Music Director Andris Nelsons led a scaled-down Boston Symphony Orchestra in a delightful performance, featuring an outstanding cast, most of whom were making their BSO and Tanglewood debuts.
James Darrah Black’s simple yet effective concert staging had the singers moving about in front of the orchestra, interacting and singing from memory as they would in a full staging, yet working without scenery and only minimal props. Those missing elements, as well as mere suggestions of costume changes that would be instrumental to the plot in a production, taxed the imagination at times. Nevertheless, the principals gave uniformly excellent dramatic characterizations that successfully conveyed the story. Large video screens offered close-ups and wide scenes with English titles (as well as being projected above the stage).
German soprano Nikola Hillebrand brought a lovely voice and keen comedic sensibility to the crucial role of Susanna, around whom the plot revolves. Hillebrand excelled in duets and ensembles, and her only aria, ‘Deh! Vieni, non tardar’, in the final Act, was superbly rendered. American baritone Michael Sumuel was a wonderful Figaro, sincere in his love for Susanna and, although outwardly servile toward the Count, more than willing to take him on, as shown early on in ‘Se vuol ballare’. Also excellent were his sarcastic sendoff to Cherubino, ‘Non più andrai’ at the end of Act One, and his ‘Aprite un po’ quegl’occhi’ in the final Act, expressing his frustration with womankind.
As the Count and Countess, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins and German soprano Hanna-Elisabeth Müller made sparks fly. Hopkins’s portrayal of a scheming philanderer projected contrasting emotions –joy when the Count believes he has an assignation with Susanna in their duet, ‘Crudel! Perché finora’, and soon afterward rage on learning that he has been tricked, bent on vengeance in the terrific ‘Hai già vinto la causa! . . . Vedrò, mentr’io sospiro’. His comic timing was perfect in each surprising encounter with Cherubino, as well as when Susanna steps out of the Countess’s closet in Act Two. It is the Count’s plea for forgiveness in the opera’s final scene that allows a happy ending – although we can be fairly certain that he will stray again.
Müller’s ‘Porgi, amor’ lovingly introduced the Countess, whose scheming with Susanna and Figaro to entrap the Count added a delightful twist that set the principal plot in motion. Müller’s touching ‘Dove sono’ in Act Three was a highlight with Nelsons restraining the orchestra’s volume to allow both her vocal line and the interjections from John Ferillo’s oboe and Richard Svoboda’s bassoon to come through perfectly.
Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo was hilarious as Cherubino, convincingly portraying the page’s sexual obsession in her breathless ‘Non so più’ in Act One, and tenderly serenading the Countess with ‘Voi, che sapete’ in Act Two. And in the gender-bending sequences in which ‘he’ dons women’s clothes D’Angelo’s adeptness at physical comedy overcame the absence of a convincing change of attire.
American bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi as Doctor Bartolo and American mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Bishop as Marcellina portrayed Figaro’s antagonists, Bartolo declaring vengeance against Figaro in ‘La vendetta’, and Marcellina exuding hostility toward Susanna in Act One. But the surprising discovery in Act Three that they are actually Figaro’s parents, turns the plot upside down.
As Barbarina, soprano Eden Bartholomew, a TMC Vocal Fellow, gave a fine rendition of ‘L’ho perduta, me meschina’. There also were excellent performances by the remaining cast members, including tenor Rodell Rosel as Don Basilio, tenor Joshua Sanders as Don Curzio, and baritone Dean Murphy as Antonio. A group of Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows also performed admirably as members of the Count’s household staff.
Nelsons led a superb traversal, from the sprightly overture to the joyful finale, the musicians responding brilliantly. He chose comfortable tempos and restrained orchestral dynamics to not overwhelm the singers, whose collaborations kept their voices consistently in fine balance. Among many outstanding details, I was particularly struck by Nelsons’s careful management of the gradual crescendo of the wedding march at the end of Act Three and the sinuous fandango that it encompasses. Dennis Giauque’s harpsichord provided excellent accompaniments to recitatives.
Although my experience in the first few days of my stay at Tanglewood has largely been similar to what I encountered in my previous eight summers here, one thing is distinctly different this year. In protest of the BSO’s decision not to renew Andris Nelsons’s contract as Music Director beyond the 2026-2027 season, red flowers are being worn by virtually all of the BSO and TLC musicians and by Nelsons himself, as well as by many audience members. Moreover, Nelsons is being greeted at each event with an exceptionally vociferous ovation. Fortunately, the controversy does not appear to have diminished Tanglewood’s congenial atmosphere or the professionalism of its musical performances and education, which continue to flourish unabated.
