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Written by Andra Coberly
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Friday, 24 August 2007 |
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 Pretty and petite, Cynthia Lawrence effortlessly belts out a pure and glorious sound that wraps itself around your head, fills every crevice of the room and hits the back of the Lincoln Center with the power of a train.
A soprano locomotive, indeed.
Despite her small frame, Lawrence does it with the ease of a woman who was born to sing opera, who has unlocked a vocal power that most have never dreamed of, who has done it thousands of times before. A mixture of natural talent and immense amounts of training and practice, the voice that will leave Fort Collins opera fans awestruck has combined with Luciano Pavarotti’s sturdy tenor and exploded from some of the world’s greatest opera houses: The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Paris Opera, Prague’s National Theatre and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
For two nights, the world-renowned soprano will lead an all-star cast in Opera Fort Collins’ short run of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci.
Anticipating the performance leaves director Todd Queen a bit speechless. With the quality and sheer power of the voices that will fill the Lincoln Center, he expects the performances to be the most impressive that Opera Fort Collins have ever produced.
“We’ve never had this type of talent before,” Queen said with a hopeful smile.
Singing opposite of Lawrence is Charles Edwin Taylor, whose rich and thick baritone made its opera debut with the Fort Collins organization in 1998 and who went on to win the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions. He’s since become a mainstay at The Met and performed with highly respected opera companies.
Lawrence and Taylor, along with a skilled, diverse cast of up-and-comers, are a force on stage.
“It’s the size of the voices that is most impressive,” Queen said.
The organization opens its 28th season with a cast of locals and visitors, Opera Fort Collins regulars and first-timers, young and old, in a performance of two 70-minute one acts. “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci” are considered two of the most classic operas — with big chorus performances, tragic plot twists and vibrant, lamenting ballads. Known as the “heavenly twins,” the two 19th century Italian verismo operas are more commonly performed together than alone. Ironically, when the pieces were written, their composers, Pietro Mascagni and Ruggiero Leoncavallo, were considered hated rivals.
“They are both very dramatic and very powerful,” Queen said. And with matchless talent on stage, those chilling twists of plot are intensified by the mesmerizing, brilliant voices.
“Everything you think about classic opera, this is it,” Queen said.
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TO GO
Opera Fort Collins’ “Cavalleria Rusticana” (Rustic Chivalry) and “Pagliacci” (Clowns).
7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26
Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins
$20-$40. Call 221.6730 or go to lctix.com.
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