Viennese crowd goes wild as Rolando Villazon makes operatic comeback in Donizetti comedy

Big ovation as Villazon returns to opera in Vienna

VIENNA — He came, he mugged, he juggled, he blew a kiss to the audience. And, yes, he sang — very nicely, too — as an adoring audience welcomed Rolando Villazon back to the opera stage.

The Mexican-born tenor’s comeback role Monday night at the Vienna Staatsoper was Nemorino, the lovesick peasant in Donizetti’s irresistible comedy “L’elisir d’amore” (”The Elixir of Love”).

It’s a role that’s well-suited to Villazon’s voice and personality. It doesn’t lie too high, it doesn’t force him to sing over heavy orchestration. And it plays to his natural instincts as a clown, even if he overdid the foolery — glancing at his wristwatch to boast how long he was holding onto a particular high note.

To say Villazon made it through the evening without a vocal hitch may sound like faint praise, but given what he has been through in recent years he was probably as relieved as his many fans.

Nevertheless, his voice did not sound quite like the Villazon of a few years ago. It has taken on a darker hue; the one-time visceral excitement and gleam of his tone seem dampened and subdued. And though his voice sounded healthy and secure for the most part, there were times toward the end of the evening when he ominously resumed his old habit of pushing up from below to reach the top notes, rather than hitting them dead center.

The Staatsoper audience either didn’t notice or didn’t care. His Act 2 aria, “Una furtiva lagrima,” was awarded an astonishing five-minute ovation as the crowd cried in vain for an encore. The final curtain calls — filmed by television crews — lasted more than 20 minutes as he and his cast mates were repeatedly called back. But it was really just Villazon they wanted.

It should be noted for the record that soprano Ekaterina Siurina starred opposite him as Adina, singing with agility and power if not much charm or melting beauty. Baritone Tae Joong Yang started off flat as the preening Sgt. Belcore, while bass Ambrogio Maestri sang and acted vividly as the elixir-peddling Doctor Dulcamara. Daniele Callegari conducted the orchestra with affection for the tuneful score.

Villazon’s single performance, which sold out almost as soon as it was announced, marks the end of a second long hiatus in the career of a singer whose problems have come to seem symbolic of much that is wrong with the high-pressure world of opera performing today.

Villazon, who turned 38 last month, burst on the scene about 10 years ago with a full-bodied lyric tenor voice that reminded many listeners of a young Placido Domingo. His impassioned, at times almost frenzied, acting style added to his reputation as an exciting performer.

He partnered with soprano Anna Netrebko in a now-classic production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” in Salzburg, Austria, and sang with her in this same Otto Schenk production of “L’elisir” in Vienna, captured on DVD in 2005. They set off sparks whenever they appeared together, including a memorable series of performances of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005-06.

But as he took on heavier roles, flaws in his technique and limitations in the power and range of his voice took their toll with devastating speed. In 2007 he announced he was taking several months off to rest. When he returned, he tried out some new roles, like the title character in Verdi’s “Don Carlos,” that he could not pull off successfully. In January 2009, he suffered a meltdown on the Met stage when — again singing with Netrebko — he lost control of his voice during a crucial passage in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.”

Finally he was diagnosed as having a cyst on his vocal cords and underwent surgery. During his long recuperation, he raised highbrow eyebrows by becoming a judge on a British reality TV show called “Popstar to Operastar.” Some observers wrote him off as a serious artist.

Now with his performance in “L’elisir” he may be back on track to resume his career, if he wants to and if he chooses his repertory carefully.

Next he’s on to Berlin for three performances as Lenski in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” The only other operatic role on his calendar at present is a familiar one, Alfredo in “La Traviata,” in Zurich. He’ll also be giving a series of concerts and recitals. And he’s slated to direct, but not sing in, a production of Massenet’s “Werther” next season in Lyon, France.