Adriana Lecouvreur

Adrienne Lecouvreur was an actual actress who inspired Eugene Scribe to write a play that became a vehicle for Eleonora Duse and Sarah Bernhardt, which in turn formed the basis for this opera. The only work of Francesco Cilea to make it into the international repertory (largely as an opportunity for a fading diva to strut her stuff), Adriana Lecouvreur is an age-old story of unrequited affection, forbidden love, and revenge played out against the background of the Comédie Française. The plot follows a kind of ring around the romantic rosies with a pocketful of lethal posies (violets, in this case): Adriana presents her secret lover with the flowers; he's later tricked into offering them to her rival, who is in turn deceiving her own husband; and, ultimately, the fatal bouquet--heavily laced with poison--make their way back to our heroine, who obligingly inhales their perfume, and with satisfactorily operatic flair, succumbs in grand fashion, to general applause. Although the opera itself is not exactly a jewel, this production effectively maximizes every positive quality: the uniformly strong cast (right down to the last chorister)--which includes Daniela Dessi as Adriana, the estimable Olga Borodina as her rival, Princess of Bouillon; Sergei Larin as the lover, Moritz; and Carlo Guelfi as the forlorn Michonnet--all bring splendid vocal and dramatic credibility to the production; Roberto Rizzi Brignoli and the La Scala Orchestra provide momentum; and the beautiful sets and 18th-century period costumes help to form an artistic unity (even the inane ballet sequence, de rigueur for audiences of the day, is less embarrassing than usual). Presented in DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo, this Adriana Lecouvreur is proof positive that you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Reed)