Pittsburgh Opera
Antony Walker, conductor
Haley Stamats, director

Matthew Soibelman, Idreno
Lauryn Davis, Armida
Fran Daniel Laucerica, Rinaldo
Erik Nordstrom, Ubaldo
Audrey Welsh, Clotarca
Shannon Crowley, Zelmira

CAPA School Theater
Pittsburgh, PA
January 28, 2025

Haydn: Armida, Hob. XXVIII:12

The overwhelming majority of the standard opera repertoire dates from the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. Hearing a work outside that admittedly fertile era is always a welcome opportunity, afforded locally in late January by Pittsburgh Opera’s presentation of Haydn’s 1784 dramma eroico, Armida. The subject matter deals with the First Crusade, and inspired a litany of music, including earlier operatic treatments by Handel (Rinaldo) and Lully (Armide).

The forces Armida required conveniently allowed all eight members of this year’s corps of resident artists a moment in the spotlight — six vocalists, along with pianist Maeve Berry and assistant stage director Dana Kinney. The Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra under the baton of Antony Walker opened crisp and articulate, just as adept in the late 18th-century style as they are in Puccini — though I did find the obvious electronic sound of the continuo a bit jarring. Bass Matthew Soibelman made the first vocal appearance in a declamatory recitative.

A troupe of dancers from Attack Theatre added a further expressive dimension to the performance, and provided narrative in the absence of text. I particularly enjoyed the various duets when the singers’ voices harmoniously blended — Audrey Welsh as Clotarca (originally, a tenor named Clotarco, but rescored and renamed here to fit the mezzo-soprano) with Shannon Crowley as Zelmira, and certainly the two leads: Fran Daniel Laucerica’s loving and longing take on Rinaldo, with Lauryn Davis as the imposing titular sorceress. With elements of the supernatural achieved through clever staging, the work ultimately drew to a dark and stormy end in this quintessential opera seria.