Antonio In Linda's House In Paris

Linda Di Chamounix

In the initial opening scene, the lighting is incredibly interesting and sparse; the entirety of the chorus is in silhouette as Maddalena sings her opening line. The vocal color of Maria Jose Suarez is extremely appropriate for the role; the richness of her tone has an inherent motherly quality that blends well with the Antonio. However, it would seem that Antonio’s tone could use a little more resonant brilliance because he is occasionally lost beneath sounds, especially when the higher voices sing along with him.

When the Marquis de Boisfleury arrives seeking Linda, the entire chorus is standing around his vehicle - no action is occurring at all for a good long while as they exchange melodic dialogue, and it is really a little bit too drab thanks to the lack of color on the stage. It seems a bit like a sepia tone painting with sound, and it would be very easy to overlook the acting and simply listen to the chorus sing, but the Marquis de Boisfleury (depicted by Bruno de Simone) adds a little bit of physical action that makes it a bit more of a fascinating watch, almost behaving in a comical manner as he chases his chauffeur who has begun driving his car off the stage.

The chorus disperses
for church, and Linda (Diana Damrau) enters to sing “O Luce Di Quest’anima”, arguably one of the most musically interesting portions of the opera given its extensive coloratura and melismatic motion despite being strophic in nature. Diana Damrau’s interpretation of this character is a little on the heavier side of vocal timbre, and it doesn’t really seem to fit perfectly with the exuberance of the role of Linda, who usually has a lighter timbre. Her dancing does give more of that tender character needed for the role, however.

As the chorus reenters and celebrate with Linda and her joy, more facial acting begins taking place among more people, although there are many who still maintain the static quality of being in a painting rather than a dramatic production of an opera.

Upon Pierotto’s (Silva Tro Santafe) entrance (sung offstage and moving onstage), the lighting becomes dramatic once more and all the chorus stands at attention listening to his song of a young lady who he adores. Silva Tro Santafe captures the actions so well and demands attention as soon as she processes onto the stage, and her lighter timbre is very appropriate for a character with Pierotto’s sort of folk tale that he presents. Linda, being deeply affected by Pierotto’s story, stands in the shadow downstage, lamenting about the sadness involved with the story and fretting very openly.

When Carlo arrives to see Linda, all the chorus has left them - the way that he holds her seems a bit too harsh for the nature of their meeting and reaffirmation of love, but it is clear that they both are quite passionate about one another. His timbre has a richer quality, and his voice goes very well with Linda’s. Their synchronization during their duet and their matching of dynamic level is marvelous.

As the Prefect (Simon Orfila) arrives to warn of the Marchese’s evil intention, his vocal quality very truly depicts the desperation and horrific nature of his news. The duet between Antonio and the Prefect has wonderful, rich vocal color, and their actions, while still remaining a little more on the simplistic side, reveal the characters’ emotional stirrings.

In Linda’s house in Paris, the audience is given a new background with a very similar color palette, while being a bit warmer in nature, and Linda has changed into a silver dress instead of her cream attire from the first act.
It has more vibrance, but the minimalism is still present. Linda’s duet with Pierotto is delicate and lovely, and Diana Damrau seems to bring her vocal weight down quite a bit for their intimate discussion. She also very impressively produces clear tone while laying on her side. There are many moments during this duet that one could freeze and turn into a lovely painting, much like the beginning, but it works much better with only two characters because they are moving and being more dynamic than much of the chorus was
previously.

As the Marchese sings to Linda, he appears to get fatigued in the more active sections and could use a bit more breath support beneath his sound to match that of Linda’s vitality. There are many instances in this opera in which the instrumentation is very sparse, and it gets a little thin in places, nearly becoming empty in nature. Perhaps the minimal staging and coloration of the stage was to match the musical style and the classical form involved in the actual composition itself. If this is the intent, it functions very well.

When Antonio sees Linda and fears that she is living in sin and the two have their duet, the vocal quality from Antonio has shifted just so in a manner that reflects the aging of his character. He doesn’t seem to fully emote what the audience could potentially perceive as Antonio’s anguish in regards to his daughter’s decisions. However, the more subtle nature of his depiction could be positive, had it not been for his counterpart Linda being very open with her actions and her feeling.

During the scene in which Pierotto notifies Linda of Carlo’s marriage to another, Pierotto’s voice is a bit too covered by the orchestra and Linda, although it admittedly is more about Linda’s reaction than Pierotto’s. The change of scenery for the final act is a welcome one, offering more brilliance and color narrative to match the rejoicing of the characters upon the finale when Linda and Carlo are to be wed. Overall, this rendition of Linda Di Chamounix is heavily reliant on Diana Damrau’s raw and emotional portrayal of the character of Linda. She carries the story very well despite her vocal weight being a bit too heavy for the usually light and lyrical role of Linda.