Bergonzi Sings Just 2 Acts of 'Otello'

   By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
   New York Times, 5 May 2000

   It says a great deal about the esteem in which the tenor Carlo
   Bergonzi is held that so many renowned artists came to Carnegie Hall
   on Wednesday night to hear this legendary singer, one month shy of
   his 76th birthday, take on the one Verdi role that had eluded him
   during his long career, Otello.  The occasion was a concert performance
   with the conductor Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York.

   All three of the Three Tenors -- Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti
   and Jose Carreras -- were seated together in a box.  James Levine,
   on his night off from a performance of Wagner's "Ring" at the
   Metropolitan Opera this week, showed up, as well as Sherrill Milnes,
   Anna Moffo, Lucine Amara, Licia Albanese and other illustrious artists.

   Mr.  Bergonzi was still singing wonderfully into his 60's.  But his
   longevity came in part from avoiding roles that were too weighty for
   his voice -- like Otello.  Apparently, he has been studying this most
   daunting of roles for more than two years.  When he broached the idea
   of singing it for the first time at 75, he must have seemed foolhardy.
   Ms.  Queler, who collaborated with Mr.  Bergonzi on six occasions,
   was willing to oblige him.

   But after the sad spectacle of Wednesday night's performance, Ms.
   Queler will have to ask herself whether this time she was Mr.
   Bergonzi's collaborator or his enabler.  Halfway through he had to
   withdraw.  At intermission a shaken official from the company announced
   that Mr.  Bergonzi was indisposed and that Acts III and IV would be
   sung by the tenor Antonio Barasorda, who had performed the role
   recently with Ms.  Queler in Mexico.

   Mr.  Bergonzi's reputation in opera history is assured and his recorded
   legacy is extensive and important.  This misguided performance will
   be forgotten.  Still, Ms.  Queler and the presenters who heavily
   promoted the event should do some soul-searching.

   Even in his prime, Mr.  Bergonzi never had a glamour voice, like his
   contemporaries Mario Del Monaco and Franco Corelli.  But he was a
   resplendent singer whose rich tenor was tinged with a baritonal color
   in the low range, free and clear in the top, and even throughout.
   His ability to spin an arching Verdi line on one breath was exemplary.

   Now and then, a soaring phrase recalled the great Bergonzi of the
   past.  But for the most part he struggled through the role with scant
   emotional impact, his eyes fixed on his score, his hand cupping his
   left ear, probably to shut out instruments hindering his sense of
   pitch.

   Today as much as ever Mr.  Bergonzi has a complete understanding of
   vocal technique.  But the diaphragm, vocal cords, lungs and throat
   are subject to the aging process.  No doubt Mr.  Bergonzi really was
   feeling indisposed.  But Ms.  Queler, and even he, must know that
   was not the problem.

   In a few places, during the Act II quartet, for one, he dropped out
   entirely during a few phrases; occasionally he had to take a high-lying
   phrase down an octave.  This would not be deserving of mention had
   not Mr.  Bergonzi in recent interviews made a point of insisting that
   he would sing the role as written, with no downward transpositions.
   This was clearly a competitive poke at Mr.  Domingo, the great Otello
   of the last 20 years, who took quite a bit of overheated criticism
   this fall at the Met for singing a portion of Act II in a version
   scored down a half-step.

   Not surprisingly, the Opera Orchestra's overall performance of "Otello"
   was shaky, probably because during rehearsals and in concert everyone
   involved was trying to accommodate Mr.  Bergonzi.  In the first two
   acts the orchestra played for Ms.  Queler with caution and raggedness.
   When the husky-voiced Mr.  Barasorda took over for Mr.  Bergonzi the
   energy level picked up somewhat, but the playing was still lax.  Only
   when the soprano Kallen Esperian scaled down her penetrating spinto
   soprano voice to shape the gently sorrowful phrases of Desdemona's
   "Willow Song" did a performance of "Otello" finally seem to be
   happening.

   Alberto Gazale, a young Italian baritone, made his American debut as
   Iago.  Though he has a hardy voice, he tends to push for sound.  He
   might drop in on Mr.  Bergonzi's public master class tonight at Hunter
   College.  In sharing what he knows Mr.  Bergonzi can truly continue
   to nurture the art form he has served so well.

Scott Morrison