Suor Angelica

Puccini's Suor Angelica is one of the composer's 'problem children'. As the central work of Il
Trittico, it is sandwiched between two dramatically more effective pieces. A tale of life in a
convent and of the suicide of a mother robbed of her child, it simply could not hold its own
against its sister works at their world premiere in New York. Various cuts sanctioned by
Puccini testify to his concessions to the conventions of the opera business. Uncut, Suor
Angelica lasts just about an hour, and one often hears it in the concert hall today. With its
restrained melancholy and mystical ambience, a concert performance does not diminish the
impact of the title heroine and her moving fate. On the contrary, when Kristine Opolais sings
Angelica one of our most exciting young Puccini sopranos (feted at Covent Garden in
Madama Butterfly) even a concert hall audience is moved to tears, as we can read in the
reviews of her concert performances with the WDR Symphony Orchestra of Cologne under
Andris Nelsons. Krist ne Opolais's uniquely shaded timbre, her clear sense of line and her
subtle characterization make of Angelica a woman of flesh and blood. Andris Nelsons, too,
explores the full breadth of Puccini's musical language in this one-acter, from its formulaic
sacred elements to its uninhibited outbursts of emotion. This becomes especially clear when
Krist ne Opolais's character meets her adversary, the Princess, of whom Lioba Braun with
her dramatic mezzosoprano voice offers an extremely authoritarian portrait. Angelica's
sisters in the convent offer several of the best women's voices from the WDR Radio Chorus
Cologne a welcome opportunity for a solo contribution. Above and beyond this there are the
luxurious voices of the dark-toned mezzosoprano Nadezhda Serdyuk as the stern Sister
Monitor and of Mojca Erdmann's clear, graceful soprano as Sister Genovieffa. With the
exception of the audience as mentioned above, it is she who brings the greatest sympathy
for the plight of Angelica.
Recorded at the Philharmonie Cologne, May 12 17, 2011 and October 12 15, 2011