Gary Thor Wedow conducted this pair of intimate dramas about women who suffer tragic losses. Soprano Nuccia Focile won Artist of the Year for her performance in the Poulenc one-woman show, lurching between hope and despair. Maria Gavrilova’s impassioned Angelica was equaled by Rosalind Plowright’s brilliant, formidable Princess. The Bernard Uzan staging of both works was direct and unfussy. The large supporting cast of
Suor Angelica featured several promising Young Artists.

Nuccia Focile(Elle) in Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, 2012 © Elise Bakketun

Nuccia Focile(Elle) in Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, 2012 © Elise Bakketun

Nuccia Focile(Elle) in Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, 2012 © Elise Bakketun

Puccini’s Suor Angelica, 2012 © Elise Bakketun

Rosalind Plowright (The Princess) in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, 2012 © Elise Bakketun

Maria Gavrilova (Suor Angelica) and Rosalind Plowright (The Princess) in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, 2012 © Elise Bakketun

Maria Gavrilova (Suor Angelica) in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, 2012 © Elise Bakketun