Soprano soars in ‘Angelica’ James F. Cotter Middletown Times Herald Record May 11, 1996   FLORIDA—“Suor Angelica” is a one-act opera composed by Puccini in 1918. It tells the melodramatic tale of a 17th Century nun whose relatives have forced her into a convent after she has disgraced them by having a baby out of wedlock. In the company of the religious, Sister Angelica blossoms as a saintly, selfless woman, a favorite of the other sisters, a healer and confidante. Her happy world is shattered, however, when her scheming aunt appears with news of her infant son’s death. Angelica poisons herself, but immediately regrets her sinful action. As a sign of God’s forgiveness, she dies a happy death, envisioning herself in heaven holding her beloved child.      The Tri-State Regional Opera Company’s revival of “Suor Angelica” is an elegant and choice production by Renato Cesarino as directed by Ron De Fesi with his customary flair for finding local vocal talent. In the title role, Anna di Rubio Schumate is extraordinarily fine, possessing a strong dramatic soprano that bringing humanity and passion to the performance.      For the first half of the opera, Sister Angelica blends in with her community but after her aunt the Princess appears, her arias multiply while she inquires after her son, learns of his death, and plans to join him in death. Schumate imparts the tessitura of these later arias with conviction and felling. Her climactic arioso, “Senza mamma,” embodies motherly compassion and drama in a long sustained cantilena. Her dramatic declaration and smiling delivery convey a spiritual idealism that is essential to the role.      The opening scene, with the sisters processing up the church aisles chanting “Ave Maria,” is liturgical and reverent. An obvious contrast exists between the strict superiors and the exuberant novices picking flowers and tossing a ball in the cloister. As the sister who acts a Monitor, Janean Sherwin uses her well-trained mezzo-soprano to admonish, while the Mistress of Novices, played by mezzo-soprano Kathleen Flynn, is equally tuneful in her strictures. As Sister Genevieve, Angelica’s friend, Genya Muzyczka is pleasantly refined with her lyric soprano, with smooth portamento in shifts of tone. The choral singing is full and colorful with attractive timbre in the upper registers.      As the ominous Princess who comes to disinherit her niece, Christa Damaris is a true dark contr’alto, strong on top and firmly assertive in her low notes. She creates a forbidding figure whose duet with the heroine is the opera’s turning point. Denise Schneider plays the Abbess with musical authority and sensibility.      The six-piece orchestra, directed by De Fesi at the keyboard, accompanies gracefully and bridges the action in the later scenes with several long intermezzos that are melodic and haunting in the best Puccini style.