<<  -- 2 --  Maria Nockin    MOLTEN SILVER

Conductor, Gareth Morrell, directed the Symphony Orchestra of Puerto Rico in a well paced, accurately played rendition of the score that brought out the composer's variegated orchestral colors. Except for a very few occasions, he never allowed the instrumentalists to overwhelm the singers. The haunting English horn solo in the third act was played with exquisite phrasing by Gloria Navarro.

Puerto Rico born tenor, Antonio Barasorda, sang his first Tristan with brawny, dark tones. His acting was convincing and he paced himself very well for the most part. He seemed to be low on energy at the end of the second act but came back in Act III completely renewed with full vocal resources. Jane Eaglen has a huge, exciting voice with enough of an edge to cut through the lush Wagnerian orchestration. Although she did not give much of a physical portrayal of Isolde, she gave a well thought out vocal interpretation of the Irish princess. Her top notes, in particular, were molten silver.

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