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Case in point is soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, whose scheming, harrowing, mascara-stained performance in the Canadian Opera Company (COC) premiere of Luigi Cherubini鈥檚 1797 opera 鈥淢edea鈥� results in one of this season鈥檚 unqualified stage triumphs. The American-Canadian singer more than makes up for her recent 91原创 cancellations (due to personal and health reasons), including the COC鈥檚 鈥淢acbeth鈥� exactly a year ago.

Mostly because of the difficulty of its title role, Cherubini鈥檚 opera rarely gets staged. So it鈥檚 no surprise that four companies 鈥� the COC along with New York鈥檚 Metropolitan Opera, the Greek National Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago 鈥� have pooled resources to mount it. And COC fave David McVicar, who also helmed that 鈥淢acbeth,鈥� was the right person to direct it.

McVicar is a master at creating moody, shadow-filled backdrops for complex stories, and he鈥檚 working with a doozy here.

You might call Medea the founding member of 鈥淭he First Wives Club,鈥� non rom-com edition. If you鈥檝e forgotten your Greek myths, it was she who used her sorcery to help Jason 鈥� leader of the Argonauts 鈥� capture the fabled Golden Fleece and achieve hero status. But after years of marriage, and bearing him two sons, he鈥檚 left her for a younger woman with much better social/political prospects. And that鈥檚 where Cherubini鈥檚 opera begins.

Bride-to-be Glauce (Janai Brugger) is preparing for her nuptials with Giasone (Matthew Polenzani) 鈥� Italian for Jason 鈥� but she鈥檚 afraid of his dangerous ex. After Giasone and her powerful father, King Creonte (Alfred Walker), reassure her that things will go smoothly, an unexpected guest appears. Can you guess who it is?

Cherubini鈥檚 opera is characterized by a single-minded focus and intensity. Once Medea appears and pleads unsuccessfully for Giasone鈥檚 return, the piece gallops along to its inevitable conclusion. But there are lots of surprises in McVicar鈥檚 approach.

For one thing, he鈥檚 designed a set that offers up multiple perspectives. When the imposing, aged-brick walls retract for more public moments, the performers play out their scenes on the stage, but McVicar has installed an enormous mirror in the back, angled so we also get a bird鈥檚 eye (or perhaps God鈥檚 eye?) perspective on the action. As Glauce preps for her big wedding day, for instance, we can see the full length of her extravagant bridal train (Doey L眉thi designed the stunning costumes) reflected there. Remember that lovely image, because it will be cruelly echoed near the opera鈥檚 bloody conclusion.

Paule Constable鈥檚 original lighting, revived by Clare O鈥橠onoghue, and S. Katy Tucker鈥檚 projections add to the moody atmosphere. When Medea, alone onstage, settles maniacally on her plan for vengeance, Tucker鈥檚 projections evoke clouds behind her and Medea looks like she鈥檚 soaring through the air in triumph.

All of this would mean little if the music, performances and drama were subpar. Under McVicar, they鈥檙e anything but. The supporting parts aren鈥檛 the most psychologically rich 鈥� they鈥檙e of a single dimension, really 鈥� but the singers nail their roles.

The sweet-toned yet powerful soprano Brugger ensures her Glauce is no pushover, while talented mezzo Zoie Reams, as Medea鈥檚 slave Neris, is full of devotion to her mistress as well as concern for the people in the woman鈥檚 way. Walker seems every inch the king with his booming, secure bass-baritone and regal presence. And lyric tenor Polenzani, returning to the COC after 2022鈥檚 鈥淟a Traviata,鈥� makes his caddish Giasone always believable. Just look at how he approaches Medea as she manipulatively cuddles up to him. The hesitant way he puts his hands on her suggests his fear of the woman he鈥檚 betrayed.

And then there鈥檚 Radvanovsky, who opened the Met鈥檚 2022 season 鈥� along with castmates Polenzani and Brugger 鈥� in this staging. 鈥淢edea鈥� was rescued from obscurity in the 1950s by none other than the legendary dramatic soprano Maria Callas. And Radvanovsky, who鈥檚 successfully covered some of the same repertoire made famous by the Greek-American singer 鈥� she even headlined a Paris tribute concert last December in honour of the century of her birth 鈥� seems like her natural successor.

It鈥檚 a role that requires not just operatic Sturm und Drang but also tenderness. Radvanovsky鈥檚 delivery of Medea鈥檚 famous act one aria, 鈥�Dei tuoi figli la madre,鈥� captures the balanced, measured arc of the number with dignity and passionate restraint. (On Friday鈥檚 opening night, her rendition got one of the longest midshow ovations I can recall seeing at the COC.)

Radvanovsky also shows motherly affection when she鈥檚 questioning what to do with her children by Giasone 鈥� a situation Bellini improved upon a few decades later in 鈥淣orma,鈥� another role she shares with Callas. What makes Medea so difficult in live performance is the required stamina; once she鈥檚 onstage, she barely leaves it, and must nail some treacherously high notes at the end. Furthermore, McVicar has Radvanovsky deliver much of her performance either prostrate or cramped over, clawing at the ground.

Buoyed by conductor Lorenzo Passerini鈥檚 vigorously paced, always dramatic reading of the score, Radvanovsky (who鈥檚 replaced by Chiara Isotton in the run鈥檚 final two performances) simply soars. McVicar gives her character an ending that departs from the opera but feels dramatically apt and makes marvellous use of that angled mirror.

You might not want this Medea as a babysitter or wedding guest, but she鈥檚 first-rate company at the opera.