NEW YORK—Franco Alfano’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” is a minor opera, but with Roberto Alagna in the title role, a strong supporting cast and a beautiful production, the evening was a major pleasure.
The composer Alfano is best known for completing “Turandot” when Puccini died. Though there are many famous arias in that opera, none were supplied by Alfano. His opera “Cyrano de Bergerac” debuted in 1936, but wasn’t performed at the Metropolitan Opera until 2005, when Plácido Domingo convinced management to put on the production with himself in the title role.
Alagna's Cyrano is a tour-de-force, impressive vocally and dramatically.
