Then came Troyanos's first appearance in Italy as Dorabella in a COSI at Teatro La Fenice opposite the Fiordiligi of Christina Deutekom. Troyanos aroused great admiration with her Venetian audiences. Even so, it wasn't until 1977 that she first appeared at LaScala as Adalgisa where she was treated indifferently by some of the 'logginisti' who still had strong memories of Stignani, Simionato and of course, Fiorenza Cossotto was still treading the boards there.
Next came her debut at Munich's National Theatre where she alternated with Brigitte Fassbaender in the role of Eboli in Verdi's DON CARLO, then her subsequent debut in Berlin in COSI as Dorbella opposite Pilar Lorengar's Fiordiligi. Back in Hamburg, she received further exposure to modern opera as the accused Prioress in Penderecki's THE DEVILS OF LOUDON where she showed herself to be marvelously suggestive and versatile. Troyanos went on to make her debut at the 1969 Salzburg Festival as Octavian opposite the Marschallin of Christa Ludwig and was thought to be a wonderful partner and attracted the attention of Gunther Rennert who wanted her for his forthcoming CARMEN in Munich which was a bit of a misfire. She also repeated the role for Zurich. Although possessed with the lusciousness of voice, some felt that her portrayal did not embody the many sided facets of Carmen's personality, perhaps lacking the requisite coquettish aspect of Carmen's nature.
In Hamburg in 1970, there was her ardent Octavian opposite Arlene Saunders as the Marschallin. She also recorded the role of the Composer for the first time under Boehm with Hildegard Hillebrecht as Ariadne.
There were a few odd excursions into Italian repertory--Fenena in Verdi's NABUCCO for Hamburg Opera with Pauline Tinsley as Abigaille and a concert ROBERTO DEVEREUX with Montserrat Caballe and her husband Bernabe Marti. Troyanos was thought to be a ‘vibrant, exciting Sara'. There was another Octavian for Berlin's Deutsches Oper opposite Leonie Rysanek's Marschallin and it was said that Berlin had found an Octavian to equal Kirsten Meyer. At this point, it was noted that Troyanos began to make considerable strides in the performance of her two strongest drawing cards, Octavian in ROSENKAVALIER and the Composer in ARIADNE, gaining in assurance, commitment and polish. More recording assignments came her way with the role of Clairon in a new recording of R. Strauss's CAPRICCIO under Boehm.
At this point there was a step up in her U.S. engagements, first for the newly opened Kennedy Center she appeared in the title role of Handel's ARIODANTE opposite the Ginevra of Beverly Sills and went on to appear as Charlotte opposite Alfredo Kraus's WERTHER for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. I was fortunate to be at the Kennedy Center to take in one of only two performances of ARIODANTE. In spite of an announced indisposition, Beverly Sills dazzled the audience with her Handelian style and Troyanos showed us her extended range, even if Philadelphia critic, Max deSchauensee complained of her 'often metallic and over-vibrant delivery' which were not to his taste.
There had been talk of transferring ARIODANTE to the following NYC Opera's season since under Julius Rudel's baton, this was pretty much a NYC Opera cast transferred to the Kennedy Center which had no resident opera company. However, it was not to be. While there was certainly more than an element of truth to Max deSchauensee's observation concerning the 'over-vibrant delivery,' Troyanos had provided an impressive display of Handelian vocal line which showed that she was not only the equal of her esteemed colleagues, but was perhaps capable of outshining them as well. In any event, this performance was confirmation to many in the opera house at the Kennedy Center in Washington on the occasion of those two performances what was already known in Europe--an important new talent had burst upon the operatic scene.
Troyanos returned to the ROH Covent Garden for another Octavian opposite the Marschallin of Sena Jurinac and later at the Deutsches Oper in West Berlin with Evelyn Lear. On March 5th, 1973, Troyanos took on the role of Santuzza for the first time for Montreal's Opera du Quebec. That season, her CARMEN for the ROH Covent Garden did not please, Max Loppert of British Opera, stating that 'not a touch of opera-comique wit or style, not a flicker of the true untamed sensuality...the performance as a whole was a masterpiece of wrong-headedness.'
Troyanos appeared at the Dallas Opera [Nov. 1, 1975] as Orsini in Donizetti's LUCREZIA BORGIA, John Ardoin noting that 'she sang luminously' opposite the Lucrezia of Leyla Gencer, herself deputizing for an indisposed Sills. Further incursion in the Italian repertory occurred in Dallas when Troyanos also sang Jane Seymour opposite the ANNA BOLENA of Renata Scotto and an Adalgisa opposite Beverly Sills for San Diego. Her Romeo for Opera Company of Boston's I CAPULETTI ED I MONTECCHI also opposite the Giulietta of Beverly Sills seemed to misfire. Still, with the Giulietta of Ashley Putnam for OONY on May 13, 1979, Troyanos was able to give a much stronger performance. I was in Boston for the earlier one and was sad to find Sills so out of form for Bellini's beautiful music and Troyanos doing the best she could.
The first weeks of the San Francisco Opera season in 1975 brought on the Rennert production of Monteverdi's INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA and the role of Poppea seemed tailor made to her talents. In a later reprisal in the summer season of 1981, I found Troyanos to show herself to be a superb Poppea, positively brimming with seductive allure. There was an air of sluttishness about her portrayal that was infectious. Arthur Bloomfield, writing in OPERA said of the Troyanos Poppea '[her] milky voice fairly oozed with desire.' In that fall 1981 season I was able to catch her Santuzza which seemed to greatly arouse her San Francisco public. It was obvious that she was a great favorite there. Still, her Poppea remains one of my finest memories of her. Although the San Francisco Opera House is a large one, it still has an intimate feel to it and I think that is why POPPEA worked so nicely in that house whereas I doubt it would do so at the Met. By diverting to discuss Troyanos's marvelous Poppea which to my mind has never been bettered, I have jumped ahead of myself. Returning to the San Francisco season of 1975, Troyanos also sang Adalgisa opposite the NORMA of Christina Deutekom.
Her recording assignments continued with a CARMEN under Solti, her performance winning praise from some quarters although overall, she was never regarded as a serious contender by many.
The Metropolitan Opera season of 1975/76 finally saw the debut of Tatiana Troyanos as Octavian in Strauss's DER ROSENKAVALIER on March 8th, 1976 opposite the Marschallin of Teresa Zylis-Gara. I was fortunate enough to attend her debut and her subsequent Composer opposite Montserrat Caballe in ARIADNE two weeks later. Troyanos's rich-voiced Octavian rang out to fill the house and for me was on a level of that of Sena Jurinac, Christa Ludwig or Rise Stevens and by comparison, the Marschallin of Teresa Zylis-Gara seemed vocally pallid and dramatically awkward. Certainly, Troyanos's Composer was as nearly as close to Jurinac as one could have hoped. There was Troyanos's trademark complete identification with both roles.
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