Beethoven set the standard for boffo , exuberant, and loud symphonic endings, After him most composers followed his example most of the time. But not always. I picked four examples of great symphonies that end softly. I’ll take them in chronological order.

Brahms’  third symphony written in 1883 has a lot of vigorous music in its last movement. Near the work’s conclusion it quotes a theme heard in the first movement and then ends softly. There is nothing drawn out about this quite ending; its seems a natural conclusion to what has gone before it. Brahms Symphony #3 finale.

Tchaikovsky’s sixth and last symphony (1893) has been called a suicide note. I don’t know about that, but the whole last movement seems about death. The symphony just dies away. The highly energetic third movement is followed by a beautiful adagio with this ending: Tchaikovsky Symp #6 finale.

Mahler’s last completed symphony (1910), his ninth, outdoes anything that had preceded it when it comes to softness. It’s ending is so quiet that it’s hard to tell when exactly it’s over. When properly performed it is an exceptional and deeply emotional experience. It’s another symphony about death. Mahler Symphony #9 finale

Shostakovich’s fourth symphony is the most unusual he ever wrote. It was completed in 1936, but not performed until 1961. The composer had gotten into serious trouble with Stalin who considered himself a great music critic. Had Shostakovich gone ahead with the premiere of the 4th symphony it literally might have caused his death. The work is in three movements, is the most dissonant he ever wrote, and is a gigantic and magnificent meander. It needs about 100 musicians; it’s outer movements are each about 25 minutes long; the middle is about 9 minutes long. The last movement seems to be building into a shattering conclusion when it descends into about six minutes of quiet. This is the Shostakovich symphony most influenced by Mahler. When you listen to its end you’ll easily hear why. Shostakovich Symp #4 finale.

I’ve written here about the recommendation that children be routinely screened for lipid (cholesterol, etc) levels. I pointed out that there was no scientific evidence that such screening would convey a health benefit. An opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association reaches the same conclusion.

The robust evidence that high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol are a cause of atherosclerosis and clinical events is not matched by similar levels of evidence that long-term, perhaps lifelong, drug treatment in young children is effective and safe…The recommendations of the expert panel represent an intervention for which the long-term risk-benefit profile also remains uncertain…In the expert panel’s report, the complex algorithms for initiating drug treatment of lipid levels in children receive all the highlighted emphasis that comes with large tables and long discussion…What this novel public health intervention in children clearly lacks is an evaluation to determine whether the long-term risk-benefit profile may in fact be favorable or harmful.

You can read the whole piece for yourself using the link above. There is one statement it makes that is questionable. In adults, the health benefits of statins are well demonstrated. In a meta-analysis of 10 primary prevention clinical trials, statin use was associated with a 30% reduction (95% CI, 19%-39%) in coronary events and a 12% reduction (95% CI, 4%-19%) in total mortality. It sites this study, but ignores a more recent meta-analysis which found no evidence for the benefit of statin therapy on all-cause mortality in a high-risk primary prevention set-up.

Regardless, of the putative benefit of primary prevention in adults, lipid screening in children and young adults is a bad idea which violates the tenants of evidence based medicine which seem easy to discard whenever they stand in the way of a favored theory. I shouldn’t have to say this, but the evidence is supposed to precede the recommendation. The expert panel seems to have forgotten this in their rush to judgement.

At first I thought that this album featured Humphrey Bogart. Then I thought it was about a small dog. At last I realized it was tenor Joseph Calleja’s (born Jan 22, 1978 – yet another January birthday) newest album of arias and duets. He’s from Malta and some PR person had a goofy idea for a title. The soprano on the two duets is Aleksandra Kurzak – she’s very good. L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is conducted by Marco Armiliato. The full program is below.

The new album has been both a critical and sales success. Calleja’s singing has been compared to that of Gigli, Björling, and Di Stefano – heady stuff. This, of course, raises expectations to unreachable heights. Calleja’s singing is very good; his voice is bright and he sings with intelligence. The rapid flutter that characterized his earlier work is still present, though it’s more subdued than it was. It is most noticeable when he sings high notes piano. His rapid vibrato obviously concerns him as he discusses it in the liner notes:

[H]is voice has often been described as “old-fashioned”: grace and elegance matched to a timbre that’s lighter than that of many other tenors of Calleja’s generation and flecked by a rapid, persistent vibrato. Early on in Calleja’s career, some found that intrusive. “For a period of time, my vibrato was very, very fast”, Calleja concedes. “But people fail to mention or think about how old I was at the time. If you listen to very early recordings of Jussi Björling, Enrico Caruso or Giuseppe di Stefano, they all have it. Eventually it settles down and matures.”

I can’t imagine what recordings he was listening to, but none of these singers had a rapid vibrato. Caruso changed the way tenors sang by almost eliminating vibrato. We have recordings of these three when they were much younger than Calleja is now and there’s no rapid vibrato. The only major tenor of the post Caruso era who had it was Franco Corelli and he worked very hard to lose it. After 1955 it was gone. This vocal tic doesn’t bother many listeners. I’m put off by it. You’ll have to make up you own mind about it.

But aside from this vocal characteristic, this is a major voice that should be at its peak for the next 20 years. If you like tenors, this is a must have album. The two duets are particularly well done. In the Boheme Calleja opts not to take the high note at its end. A decision I think wise. It makes for a lovelier conclusion. The Pearlfishers duet is  intrinsically beautiful and gets the singing it deserves.

Just for fun here’s Calleja singing the first act aria from Tosca. Calleja Recondita armonia.

Compare to Caruso’s 1909 recording (he was 36 then). Caruso Recondita armonia

Now here’s Gigli singing the same aria when he was 28. Gigli Recondita armonia.

Di Stefano recorded this version when he was three years younger than Calleja. Di Stefano Recondita armonia.

Jussi Björling was 48 when this recording was made at the Met. As there was never a broadcast of Tosca with  Björling, it seems that the prompter preserved this performance. You can hear him easily. Jussi Bjorling Recondita armonia.

Finally, listen to Fernando de la Mora sing the piece. Fernando who? Well, this fine artist shows how more than talent is needed to succeed in any profession. He released a CD in 1996, made a few appearances at the Met, but never had a high impact career. I heard him sing Hoffmann in Miami 10 or more years ago. His voice was glorious. I guess he didn’t have the backing that was needed to fully realize his gifts. But I suspect you’ll concede that his was a major voice. De La Mora Recondita armonia.

JOSEPH CALLEJA —The Maltese Tenor
1 Che gelida manina Puccini La Bohème
2 O soave fanciulla Puccini La Bohème
3 O inferno! … Sento avvampar nell’anima Verdi Simon Boccanegra
4 Il était une fois à la cour d’Eisenach Offenbach Les Contes d’Hoffmann
5 Recondita armonia Puccini Tosca
6 E lucevan le stelle Puccini Tosca
7 Dai campi, dai prati Boito Mefistofele
8 Giunto sul passo estremo Boito Mefistofele
9 Quel trouble inconnu me pénètre! … Salut! demeure chaste et pure
Gounod Faust
10 Ma se vi talenta … Tra voi, belle, brune e bionde Puccini Manon Lescaut
11 Donna non vidi mai Puccini Manon Lescaut
12 Je suis seul! Seul enfin! … Ah! Fuyez, douce image Massenet Manon
13 Oh! fede negar potessi agli occhi miei! … Quando le sere al placido
Verdi Luisa Miller
14 Forse la soglia attinse … Ma se m’è forza perderti
Verdi Un ballo in maschera
15 De mon amie, fleur endormie … Léila! Léila! Dieu puissant …
Ton cœur n’a pas compris le mien! Bizet Les Pêcheurs de perles

Joseph Calleja tenor
with Aleksandra Kurzak soprano
Chœur d’hommes du Grand Théâtre de Genève 4
Chorus master: Ching-Lien Wu
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Marco Armiliat

Another January birthday anniversary is that of Marilyn Horn (born January 16, 1934). This incomparable singer set the standard for mezzo-soprano singing for most of the second half of the 20th century. She was one of those few performers whose artistry defied description; you had to hear her to believe that a human being could do what she did with seeming ease – obviously nobody no matter how gifted gets this good without years of hard work. Below are eight photos Ms Horn taken by Robert Cahen. A bonus: a sound file of her singing “Rammenta chi sei” from Rossini’s Semiramide. It was in the Swan of Pesaro’s operas that she was without peer.

Rammenta chi sei – Marilyn Horne

Rossini: Italian Girl SF Opera 1964 with Spiro Malas

With Senator Feinstein, then Mayor of SF, and Gen. Dir. Kurt Herbert Adler at Opera in the Park 1981

Rossini: Cenerentola SF Opera 1982

Verdi: Falstaff with Invar Wixell

Rossini: L'Ialiana in Algeri 1986

Book Jacket Cover

Photo in Half Moon Bay DECCA Cover

Rossini: Tancredi LA Opera

To mark the 70th anniversary of Placido Domingo’s birth (January 21, 1941), here are eleven photographs of the great artist taken by Robert Cahen. There is little to say about Domingo’s career that isn’t self evident. He’s had more roles than Parker House. He’s a tenor; he’s a baritone; he’s a conductor; he’s an administrator. He’s a phenomenon. There’s never been a career in opera approaching his.

Otello - San Francisco 1978

Samson brings down the Temple - San Francisco 1980

With Maestro Giulini - Los Angeles 1980

With John Denver - 1982

With Joan Collins - LA 1980

Calaf in Puccini's Turandot - LA 1984

Pinkerton in Butterfly - LA 1991

The Three Tenors with Zubin Mehta in Rome 1991

Rome 1991 -the final note of the First Concert-Vincero from "Nessun Dorma"

El Gato Montes - LA 1994

Otello at the Met

If a knowledgeable opera goer were asked to name the most demanding and beautiful bel canto aria written for the soprano voice “Casta diva” from Bellini’s Norma or “Bel raggio lusinghier” from Rossini’s Semiramide or perhaps “Regnava nel silenzio” from Donizetti’s Lucia Di Lammermoor might head the list. But to my ears nothing is as beautiful and asks more from the singer than “D’amor sull’ali rosee” from the fourth act of Verdi’s Il Trovatore. It’s also the last bel canto aria in the long series started by Rossini just as it’s parent opera is the last bel canto opera in the same series. Thereafter Verdi took the genre in a new direction.

The standard for this piece was set 60 years ago by the greatest Verdi soprano I ever heard – Zinka Milanov. Milanov was born in Zagreb, Croatia in 1906. She died in New York City in 1989. he career was centered at the Metropolitan Opera where during the early and mid fifties she was the prima donna assoluta at the house. In almost six decades of opera going I have never heard her like. Her voice was pure gold and she had the unique ability to spin high outs notes that seemed to take on a life of their own and float through the house like soaring swans.

D’amor sull’ali rosee (Milanov). Listen to this before judging what some of the great sopranos of the past and present can do with it.

When Montserrat Caballé (born 1933) first appeared at the Met, Milanov remarked that she sounded like “early me.” This was true of her beautifully modulated pianissimos; but the Catalan artist did not have the vocal richness that characterized Milanov’s middle and lower ranges. Nevertheless, she was one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century in the Italian repertoire of the first half of the 19th century. D’amor sull’ali rosee (Caballé).

Leontyne Price (born 1927) succeeded Milanov as the Met’s great Verdi soprano. She made a sensational debut in 1961 at the Met as Leonora in Il Trovatore (also Franco Corelli’s debut). She sang this role 27 times at the Met. I heard her throughout her career and think she was better 10 years into her Met career than she was at its start, which is saying a lot as she was very good indeed when she first arrived at the New York house. Her voice had a unique smoky quality to it that instantly identified her to the listener. This recording was made close to the time of her Met debut. L Price – D’amor sull’ali rosee

Maria Callas (1923-77) is next. She has passed into legend and is the only soprano whom everybody knows regardless of how little they care about opera. She was a marvel at interpretation and was a great actress. The sound of her voice was not particularly appealing. She also had the inestimable luck to be the darling of most of the influential critics of her time  as well as those who followed. If you gave me the choice of attending a performance of Trovatore with either Milanov or Callas as Leonora, I’d take the former in a millisecond. Tosca would be another matter. The legend has far outpaced reality. She was an exceptional artist, but there were many others just as gifted. Of course, the legend will prevail. Callas – D’amor sull’ali rosee.

Claudia Muzio (1989-1936) was brought up in the opera house. Her father was a stage manager at both Covent Garden and the Met. She was famous for the beauty of her tone, the emotional content of her singing, and for her pianissimo - but no trills. Most of her recordings, unfortunately, are of poor quality as is this one. Muzio – D’amor sull’ali Rosee.

Rosa Ponselle (1897-1981) was a phenomenon. She made her operatic debut, at the Met no less, opposite Enrico Caruso as Verdi’s other Leonora (La Forza Del Destino) at the age of 21. She retired before she was 40. When everyone at the Met was going crazy over Milanov the old timers said, “But you should have heard Ponselle.” She was unquestionably the greatest soprano America has produced. She had a dark, seamless, and rich voice on top of an almost flawless technique. Ponselle -D’amor sull’ali rosee. Because of the time limits of acoutic recording the recitative is omitted on this recording made the same year of her debut – ie, when she was 21.

If you heard Renata Tebaldi (1922-2004) during the last 10 years of her career, you listened to a lot of off pitch screaming. But in the fifties, especially, she had a big gorgeous voice that was among the greatest of the 20th century. She couldn’t trill and her floated pianissimos were not in the same league with Milanov or Caballé, but she nonetheless was worth a special trip to hear. Tebaldi – D’amor sull’ali rosee.

Among singers currently active, the American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky (born 1969) is the leading exponent of this role. She can float high notes virtually equal to those of her great antecedents. Radvanovsky – D’amor sull’ali rosee.

The Italian and English lyrics to the song are below.

Vanne,
Lasciami, né timor di me ti prenda…
Salvarlo io potrò forse.
(Ruiz si allontana)
Timor di me?… sicura,
Presta è la mia difesa.
I suoi occhi figgonsi ad una gemma che le fregia la mano destra.
In quest’oscura
Notte ravvolta, presso a te son io,
E tu nol sai… Gemente
Aura che intorno spiri,
Deh, pietosa gli arreca i miei sospiri…

D’amor sull’ali rosee
Vanne, sospir dolente:
Del prigioniero misero
Conforta l’egra mente…
Com’aura di speranza
Aleggia in quella stanza:
Lo desta alle memorie,
Ai sogni dell’amor!
Ma deh! non dirgli, improvvido,
Le pene del mio cor!

Go … leave me,
and don’t fear for me.
I can save him, perhaps.
Ruiz retires.
Fear for me? … Sure
and ready is my protection.
She looks at a ring on her right hand.
Shrouded in this dark night,
I’m near you, and you don’t know it!
Moaning wind, you who blow here,
ah, mercifully take my sighs to him.

On the rosy wings of love
go, oh mournful sigh;
comfort the flagging spirits
of the wretched prisoner.
Like a breath of hope
flutter in that room;
waken in him the memories,
the dreams, the dreams of love.
But, pray, don’t imprudently tell him
the pangs, the pangs that rack my heart!

The photos below were all taken by Robert Cahen for the San Francisco Opera. They were given to me by Mr Cahen and are used with his permission.

Joyce DiDonato as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier 2007

Juan Diego Florez as Tonio in La fille du régiment 2009

Angela Gheorghiu as Magda in La Rondine 2007

Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Don Giovanni 1999

Bryn Terfel as Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro 1997

Ramón Vargas as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore 2008

Dolora Zajick as Hérodiade 1994

Susan Graham as Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking 2000

Olga Borodina as Carmen 1996

After several shows of non-standard opera the Met telecasts returned to most standard of standard operas – Gounod’s masterpiece Faust. This performance  (Dec 10, 2011) was the 737th time the company has presented this work which was once such a staple at the Met that it earned the house the sobriquet of Faustspiehaus.  This new production staged by Broadway director Des McAnuff is temporally challenged. McAnuff moved it to some time in the first half of the 20th century, but everyone seems unsure exactly when the action takes place.

The telecast’s announcer, Joyce DiDonato, said that the action took place in 1945 and that Faust was a disillusioned nuclear physicist. Bass René Pape who played Méphistophélès said the story had unfolded between the two world wars. But the soldiers played by the beyond draft age chorus went off to war in the second act and returned in the fourth. So that ruled out the above two conjectures. They also wore uniforms resembling those of the French army in World War I. An atom bomb went off in fifth act bring us back to 1945. Maybe all this was intended. But if the music goes off as intended all this time travel makes no difference.

The sets were a mix of pipes and bomb-like gear. The above picture tells you what you need to know about them. The had the virtue of allowing the action to flow from one scene to the next without delay preventing the opera from dragging into the evening’s performance.

But again, none of the above matters if the singers and the orchestra are up to the task set by Gounod’s glorious music. It’s been de rigueur almost since the opera’s premiere in 1859 to downgrade to work as kitsch or low brow farina for the culturally unenlightened, but audiences have flocked to it despite the scorn of their betters. And as everyone should know, the opera world’s numero uno, Giuseppe Verdi, considered the audience (over the long haul) the only reliable critic; this critic has declared Faust a great opera

Jonas Kaufmann in the title role continues to be extraordinarily impressive. He has a dark voice with baritonal overtones. The voice is sizable and shows as I’ve previously mentioned that he’s ready to move on to heavier roles. Most of the choice Verdi parts seem ideal for him. He’s very good looking and has a graceful and intelligent stage presence. He sing with style and modulates his tone to suit the text and music. And while he can sing high notes softly he cannot do it with full vocal support, even Jussi Björling couldn’t do so. In the recording age, the two exemplars of filatura were Miguel Fleta and Giuseppe Di Stefano. No tenor since Pippo has mastered this technique. But this quibble aside, Kaufmann is a major figure who is just entering his vocal prime and who has a good shot at becoming the leading spinto tenor of his time.

Equally impressive,was the Marguerite of Russian soprano Maria Poplavskaya. She has a lovely lyric voice and is an artist who inhabits her roles. She went from virginal naïveté to betrayed and abandoned lover with passion and conviction – a moving performance. That she accomplished this despite having to wear padding to make her appear pregnant in the fourth act  is remarkable; the libretto clearly states that she has already born Faust’s child by this time. Worse still was her delivering her baby on stage, but out of view, and then drowning it in a sink. I’m probably making it sound a little worse than it was – but just a little. Marguerite is the center of this opera especially with the restoration of the first scene of the fourth act with its touching aria “Il ne revient pas.”

Pape was a big hit with the Met’s live audience, but to me his voice sounded dry and not as rich and refulgent as it has on previous outings. His devil was a distinctly Teutonic one and displayed little of the Gallic charm that other great basses have coated Gounod’s Mephisto. Russell Braun has a rich and vibrant baritone. He gave a superb rendition of “Avant de quitter ces lieux” and was equally impressive in his death scene where he repeatedly curses Marguerite. Michèle Losier was effective as Siébel.

Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has the score down pat. He supported the singers with feeling and sensitivity and got a rich sound out of the Met’s great orchestra. He doesn’t dawdle and is in tune with the passion and pathos that Gounod suffuses Faust’s score. Given his youth he should be a great asset to the Met over the coming decades.

In summary a first rate performance of one of opera’s great masterpieces. If you missed it, catch the replay. Barbara Willis Sweete’s TV direction was unobtrusive and effective. She’s getting better

FAUST
Charles Gounod-Jules Barbier/Michel Carré

Faust……………….Jonas Kaufmann
Marguerite…………..Maria Poplavskaya
Méphistophélès……….René Pape
Valentin…………….Russell Braun
Siebel………………Michèle Losier
Marthe………………Wendy White
Wagner………………Jonathan Beyer

Conductor……………Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Production…………..Des McAnuff
Set Designer…………Robert Brill
Costume Designer……..Paul Tazewell
Lighting Designer…….Peter Mumford
Choreographer………..Kelly Devine
Video Designer……….Sean Nieuwenhuis
TV Director………….Barbara Willis Sweete

The following is the summary of a book chapter written by Sandra Sabatini and me in Advances in Pathogensis of Diabetic Nephropathy published by Nova. The chapter details the current state of our knowledge about globular hyperfiltration as a causal event in the glomerulosclerosis that characterizes diabetic nephropathy. The entire chapter is appended below as a pdf file.

The pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy is doubtless multifactorial. Hyperfiltration secondary to a rise in glomerular capillary pressure is key in increasing SNGFR in early disease. It appears that physical factors, (i.e., stretch or sheer stress) lead to events at the cellular level which increase certain growth factors including epidermal growth factor, TGF-β1, AngII, and VEGF. All of these stimulate an increase in mesangial matrix either by stimulating collagenous or non-collagenous protein synthesis or both. This enlargement of the mesangium affects the glomerular podocytes and their negative charge on the glomerular basement membrane, thus allowing proteins to be excreted in the urine. The cascade for diabetic nephropathy is now set in motion. Identifying patients early so that regression of the renal abnormalities, not progression, is key.

Role of Hyperfiltration in the Pathogenesis of Diabetic Nephropathy

Handel’s opera Rodelinda was broadcast on the Metropolitan Opera’s HD network today. First performed in 1725 it was performed for the first time by the company in 2004. The reason for the opera’s emergence from the dustbin of operatic history was Renée Fleming who performed the title role that season and again during the following one. This revival also features her in the lead part.

Handel’s operas have not been a prominent part of the Met’s offering in its more than one and a quarter centuries of its operatic life. In fact, the first Handel opera wasn’t staged by the Met until 1984 – Rinaldo with Marilyn Horn and Sam Ramey. There’s a very good reason for this omission. Handel was during his lifetime the most popular and accomplished composer of operas in the world. But these works were very different from those which comprise the standard operatic repertoire – ie, those composed by Mozart all the way to the end of Richard Strauss’ career.

Baroque opera consists mainly of a succession of da capo arias. This form is in three parts. A first section followed by a different one which in turn was followed by the markings – da capo, “from the beginning.” This repeat was expected to be ornamented and embellished by the singer. This resulted in lots of musical fireworks often at the expense of art. Furthermore many of the most important roles were written for castrati. These castrated males had the vocal range of sopranos and mezzo-sopranos, but were said to have more vocal brilliance, power, and stamina than their female counterparts. The best of them were the superstars of their day. There is almost no ensemble singing in these operas. Rodelinda has a duet near the end of the second act and a quintet at the opera’s end. That’s it. All the rest is recitative and da capo arias.

There seem to many people who like this sort of stuff and who are delighted at the reemergence of Handel’s operas from their long neglect. I’m not one of them. Three hours of da capo arias with their endless repeats makes Philip Glass seem the soul of variety. As there are no longer any castrati around, we can all agree that this is a turn for the better, the solution has been to assign these roles to a woman (for instance, Marilyn Horn as Rinaldo) or to give them to countertenors. This was the choice made by the Met for Rodelinda. There are two such roles in this opera.

The problem with using countertenors in roles written for castrati is that they lack the power and vocal heft needed for these roles. Listening to men sing falsetto for hours is painful to ears used to Verdi. Andras Scholl sang the role of the deposed king Bertarido, while the afternoon’s other countertenor, Iestyn Davies, portrayed his friend Unulfo. They both were fine if you can get past their small voices produced entirely in the throat. As for me, bring back Marilyn Horn.

But these men were not the reason to go to this show, assuming you like this kind of music, the two female leads were. Renée Fleming was beautiful both of voice and look and thus provided the main reason to mount this opera. She has the sound and style needed for Handel. “Io t’abbraccio” the opera’s only duet was sung (with Scholl) with sensitivity and pathos that brought out the emotion of the reunion of Rodelinda with her husband. It was the highlight of the performance.

Stephanie Blythe was the conflicted sister of Bertarido in love with the usurper Grimoaldo, tenor Joseph Kaiser. Blythe has a remarkably pliant mezzo that is equally comfortable in both Wagner and Handel. A great artist. Kaiser was both vocally and dramatically convincing as the bad guy who reforms at the opera’s end.

Garibaldo, the work’s true villain, was sung by Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang. This 27 year old artist has a bright future. This is his third role at the Met which seems to be grooming him for a big career.

Baroque specialist Harry Bicket had the down sized orchestra under firm control. Though there didn’t seem to be a lot of ornamentation and embellishment allowed from the singers in the da capo part of the endless arias the comprise almost the totality of the opera. We can only guess what this and Handel’s other operas sounded like to their 18th century audiences.

Director Stephen Wadsworth moved the action from the 7th century to the 18th. Thomas Lynch’s  mammoth sets moved sideways and up and down. Nothing like this would have been possible at the Haymarket Theater in 1725. But given the Met’s extraordinary technical assets, they were effective and along with Martin Pakledinaz’s opulent 18th century costumes seemed apposite to the score.

TV director Matthew Diamond, who made his Met debut with this broadcast, struck the right balance with his cameras. There were no annoying ultra close close-ups. He was unobtrusive which is exactly what he should be.

In summary, if baroque opera is high on your list, this show was perfect. If a nap at the opera was part of your plans, I found this one not conducive to 40 winks – countertenors and da capos arias can cause nightmares.

RODELINDA
George Frideric Handel–Nicola Francesco Haym

Rodelinda…………….Renée Fleming
Grimoaldo……………Joseph Kaiser
Garibaldo……………Shenyang
Eduige………………Stephanie Blythe
Bertarido……………Andreas Scholl
Unulfo………………Iestyn Davies
Flavio………………Moritz Linn

Continuo:
Harry Bicket, Harpsichord recitative
Bradley Brookshire, Harpsichord ripieno
David Heiss, Cello
Daniel Swenberg, Lute, Baroque Guitar, and Theorbo

Conductor……………Harry Bicket

Production…………..Stephen Wadsworth
Set Designer…………Thomas Lynch
Costume Designer……..Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting designer…….Peter Kaczorowski
TV Director………….Matthew Diamond [Debut]