FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PITTSBURGH.(Brief Article)(Review)

Sherrill Milnes was the star of and raison d'etre for Pittsburgh Opera's revival of Verdi's Falstaff(seen March 24 at the Benedum Center). At sixty-six and with a highly publicized vocal crisis behind him, the venerable American baritone outsang -- in both volume and beauty of tone -- the cast of young singers around him. With his powerful presence, Milnes fleshed out his portrayal of the fat knight with intelligible diction and phrasing that was always meaningful and perfectly nuanced. His matter-of-fact portrayal fit well with Fabrizio Melano's no-nonsense staging, which eschewed slapstick in favor of naturalism and humanity. Peter Dean Beck's attractive set, designed for Florida Grand Opera, had just enough movable parts to switch from inn to garden and, finally, Windsor Park, with minimal breaks between the scenes.

For the last time, Theo Alcantara conducted the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, which he created in 1987. Alacantara, the company's former principal conductor, will be replaced by new music director John Mauceri, and the orchestra responded with attention and accuracy to Alcantara's will. Not so the singers. While the men of the cast were mostly in sync, the female principals filled the score with rhythmic errors and false entrances. The one singer who made a proper foil for Milnes's pivotal title character was Gary Lehman, portraying Ford with a sumptuous baritone that equaled the older singer in decibels and excelled him in suavity. "E sogno? o realta?" was a splendid outpouring of sound and emotion. Charles Castronovo's Fenton was of modest vocal proportions, but he ...