Newsday, April 2005

Once upon a time, Freedom Fries didn't exist, no one made apologies for charm and grace, and operas like Ambroise Thomas' Mignon (1866, revised 1870) ruled the boards.

As it happens, April 2005 is a throwback to those innocent days of musical Francophilia in New York. The Philharmonic just performed The Damnation of Faust by Berlioz; a new staging of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers opened yesterday at New York City Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera presents Gounod's once-ubiquitous Faust with a promising cast later this month.

Opera Orchestra of New York joined in the Gallic fun with a strong performance of Mignon, a tale of a waif raised by Gypsies, insulted by a coloratura hussy but (in the version given Thursday at Carnegie Hall) restored to the arms of her long-lost father and her one true love. A thing of dainty orchestrations and sweet melodies, Mignon offers few profundities, and Thomas shamelessly milks his big tunes. On the other hand, with tunes as good as his, who wouldn't milk them?

The evening's honors belonged to mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe in the title role. Right now, Blythe may be the finest singer in the world. Her voice is opulent, richly colored and overwhelming in impact, and she uses it with intelligence and unfussy good taste.

One might quibble that Blythe's sound is too mature for the fragile Mignon, that its enormous size and enveloping presence sometimes overwhelmed Thomas' diaphanous score. Still, the only real perplexity that arose was: Why aren't other companies trying harder to find roles to showcase her extraordinary gifts—Fidès in Meyerbeer's Le Prophète, for example, a work in the Metropolitan Opera's repertory?

Microbes did their part to make sharing the stage with Blythe even harder. As Wilhelm, cold-stricken tenor Massimo Giordano showed flashes of promise—a handsome lyric tenor, a warm and engaging personality—in spite of the congestion that compromised his tone and phrasing.

Soprano Eglise Gutiérrez, rumored to be nursing bronchial woes of her own, managed to serve up an impressive array of trills, iridescent runs and tripping flourishes. Resplendent in red satin and a sable wrap, she was a winning, elegantly imperious Philine.

John Relyea, whose rich, glamorous bass-baritone sounded less lustrous than usual, nonetheless brought gravity and Old World elegance to Lothario's "Fugitif et tremblant," which he graced with long, beautifully tapered phrases. Mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich's bright tone and saucy but ingenuous ways made a joy of Frédéric's "Me voici dans son boudoir." William Ferguson was a droll and stylish Laërte, and Charles Unice and Rubin Casas sang their smaller roles capably.

Eve Queler's tempos dragged, with scratchy string playing amid the ambrosial clouds of flute and harp arpeggios. Still, it was a joy to savor Blythe's triumph, and a pleasure to revisit Thomas' sweetly melodious opera.

MIGNON. Music by Ambroise Thomas, libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. Opera Orchestra of New York, Eve Queler conducting. Attended Thursday at Carnegie Hall. Information at www.oony.org or 212-799-1982.