NY Trip part 3: A night at the Opera

A cold night left remains of snow outside our apartment.
We took a break from family activities to go to the Lincoln Center to see the Met production of I Puritani by Bellini. This work rarely appears in Australian repertory, and is regarded as the Sicilian short-lived composer's best work, showing off a heroine's role for Elvira as the coloratura soprano. The Met notes said that the role catapulted Maria Callas to fame, and was a good one for Joan Sutherland, who sang it more than once. We heard Olga Peretyatko, the wife of the conductor in her Met debut. The reviews were uniformly good, with this from the NY times:
"Olga Peretyatko’s company debut was highly anticipated, and proved highly rewarding. She possesses a spectacularly nimble voice, and displayed pinpoint coloratura. Her sound is light from low to high, her top is free and secure, and her intonation is about as close to perfect as it comes, once or twice reaching just barely shy of a high note. She threw out her staccati like darts, each one landing with a burst of light. It’s no wonder she was fearless with her ornamentation, climbing the ladder at every opportunity."
The opera was Queen Victoria's favourite, with both Puritans and Roundheads getting a good rap, though the Cavalier rescues the widow Queen from Parliament and gets the girl. We really liked the gentle music, though the sets lacked excitement, and costumes looked borrowed, especially when Roundhead soldiers turned up in Spanish conquistador helmets.

Photo: Olga Peretyatko as Elvira, in the NY times
Getting home from Columbus circle tested our subway skills, as our chosen line had stopped operating, and it took a little while to realise that in the absence of the C one boards the A, which at late night stops all stations instead of express.
Columbus circle seen from inside the Time Warner building:

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