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Sunday, March 01, 2009

La Sonnambula

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Photo: Brigitte Lacombe/Metropolitan Opera

The final dress rehearsal of La Sonnambula at the Metropolitan Opera was open to the public and free (people got in line up to four hours early for tickets). It’s not appropriate to review a dress rehearsal, since it’s not an actual performance and criticizing anything would be unfair. Not to worry—there was little to complain about in this delightful, gorgeously sung and produced confection. The plot is dumb (innocent girl sleepwalks into bed of mysterious count; boyfriend freaks out), but Mary Zimmerman’s show-within-a-show structure makes it more interesting. Bellini’s music is glorious, and the amazing cast, led by the wonderful Natalie Dessay as the sleepwalker, sings it gloriously.

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