The staging of such a rarity as Gaspare Spontini’s Fernand Cortez is always worth a travel, worthwhile it is also to spend a few words on its genesis and staging history. From what we know, Napoleon, perfectly conscious of the political support it could get from the cultural institutions in general and opera in particular, wished to sugar-coat his Spanish invasion and asked for a libretto that would display modern liberalism over religious bigotry. The plot of Fernand Cortez was perfect for Mexican invasion was at the time interpreted as liberation of the Mexican people from the Aztec oppressors and their barbaric cults by Cortez. But Fernand Cortez, which premiered on 28th November 1809 with Napoleon himself attending, had only a moderate success in France in the first 2 years, which might be due to the disastrous results of the Spanish invasion. We don’t know for sure whether it was Napoleon himself who withdraw it from the scenes. Its success in France established only between 1817 and the second third of the 19th century, with its second version and almost 250 performances. Abroad, the opera had a big success from the beginning, being performed in cities such as Dresden, Brussels,Vienna, Prague (the premiere directed by Weber) Berlin, Budapest, Weimar and Naples (with Rossini conducting) already in the first 15 years after its creation.
The premiere in 1809 was famous for its bombastic staging including Cortez’ ships set on fire, 14 horses on stage as well as the loud music which was much criticized. What makes the opera alluring is the realization of how Spontini’s music was a forerunner of the grand opera and a model for the French operas by Rossini and Meyerbeer. Another reason why it is interesting to hear Spontini’s music are the harmonic inventions. Not having the gift for melody, he worked on big dramatic scenes, dynamic extremes and harmonics which give a sense of continuous movement, harmonic frictions and instabilities. Musical critics of the time wrote of “dissonances”, of “constant change of tonality “, or “ Full of modulations and dissonances which rapidly follow each other without a moment of rest.” Spontini’s accompaniment during airs and duets are often varied and delicate. However, director Jean-Luc Tingaud pays little attention to them and hastens over the score with little care on details. Additionally the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is big and has a pasty sound and a dubious acoustic, which prevents to hear all the delicate subtleties (at least from the side on the balcony it does) and therefore sometimes it took me time until i fully got the melody. Also, very often there was half a second time lag between the music in the pit and the singers or choir on stage. A quite unsatisfactory approach of the music.
I really admire the work of Cecilia Ligorio (and her whole team). She creates intriguing settings that manage well to absorb me into the physical space and psychological narrative of the plot. I had the same feeling in Martina Franca (Vaccaj’s Giulietta e Romeo) with its limited resources, and in the Venetian Semiramide last year. Also in Florence she plays with beautiful background canvases, which, masterfully lit, make for some evocative settings (the shore of lake Texcoco where Amazily wants to take her life with the weeds in the foreground is particularly attractive I thought). The movements are well choreographed and there never is a dip in tension. The ballets, a fundamental part in French opera, are modern yet gripping. The dancers (14, as the horses in 1809) give their best. The dances that close the opera, meant to celebrate the creation of a new Mexican culture (and idolize Cortez/Napoleon) are thoughtfully used by Ligorio to balance myth and reality: Cortez’ friend Moralez is seen during the last ballets writing his memoirs, thinking about the false views which are delivered by contrasting interpretations of history. He writes about the atrocities he saw, balancing the creation of new culture against the extermination of a whole society which was so praised by the self-celebratory Cortez, and admonishes to question false heroes. A wonderful and touching way of making theatre.
Amazily has the powerful and warm voice of Alexia Voulgaridou which fills the concert hall with ease. She sings well, has an audible voice in all registers, but sometimes a short breath, which are particularly regretful at the end of her first aria where the last top notes are separated from the rest, cutting the musical arch. Schmuck is scenically more credible in act 2 and 3, but he is not always able to bring the Spanish leader to life and his voice is often covered from the middle register down. The Telasco of Luca Lombardo is satisfactory and sings his aria well. Very good the Alvar of David Ferri Durà which, together with the two Spanish prisoners make for a nice Hymn in Act 3 . Remarkable also André Courville as Grand Pretre. Gianluca Margheri sings a fine Moralez
Conductor-Jean-Luc Tingaud, Director-Cecilia Ligorio, Sets-Massimo Checchetto and Alessia Colosso, Costumes-Vera Pierantoni Giua, Lights-Maria Domenech, Choreography-Alessio Maria Romano, Fernando Cortez-Dario Schmunck, Télasco-Luca Lombardo, Amazily-Alexia Voulgaridou, Alvar-David Ferri Durà, Moralez-Gianluca Margheri, High mexican priest-André Courville, 12 octover 2019, pictures from the site of the maggio musicale fiorentino https://www.maggiofiorentino.com/en/events/fernand-cortez-2/
Nicola Manfroce was a man of talent. Born one year before Rossini in the Calabrian Palmi, he moved his first musical steps in Rome. Aged 19 he presented a cantata in honour of Napoleon (the reference to France is important) and an opera, Alzira, interpreted by the already famous Isabella Colbran, who would become a key figure in Naples for the operas Rossini would compose for her interpretative and vocals skills. Impresario Domenico Barbaja’s nose for excellent talents (he also “discovered” Rossini and Bellini) commissioned Ecuba for the San Carlo, which went on stage in December 1812. Manfroce died only a a few months later aged 21. His insight of the French style is evident from the ouverture, where he masterfully combines the French musical language with Italian melodic inspiration. Throughout, the tragédie lyrique of Spontini also comes to mind. A profound musical chiselling of the tormented characters is achieved with dramatic ariosi and accompanied recitatives in forms that run smoothly into the actual musical numbers.
I was looking forwar to hear Carmela Remigio but unfortunately she was indisposed. as was the conductor Fabio Luisi. Sesto Quatrini took over the musical direction and although he did well, I felt that precision was missing especially in the string section and a research in colours and details was absent. Lidia Fridman as replacement in the role of Ecuba was successful. A slightly tensed top register did not affect the overall musical rendition and dramatic interpretation of the tragic figure with a good technical baggage and a generous voice: I especially enjoyed Roberta Mantegna as Polissena, beautiful timbre and well projected voice. Norman Reinhardt interprets Achilles credibly with a bold vigor and tender reading in his duets with Polissena . Though the timbre of the second tenor is more agreable, the interpretation of Priamus by Mert Süngü needs to wait Act II to be fully convicing. Pizzi’s setting was credible and powerful, almost grand in its linear and static nature. The chorus was placed at the two outside corners while the main action happned in the central section. Movements are predictable but the whole works. Pizzi gets single boos at the courtain call, all others are applauded with enthusiasm.
A highlight, the Matilde di Shabran of this year’s opera in Bad Wildbad, given during its yearly Rossini Festival. Rossini composed the opera for the Teatro Apollonia in Rome. Last minute changes and time constraints made him ask the composer Giovanni Pacini to help out with 3 musical numbers. When the opera was later staged in Naples, Rossini exchanged the numbers written by Pacini with own compositions. The Bad Wildbad Festival decided to stage the opera in its first Roman version, with the Pacini numbers, among which the Matilde-Edoardo duet in act 2 and the Introduction to Act II. The director of this production was Stefania Bonfadelli, who I fondly remember as excellent soprano. As director she brings us into a journalistic, men-dominated newsroom, tyrannized by the choleric Corradino. The sets are nice in its grey, straight lines, which could represent Corradino’s cold soul (before meeting Matilde). The text is not always properly mirrored but overall the setting works. It was musically however, that the opera took off. Although the orchestra (new to Bad Wildbad) was not at its best, José Miguel Pérez conducted with much inspiration. Very good Michele Angelini as Corradino. The agility did not seem to pose the slightest problem and the voice is tender in its more lyric passages. Where Sara Blanch was slightly more convincing as Matilde is the ease she moves on stage, almost with a bit of cockiness in her inspired rendering of Matilde. Equally at ease with coloratura she moves up and down the pentagram as if it was the most natural thing in the world. With such singers their musical numbers were an absolute pleasure, Corradino’s entrance aria with its almost frantic runs, Matilde’s closing aria and most of all the quintet in act 1. Victoria Yarovaya had a warm voice which merged well with the soprano in Pacini’s duet No, Matilde non morrai. All other singers also contributed significantly to the success of the opera.
Two minor operas at this year’s festival, but nonetheless worth seeing, were L’accademia di musica by Giovanni Simone Mayr and I tre gobbi by Manuel Garcia. L’accademia di musica, though a thin libretto, had an excellent cast. Two of the singers, Maria del Mar Humanes and César Cortes were members in the masterclass which Bad Wildbad organizes every year. I particularly liked the agile though firm voice and the sparkly stage presence of Maria del Mar Humanes. Filippo Morace combines good actorial skills with a good technical preparation, while Ricardo Seguel sings well his part of Cecchino. Correctly sung and excellently interpreted was the Momoletto of Filippo Pina Castiglioni. Nicola Pascoli directs with much verve. Eleonora Bellocci is one of these voices to follow closely, strong in its middle register, excellent top notes, clear coloratura and refined interpretation. She interpreted also the role of Vezzosa in the one-act opera I tre gobbi by Manuel Garcia (who was Rossini’s first Count Almaviva and father of Maria Malibran) on a libretto by Goldoni and accompanied by one piano. The libretto is extremely modern for its time (a woman, finding herself wooed by three men, the rich Parpagnacco, the beautiful Bellavita and the good Macaco, not being able to chose, decides to live with the 3 of them) and Garcia composes lovely melodies for this spirited libretto. I already said about the positive impression of Eleonora Bellocci, I also enjoyed the three men, especially the nice timbre and agile voice of Javier Povedano. All four were accompanied on the piano by Andres Jesus Gallucci with much empathy, liveliness and passion.
Stanis
The greatly acclaimed staging by Pountney is minimal but was praised for including popular Polish elements and symbols. Pountney puts the plot in the 20’s and 30’s, keeps the gaiety of the libretto, works with tableaux vivants which he frames in the style of paintings and which he moves on stage. The staging is very lighthearted, full of humour and colourful and the singers are all well directed.
Compared to previous years the opera programmes in Belgium for the 19/20 season are a bit disappointing in my view. If the Flemish Opera or the Liege Opera somehow balanced the Monnaie/Munt’s predilection for modern works, this isn’t always the case in the new programmes.
The Flemish Opera, winner of the 2019 Opera Award for best Opera Company, presents the season of the new artistic director Jan Vandenhouwe. More diverse than the Munt, though I don’t see the need for two Verdi operas in one season (Don Carlos and Macbeth), and Cosi fan tutte again!! Two further titles are disguised as opera but are really a potpourri of music by Verdi and Wagner (Platel’s Choeurs) and the scenes from Goethe’s Faust by Mendelssohn. What stands out is an Schrecker opera (Der Schmied von Gent), a schoolopera by Brecht/Weill (Der Jasager), the Sheharazade/heure espagnole dyptic by Ravel and a welcome Rusalka by Dvorak. Interesting enough 3 productions (Rusalka, Choeurs and the Ravel dyptic) are mentioned under “opera” as well as under “ballet”. This year also the Flemish Opera offers a modern-only programme for ballet (!!).
A wonderful little rarity by Ferdinando Paer was staged by the Teatro Regio in Torino; Paer is one of many transition composers between Mozart and Rossini, who wrote excellent music, today unfortunately rarely performed. His Agnese was first performed in 1809 and then all over Italy and Europe until the 1820’s. The plot revolves around Agnese who elopes with Ernesto, fact which drives her father into madness believing her dead. Hen Ernesto leaves Agnese she goes back to her father to ask for forgiveness (with her little daughter whom she gave birth to in the meantime). The plot has a happy ending with the father regaining his mind and Ernesto asking for forgiveness. Diego Fasolis kept the music exciting and crisp with an orchestra of the Regio at its best and beautifully played solos.
Another rarity was presented in Brussels, albeit in concert version, Robert le diable by Meyerbeer. I was very excited when I read about it as I think Meyerbeer composed wonderful music, melodic, dramatic, romantic. Less excited when I heard the names. Korchak (is he really up for the role?) Pidó (eye rolling) Auyanot (pouting with scepticism), Courjal (who?) Dral (who??). And who was the soprano again? But I must admit the performance was one of the best I’ve ever heard. Pidó conducted with incredible energy an orchestra that was in top shape, he also accompanied the singers very well. Korchak surprised me with a resounding voice, an admirable stamina, flexibility and extension he kept from beginning to the end. It was the first time I heard Courjal but I find his warm voice very pleasant. He certainly is very good in the part of Bertram, though maybe not very diabolic. Another very good singer I really admired was Julien Dran in the role of Raimbaut. His voice light and flexible, he sang an impressive top note in his duet with Raimbaut. Yolanda Auyanet was very dramatic and well suited to the role of Alice. The soprano was of course Lisette Oropesa, who i remember well from her adina in Pesaro and even better from her Marguerite in Paris’ Les Huguenot. I thought she was stunning. Simply stunning. The timbre might not be as warm, but all notes, from the low to the high and top ones, all are there. The coloratura comes with apparent easy, the character of Isabelle well interpreted with beautiful colours and musicality. A very moving interpretation. A shame it did not come in a scenic version.
Les pecheurs des perles was told in a sort of flashback: from an elderly home, Zurga and Nadir re-live the past and their love for Leila. The past is then visualized by a huge sea wave and three dancers. The stage rotated regularly from present to past and in some occasions the two merged, such as when the dancers representing Nadir and Leila, were actually cuddling on a table in the elderly home, surrounded by the seagulls. A very lovely and touching moment of magic realism. From all the voices it was Elena Tsallagova’s Leila who stood out while David Reiland delivered a direction underlining the languish aspect of the score throughout the opera, which was played without pause (a habit I support).
Liège showed us a production of Faust by Stefano Poda already performed in Turin. It’s a symbolic and philosophical vision. The stage is dominated by a giant ring, which turns and lifts and around which everybody moves. The effect is stunning, the idea brilliant, the content and position of the ring vary along the acts and it allows movement of singers and masses. The visual and light effects are beautiful and underline each scene efficiently, the costumes are very nice and adequate and the Walpurgis ballet was beautifully choreographed. Patrick Davin directs with beautiful colours a score that I find far to “nice” for the subject. The cast was very good with a wonderful interpretation and a generous voice by Ildebrando d’Arcangelo as Mephisto and a good Faust by Marc Laho. Anne Catherine Gillet, except for a few pushed high notes in act 5, charms with a beautiful fleshy timbre.
I saw a less convincing Gioconda, too. “Py Makes it a sinister tale”, they wrote about the director, or…”chooses for…black“. I’m not sure, however, the intentional choice is much in Py’s power. There are recurring themes and objects such as the all-black, the dog masks, the feeling of grim and oppressive. Sometimes this works well-where Py is indeed able to add more than a setting (Les Huguenots were excellent, Les dialogues des Carmelites impressive)-sometimes it doesn’t (Hamlet or this Gioconda). The continuous black was a bit monotonous, then nudity became a recurrent contrivance and trash came into the picture (having sex on a table, while holding a frying pan with a fish in it?) plus a group rape during the dance scene (ok we got it: sex and violence is a constant in this Py-world, wherever it is). I was bored halfway through the first part. Vocally the two casts weren’t exciting either. None of the two Gioconda’s were fully convincing, one because of the colourless interpretation, the other due a certain distance to the character. Of the two Laura’s I liked the warm voice of Szilvia Vörös in the second cast. Really credible were the Enzo and Barnaba of Stefano La Colla and France Vassallo. The latter vocally and scenically also very convincing. Carignani’s direction is dry and nervous with no space for sentimentality. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. Overall two unsatisfactory evenings.
Before Rossini’s last opera Guillaume Tell, a project came up which intended to re-use the music of Il Viaggio a Reims. This latter opera was written exclusively for the coronation of Charles X and was staged only a limited number of times. Le Comte Ory, the second last opera by Rossini, was staged with success from 1828 to the mid-19th century for approx. 400 times. Liege’s staging is a coproduction with the Opera Comique which had a set of very good singers. Antonino Siragusa, except for his dynamic poverty, has a luminous voice which he combines with a solar appearance, easy coloratura, excellent musicality and an instinctive acting. A pleasure to see and hear him. Jodie Devos has a beautiful voice, her timbre velvety and soft, her high and top notes clear, her embellishments delicate and light. The entrance cavatina was sung beautifully with the sensual voice matching the character’s melancholy. The cabaletta was not as sparkling though, partially due to the tempi, partially due to dubious variations. José Maria Lo Monaco makes for a good Isolier, and the two basses Laurent Kubla and Enrico Marabelli sing their respective arias with great taste.
The setting is not the one originally conceived (the time of the crusades), Podalydès puts it around the time of the opera’s composition, so that religious puritanism plays a bigger role. The stage design is simple with the interior of a church in Act 1 and the walls of the castle in Act 2. But there is basically very little action if not for the traditional singers’ movements. The (very) rare gags serve only their own purpose, there is no concept except for the temporally shifted setting. The opera works because the libretto is well written, but the staging is a but dull and clearly the singers don’t always know how to move. What to say about the musical direction of Jordi Bernacér. The tempi are extremely slow. So slow I rarely heard any opera directed (maybe Otello by Ferro in Naples, where I was equally bored). The effect is of a big long boring musical piece after another. The aria of the governor seemed endless. None of the pieces had any energy any vigour; the music sounded repetitive and tedious. This production didn’t do Rossini any justice, it’s nothing like Rossini should sound like.
Donizetti, as many other belcanto composers, is not very loved in Brussels, neither comic nor serious operas. Except for sporadic stagings of Elisir d’amore and Don Pasquale over the last 50 years (including the beautiful Kaaitheater staging with a viguros De Marchi and a young Diana Damrau), we have to go back to 1991 and 1982 for concert performances of La favorite and Anna Bolena, or 1979 for a duca d’Alba. Two additional but awful stagings of Lucia and Lucrezia but that’s about it since at least the 1840’s . But the beautiful dramatic operas such as Devereux, Maria Stuarda, Maria de Rohan, Pia etc are missing (unless we look into the 19th century). So even a comic opera is welcome.
The setting of this Don Pasquale is beautifully designed by Pelly and his team. It’s a section of a room rotating on stage in and around which everything evolves. In act II don Pasquale’s life is put upside down by the arrival of Norina, Pelly takes this literally and puts the house ….upside down. I liked the staging and the direction, which was much inspired by Feydeau. Unfortunately there is a lot of overacting, door slamming, stomping etc…far too much and all a bit unrefined, the opposite of donizetti ‘s music, and mostly visible in the overly aggressive Norina of Anne Catherine Gillet. Nonetheless I much enjoyed her beautifully warm timbre, her ease in singing the embellishments and her pronunciation. I would have liked to see also Ms De Niese but she was indisposed the night I went. Excellent are both Don Pasquales, a character which is exceptionally delivered by Pertusi and Spagnoli with much humanity. Pertusi is a wonderful singer with a beautiful round voice, excellent musicality who delivers a touching Don Pasquale with many vocal colours. Where I slightly prefer Pietro Spagnoli is in his spontaneity, in the depiction, often with a simple gesture, of the joys and troubles of the poor old fooled man (hilarious the way he lets himself melt on the armchair when he sees Norina). Impeccable in his delivery of a wide palette of emotions only through his speaking, the text is articulated in such a way that one can almost hear a comma, a parenthesis, a question mark. I much enjoyed Pogossiov and his lovely open baritone voice. Like a fish out of water Lionel Lhote with his aspirated t’s and double consonants where there weren’t. Dangerously leaned towards off key notes and with a short high register, both tenors are just acceptable though scenically credible. The Munt’s Orchestra, whose playing-together is very unclean, has a scholastic approach and plays with little nuances.
Semiramide comes back to La Fenice, for which it was composed in 1823. It was Rossini’s last opera for Italy. The setting by Ms Ligorio is quite interesting as it changes from a superficial all-golden all-beautiful in the first act to a dark and black in the second, when all mysteries are unveiled. The dark represents, I imagine, the bleak future and dark emotions of almost all characters starting from Idreno who sees his throne snatched away by Arsace, Azema who is forced by the tenor to love him, Arsace discovering the awful truth and Semiramide brought to justice. The dancers are unconnected but bring some movement to the otherwise static plot.
The title role is adequately sung by Jessica Pratt. In the second act she brings a wider pallet of colours to the part and her top register shines but I felt the first act was less emotional and the variations in the repeats were of dubious taste. Enea Scala has some dryness in the high register, I think Idreno is more suited to a tenore di grazia and his push in the upper register make him lack colours but the boldness he approaches the role with is stunning. Esposito is excellent as actor and singer though the character of Assur- I guess-allows him to pull only a limited amount of registers. Teresa Iervolino has a strange enthusiams to attack some notes from below instead of straight on, but except for this she was my overall favourite. Arsace allows for a whole range of emotions and I was touched throughout, the low range of her voice is warm and generous and her coloratura comes with enviable ease. Smaller roles are adequately cast and they all sing well, I especially enjoyed the clear voice of lovely Azema. Frizza directs.