By Nancy Plum

Boheme Opera NJ turned to a story of love, hate, and revenge for this year’s presentation of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore this past weekend at Kendall Main Stage Theater at The College of New Jersey. With a libretto by Italian playwright Salvatore Cammarano, who based his texts on a play by Spanish dramatist Antonio García Gutiérrez (which in turn was allegedly inspired by real events), Verdi’s 1853 opera was popular from the outset, despite its dark narrative but no doubt aided by the inclusion of traditional Italian tunes audiences would have known. Boheme Opera NJ’s productions on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, presented in Italian with English supertitles, featured a cast of seasoned opera performers, including singers heard in previous Boheme Opera presentations. Artistic director and conductor Joseph Pucciatti brought the story into modern times by focusing on the more sinister aspects of the plot while never losing sight of the luxurious music.

Il Trovatore was unique in that the pivotal action takes place before the opera begins or between scenes. The onstage activity and music convey the emotions of the characters and their response to what has happened, which makes the singers’ jobs that much more difficult. The storyline centers on both the love triangle among Leonora, the Count di Luna, and the mystery troubadour Manrico, and the backstory of Azucena, whose mother was burned at the stake as a witch, compounded by the possibility that Azucena had inadvertently killed her own son in retaliation. The opera was also unusual in its two female roles having equal dramatic and vocal force, and in Friday night’s performance, the singers playing Leonora and Azucena each had their change to command the stage and shine.

Soprano Ashley Galvani Bell, portraying Leonora, was expertly up to the challenges of Verdi’s musical and theatrical complexity in a role requiring both a high flexible coloratura voice and the intensity of a tragic heroine. Bell successfully captured the flow of the music, aided by dynamic orchestral swells. Concurrently with this opera, Verdi was composing La Traviata, and one could easily hear the crossover of florid melodic styles. Bell effectively expressed the lyricism of the Act I cavatina “Tacea la notte placida” as well as the fireworks of the third act “D’amor sull’ali rosee” in a scene which she commanded alone onstage.

The role of Azucena, called by Verdi a “strange and novel character,” elicits both derision and empathy from audiences, and the vocal requirements are more extreme than ornate. Contralto Alison Bolshoi has a history with Boheme Opera of disappearing into roles to create riveting characters onstage, and her portrayal of Azucena was no exception. Walking with a cane and showing utter defeat from life’s trials, Bolshoi smoothly maneuvered the wide melodic range, singing a haunting duet with Manrico while communicating her harrowing story.

Verdi wrote the valiant soldier Manrico as an archetype of romantic lyricism, and tenor John Kun Park fit the bill with a portrayal of a character full of conflict — between his devotion to the unattainable Leonora and his struggle to understand Azucena’s torment. Park and Bell were well matched vocally as two ill-fated lovers, and Park performed the aria “Ah, sì, ben mio, coll’essere” with the passion of a man resigned to his fate.

Baritone Daniel Sutin completed the quartet of principals, singing the role of Count di Luna, also in pursuit of Leonora. As assured as Leonora was in her love for Manrico, di Luna was equally self-confident, but in hate. Sutin took charge of his emotions from the outset, beginning strongly with extended a cappella passages and convincingly continuing his obsession with both Manrico and Azucena. All four principal singers presented operatic soliloquies authoritatively, leading to the compelling final scene in which all subplots come together in horrific conclusion. Soprano Farrah Chu, baritone Charles Schneider, tenor Matthew Tartza and baritone Kevin Patrick rounded out the cast in smaller, but no less critical roles.

One of the great strengths of Il Trovatore lies in its accessible tunes, often heard from the chorus. For these productions, Boheme Opera NJ assembled a small but crisp ensemble prepared by Laura Isabella. The familiar “Anvil” chorus was sung with precise rhythms, and the offstage “Miserere” chorus added a reverent nature to the scene. Sets were modest, with visual backgrounds depicted by virtual set artist and designer J. Matthew Root’s digital backdrops. Conductor Pucciatti led a clean and meticulous orchestra of instrumentalists who moved effortlessly through Verdi’s ever-changing shifts in tempo and mood. Il Trovatore may have a shocking storyline in which things do not turn out well for many people, but its unforgettable melodies and opportunities to showcase stellar singers have made the opera a fan favorite for more than 150 years.