SANTA FE, N.M. — There were, it’s true, some great whoops and enthusiastic applause Tuesday night after several big — and I do mean big — arias in Gregory...
L-R: Jennifer Johnson Cano , Michael Mayes and Elena Villalón in Santa Fe Opera's "The Righteous."SANTA FE, N.M. — There were, it’s true, some great whoops and enthusiastic applause Tuesday night after several big — and I do mean big — arias in Gregory Spears’ new operaI was not. And it was more of the same in the second half. Three hours, with one intermission, felt like five. I kept checking my watch.
Spears often scores important syllables in singers’ lower ranges, where they tend to disappear, but conductor Jordan de Souza too often let, or encouraged, the orchestra to play too loudly to balance. Much of the orchestral writing generically thuds and pulses beneath gently unsettled dissonances, except when it whips up Hollywood climaxes. Big brassy explosions sometimes seem gratuitous fillers, and they were certainly loud and raw Tuesday night.
First as a preacher, then as governor , David craves power at whatever cost to morality. With a hefty baritone, Michael Mayes embodies the energy and veneer of sincerity that wins David two wives in succession. Each soon realizes she has become a mere pawn.David marries into Paul’s money and power via his daughter Michele, powerfully incarnated by mezzo Jennifer Johnson Cano.
Tenor Brenton Ryan is CM, Paul’s friend and enabler. Tenors Andrew Turner and Nicholas Newton are ardently effective as, respectively, Eli and the pastor Jacob. Sopranos Jazmine Saunders and Natasha Isabella Gesto are aptly contrasted as Suzanne, daughter from Sheila’s marriage to Eli, and her college roommate Deirdre.The chorus, prepared by Susanne Sheston, supplies stirring religious sentiments, but also unsettling offstage murmurs.
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