Mozart:
Idomeneo
San Diego Opera, San Diego, CA
April 20, 2001
For this first production of Mozart’s Idomeneo at the San Diego Opera, the title role was to have been sung by Jerry Hadley, but he became indisposed one week before the premiere and cancelled the entire run of performances. Former Santa Fe apprentice Scott Wyatt, who had covered the role in San Francisco and Santa Fe but had never sung it on stage, stepped in to save the show, bringing off this difficult part with panache.
Wyatt used his moderately sized voice with its appealing timbre and well-knit registers to convey the tragedy of the ancient king’s situation with dramatic expression and appropriately colored singing. With his robust tones, precise diction and excellent acting ability, this young singer created a believable character who seemed old enough to have a grown son.
The role of Ilia was sung by Dresden Opera’s Ute Selbig, who was an excellent Susanna in San Diego’s Nozze di Figaro of a few seasons ago. She sang with cool purity of tone and delicate coloration, and even though this music may be slightly heavy for her voice, her silken top opened to a beautiful bloom marred only by a few poorly intoned notes. Her act three aria, “Zeffiretti lusinghieri,” was sung with soaring abandon.
Both Ms. Selbig and Ruxandra Donose, who sang the trouser role of Idamante, have a way of singing Mozartean phrases that seems to be a Central European stylistic hallmark. They crescendo at the beginning of each phrase and decrescendo at its end, giving a beautifully rounded effect.
Ms. Donose, making her San Diego Opera debut, was impressive, both as an actress and as a singer. She looked handsome in her form-fitting male costume and her warm, opulent sound was a treat for the ear. Although she may not have the biggest mezzo voice around, she combines a dazzling technique with excellent musicianship, often floating two phrases on one breath. With charismatic temperament and intelligent interpretation, she gave the audience a graphic picture of Idamante’s emotional turmoil.
In this opera, Elettra is an unsympathetic role which, nevertheless, Carol Vaness brought off with volcanic power and gleaming laser-like high notes. Although I detected a slight excess of vibrato when she sang fortissimo, she triumphed at the end of the opera with “D’Oreste d’Aiace ho in seno i tormenti.”
Todd Geer, former Adler Fellow, whose Arbace benefited from clear, steady, well-supported tones and an ingratiating timbre, also showed that he had considerable acting skills. Taiwanese tenor Joseph Hu, a San Diego Opera Ensemble alumnus, has a flexible, warm lyric voice which he used with dramatic expression as the High Priest. Dean Elzinga, as the offstage voice of the sea god, had resounding bass-baritone sonority to spare. He was a fine Figaro at Arizona Opera last year and seems ready for larger roles.
Like the peasants who sing together in Figaro, there are “Two Cretan Girls” who sing a simple tune in Idomeneo. Met Auditions San Diego District winner Kathleen Halm and Eva Maria Clements exhibited beauty of tone and attractive physical presence in their short piece. A similar duet for “Two Trojan Men,” sung by San Diego Opera Ensemble alumni Andrew Truett and David Marshman showed their ability to sing with dramatic color and lively animation.
It was a thrilling night in San Diego and I hope all of these fine artists will soon be back there again.
—Maria Nockin
