<<  -- 6 --  Roderic Dunnett    SUMMER OPERA REVIEWS

Key to Stowe's success, as so often, was a strong chorus (upper and lower voices alike) and well measured, yet also courageous pacing from conductor Robert Secret : Azucena's Act II exposition to Manrico, for instance, and the well-controlled close of the same scene, or the Act I scene 2 exchange between Leonora (Rebecca Mosley-Morgan) and her confidante Inez (Claire Ormshaw), where Secret allowed Leonora's aria to breathe, yet in such a way that Leonora still held something in reserve for Verdi's dazzling coloratura passages, the vibrant argument that ensues, and her closing cadenza.

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