Entertainment

Faulty Fleming isn’t spellbinding in ‘Armida’

The Met’s first production of Rossini’s supernatural opera “Armida” was supposed to be a showcase for star soprano Renée Fleming. Five years in the planning, it’s the centerpiece of the season, with Fleming’s portrait on posters plastered everywhere from Lincoln Center Plaza to the M104 bus.

But by the time the opera ended Monday — four hours after it began — only a few of the less-than-capacity audience were left to applaud. The magic wasn’t there.

In this 1817 tale of a Middle Eastern princess who bewitches Crusaders, Fleming sounded diffuse and feeble in the first two acts, smudging the coloratura into shapeless “American Idol” riffs. For the work’s showstopper aria, “D’amor al dolce impero,” the 51-year-old soprano simplified the ornate musical line and even flubbed words, eliciting a loud boo among tepid applause.

Finally, around 11:30 p.m., she mustered big, opulent tone for the finale of jealous rage, but quickly tired, cracking on a high note.

Although she looked lovely in billowing gowns and auburn curls, her Armida came off more soccer mom than sorceress in Mary Zimmerman’s self-consciously clever production. Although not an outright fiasco like last year’s “Sonnambula,” it lacked dramatic focus, with principal singers meandering aimlessly as background extras mimed ironic comment.

Zimmerman also invented a couple of sidekicks for Armida: a cutesy girl cupid who descended from the rafters, a la Cirque du Soleil, and a tattooed guy with a scorpion headdress. He may have represented revenge, but seemed to be auditioning for a Nine Inch Nails video.

The jokey mood continued in ballets by Graciela Daniele that featured demons doing what looked like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance, and a waltz by giant lizards in tutus.

One bright note was Lawrence Brownlee as Rinaldo, one of the opera’s six tenor roles. His pristine, agile voice easily scaled high C’s and D’s, especially in the thrilling Act 3 trio “In quale aspetto imbelle” with Barry Banks and Kobie van Rensburg as Crusaders sent to rescue him.

More gutsy singing came from John Osborn and José Manuel Zapata as the knights Goffredo and Gernando, but the debuting Yeghishe Manucharyan was wasted in the bit part of Eustazio. Conductor Riccardo Frizza kept things consistently listless down in the pit.

In two brief but booming bass roles, Keith Miller was a spandex-clad King of the Demons, while Peter Volpe carried Armida’s parasol. Sadly, too much sun was the least of her problems.