Opera Orchestra of New York music director Eve Queler. (Photo: Steven J. Sherman)

"La Juive" pits Christians and Jews against each other in 15th Century Switzerland and neither faith comes off well. The opera finds Christian leaders ordering persecution of the Jews and asking Jews to renounce their faith and their loved ones. One character, Léopold, pretends to be a Jew in order to woo an apparent Jew, Rachel, who does not know that she was born a Christian. The Jewish jeweler Éléazar, his line crabbed and hectoring, in one trio, against the lyrical flights of two Christian characters, spews forth bitter hatred for his Christian oppressors even as he rubs his hands in greedy contemplation of the gold coins they will spend on his wares. He lets Rachel, whom he has raised as a daughter, go to her death in a cauldron of boiling oil in order to exact revenge on the Cardinal Brogni, whose offspring she really is.

As Rachel, the eponymous "Jewess," Hasmik Papian made a favorable first impression, disclosing the sort of voice the role was written for - a full-bodied soprano with a warm mezzo-soprano core (called the falcon, for Marie-Cornélie Falcon, the part's creator) - in her statement of surprise, beginning the first act finale, that a threatened pogrom has subsided and agitated, haunting showpiece, "Il va venir," anticipating an assignation with the man she loves. Marring Papian's efforts, even from the start, though, was some uncertainty of intonation, which in short order progressed to increasingly wild and disquieting stabs at pitches.

Francisco Casanova, as Éléazar, by turns dulcetly chanted or forcefully declaimed high-lying prayers for Passover, celebrated in secrecy, of necessity, in this hostile society. After a confrontation scene with Paul Plishka, as Brogni, that crackled with dramatic tension, Casanova capped his contribution with a tour de force in the fiery recitative "Va prononcer ma mort" and wrenching aria "Rachel, quand du Seigneur," limning mournful phrases in smooth lirico-spinto tenor sound that wanted only a bit more upper-range freedom.

Joining Papian in a pair of spirited duets for contrasting soprano voices, Olga Makarina, as Princess Eudoxie, brightened the proceedings with her coloratura facility and clear high tone, as she has in performances at the New York City Opera. As her errant Prince, Léopold, high tenor Jean-Luc Viala made an ingratiating showing with his serenade in the first act and stirring love duet with Rachel in the second. Opera Orchestra and Met veteran bass Plishka was, as ever, imposing and dependable as he led off stately grand ensemble "Si la rigeur" and pronounced a vehement imprecation upon Éléazar, Rachel, and Léopold in Act Three finale "Vous qui du Dieu vivant." Grant Youngblood, Valerian Ruminski, Edward Albert, the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and the players of the Opera Orchestra ably rounded out the performing forces.

The company's season continues with "La Sonnambula," with Ruth Ann Swenson, on May 12. Tickets priced from $20 to $85 are available at the Carnegie Hall box office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

In "Intermezzo" - called by its creator "a domestic comedy with symphonic interludes" - Strauss depicts the calms and storms of life with the mate that, difficult as she is, he truly loves. The conversational libretto, sung here in Andrew Porter's singable English translation, is Strauss' own and treats the couple's bickering, misadventures and making up, set to, ultimately, rhapsodic, arching strains.

The composer and conductor, styled Robert Storch in the text, is leaving for two months to prepare for a new musical season. His wife, given the name Christine, begins a mild flirtation with a charming but penniless young baron, who amuses her, but is really after her money. A love letter, meant for Stroh, a lesser colleague of Storch's, and written by a young lady of dubious reputation, arrives and rocks the happy home until the misunderstanding is cleared up and peace and tranquility reign anew.

An offhand remark of Christine's regarding her husband's frequent travels - rendered no doubt accurately by Porter as "I suspect there's more than a drop of Jewish blood there," apparently a reference to the "wandering Jew" of medieval legend - reminds the listener that this tender, feel-good Strauss is the same Strauss who, approaching 80, would be honored by the Nazi regime until he fell from its favor.

Commanding the stage as Christine, soprano Flanigan wedded an exemplary musical performance to a bravura, seriocomic histrionic one, showing keen comprehension of the highly emotional figure, once a celebrated prima donna, whose stage is now the domestic one and whose drama now consists of haughty displays of temperament, jealous outbursts, laments about the sorry lot of a composer's wife and, if pressed, declarations of devotion to her spouse - usually out of his earshot. Her sound was clear and silvery and her movement convincingly that of a mature and stout, but still imperious woman. That said, her graceful dance with her youthful swain, both on roller blades, representing ice skates, must be mentioned as well.

Effectively supporting Flanigan were lyric baritone John Hancock as a patient Storch and tenor Matthew Chellis, a young dandy of a Baron Lummer; Leah Creek, Bettina Papoulas Bierly and Kristen Garver as the long-suffering servants of the Storch household; Dennis Petersen, James Bobick, William Ledbetter and Stefan Szkafarowsky as Storch's colleagues and card-playing cronies; Evan Charney Maltby as the Storchs' young son; and Marc Embree and Caroline Whisnant as Storch's lawyer and his wife.

George Manahan, presiding in the pit, and Leon Major, who staged the work with wit and warmth, kept "Intermezzo" moving along smoothly. Clever set designs, allowing for many, seamless scene changes, were by Andrew Jackness, who, with a few set pieces, could suggest a tasteful Art Deco living room. Costumes, evocative of the 1920s, were by Martha Mann.

Baritone Gregory Keil and mezzo-soprano Maria Zifchak, as John and Elizabeth Proctor, made effective highlights of their second act scene, filled with hurt and recrimination, and loving final encounter in jail. Keil also contributed a warm, solid rendition of his solo welcoming spring to his farm and attempting reconciliation with his wife, a dramatic dénouement to Act Two, protesting Elizabeth's innocence of the charge of witchcraft, and defiantly heroic climactic confrontation with Judge Danforth, who has condemned him to hang.

Lori Brown Mirabal proffered a vivid portrayal of the slave Tituba, reveling in the attention of the Salem leaders, who seek her confession of trafficking with the Devil, and following it up with a sultry Barbados song in the prison scene. Suzanne Lustgarten, as Mary Warren, delivered a chilling description, imbued with zealotry, of her work with the court and forceful confession, before Danforth, of the devastating hoax perpetrated by her and her friends, accusing innocent citizens of witchcraft.

Other leading roles were taken by Brigitte Bellini as Abigail Williams, Walter MacNeil as Judge Danforth, David Dillard as Reverend Hale, Barbara Norcia as Rebecca Nurse, Larry Raiken as Reverend Parris, Martin Broms as Giles Corey, and Gary Giardina and Mazzelle Sykes as Thomas and Ann Putnam.

Dicapo Opera Theatre's next season will consist of Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana," paired with Gaetano Donizetti's "Il Campanello," on September 29 and October 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10, Jules Massenet's "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame" on December 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19, Samuel Barber's "Vanessa" on February 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20, 2000, and Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" on April 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 and 16. Call DiCapo at 212-288-9438 regarding subscriptions, which sell for $99, or $85 for seniors. [BMG]