![]() ![]() Wood delivered Ford’s big aria E sogno, o realta?, one of Verdi’s best baritone arias, with a sturdy voice and dramatic persuasiveness. Although I had seen him perform the role of Germont in Verdi’s “La Traviata” at Santa Fe Opera nine years ago, it is this year’s performance as Ford that has most impressed me. ![]() This was my first opportunity to see her in a principal role (I had previously seen her as one of the Valkyrie sisters in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2017 performance of Wagner’s “Die Walkure”.) As Alice, she exhibited the sumptuous voice that has established her reputation as a dramatic soprano in the major dramatic soprano roles of Wagner, Verdi and Puccini.Īlice’s husband, Ford, was performed by British baritone Gordon Wood. ![]() ![]() Adding Kelsey’s excellent Falstaff to this list proves him to be a Verdi baritone of the first rank.Īlexandra LoBianco’s Alice Ford and Roland Wood’s Fordįlorida soprano Alexandra LoBianco, in her Santa Fe Opera debut, was a stylish Alice Ford. Unlike the imposing arias and duets of most Verdi baritone roles, the arias assigned to Falstaff (e.g., L’onore, ladri and Quand’ero paggio dei Duca di Norfolk – both nicely performed by Kelsey with humor and an insight into Falstaff’s humanity) – are short responses to other characters’ prompts.įor over a decade I have been privileged to watch Kelsey perform such iconic Verdi baritone roles as Germont, the Count di Luna,, Rigoletto and the Marquis di Posa. Kelsey convincingly portrayed Falstaff’s deeply felt despair at being dumped into a drainage ditch, as well as Falstaff’s final, good-natured self-realization ( Incomincio ad accorgermi d’esser stato un somaro) that he brought his humiliations on himself. He portrayed Falstaff’s narcissistic self-delusion as to his attractiveness to women that allowed Falstaff to pursue romantic endeavors in both halves of the opera, each effort ending with humiliating results. In a bravura performance, Quinn Kelsey showed mastery of the role’s demands, projecting each of the facets of the iconic character. A highlight of the Santa Fe Opera’s 2022 season is Sir David McVicar’s extraordinary production of Verdi’s final masterpiece, “Falstaff”, starring Hawaiian baritone Quinn Kelsey in the title role.įalstaff is a role that encompasses a range of emotions, acting skills and comic timing. ![]()
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