In Review: Latini and Colaneri in Glimmerglass Festival's "The Cunning Little Vixen"
"Music director Joseph Colaneri led a sumptuous performance featuring an expanded orchestra. Long passages of the opera carry on with no singing and the instrumental writing mostly consists of cells of repeated, churning activity rather than the kind of sweeping melodies associate with European opera. The resulting music is a vivid depiction of natural life that scampers about, darts here and there, and reveals its riches through patient observation. . . Though denied flashy set pieces, the cast still showed its stuff. . . Soprano Joanna Latini was very good in the title role, clear and conversational in her midrange with a slight edge to her high notes. . . Martin and Latini, both members of the Young Artists Program, had voices that were almost an identical match, rather than a pleasant blend." -Albany Times-Union
"Janáček’s enchanting, often delicately wrought score, animated by folk and folk-like elements, posed challenges for Glimmerglass’s orchestra that are mostly met under conductor Joseph Colaneri’s persuasive leadership. Chamber-like textures combining solo instruments are especially well done. Joanna Latini heads the cast with an animated, ingratiatingly sung Vixen." -New Criterion
Read full review. "In the Janáček, the Young Artists again shine. . . Joseph Colaneri conducts a loving performance, gentle but propulsive when needed. . . Joanna Latini is the lively Vixen, made up to look eerily like Carol Neblett" -Financial Times Read full review.
"Joanna Latini was the Vixen, with a devilish streak that was never tamed and only death could extinguish. Lithe and quick, she scampered across the stage with her eyes glistening and a devil-may-care attitude; her singing was marked by a similar agility and sparkle. A rabble rouser in the farm yard, the Vixen challenged the Rooster’s dominion over the hens, summing up their plight as ‘Obey and lay! Everyday!’ . . . Janáček called for a large force, and the score is awash with lush and brilliant orchestral colors. Joseph Colaneri was in total control and paced the performance beautifully. Instead of the brilliance and forward propulsion that he had achieved in the Rossini the previous evening, the sounds that emerged from the pit were luminous and throbbing with emotion." -Seen and Heard International
“As Velma in “West Side Story,” soprano Joanna Latini had showed herself a very capable dancer. Her presence and physicality onstage here as the titular Vixen were quite amazing in range and effectiveness. She moved with grace and expressiveness and has a wonderful face for the stage. Her singing, full of spunk and feeling, was usually quite accomplished, showing a substantial lower register rare in this role. . . The Vixen isn’t really a part for judging voices — there’s a lot of short-motived, conversational stuff and not much cantabile singing — but Latini certainly showed herself a committed, talented performer one looks forward to hearing in other assignments.” -Gay City News Read full review.