Passion and Commitment in Music and Vision 10 Dicembre

Passion and Commitment

Verdi's 'Giovanna D'Arco' at La Scala,
recommended by GIUSEPPE PENNISI

Teatro alla Scala has the reputation of being the most important Italian opera house. As a consequence the Teatro alla Scala opening night of the new season (always on 7 December, St Ambrose, patron of the city of Milan) is the most important inauguration of the Italian opera seasons. It is a special non-subscription gala, with sky high ticket prices (usually paid by sponsors) and an early starting time (6pm) in order to allow for dinners and receptions. This year, special security measures were taken because La Scala's season inauguration had been targeted by terrorists web sites.

In the stalls and boxes was the best of Italian business and finance. In the royal box, the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Culture and Infrastructures, the Mayor of Milan and their spouses.

The opera selected for the gala was Giovanna D'Arco by Giuseppe Verdi, a rarely performed 1845 work that some critics see as 'a bridge' between the seventh of eight operas of Verdi's youth and the composer's mature work. Others consider it as a rather incomplete and hasty operation. It had been forgotten for decades but since the mid nineteen eighties, it has been undergoing a revival as it is especially appreciated by a few conductors, including James Levine, Nello Santi and Riccardo Chailly, La Scala's principal conductor and rumored to soon become its music director. Performances of Giovanna D'Arco at La Scala are scheduled until 2 January 2016.

Anna Netrebko as Giovanna and Francesco Meli as King Charles VII in Verdi's 'Giovanna D'Arco' at Teatro alla Scala. Photo © 2015 Brescia-Amisano. Click on the image for higher resolution

The libretto by Temistocle Solera is based on Friedrich Schiller's tragedy, where Giovanna D'Arco is a heroine pursuing national unification, rather than a saint. Solera simplified the very complex plot of the tragedy (and reduced the number of characters from twenty-seven to three principals and two minor roles). He kept, of course, the basics: a dilemma between carnal passion and striving commitment to national unification. Verdi's vocal writing was patterned after a very special soprano, Erminia Frezzolini, whose register had an extremely wide extension. Thus, in its few revivals, Giovanna D'Arco has been a war horse for important sopranos.

Francesco Meli as King Charles VII and Anna Netrebko as Giovanna in Verdi's 'Giovanna D'Arco' at Teatro alla Scala. Photo © 2015 Brescia-Amisano. Click on the image for higher resolution

Anna Netrebko was the star of the evening. She made a good choice in this role for this point in her career. She started as a light lyric soprano but now she is a generous dramatic soprano with a huge volume, excellent phrasing and the ability to reach a very high register and to descend easily from it. She showed her talent from her initial 'cavatina' to her love duet with the tenor (Francesco Meli as King Charles VII of France) in the first part and throughout the concertato to the final scene in the second part, when she is always on stage. She deserved the accolades and ovations she received from an enthusiastic audience.

Anna Netrebko as Giovanna in Verdi's 'Giovanna D'Arco' at Teatro alla Scala. Photo © 2015 Brescia-Amisano. Click on the image for higher resolution

Francesco Meli is her partner. He is an excellent tenor, but the role makes him shine only in the duets. The 'cavatina' Verdi composed for him was old music, already in 1845.

Francesco Meli as King Charles VII and the chorus in Verdi's 'Giovanna D'Arco' at Teatro alla Scala. Photo © 2015 Brescia-Amisano. Click on the image for higher resolution

The baritone Devid Cecconi (as Giovanna's father) replaced Carlos Álvarez (who was sick). He was quite nervous in the first part but gained confidence and strength in the second.

Anna Netrebko as Giovanna, Francesco Meli as King Charles VII and the chorus in Verdi's 'Giovanna D'Arco' at Teatro alla Scala. Photo © 2015 Brescia-Amisano. Click on the image for higher resolution

As in all Verdi operas of that period (such as Nabucco and I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata) there is a fourth protagonist: the chorus (in a wide variety of roles), very well directed by Bruno Casoni.

Anna Netrebko as Giovanna being tempted by the chorus as devils in Verdi's 'Giovanna D'Arco' at Teatro alla Scala. Photo © 2015 Brescia-Amisano. Click on the image for higher resolution

A key element of the successful evening was the dramaturgy and stage direction of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, the set by Christian Fenouillat and the costumes by Agostino Cavalca. The 1429-31 plot is seen as a dream or a nightmare by a sick woman in a circa 1850 bedroom.

Anna Netrebko as Giovanna in Verdi's 'Giovanna D'Arco' at Teatro alla Scala. Photo © 2015 Brescia-Amisano. Click on the image for higher resolution

From the walls of the big room, the war, the Siege of Rouen, Reims Cathedral and the British jail emerge, thanks to projection. A real coup de théâtre, making a rather poor libretto plausible.

Copyright © 10 December 2015 Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy

Enthralling Music in Music and Vision 30 Novembre

Enthralling Music

Hans Werner Henze's 'The Bassarids',
reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma usually selects a rather well-known title to inaugurate its season. The opera chosen is generally not very long to allow for extended intermissions and dinner parties where ladies can show their evening dresses and gentlemen their tuxedos. This year, the new management team made the bold decision to start the season with Hans Werner Henze's two hour one act tragedy The Bassarids in its original English version. In Italy, The Bassarids was performed only once — in La Scala's 1967-68 season — for a few evenings, and in a German translation. Bravery is often rewarded. At the 27 November 2015 inauguration, I was in a very full theatre with an unusual audience: tuxedos, long evening dress, dark suits and very casual attire, including jeans and cardigans. Also in the audience were quite a few young people, due to special arrangements made with their schools. The two hours elapsed in full silence due to the tension of the libretto (by W H Auden and Chester Kallman, after Euripides' tragedy The Bacchae and of the enthralling music; then the audience erupted in a ten minute standing ovation, even though a few old subscribers appeared disgruntled.

A scene from Hans Werner Henze's 'The Bassarids' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution

After its Salzburg premiere, at the 1966 Summer Festival, The Bassarids has been seen quite rarely (ie only at English National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Scala and in a few other places), mostly because of the gargantuan resources it requires: a huge orchestra (in Rome, the orchestra filled the pit and the first few row boxes), eight soloists, a double chorus and a corps de ballet. Then, the plot is essentially a philosophical-religious discussion between the young King Pentheus (who wants to convert his populace to monotheism) and Dionysus, said to be the God of freedom, pleasure and orgies, even though it is never clear whether he is not like a God turned into a Devil, ie Mephistopheles.

Ladislav Elgr as Dionysus in Hans Werner Henze's 'The Bassarids' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution

Dionysus and his followers (including Pentheus' own mother) are expelled from the Kingdom, but the devilish self-proclaimed God returns disguised as a traveler and attracts Pentheus to go with him to the garden of pleasure. In a wild orgy, Pentheus is killed, dismembered and even eaten by Dionysus' crowd. This isn't light stuff for a gala, especially because the central part is a confrontation between Pentheus and Dionysus.

Ladislav Elgr as Dionysus and Russell Braun as Pentheus in Hans Werner Henze's 'The Bassarids' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution

As a matter of fact, rather than an opera, The Bassarids is a scenic symphony (like Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust). Conventional operatic forms (arias, duets and ensembles) are embedded in a four movement symphony. The first movement is a sonata where the characters and their groups are defined; the second is a scherzo with a sequence of dances; the third is a slow movement, and the fourth a long theme which grows into the final passacaglia. The score contains all the main elements of twentieth century innovation (including a twelve note row system) on a wide post-Wagnerian platform.

Veronica Simeoni as Agave and Russell Braun as Pentheus in Hans Werner Henze's 'The Bassarids' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution

Hungarian Stefan Soltesz is one of the few conductors who can handle such complex orchestral writing (where woodwind and brass have an important role) without covering the voices of the singers. In the Austrian and German performances, The Bassarids was conducted by such excellent musicians as Christoph von Dohnányi and Gerd Albrecht. Soltesz depicted the score's various tints very well (from dramatic to sensual to orgiastic).

A scene from Hans Werner Henze's 'The Bassarids' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution

An international vocal cast was on stage, all of a high standard: Ladislav Elgr (Dionysus), Russell Braun (Pentheus), Mark S Doss (Cadmus), Erin Caves ( Tiresias), Andrew Schroeder (Captain of the Royal Guard), Veronica Simeoni (Agave), Sara Hershkowitz (Autonoe) and Sara Fulgoni (Beroe). The long duet between Ladislav Elgr (a tenor with a high tessitura) and baritone Russell Braun was especially effective. Veronica Simeoni, in the rather unpleasant part of a mother devouring her own son, was excellent.

Veronica Simeoni as Agave in Hans Werner Henze's 'The Bassarids' at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution

In a single set, Mario Martone's stage direction (with sets by Sergio Tramonti and costumes by Ursula Patzak) has brilliant moments but is darker than required, since the score has some very bright and luminous passages.

Copyright © 30 November 2015 Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy