A Real Triumph in Music and Vision August 16

A Real Triumph
The 2011 Sferisterio Festival,
reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI

As reported in Music & Vision on 3 August 2010, Macerata lies quietly on the 'Marche' green hills. It is a dot on the map of Italy -- a total population of forty-five-thousand in a province of some one-hundred-and-fifty-thousand -- but it has a long history. The University of Macerata is the third most ancient in the world (after those of Paris and Bologna). In 1797, the town made a strong impression on Napoleon Bonaparte who wrote to his wife about its beauty and elegance. It used to be very wealthy: agriculture, textiles and large assets owned by religious congregations as shown by very well-preserved eighteenth and nineteenth century city centre. The religious assets were the result of the 'maggiorasco', a system whereby only the elder would receive title and lands but his brothers and sisters were sent to convents and armies with generous dowries.

The Sferisterio Arena. Photo © 2008 Alfredo Tabocchini. Click on the image for higher resolution
Within Macerata there are several places just perfect for musical theatre or for musical performances in general. Firstly, the Teatro Lauro Rossi, an elegant four hundred seat theatre with three tiers of boxes and a family circle within the City Hall Palace. Secondly, the Sferisterio Arena, a rather peculiar open air building with a huge wall and two tiers of large boxes, originally conceived for a unique sport, 'Pallone al Bracciale' (where the players would ride horses and throw large arm bands at the wall, following a set of rather complex rules), but used since the early twentieth century mostly for musical performance. It can accommodate an audience of three thousand and has an acoustic similar to that of the Orange open air theatre in Southern France. Thirdly, the Teatro Italia, built in the 1940s for both cinema and plays. Fourthly, the San Paolo Auditorium, a former church now being used as the main hall of the University and as a performing area. Finally, a nineteenth century chamber music hall, the Philharmonic Society. Nearby, in rural Urbisaglia, the ruins of a Roman theatre are sometimes used for performances of Norma or Aida.

The Teatro Lauro Rossi at Sferisterio. Photo © 2009 Alfredo Tabocchini. Click on the image for higher resolution
In Summer, there has been a Festival for the last sixty years. This is the forty-seventh festival if account is taken of the years when, during the war or for other reasons, the Festival wasn't held. During the last few years, the summer event has become an important 'theme festival' of interest also to foreigners and with important international partnerships. In the opening week of the 2011 Festival (which ran from 22 July to 11 August), reporters and opera reviewers from a dozen countries were present.
This year the theme was 'freedom and fate', the dialectics between individual freedom and the fate of both individuals and a society. The theme fits well with the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy (17 March 1861) but the festival emphasized the philosophical aspects rather than the patriotic elements of the dichotomy between freedom and fate. On 22 July 2011, the inaugural performance -- a new production of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera -- was preceded by two lectures on the theme; in the morning by the Bishop of Macerata and in the late afternoon by Massimo Cacciari, one of Italy's best known philosophers, also known internationally.
The Festival included three operas; a play on the life and times of Gustav Mahler, a few concerts and a major performance by the Bolshoi Ballet. There were also many lateral events; the 12 noon 'literary aperitifs', a lecture on music followed by a wine tasting session, were very well appreciated. I focused on the three operas.
Un Ballo in Maschera was premiered on 22 July (at the performance I attended). It is well known that, due to censorship problems, the libretto and the milieu had to be changed several times, from Sweden in the eighteenth century to Boston in colonial times. These changes have not spoilt the opera because the colors and the atmosphere remain unmistakably Verdi's. But this is a special kind of Verdi: Un Ballo is, practically, his first Italian opera after his experience in France and the composition of Les Vêpres Siciliennes (see M&V, 21 May 2011); thus, it is a masterpiece of blending stylistic elements. On the one hand, Verdi gestures with the lighter side of French operatic style (eg the character of Oscar and some elements of Riccardo's personality). On the other, Verdi delves into his previous Italian works, such as in Renato's passionate outburst of hatred (Eri Tu) with its hammering rhythms contrasted with a delicate love melody recalling his devotion to Amelia. Even more, the unrelievedly dark and austere musical personality of Ulrica and the passionate carnal second act duet of Riccardo and Amelia. The success of the opera relies on the delicate musical balance of colors, perceptions and personality.

A scene from 'Un Ballo in Maschera' at the Sferisterio Festival. Photo © 2011 Alfredo Tabocchini. Click on the image for higher resolution
In this new production, the milieu change once more. In Pier Luigi Pizzi's dramatization (stage direction, stage sets, costumes and lighting), we are in America but not in colonial Boston. We are in Washington -- ie the White House and thereabouts -- circa 1960, the Kennedy years, the time of 'Camelot'. Politics, passion, sex, and race issues mix quite well in and around Lafayette Square; the action is at the forefront of the stage but is blown up in black and white on three huge screens (similar to the black-and-white TV of the sixties) on the immense wall of the amphitheatre. The dichotomy between freedom and fate (with its emphasis on social responsibility) is, thus, heightened. Dramatically, this functions quite well even though we miss the balance between the more intense emotional range and the lighter sections in French style.
On the musical side, preparation for this production had been marked by several unforeseen events. The conductor was changed early in rehearsals and the soprano almost the day before the opening night, 22 July. Daniele Callegari conducted without any strong stamina and lost somewhat the delicate balance referred to above. Stefano Secco was an average Riccardo; clear emission but without enough volume for the large open air arena. Marco Di Felice appeared frightened at first -- maybe because of his not very good experience with La Forza del Destino at the 2010 Sferisterio Festival -- but gained courage and strength as the performance proceeded and delivered a good Eri Tu. Elisabetta Fiorillo shouted her way through Ulrica's role. The real surprise was the young Victoriia Chenska, who had just flown in from Kiev Opera House: a marvelous (and quite sensual) Amelia who received accolades from the audience, overpowered Stefano Secco in the second act duet and delivered a moving Morrò Ma Prima In Grazia filling the huge auditorium with her perfectly tuned voice.
23 July was a rainy night. The second opera, Rigoletto, had to be interrupted; the performance started at 9pm and ended at almost 2am. The artists and audience must be praised for their determination. Rigoletto is a more widely known opera than Un Ballo, and M&V has discussed it several times. It is evident to all opera goers how freedom and fate tragically intertwine in the opera. This new production is quite important because it is a joint venture of ten Italian theatres where it will be seen between October 2011 and June 2012. Later, it may go to Hong-Kong, Macao, Seoul and Spain. Thus, Massimo Gasparon (stage direction, stage sets, costumes and lighting) had to organize a staging that can be arranged in different opera houses: a basic revolving set that shows the Duke's Palace, Mantua's streets, Rigoletto's home and Sparafucile's pub-with-brothel on the banks of the Mincio river. It works effectively. The costumes of the courtiers are based on Tiepolo's paintings, whilst the protagonists are in circa 1850 attire (ie the time when Verdi composed the opera).

Giovanni Meoni in the title role of 'Rigoletto' at the Sferisterio Festival. Photo © 2011 Alfredo Tabocchini. Click on the image for higher resolution
The debut of Andrea Battistoni, the new whiz kid of Italian conducting (see M&V on 21 April 2011), was much awaited. Battistoni was uncertain in balancing the pit and the chorus in the first scene; difficult to say if he was distracted by the black clouds foreboding the rain. He did quite well as the opera progressed, after the intermission caused by the weather.
Desirée Rancatore proved once more to be an excellent Gilda. Ismael Jordi is a 'tenore di grazia', thus a lightweight Duke of Mantua, more sensual than libertine. Giovanni Meoni is a proven Rigoletto. Tiziana Carraro (Maddalena and Duchessa di Ceprano) and Alberto Rota (Sparafucile) were not having one of their best nights, but the weather conditions may very well have been a mitigating factor.
On 24 July in the Teatro Lauro Rossi, Mozart's Così fan tutte was a real triumph. The opera is co-produced with Teatro delle Muse in Ancona, where it was performed a couple of times last January. It deserves to go far and to be revived at other houses in Italy and abroad. As is well known, the last of Mozart's trilogy of operas set to Lorenzo Da Ponte's text, can be read in several ways. Pier Luigi Pizzi (stage direction, stage sets, costumes and lighting) sets it as a sex comedy on a sunny Mediterranean shore. The audience can see the beach, a few rocks, a small boat at the left side of the stage and an elegant two storey home on the right side. The two couples -- Carmela Remigio and Ketevan Kemolidze are sisters from Ferrara; Andreas Wolf and Juan Francisco Gatell are their partners -- are young and good looking. The cynical Don Alfonso (mastermind of the plot -- Andrea Concetti) and Despina (chambermaid of the two sisters but also Don Alfonso's accomplice, Giacinta Nicotra) are also young; Despina shows long tanned legs. Don Alfonso is just slightly older than the two young men but has, no doubt, a lot of experience with women.
M&V readers will be familiar with the double cheating at the root of a plot based on changes between fiction and reality, where everybody cheats on everyone else and, at the end of the day, the couples are re-composed in the formation they were at the very first scene but all have a bitter view of life. The sexual attraction is central to Pizzi's interpretation of the plot, which always has elegant taste, even in the more explicit sex scenes. The age and the physique du rôle of the protagonists is essential: Wolf and Gatell are handsome and sing in their bare chests, whilst exercising with push-ups. Similarly, Remigio and Kemoklidze pretend to be chaste and saintly at the beginning of the opera and, soon after their men have gone to serve their king and country, follow Despina's advise to 'make love like assassins'. All six are excellent singers and received several open stage applauses. Remigio had the right dramatic touch in Come Scoglio (a satire of opera seria arias). Kemoklidze is like a pussycat in love in Prenderò Quel Brunettino. Gatell transpires sexual emotion from every pore in Un'Aura Amorosa. Wolf seems ready to make love even in Donne Mie La Fate a Tanti!. Rather than revealing the dark side of Enlightenment (as sustained by Julian Rushton in a well known essay) the two sextets (at the end of each act) are anthems to the joy of love.

A scene from 'Così fan tutte' at the Sferisterio Festival. Photo © 2011 Alfredo Tabocchini. Click on the image for higher resolution
Some opera critics may prefer other interpretations of Così fan tutte but Pizzi and his team must be praised for the coherence of the design and its elegant implementation. And the orchestra? The conductor, Riccardo Frizza, merely supported the staging and the singing. Nonetheless, the audience was enthralled.
Copyright © 14 August 2011 Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy

ITALY
GIUSEPPE VERDI
PIER LUIGI PIZZI
RIGOLETTO
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
COSI FAN TUTTE
LORENZO DA PONTE
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