The French ensemble made its New York debut with an immersive experience at the luxury department store Printemps and a concert at L’Alliance; at City Center, the local bel-canto company presented a nuanced rendition of Bellini’s ‘La Sonnambula.’
By
Heidi Waleson
July 30, 2025 at 4:05 pm ET
A moment from ‘The Affair of the Poisons.’ PHOTO: KEVIN CONDON
New York
Last week brought operatic rarities to this city, beginning with the local debut of the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra, an ensemble based at the palace outside Paris. Presented by Death of Classical, which specializes in unusual locations, the residency began on July 21 with an event at Printemps, a curated luxury emporium and outpost of the French department-store company that opened in the Art Deco building One Wall Street in March.
A performer at Printemps. PHOTO: KEVIN CONDON
For the three-hour experience, dubbed “The Affair of the Poisons”—a narrative based on a 1670s murder scandal involving Louis XIV, his mistress and witchcraft—guests wandered through the store encountering circus performers and actors offering vials of “poison,” all in period costume. The 31-musician orchestra, which played its brief set midway through, oddly leaped forward in time with 19th-century bravura pieces: Conductor/violinist Stefan Plewniak channeled Paganini in a speedy Polonaise from a concerto by Pierre Rode, and countertenor Franco Fagioli gave a vigorous rendition of an aria from Rossini’s “Semiramide.”
Other musicians situated elsewhere in the store—Adam Young, a viola da gamba player; Ariadne Greif and Dušan Balarin, a soprano/theorbo duo—stuck ably to the French baroque theme. Creatine Price, a drag artist, gave a creditable rendition of the sleepwalking aria from Verdi’s “Macbeth” in the two-story “Red Room,” its landmarked mosaic walls now setting off Manolo Blahnik shoes displayed like jewels. The overall narrative didn’t hang together; instead, the evening was an Instagrammable celebration of luxurious excess minus the promised investigation of the rot beneath.
Two nights later, the orchestra played an expanded concert at L’Alliance New York’s Florence Gould Theater, with Mr. Fagioli performing selections from “The Last Castrato: Arias for Velluti,” his new recording with the group. Mr. Plewniak’s clumsy conducting stressed excitement rather than finesse, and the period-wind-instrument playing was uneven. The arias were an intriguing collection of 19th-century bel canto showpieces mostly by such forgotten composers as Paolo Bonfichi.
Mr. Fagioli, who has extraordinary breath control, pinpoint pitch, and excels in brilliantly florid music, made a case for the works’ virtuosity, but with no texts supplied, they began to blend together. It was a relief to hear the instantly recognizable Sinfonia from Rossini’s 1813 “Aureliano in Palmira”—that non-obscure composer recycled it as the overture for his 1816 “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.”
Franco Fagioli and the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra at L’Alliance New York. PHOTO: SAM ROPPOLA
On July 24, Teatro Nuovo, which specializes in historically informed performances of bel canto operas, presented Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” at City Center. The sizable period-instrument orchestra, sensitively directed by Elisa Citterio from the first violin chair along with Will Crutchfield, the company’s general and artistic director, at the keyboard, brought an unusually luminous aura to this simple but poignant tale of innocence denied and then restored. As Amina, who sleepwalks into a nobleman’s bedroom, causing an uproar in her Swiss village, soprano Teresa Castillo exuded sweetness, making her heartbreak when she is accused of infidelity all the more expressive; the explosive ornaments in her joyous final rondo felt well-earned.
Tenor Christopher Bozeka found nuances in the jealousy of Elvino, her betrothed, though his high notes were sometimes strained—perhaps because he sang the arias in their original keys instead of transposed down, now a common practice—and his red shoes distracting. Bass-baritone Owen Phillipson was solid and lyrical as Rodolfo, the nobleman who vainly tries to persuade everyone of Amina’s innocence, and soprano Abigail Raiford’s sparkling coloratura gave Lisa, Amina’s frenemy, a lively edge.
The robust chorus ably represented the villagers, who whipsaw between belief and incredulity; the tiptoeing cadence of their description of the village ghost was particularly well-executed. Standout orchestral moments included many by the eloquent wind players and a pastoral trumpet duet in Act 2, performed with remarkable lyricism and finesse. The minimalist staging, with backdrops of historical set designs, did not get in the way.
AndyManshel.nyc 