patrikpen: A Complex Plot in Music and Vision 17 aprile

domenica 12 maggio 2013

A Complex Plot in Music and Vision 17 aprile

A Complex Plot

GIUSEPPE PENNISI was at the opening night
of Verdi's 'Don Carlo' in Turin

Turin's Teatro Regio burned up in 1936. Due to World War II and to differing ideas on the project, its reconstruction took more than three decades. Eventually, a very modern auditorium was unveiled in April 1973 (with Maria Callas in I Vespri Siciliani) but the façade maintained its original eighteenth century architecture as an integral part of the Royal Palace. To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the reconstruction, Teatro Regio's management and the City Government of Turin organized several initiatives: exhibits, lectures, round tables and 'open days' to show the Theatre to the population at large. The center piece was an updating of the successful 2006 production of Verdi's Don Carlo, seldom performed due to the sheer effort it requires. The 2006 production had been a joint venture with Madrid's Teatro Real and Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice.

There are at least three quite different versions of Don Carlo. The original 1867 version has five acts with ballet and quite a few symphonic interludes. It seems that the score was never performed as preserved in the Paris Opéra archives; due to the estimated length (seven hours including intermissions), several cuts were made during rehearsal. I heard it in the 1970s, performed in a concert version conducted by Sarah Caldwell; there is also a 1980s studio recording by Claudio Abbado. Verdi was right: quite a bit of material (and especially the ballet) can be deleted without doing any harm. This Summer, Antonio Pappano will conduct the 1867 edition (in French) in Salzburg. It is generally called the 'Paris Don Carlos'.

Several small revisions were made in translations for Italian and German theatres. Eventually, in 1884, Verdi made a new four act version for La Scala. Named 'La Scala Don Carlo' (with Italianized name of the protagonist), this is the edition generally performed in Italy and seen in Turin on 11 April 2013. In 1886, Verdi went back to the opera and re-introduced the first act; this version, called 'Modena Don Carlo', is often performed in the USA and in Germany and occasionally in Italy. A new production of this 'Modena version' is scheduled to open the May Music Festival in Florence.

In my opinion, the 'Modena version' is the closest to Verdi's intention: the airy first act in the Fontainebleau park is a vivid contrast with the others in a decaying Spanish Royal Court. The difference is especially in musical tints: fresh and gentle in the first act, dark and often bleak in the other four. Nonetheless, the 'La Scala version' has an effective musical integrity and, if there is only one interval (as in Turin), the whole performance lasts slightly less than four hours.

Daniela Barcellona (right) as Princess Eboli in Verdi's 'Don Carlo' at Teatro Regio Torino. Photo © 2013 Ramella & Glannese

Now that we've clarified which Don Carlo was performed, let us focus on the Hugo de Ana stage production. It is a colossal grand pageant depicting the decline of the Habsburg Spanish Empire in a complex plot of love, friendship, betrayal and riots, where an oppressive Church also dominates the King and his political power. The libretto provides plenty of opportunities for a grand show: a coronation scene, the burning alive of those considered guilty of heresy, the Flanders Revolution, dances in the Palace halls and in the gardens. And Hugo de Ana exploits them all, without attempting a new or modern reading of the text, for the enjoyment of a rather conservative audience.

Ramón Vargas in the title role of Verdi's 'Don Carlo' at Teatro Regio Torino. Photo © 2013 Ramella & Glannese

Gianandrea Noseda was in charge of the musical aspects. With the orchestra and the chorus (directed by Claudio Fenoglio), he provided the appropriate tint and gave a key role to the woodwind and cellos. Two vocal casts alternate in Turin until 23 April and, at the end of the month, will take the opera to Paris. In the three main versions of the work, but especially in the four act 'La Scala Don Carlo', three characters have a weighty dramatic and musical role: Philip II, the King, Princess Eboli, his mistress (in love with Don Carlo), and Elisabetta (the Queen). They also have the most important arias. On 11 April, Ildar Abdrazakov (the King), Daniela Barcellona (the Princess) and Barbara Frittoli (the Queen) outdid the other three protagonists: Ramón Vargas (a Don Carlo with a few difficulties with his B natural), Ludovic Tézier (a Marquis of Posa in line with the old-fashioned writing Verdi selected for the role) and Marco Spotti (the Grand Inquisitor).