Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera

I attended today's matinee performance of Verdi's Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera.  Thankfully, this was NOT a broadcast performance, so the lighting was normal and there was no distracting camera-work going on.  One could just concentrate on the opera without feeling one was in the midst of a film production.  For which I am most grateful.  I wish they could figure out a way to do the live broadcasts unobtrusively, so as not to distract the live audience.

That said, I thought this performance was musically and dramatically strong, but scenically weak.  The production is by David McVicar, with sets by Charles Edwards, costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, lighting by Jennifer Tipton and choreography by Leah Hausman (I assume that includes staging the sword fights, etc.). 

McVicar decided to reset the story from its historical time period to 300 years later, in early 19th century Spain during the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars.  No problem there, since I doubt that rendered much anachronistic -- although, come to think of it, I'm unsure why we would have sword-fighting rather than pistols at 20 paces for a duel between Count di Luna and Manrico....  As usual, no particular care is taken to make the words that are being sung match the sets or action.  So di Luna sings that he can tell that Leonora is still awake because of the light burning in her window.  Well, he sings this in front of a set that has several high window openings in it, but no light burns.  But who cares, after all - it's opera and the production designer can't be bothered to have more than a general idea of what the story is about.  This is just some provincial house, after all....  I was also not crazy about the sets, which I found really boring.  Blank high walls that swing about, providing no real evocation of any time or place.  It was virtually a "black and white" production.  I want local color.  I want a sense of some place.  I don't get it at most Met productions these days.  Is this about saving money, or is it based on some artistic vision that says that sets should be plain and ugly so as not to distract attention from the music???  But the visual is an important part of opera - these sets made you want to close your eyes and listen while imagining your own settings.  We did have in one part of the set a pit in the ground with a wooden column rising from the middle to suggest the "stake" at which Azucena's mother was burned, and some portable anvils for the anvil chorus...

But the musical production, conducted by the excellent Gianandrea Noseda, was aces in my opinion.  Although an announcement was made before the curtain went up that Dolora Zajick was singing with a respiratory complaint, I heard nothing amiss.  She was terrific as Azucena.  Perhaps at this point in her career she doesn't have the biggest, steadiest vocal production, but she was dramatically strong and the occasional intonation lapses did not bother me.  Dmitri Hvorostovsky has never let me down yet, and he didn't let me down with the Count, a really sterling rendition.  I'm not a big Marcelo Alvarez fan, although I did enjoy his performance as Rodolfo in the DVD of the Met's current Boheme production.  I thought he was fine as Manrico, certainly involved in the performance and singing quite effectively.  But to me the big star of this production was Sondra Radvanovsky as Leonora.  Wow!  Her death scene was very powerful, and all of her work was top drawer here.  The shorter supporting roles were also well taken, particularly Kwangchul Youn as Ferrando.  The Met chorus did well also, including one chorister with extraordinary muscular development playing the shirtless soldier in Act III!  The Anvil Chorus was superbly coordinated, showing that the Met has special casting calls at the nearby gym....