FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PITTSBURGH.(Review)

Anna Bolena marks the dawn of a new era for Pittsburgh Opera. The company turned to Gaetano Donizetti's tragic opera about the second wife of King Henry VIII, the composer's first triumph, to open its sixty-second season and to emphasize its aspirations. General director Mark Weinstein, having put the financial house in order, called upon his family friend June Anderson to make a role debut and help demonstrate the increased star power he intends to bring to the stage of the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh. New music director John Mauceri was in the pit, and new artistic director Christopher Hahn supervised the production.

Anderson's performance characterized a production that promised more than it delivered. Her voice at forty-seven is warmer and more beautiful than in the past, free of the shrill tone that sometimes has afflicted her performances. In the first act, Anderson lacked definition and intensity while struggling with pitch. But in the opera's final scene, where Anna's death is imminent, the soprano lived up to her star billing. Her sweetness, controlled delirium, and dignity in prayer for forgiveness ...