Venera could turn deadly serious and downright sadistic when called for, whence she successfully weighted her generous soprano with ominous shadings. But there was far more to her Queen than shimmies and breast jokes.

As she invited him over to “her place,” she lustily extolled her tight tent that would enfold him, and promoted the comforts of her furry rug. Her shameless, uninhibited vamping of the Tsar was a sensual laff riot. Moreover she immerses herself into the drama with gusto. Her coloratura is faultless, and her playful way with comic phrases infuses her singing with obvious joy.

She has a splendid sense of line and soars above the staff ‘with’ ease, and ‘to’ E’s. Gimadieva has a sparkling lyric soprano that falls very warmly on the ear on a cool desert mountain night. Is there any other soprano who could pull off (pun intended) a striptease, ending up looking ravishing in a brief two-piece harem get up? And she sings, too!! She is a petite, poised, beautiful woman with an alluring physical presence. There cannot be a lovelier Queen of Shemakha on this planet, or any planet anywhere, than the delectable Venera Gimadieva. This is a beautifully schooled voice, a very musical performer, and a committed, inventive actor. Later in the show, as power has corrupted him, Tim limns his rock solid pontifications with an arrogant cynicism. Mix is also capable of important moments that are not larger-than-life, namely, beautiful phrases that bring some humanity to the bumbling monarch.

His was just the right ‘Mix’ of buffoonery and bravado, and he skillfully used his sizeable instrument to create an indelible vocal characterization. The remarkable baritone Tim Mix sings and fidgets up a storm in a tireless vocal and physical tour de force as Tsar Dodon. To succeed with this sometimes knotty and often naughty piece you really need two stars that can carry the evening and boy, did SFO have them in spades. The answer is a scintillating version of Rimsky-Korsakov’s rarely performed The Golden Cockerel as lustrously presented by Santa Fe Opera, of course.

Santa fe opera 2017