Noah Stewart's ringing tenor highlights Portland Opera's "Tosca"

Alexandra LoBianco and Noah Stewart | Photo by Cory Weaver

Noah Stewart stole the show on opening night (October 29) of Portland Opera’s recent production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” His portrayal of Tosca’s lover Cavaradossi, replete with ringing top notes, was stunning. His “Vittoria! Vittoria!” practically blew the roof off of Keller Auditorium, which is hard to do, given the size of the place. But he wasn’t a tenor with only double-fortes in his holster. He captivated the audience with a soul-searching “E lucevan le stelle” and easily scaled his voice down to soft pianissimos that evoked passion and sensitivity.

Alexandra LoBianco, in the title role, displayed a gorgeous timbre from the tip-top notes to the depths of the soprano register. Her singing of “Vissi d’arte” was convincing, but she needed more volume to match up with Stewart. LoBianco’s portrayal of a jealous and somewhat shallow woman who turns into a heroine was spot on, and at one point in the second act, she became so deeply involved in her character that, when trying to evade the clutches of the chief of police, Scarpia, she forcefully banged into the stage scenery.

In creating a thoroughly despicable Scarpia, Gordon Hawkins exuded an unhurried, powerful, and menacing presence – all of which was lubricated by his polished baritone. Katherine Goforth’s Spoletta deftly showed fearlessness and fearfulness while helping to carry out Scarpia’s designs. This contrasted well with the Zachary Lenox’s Sciarrone, who aided and abetted Scarpia without hesitation. Deac Guidi fashioned a buffo Sacristan with a duo nature – pious on the outside yet not above taking money from the church’s coffers. As the escaped political prisoner, Angelotti, Damien Geter could have been more desperate, but his role as the bored jailer worked well.

Gordon Hawkins |  Photo by Cory Weaver

 Linda Brovsky, in her Portland Opera debut as stage director, paced the story crisply, providing a nuance here and there, such as Spoletta surreptitiously making the sign of the cross when he had to oversee one of Scarpia’s nasty requests. Traditional costumes by Christine A. Richardson were perfectly attuned to the scenery of the Stivanello Costume Company, which showed a tired and worn-out Rome. All was expertly presented by Connie Yun’s lighting.

Deac Guidi | Photo by Cory Weaver

Although they had not played in twenty months because of the pandemic, the orchestra was fully revved up and charged into the music with gusto. Conductor Tiffany Chang, making her company debut on the podium, elicited a robust sound from the musicians. Nicholas Fox prepared the chorus, which sang with gusto

The evening began with general director Sue Dixon and artistic director Priti Gandhi extending a warm welcome to the audience before the curtain went up. If you missed this production, I can heartily recommend that you view it via Portland Opera Onscreen, which will be available from November 16 to December 31st. You will catch Stewart in a stellar performance, and that may be the harbinger of a pretty fantastic future for him.

Portland Concert Opera's Iolanta: Big Big voices in a small Old Church

Kimberly Giordano

Sunday April 3 saw the second concert of Portland Concert Opera's inaugural offering, Tchaikovsky's one-act opera Iolanta.  Performing at Portland's Old Church, the group delivered an exciting rendition that heralds a promising future.

Consisting of active professional opera singers, the level of talent in this one small building was staggering. Kimberly Giordano sang the title role with a warm and remarkably polished voice. She invested the role with true emotion that only added to her vocal performance; when toward the end Iolanta could finally see, there was nothing lacking for a sense of wonder and amazement in her rendering.

Bass Damien Geter's King Rene was amazing to listen to. Possessed of a rolling, resonant voice even at the lowest register, both his performance in ensembles and as a soloist was compelling. Zachary Lenox sang the role of Ibn Hakia, and his Monologue was driving and pointed--one could feel the tension crackling between Ibn Hakia and the king. Also of note was Aaron Short, singing the role of Vaudemont. It's always a pleasure to hear a tenor singing completely full-voiced and have it sound so effortless, natural and powerful.

It wasn't just the principals evincing an incredibly high caliber of singing. A number of voices familiar to Portland opera fans were among the group as well. Erik Hundtoft sang the role of Robert with gusto, singing a passionate and robust aria. Beth Madsen Bradford was Marta, and it was a sheer pleasure to hear the quality and richness as she sang deep into her modal voice early on. There were fine ensemble pieces, including a swooning trio with Marta, Brigitta (Jocelyn Claire Thomas) and Laura (Rebecca Sacks.)  The final chorus with the entire cast was epic, with a quiet a cappella moment after a spectacular fortissimo that was arresting in both effect and execution.

The small orchestra was full of excellent players as well, and artistic director Lance Inouye (also wielding the baton) clearly has a vision for this ensemble, a vision that should excite Portland opera goers and fans of downright excellent singing. If there was any problem at all it was that the voices were so large for such a small hall...but if that's a problem, it's one I'll gladly endure.