February 01, 2006 Arts » Feature

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Steeper by the Dozen 

Broadway excursion nets 12 high-end shows

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Wozzeck (Rating: ***1/2) -- Met maestro James Levine knows this Alban Berg masterwork to the bone, so the music sweeps thrillingly over us from beginning to end. Alan Held brings a powerful presence and a slightly robotic attitude to the title role, nicely balancing Franz Wozzeck's menace and malleability. As Marie, the ultimate victim of Wozzeck's volatility, Katarina Dalayman is the best I've seen live, easily comparable to the best I've heard on CD.

So where does this Met production fall short? In the utterly uninspired set design by Robert Israel, which makes Wozzeck look too small for the house, however fine it sounds.

L'Elisir d'Amore (Rating: ***) -- Sweet-sounding tenor Ramon Vargas is as short on charisma as ever, but he finds an ideal outlet as the nebbishy Nemorino in Donizetti's tuneful farce. Trouble is, he's paired with Ruth Ann Swenson, whose Adina doesn't justify Vargas' transports of desire.

Peter Coleman-Wright (as the foppish Sergeant Belcore) and Andrew Shore (as Doctor Dulcamara) come comically to the rescue, immersing themselves with brio in John Copley's bubbly production concept. I think it's C-W who sports the painted mustache. Even if Swenson is past her prime, it's all a delightful prank.

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