A Double Revival
Respighi's 'Sunken Bell' in Cagliari
reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
I saw a double revival on 1 April 2016, in the capital of Sardinia. First of all,
the revival of the Teatro Lirico, after nearly ten years of decadence; now,
under a new management and a new artistic direction, the theatre features a comparatively
short opera season (but important co-productions such as
with the Parisian Théâtre du Châtelet, the
Deutsche Opera am Reihm and the Tokyo Ballet) as well as an attractive concert program. In a comparatively small
town (some one hundred and fifty thousand residents), the opera season has
seven subscription series — a good achievement for a theatre with an audience capacity of one thousand five
hundred. The second revival was one of the ten operas of Ottorino Respighi (born Bologna 1879, died Rome 1836), La Campana Sommersa
('The Sunken Bell'), quite successful in Germany, New York, Buenos Aires, Rome, Milan, Bologna and elsewhere in the
nineteen thirties, but thereafter forgotten until a major rediscovery, in a
concert version, at the Radio France Festival in Montpellier in 2002.
There are two main determinants for its disappearance. On the one hand, its
requirements: a Mahler-size orchestra, two choruses, fifteen principals, dancers and mimes, a costly
undertaking to bet on for a nearly unknown opera. On the other, superficially,
it may be read as a 'fairy opera' — a type of music theatre soon gone out of fashion, especially in Italy. In addition, La Campana
Sommersa demands very elaborate stage sets and quite impervious singing by the two protagonists.
At a less superficial reading, the complex plot is a parable of the pagan world of the German woods trying to stop the
advancement of Christian Faith. The bell built for a
new Church is sunk by the Faun and the
old Divinity Ondino. The bell maker, Enrico, falls into depression but the
beautiful Rautendeilein, an otherworldly creature, consoles him and they fall
in love. Enrico forgets his family and his village people (the Parish Priest, the Barber, the School Teacher) until his wife, Magda, commits suicide and the bell tolls, from the
depths of the lake, a funeral sound. Enrico escapes from
Rautendeilein who falls in the arms of Ondino. Enrico dies after a final short
encounter with Rautendeilein.
A peculiarity of the writing, is that, in the otherworld,
music is on a pentatonic scale, whilst the Christian human world follows the operatic style of the time: declamation,
center register and all, including a touch of Puccini. Then, following the post-Wagnerian approach, singing is on a symphonic carpet.
 Valentina Farcas as Rautendelein and Thomas Gazheli as L'Ondino in Respighi's 'La campana sommersa' at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. Photo © 2016 Priamo Tolu. Click on the image for higher resolution |
The stage direction (by
Pierfrancesco Maestrni) is quite traditional, even the
use of computerized projections (by Jean Guillermo Nova) adds a magic atmosphere, especially
in the woodland scene. The costumes (Marco Nateri) are quite
attractive.
 Filippo Adami as a faun in Respighi's 'La campana sommersa' at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. Photo © 2016 Priamo Tolu. Click on the image for higher resolution |
The musical success hinges mostly on the three
principals and the conductor, Donato Renzetti, who keeps
the balance very well between pit and
stage, and provides all the right tints called for by a fairy tale, albeit a tragic parable.
 Valentina Farcas as Rautendelein and Angelo Villari as Enrico in Respighi's 'La campana sommersa' at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. Photo © 2016 Priamo Tolu. Click on the image for higher resolution |
Romanian soprano Valentina
Farcas (Rautendeilein) raises easily from declamation to the heights of coloratura. Angelo
Villari (Enrico) is a strong generous tenor with a huge volume. Thomas Gazheli (Ondino) is a well
rounded baritone, quite accustomed to
Wagnerian roles.
 Valentina Farcas as Rautendelein and Angelo Villari as Enrico in Respighi's 'La campana sommersa' at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. Photo © 2016 Priamo Tolu. Click on the image for higher resolution |
The audience was enthralled and applauded for ten minutes.
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento