Word: countesses
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...James, the statue unearthed in the gardens is of Juno, and when the Count falls in love with it, the Countess cleverly has it reinterred and saves her marriage. In Musgrave, the statue is Ariadne, but only her pedestal is found. The Count is seduced by her laments, which only he -and the audience (Ariadne's music is on pre-recorded tape)-can hear. He redeems himself through a sort of Wagnerian metamorphosis in which he firs thinks of himself as Theseus, then realizes that the Countess (splendidly sung by a young newcomer, Soprano Cynthia Clarey) is his real...
...Rolfe said throughout his life, he found "the Faith comfortable and the Faithful intolerable." That he survived at all seems due to his unearthly genius as a con man. Writing from Italy, he styled himself the Rev. Rolfe; in England, he was Baron Corvo, grandson of an Italian countess. He continually sold his talent to benefactors, pledging pictures and books that rarely materialized...
...moments, then get rid of it in a hurry. Despite a few intonation problems in the high range, Soprano Patricia Craig of the New York City Opera made a soulful Lisa. The Italian soprano Magda Olivero brought her legendary stage authority to the role of the Countess, although there is not much left of a once distinctive voice. As the obsessed Herman, Jack Trussel was the highlight of the show. Here is an American singing actor with a riveting, haunting stage presence and a clear, powerful tenor voice to match...
...sadly, remind us of what a good production might have been like. There are, for example, the performances of Robert Suttton as Henrik Egerman, Fredrik's tormented son, whose passion for the ministry cloaks his passion for his stepmother, and of Caroline Jones, who is genuinely sympathetic as the Countess Charlotte Malcolm. If Charlotte's husband Carl Magnus (Nick Littlefield) is somewhat wooden, his stiffness is forgivable on two counts: first, he is, after all, no more than a "tin soldier," and secondly, he can sing. In this show, that is no small boon. On the other hand, Bonny...
Most of the other actors skillfully manipulate their minor roles with characteristic panache. Sarah McClusky's bubbling Countess Rostova is particularly entertaining as is Tom Myers'' self-important Napoleon Bonaparte. Chris Clemenson squeezes the wisdom of General Kutuzov from a wonderfully wizened frame. And John Blazo as the soldier Kuragin easily seduces Natasha with a slickness worthy of the serpent in the garden...