Der Rosenkavalier, Boston Symphony Hall: Oct 1, 2016
Susan Graham and conductor Nelson take a bow.
In this opera, the ('trouser') role of the young (male) count is sung by a mezzo. Sometimes this use of mezzos, though disorienting to new listeners, allows the creation of truly remarkable vocal combinations, such as this matchless duet in which the brilliant American mezzo, Joyce DiDonatao, sings the role of Romeo with the soprano playing Juliet, in Bellini's "I Capuleti & Montecchi."
This is not uncommon in opera, where gender-bending assignments may have originated in the era of the castratti, now sometimes sung by male "counter-tenors" in a clear falsetto. We atttended a performance of Handel's Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) in which the soprano role of Cleopatra is joined by a counter-tenor as the Egyptian King Ptolemy and Cleopatra's lover, Julius Ceasar, was sung by a mezzo- soprano.
DiDonato has played numerous trouser roles in operas such as Rossini's "Le comte Ory", a bedroom farce in which the male page Isolier (played by DiDonato in the red coat) unwittingly confides his love for the countess to the Count (sung by Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flores) shown here with a beard for disguise.
Der Rosenkavalier, Boston Symphony Hall: Oct 1, 2016
Susan Graham and conductor Nelson take a bow.
In this opera, the ('trouser') role of the young (male) count is sung by a mezzo. Sometimes this use of mezzos, though disorienting to new listeners, allows the creation of truly remarkable vocal combinations, such as this matchless duet in which the brilliant American mezzo, Joyce DiDonatao, sings the role of Romeo with the soprano playing Juliet, in Bellini's "I Capuleti & Montecchi."
This is not uncommon in opera, where gender-bending assignments may have originated in the era of the castratti, now sometimes sung by male "counter-tenors" in a clear falsetto. We atttended a performance of Handel's Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) in which the soprano role of Cleopatra is joined by a counter-tenor as the Egyptian King Ptolemy and Cleopatra's lover, Julius Ceasar, was sung by a mezzo- soprano.
DiDonato has played numerous trouser roles in operas such as Rossini's "Le comte Ory", a bedroom farce in which the male page Isolier (played by DiDonato in the red coat) unwittingly confides his love for the countess to the Count (sung by Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flores) shown here with a beard for disguise.