Entertainment

Pretty pleases in Met debut

In a winter rich with splashy debuts, Friday’s performance of “Le Comte Ory” introduced a 27-year-old South African charmer who may well be the Met’s next big star.

She’s Pretty Yende, and that first name fits her to a tee, what with her willowy figure, megawatt smile and — most of all — ravishing light soprano.

As a medieval noblewoman fending off the advances of the randy Count Ory, she tossed off coloratura runs and high notes crisply. Even more impressive was her elegant line in slower numbers, a shimmering thread of tone.

In fact, her Adèle might have stolen the show outright had her leading man not been Juan Diego Flórez. In this, one of his finest Met roles, his tart high tenor sailed into the Met auditorium like a rocket, throwing off more high C’s in one night than most singers muster in a year.

Rossini’s 1828 farce — in which the count disguises himself as a holy hermit and, later, as the mother superior of a gaggle of nuns — tapped neatly into Flórez’s flair for slapstick comedy, his puppy-dog charm taking the sting off the naughty plot.

As Isolier, the count’s page and rival for Adèle, French mezzo Karine Deshayes warbled attractively and looked cute in pants, which is enough. Though Nathan Gunn filled his “gay pirate” costume handsomely as the sidekick Rimbaud — puffy shirt, high boots and all — his baritone evaporated during his second act patter song.

In another debut, bass Nicola Ulivieri as Ory’s tutor sounded undistinguished but solid, which was more than can be said for blowsy mezzo Susanne Resmark’s Ragonde, Adèle’s companion.

Maurizio Benini’s conducting recalled his work earlier this season in “Maria Stuarda” — precise to the point of fussiness. That’s still superior to Bartlett Sher’s fussy yet imprecise direction.

The audience jumped to its feet to cheer when Yende swept out for a bow in a gorgeous blush-colored gown. And that’s how this evening will be remembered: pretty in pink.