The Canadian Opera Company ended its 2024/25 season with an extra treat for its audience. Instead of the usual spring offerings of two full-length operas, there was the addition of a single concert performance of a one-act work, the beloved Italian opera not seen locally for nearly a quarter century, Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana.
A check of the record books reveals that it was first staged by the COC way back in 1961, in its first season in the then brand-new O’Keefe Centre, now known as Meridian Hall. The last time it was seen at the COC was in 2001. Further digging reveals yet another intriguing nugget – Mascagni himself conducted this opera in Toronto way back in 1902!
One of the most popular operas of the Italian verismo genre, its gripping tale of love, jealousy, betrayal and revenge never goes out of style. According to statistics kept by Operabase, Cavalleria rusticana is ranked 25th in popularity amongst all operas, receiving an impressive 5,401 performances in 1,847 productions worldwide from 1996 to present.
On Friday, May 23rd, the Four Seasons Centre was filled to capacity by opera fans eager to experience its magic, albeit in a concert performance. The COC Orchestra was placed centre stage rather than down in the pit, while the 48-member COC Chorus was seated at the back and the small cast of five principals in front.
The cast was uniformly strong. Despite the cancellation of Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi who was supposed to make her COC debut as Santuzza, we got a worthy replacement in American soprano Marjorie Owens, who wowed Toronto audiences as Turandot (2019) and Senta (2022). Joining her was American tenor Russell Thomas (Turiddu), also well known to Toronto audiences having sung Otello, Pollione, Don José and Hoffmann with the COC.
Ukrainian bass-baritone Andrii Kymach, in town for Eugene Onegin, did double duty as Alfio. Completing the roster were mezzo Emily Treigle as an impossibly young Mamma Lucia, and COC Ensemble mezzo Queen Hezumuryango as Lola. Despite this being a concert, the effective use of images projected in the background helped set the mood.
Cavalleria is a showcase for top-tier voices, and this cast did not disappoint. Thomas, as the two-timing Turiddu, kicked things off with a full-throated “O Lola ch’ai di latti la cammisa” and later delivered an impassioned “Un bacio, mamma! Un altro bacio! Addio!” Owens’ powerful spinto was heard to advantage as Santuzza, albeit with a more pronounced vibrato and metal at the top register than of yore. That said, she sounded impressive in the Easter Hymn and later in the showstopping “Voi lo sapete.” There were plenty of fireworks in the Santuzza-Turiddu confrontation scene between Owens and Thomas.
Andrii Kymach was a vivid Alfio. His bass-baritone, while not conventionally warm and pretty, has just the right timbre for this role. The chorus is absolutely crucial in this opera, and the COC choristers rose to the challenge splendidly with an ethereal “Regina coeli” and a fervent Easter Hymn. Emily Treigle’s contralto was almost too youthful for Mamma Lucia, while Hezumuryango’s timbre was just right for Lola.
The orchestra, under COC Music Director Johannes Debus, was note perfect to my ears. I had great seats up front and the orchestra sounded terrific, and yet… if truth be told, I would have liked a bit more fire and brimstone in the proceedings, or should I say blood and guts! This is Italian verismo – it should be bursting with raw emotions. Doing it in concert form takes away some of its emotional power.
I hope the COC will bring it back in the not-too-distant future, fully staged, together with its operatic soulmate, Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci. Cav and Pag, anyone?
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Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent University. He is also a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His interest in music journalism focuses on voice, opera as well as symphonic and piano repertoires. He appears regularly as a panel member of the Big Canadian Opera Company Podcast. He has co-edited a book, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Culture, Performance, published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).
