“I go now to the Styx, the sacred river!” sang the soprano, and flingingaside her dagger, collapsed on the stage. As the curtain fell, buxomEileen Farrell hoisted herself to her feet, trudged back to herdressing room and sighed: “When I’m through this role, I’ll be readyfor the paddy wagon.”
For Soprano Farrell and the San Francisco Opera, last week’sopening-night performance of Luigi Cherubini’s Medea was both trial andtriumph. The title role is one of the most exhausting in all opera:Medea is on stage for 80 of the opera’s 105 minutes, and during most ofthat time she is singing strenuously. But Medea also has its greatmoments, and it provides an ideal vocal showcase for a dramaticsoprano. In the last five years, Maria Callas has virtually made therole over in her own fiery image (she will sing it again in Novemberwith the Dallas Civic Opera). But San Francisco Opera Director KurtAdler heard Soprano Farrell sing Medea in concert form, decided to givethe opera its first U.S. production as the curtain raiser for SanFrancisco’s six-week season. The production is tailored to make themost of Farrell’s opulent voice and to minimize the defects of actingand appearance that have limited her career almost entirely to theconcert hall. Stage business was reduced to a minimum. But if SopranoFarrell failed visually to convey the briny sense of evil that Callasbrings to the role, she demonstrated again that hers is perhaps thefinest dramatic-soprano voice in the land. Perfectly responsive to theopera’s somber emotional inflections, her voice could sink effortlesslyto a haunted, house-filling pianissimo or soar in gorgeously shiftinggradations to cleave through the orchestra with ringing power. Theleast impressed person in the house was Singer Farrell herself. “Thepoor audience,” she said after her grueling performance. “Medea justkeeps on singing.”