Soprano Leah Partridge will show off her vocal virtuosity and dramatic gifts in the Washington Concert Opera production of Donizetti’s rarely performed “Maria Padilla.” Based on a true story about the King of Spain, the opera was last performed in this country by Minnesota Opera in 2005.
Partridge says she dived into the obscure part with zest. “The moment I looked at it, I thought, why not? Donizetti’s music is captivating. When you listen to it, you think you’ve heard it before because he mixes it up with a melody that sounds like the ‘Lucia’ baritone part. It’s all about rhythms and orchestration. He sets it up in a grand way and there’s a lot of very exhaustive singing, like ‘Lucia’ on steroids.”
The Georgia native was raised on church and country music. Her view of opera was of a “big lady with horns” until a professor at Mercer University discovered her bel canto capabilities and pointed her in a new direction. A Master of Music degree from Indiana University and an opera fellowship were followed by first place wins in Palm Beach Opera and Opera Birmingham competitions.
In short order, Partridge became a leading artist with Florida Grand Opera and established herself in the great bel canto roles of Violetta in “La Traviata,” Gilda in “Rigoletto” and the title role in “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Later this season, she will return there in the title role of “Lakmé.” In the meantime, she made her Met debut last season as the First Niece in Britten’s “Peter Grimes,” and sang Roxane in the world premiere of David DiChiera’s “Cyrano” with Michigan Opera Theatre.
Partridge is eager to add “a lot of Rossini” roles to her repertoire and to move into comedy as well as the dramatic roles that suit her so well. Along with the bel canto repertoire of Donizetti, Verdi and Bellini, she loves contemporary music and has appeared as concert soloist with numerous symphony orchestras in works ranging from Handel to Bernstein. She comes to WCO directly from opening the Deutsch Oper Berlin season singing Gilda and will next return to the Met as La Charmeuse in “Thaïs.”
“After working with a contemporary composer and creating a role, I understand that it’s all about the singing and the beauty of the voice,” she says. “The original score is not an exact blueprint, but it allows each soprano to put in a cadenza within the context of the work. Donizetti wrote this role for a specific soprano, but she got pregnant and he adjusted the music for another. The recordings show that each soprano has tweaked it for her own.
“The WCO audience will be blown away by ‘Maria Padilla.’ She’s a dignified character who wants to be queen beyond everything and kills herself at the end. It’s just exquisite and I’d love to see it staged some day…but with a different ending.”
If you go
Washington Concert Opera presents Donizetti’s “Maria Padilla” November 9 at 6 p.m.
Venue: Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University, 21st & H Sts. NW
Tickets: $45 to $90
More info: at (202) 364-5826
