- Chicago Opera Theater
- Mary Ann Stewart and Ed Parks starting something they’ll regret in Thérèse Raquin
It seemed like things were bleak enough in this Siberian deep freeze before Chicago Opera Theater brought composer Tobias Picker’s version of Thérèse Raquin to town.
Given that, the cast does what it can. Tenor Matthew DiBattista, as Thérèse’s cuckolded husband, Camille, and baritone Ed Parks as his predatory friend, Laurent, deliver solid vocal performances; statuesque Mary Ann Stewart, in the title role, is more effective as actor than singer: her unremarkable soprano turns harsh on the high notes. COT regular Suzan Hanson, as Camille’s mother, gives her usual strong performance—though it’s hard to forget that this supposedly old and (ultimately) disabled woman has been the charismatic object of lust in so many previous productions. The company’s general director, Andreas Mitisek, conducts an 18-piece orchestra.
