Ewa Podles Triumphs at the Met

We knew it was bound to happen! The long overdue return to New York’s Metropolitan Opera of Ewa Podles — the uniquely talented contralto and Delos recording artist — was a triumph!

On Wednesday night, September 24th, two days into its new season, the Met revived its venerable production of Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, principally for celebrated soprano Deborah Voigt and mezzo Olga Borodina. Nowadays this opera, for all its luscious arias, is seldom staged unless the company can muster a galaxy of great singers. In addition to the soprano and mezzo roles Gioconda needs a first rate tenor, baritone and bass. And, finally, there’s a relatively short but demanding role for contralto, “La Cieca,” Gioconda’s blind mother, who has limited stage time to make a big impression.

As we knew she would, Ewa Podles grabbed the role and ran with it and, in the process, got the best reviews of the evening and a five-minute ovation.

Here is a quote from the review in the New York Sun:
“As for Madame Podles, many of us have been lobbying for her reappearance at the Met for many years (she last sang here in 1984). No matter how often I hear her remarkably subterranean contralto, the first time that she opens her mouth in a given performance is a shocking moment. Singing the role of La Cieca, the blind mother of Gioconda, she delivered such an otherworldly “Figlia, che reggi il tremolo pie” that for the first time I thought that maybe, just maybe she actually was a witch. Take note Mr. Gelb: the ovation for her lasted longer than all of the others for the whole cast of singers for the entire evening combined.”

Confirming this opinion, we quote the distinguished critic George Loomis of MusicalAmerica.com: “Podles’ La Cieca in the season premiere of Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda” was the Polish contralto’s first appearance at the Met since she sang two performances of the title role of Handel’s “Rinaldo” (plus two in the parks) in 1984.”

In this Gioconda “Podles was the vocal standout [although] La Cieca is not one of the opera’s juiciest roles. But it does have, in the aria “Voce di donna,” one of the juiciest melodies, or even two when you count the “rosario” theme the aria blossoms into … the concentrated intensity and power of her singing have a way of ratcheting up the emotional content of what she undertakes, and so it was with her “Voce di donna,” a heartfelt expression of thanks by a blind woman to the noble woman who rescued her from a charge of witchcraft. It is not that Podles necessarily sings louder than other singers, but that she shapes phrases, colors vowels and releases the full power of the voice so as to lift the music up to a higher communicative plane.”

Finally, Loomis concludes: “Podles’ performance has vindicated the many fans that have long pushed for her return to the Met. Let’s hope that her appearances this season are not just a flash in the pan but the first of several over the next few years. A heroic Handel role would prove her to be a worthy successor to Marilyn Horne, for whom she served as cover those many years ago.”

To sample Ewa Podles’ art listen to Delos’ Handel Arias from Rinaldo and Orlando (DE 3253), and Russian Arias (DE 3298).