Despite a three­month Broadway run on its first appearance in 1954‚ and prestige productions at La Scala‚ the Vienna Volks­oper and elsewhere‚ The Saint of Bleecker Street has never achieved the popularity of Menotti’s earlier The Consul and The Medium. The plot is clearly important to him (it apparently reflects his own conflict between religious faith and doubt) but it is dramatically awkward. The story of the mortally ill Italian­American girl Annina‚ whose visions and apparent ability to effect miraculous cures are believed in by her neighbours in New York’s ‘Little Italy’‚ is material enough for one act‚ perhaps two if we add her yearning to become a ‘bride of Christ’ even on her deathbed. The opera is extended to three acts and five scenes largely by the introduction of her brother Michele‚ an atheist to whom Annina’s visions are mere symptoms‚ even the delusions of a sick mind. He is such an unsympathetic character (he bullies Annina and murders his mistress for suggesting that his love for her is rather more than brotherly) that he becomes irritating rather than one term in an interesting equation. The plot therefore is weaker than that of either The Consul or The Medium; to compensate‚ the music is sometimes stronger‚ certainly more resourcefully varied. The cast is large and the atmosphere of a tightly­knit community is strong‚ reinforced by the use of folk­like Italian melody – often sung in Italian – and music evoking the rituals of the Catholic church. The choral writing is striking (and splendidly sung here) and the music associated with Annina – at times almost inevitably recalling Puccini’s Suor Angelica but at others close to Mussorgsky – is effective. The life of the street is well evoked. Skilful motivic working keeps the plot moving‚ and Italianate big tunes are not lacking. The opera is‚ in short‚ abundantly worth reviving despite its dramatic flaws. Unfortunately the most satisfying element of this performance is a subsidiary one. In the role of Desideria‚ Michele’s mistress‚ Pamela Helen Stephen is on stage for barely 15 minutes‚ but she out­sings almost everyone else by not forcing her voice‚ thus leaving ample space for careful diction and vivid acting. As Annina‚ Julia Melinek often puts far more pressure on her voice than it can take; an edgy‚ shrill vibrato is the result. Timothy Richards‚ like Melinek an accomplished young singer‚ takes fewer risks but distorts his tone with attempts at an American accent. The other singers are all capable‚ an idea of how well the opera works on stage is certainly conveyed‚ and the recording has real excitement to it‚ but the two principal roles call for a Latin glamour (which might even make Michele less insufferable) that these singers cannot provide.