In Review > North America
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
BOSTON
Opera Boston
4/30/10
Pitch-perfect: Blythe as Opera Boston's Grand Duchess
© Clive Grainger 2010
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It seems hardly likely there could have been a more joyous event on the planet than the opening night of Opera Boston's final production of the season, Jacques Offenbach's frothy military satire La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, featuring a dazzling performance by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe in the title role (seen Apr. 30). Setting the tone for the lively evening ahead, conductor Gil Rose led the orchestra in a sparkling reading of the overture, reveling in the buoyant wit of Offenbach's score. The pitch-perfect production, staged by David Kneuss and designed by Robert Perdziola, was old-fashioned in the best sense of the word, employing meticulous hand-painted scenic drops and lavish costumes to create the atmosphere of a nineteenth-century music hall.
The entire cast was a delight. Tenor Scott Ramsay was the good-humored but not-too-bright Fritz, a young recruit who finds himself the object of the Grand Duchess's amorous attentions and, with dizzying speed, is promoted through the ranks to Commander in Chief. Although Ramsay occasionally found himself near the edge of his vocal comfort zone, the sweetness of his voice, his bright smile and intrepid good cheer were irresistible. As Wanda, his sweetheart and the Grand Duchess's rival for his affections, soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer projected an appealing girl-next-door simplicity with a touch of the scrapper just beneath the surface.
Frank Kelley added to his list of comic creations a hilarious performance as the aide-de-camp Népomuc, demonstrating that there are infinite ways to cross a stage, each of them funnier than the last. James Maddalena, always a fine performer, surpassed his own high standards as the pompous General Boum, Fritz's sworn enemy; and Lee Gregory raised the level of pomposity even higher as Prince Paul, the Grand Duchess's wackily unsuitable suitor. Torrance Blaisdell completed the trio of Fritz's aristocratic enemies in a breezy, blustery performance as Baron Puck.
Standing at the delicious center of it all was Blythe, who gave a performance that will be remembered for years — detailed, charismatic, vocally ravishing and comedically brilliant. (It was worth the price of admission to witness her first meeting with Fritz, inspecting him from top to toe and saying to herself, "Fritz … how nice.") Her Grand Duchess was certainly a satiric portrait, but she was no caricature and never an easy target. Her declaration of love for Fritz, "Dites-lui qu'on l'a remarqué" (Tell him he has been noticed), was beautifully tender and sincere. She owned the stage (and the hearts of the audience) from her first entrance, radiating such pure joy in singing that the audience was eager to participate when she invited them to sing along with her on one of the choruses. One could resort to cliché and say that a singer such as Blythe comes along once in a generation, but that would be understating the case: once a century would be more accurate, and only if that century is very, very lucky indeed. 
KALEN RATZLAFF
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