Opera might conjure up images of elaborate costumes, melodramatic demises, and supersonic notes shattering crystal ware. But Chennaiites were treated to a lighter version of the redoubtable form in a cheerful performance by soprano Marion Balgon and pianist François-Marie Juskowiak.
The programme was a sampling of operatic form, containing handpicked arias from ancient and modern operas, plus a few solo piano pieces. Baglon was in top form, with her highest notes raising goose bumps and eliciting applause. On the merits of the music alone the concert was enjoyable, but opera isn’t opera without the drama, and here Baglon delivered exquisite performances. With her facial expressions, gestures, and movements around the stage, the audience did not need a mise-en-scène, or understand the language she sang in to connect with the emotions of each piece. And the arias certainly exhibited a spectrum of impressions: witch-like conniving, cheeky coquetry, wordless yearning, carefree joy and dark Cuban rhythms. The most engaging number was Birds in the Arbour, where Baglon enacts the stiff movements of a mechanical doll who sings the aria in the opera. Once or twice, the doll breaks down — Baglon’s high notes squeal to an evocative halt and she sags from the waist. The pianist has to scurry forward to ratchet her back into working motion.
The evening ended on a high note. After wandering through darker musical territory in some 20th-century numbers, the musicians ended with Leonard Bernstein’s Glitter and be Gay from his opera Candide. The infectiously good-humoured song ended with a single joyous giggle, rounding off the delightful evening with smiles all around.