Complex Orchestration in Music and Vision 17 ottobre

Complex Orchestration
GIUSEPPE PENNISI visits the Verdi Festival,
which is short of money but not of ideas

In Parma and the surrounding areas, October is the month of the Verdi Festival. Not all musicologists agree on the need, or even on the desirability, for a festival in honor of Giuseppe Verdi. Maestro Gianandrea Gavazzeni, for instance, used to say that in every major city of the world, Verdi is being celebrated every night in at least one of the city's theatres; consequently, there would not be any need for a special event or series of events. Verdi is neither Wagner (who had a temple built in Bayreuth to perform his 'music drama') nor Rossini (whose major works, especially the opera seria, had been almost forgotten for nearly two hundred years). Nonetheless, Parma is fond of 'its' Verdi and for decades the boos from the upper balcony of the Teatro Regio have scared the most famous tenors and sopranos. In addition, as the Verdi bicentenary approaches, the city has developed a program to produce all twenty-seven Verdi operas in 'reference' editions that could be shown on TV around the world and that would be packaged in an elegant DVD box.
This program started well some six years ago, but the financial crisis has gradually taken a toll on it. Last year, the Festival was quite 'stormy', as I described in Music & Vision on 16 October 2010 [see An Icy Reception]. Lack of money had started to hinge upon quality. This year, lack of funds was replaced by dearth of finance. The budgets of both the central Government and the local authorities have had severe reductions with the view of making 'sustainable' Italian public debt (now around 120 per cent of GDP). The recession has had an impact of the liberalities of firms and banks: since 2008 the Italian economy has had a six per cent contraction. Until 1 September, there were doubts that the 2011 Festival could take place. By hook or crook or by a sheer miracle, on 1 October the curtains of the Teatro Regio were raised at 8pm to a new production of Un Ballo in Maschera. The program includes three operas: Falstaff and Il Trovatore, Un Ballo in Maschera, and in addition a series of concerts, special sessions to prepare children for Verdi's operas, seminars, debates. Well, almost every night until 30 October, in Parma and nearby there is something on about Verdi. Il Trovatore is performed in the small theatre of Busseto (Verdi's birth place) by an international cast of young singers selected after a keen competition.
Before reviewing three of the events, a general comment: wits can replace money. Thus, a Festival short of money needs not to be short of ideas. The protagonist of the musical comedy Fiddler on the Roof used to tell his daughters that 'nobody should be ashamed to be poor ... but there is no reason to be proud of it either'. All in all, on the basis of the three performances I reviewed, the 2011 Festival is more interesting and has higher quality that the financially better endowed 2010 Festival.
Let us go to the operas. I saw the 9 October 2011 performance of Un Ballo in Maschera, a matinée, starting at 3.30pm, the third performance of a series of nine in the schedule. I recently discussed the opera in M&V, on 16 August 2011 [see A Real Triumph]. Thus, I focus only on the production. The stage direction, sets, costumes and lighting were entrusted to Massimo Gasparon, one of the best Italian directors. With little budget, he was able to use the relics of what was left of a 'historical' production signed by Pierluigi Samaritani a quarter of a century ago but regretfully manipulated for a revival in the late nineties. Gasparon integrated with new stage elements what was left of Samaritani's work. The original production was highly traditional and elegant with painted sets; thus, the production is traditional but it is also a pleasure for the eyes. Even though for censorship reasons the libretto sets the drama in Boston during colonial times, Gasparon (and Samaritani) respected Verdi's inner feeling that the lust, friendship and power politics plot should evolve in a major continental Royal Palace and its surroundings. Thus, the Boston Governor's Palace looks like the superb Royal Palace in Caserta (near Naples) designed by Luigi Vanvitelli (one of the most important eighteenth century Italian architects) or even Versailles.

A scene from Act I of the Verdi Festival 'Un ballo in maschera' in Parma. Photo © 2011 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution
The musical direction was the responsibility of Gianluigi Gelmetti, who was able to strike the very delicate balance between 'conventions' (for example, this is the only Verdi opera with a coloratura soprano in a trouser role) and innovation (this is the first Verdi opera where there are no set numbers but each 'number' is an entire scene). In addition, Gelmetti kept the tempos quite well and, more importantly, from the pit gave the right atmosphere to the second act duet -- the sole 'carnal' duet in Verdi's repertory. Gelmetti showed also how important counterpoint is in this opera, in the introduction, at the end of the second act. An aspect often overseen by several conductors.

A scene from Act II of the Verdi Festival 'Un ballo in maschera' in Parma. Photo © 2011 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution
Un Ballo requires special voices in the traditional four Verdi protagonists: a 'spinto' tenor, a dramatic soprano, a softly agile baritone and a mezzo/alto. It also requires a 'coloratura soprano' and a chorus as a principal. Francesco Meli has fully completed his transition from a Mozart lyric tenor to a 'spinto' as he demonstrated in La rivedrò nell'estasi and in E' scherzo od è follia in the first act and in the second act grand duet. He achieved his best in the final scene from the Cs major Ella è pura to 'mezza voce' and 'pianissimo'. Next to him, the young American soprano Kristin Lewis; she has a great volume, a good intonation and perfect Italian; a bit uncertain in the second act duet, she deserved the accolades she had after Morrò, ma prima in grazia. Vladimir Stoyanov and Elisabetta Fiorillo are very experienced Verdi baritone and mezzo/alto, respectively. The real surprise was Serena Gamberoni as a sparkly Oscar. A great success.

From left to right: Antonio Barbagallo as Samuel, Vladimir Stoyanov as Renato and Enrico Rinaldo as Tom in Act III of the Verdi Festival 'Un ballo in maschera' in Parma. Photo © 2011 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution
On 10 October 2011, I was at the opening night of a new production of Falstaff which will travel to the Hong Kong International Lyric Music Festival and, maybe, also to Shanghai and Beijing, before returning to Italy next season. The dramaturgy is signed by the well-known British stage director Stephen Medcalf, the sets by Jamie Vartan and the lighting by Simon Corder. Andrea Battistoni, the twenty-five-year-old rising star of the Italian conducting firmament, is in charge of the musical direction. Ambrogio Maestri (Falstaff), Svetla Vassileva (Alice) and Luca Salsi (Ford) head the cast.

The Teatro Farnese in Parma. Click on the image for higher resolution
Before going to the specifics, it is important to say that Falstaff is not performed in the 950 seat Teatro Regio but in the almost 2,500 seat Teatro Farnese, an enormous wooden structure with the shape of an amphitheatre around a large arena. It was built in the years 1618-1636, not for musical events but to celebrate the visit of the Duke of Tuscany with a major show, including horses, dances, parades and also some musical accompaniment. It is within the Parma and Piacenza Duke's Palace (now a National Gallery of Arts). Because of the high costs of organizing shows (mostly horse games and tournaments) in such a structure, from 1638 to 1732 the Teatro Farnese had been used only eight times. Then, it became a storage space. Bombed during World War II, it was rebuilt to the original design in the 1960s, but only as recently as 12 June 2011 was it utilized for a Mozart orchestral concert conducted by Claudio Abbado. This production of Falstaff is the first time that an opera or a play has been performed in the theatre.

Mattia Denti as Pistol in Act I of the Verdi Festival 'Falstaff' in Parma. Photo © 2011 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution
The location is flabbergasting: the audience walks into the Renaissance sculpture and painting gallery and then, through a comparatively small door, enters the huge structure where a temporary stage and pit had been constructed. The large arena had been converted into rows of orchestra stalls and the amphitheatre into an elegant seven row tier. With a few props, Simon Corder has developed a fully Shakespearean stage and Stephen Medcalf a very fast action because he had at his disposal excellent singers/actors, with even acrobatic skills. There is also plenty of slapstick -- the audience laughs a lot. The production will, no doubt, be appreciated in Hong Kong. However, as I mentioned in M&V on 3 February 2010 [see The Quality of the Cooks], Verdi's two comic operas are not like farces. Especially, Falstaff is a reflection by an eighty-year-old composer about the stages of life (and of love) in a world which is 'a jest'. I would prefer a less farcical and a more melancholic approach.

A scene from Act I of the Verdi Festival 'Falstaff' in Parma. Photo © 2011 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution
Among the singers, Ambrogio Maestri is the best Falstaff available on today's world market. Luca Salsi is an effective Ford. I would prefer a more lyric Fenton than Antonio Gandia -- an excellent athlete in jumping from trees and in love making scenes. Luca Casalin, Patrizio Saudelli, and Mattia Denti are effective as Caius, Bartolo and Pistola. Altogether, the women's group is more compact; in addition to Svetla Vassileva, it includes a charming Barbara Bargnesi (Nannetta), a tricky Romina Tomasoni (Mrs Quickly) and a clever Daniela Pini (Meg).

From left to right: Patrizio Saudelli as Bardolf, Ambrogio Maestri as Sir John Falstaff and Mattia Denti as Pistol in Act I of the Verdi Festival 'Falstaff' in Parma. Photo © 2011 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution
The acoustics of the Teatro Farnese are far from perfect. In the first and in the second act, I was in a central row in the orchestra stalls; there appeared to be quite a bit of uncertainty in the pit. For the third act, I moved to the upper row in the amphitheatre; the orchestra sound was much better. I still have the doubt that it may be too early for Battistoni to handle Verdi's most complex orchestration. This is an orchestration that has not even a reference to the late romantic style of the 1890s, but which opens the way to nineteenth century music and a rediscovery of polyphony and the art of fugue. In his gestures, Battistoni imitates Riccardo Muti. He has a lot of talent but may require a more gradual progress.

Svetla Vassileva as Alice Ford in Act II of the Verdi Festival 'Falstaff' in Parma. Photo © 2011 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution
On 8 October 2011, Verdi's Requiem was performed in the Teatro Farnese with the orchestra and chorus of Teatro Regio, under the baton of Yuri Temirkanov and a great cast (Dmitra Theodossiou, Sonia Ganassi, Roberto Aronica and Roberto Zanellato). Orchestra and chorus were on the stage, not in the pit. The acoustic was much better. It is well known that Verdi's Requiem is not a religious piece of music but a melodrama on the meaning of life. It was beautifully rendered. Ovations erupted at the end.
Copyright © 17 October 2011 Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy

GIUSEPPE VERDI
PARMA
FALSTAFF
REQUIEM
TEATRO REGIO
ITALY
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