the tenor troubadour in Il Trovatore, may be the biggest patsy among all the operatic heroes created by Giuseppe Verdi. Just stir up a little trouble and Manrico will dash off to get involved--usually with disastrous results. At the end of Act I he rushes forth to outduel the evil Count di Luna, but he spares the count's life and later gets stabbed for his trouble. At the end of Act III he races to rescue his adoptive mother Azucena; both end up in prison.

The woman in Manrico's life, Leonora, is not much help. In Act IV she tries to secure his freedom by giving herself to the count but bungles the job by dying before Manrico is released, and Manrico goes to the executioner. Why then would anybody want to play poor Manrico? Because his music has the kind of nobility, beauty and stentorian power to make the ear and heart ignore the scornful urgings of the eye and mind.

It was in the role of Manrico that Italian Tenor Luciano Pavarotti presided over the opening of the Metropolitan Opera's 92nd season in New York last week. Weighing in at well over 300 Ibs., his swordsmanship lightheartedly heavy handed, Pavarotti did little visually to make a believable character of Manrico. Vocally it was another matter. This was the kind of elegant, radiant singing that has made Pavarotti the most exciting lyric tenor in all opera. For Pavarotti and opera fans alike, Manrico was a major turning point in a notable career. It was the first time at the Met that Pavarotti had ventured beyond light lyric roles into the deeper waters of dramatic Verdi. It is a step wise lyric tenors do not take until they are 40 or so (Pavarotti is 41), for fear of damaging the vocal cords. At that age, the voice usually begins to darken and toughen. Pavarotti's voice is still lighter than one is used to in this music, but he made the adjustment skillfully and convincingly.

Pavarotti had some distinguished company. In the pit was Gianandrea Gavazzeni, 67, whose 50 years at Milan's La Scala include associations with Toscanini, Mascagni and Giordano. Gavazzeni led a performance that was full of controlled excitement; at the same time, he was consistently thoughtful of his singers. His support of Veteran Soprano Renata Scot to (Leonora), who sang the precarious D 'amor sull 'ali rosee in Act IV with extreme caution, was a memorable lesson in podium gallantry.

The Azucena was Shirley Verrett, who, like Pavarotti, is at a career turning point.A Met regular for eight years, she is basically a mezzo with an unusually high, extended range. Lately, she has been trying to move into the repertory of the dramatic soprano. The results have been only partially successful, largely because in moving higher her voice takes on an icy whiteness of tone. Returning to the mezzo range of Azucena, however, Verrett sang with overwhelming fire and urgency. One would hate to see a woman as lovely as Verrett consigned forever to play a hag like Azucena, but hers is one of the memorable interpretations of the role, both visually and vocally.

Singers such as Pavarotti and Verrett are reason enough, or should be, for the Met to open its doors. Pavarotti, especially. Unlike most of today's sober-minded opera singers, who seem to feel they are in personal charge of the Holy Grail, Pavarotti matches his uninhibited vocal glee onstage with a great gusto for life offstage. No sooner had the opening performance of Trovatore concluded than he was putting on another show in his dressing room, grandly playing host to all visitors, especially the ladies. Eying one female autograph seeker with measured admiration becoming a married man with three children, he purred: "Ah, you and I should be secret lovers." Then he was off to an Italian restaurant to celebrate his 41st birthday. Though he has recently dieted off 25 Ibs. and is aiming for another 75, Pavarotti will not tell anyone exactly what he weighs. "I am -- how you say? -- ashamed," he explains. Thus at his party he skimped on the pasta and wine he loves so dearly. He made up for it by kissing every woman in the room.

Stunning Amneris. The rest of the Met's opening week consisted of familiar productions of Aida, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Meistersinger and Il Trittico. Aida was notable for the Met debut of Russia's Elena Obraztsova, a tall, slender mezzo who made the wily Amneris stunning to behold and to hear. Programming in the months ahead will be more adventurous. In addition to new productions of La Boheme and Lohen grin, the Met will offer such rarities as Meyerbeer's Le Prophete, Massenet's Esclarmonde, Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites and Berg's Lulu. But if the Met's future looks promising artistically, it does not financially. The Met's operating loss this season is expected to approach $12.4 million (it was $10.8 mil lion last season). Even though opera companies always seem to be short of cash, the Met's problem is clearly profondo.

William Bender

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