Divine Providence

GIUSEPPE PENNISI is impressed by
Donizetti's religious opera
'Linda di Chamounix'

Probably only a few M&V readers will be aware that Gaetano Donizetti composed a religious opera, very successful in the mid nineteenth century but since then almost forgotten. It is the seldom performed Linda di Chamounix commissioned by the Vienna Imperial Theatre, where it was premiered on 19 May 1842. It was such a tremendous success that Donizetti was appointed Court Composer and Kapellemeister of the Imperial Chapel (where he composed quite a lot of sacred music).
Linda di Chamounix was often staged in many European countries until the second half of the nineteenth century; there are editions not only in the original Italian language but also in French and German. It is a 'semi-serious' opera: a pathetic plot is intertwined with moments of comic relief until a happy ending. This genre was quite popular in Italy and France in the first decades of the nineteenth century. Thereafter, Verdi's melodrama in Italy and grand-opéra in France swept it away with the steam of road rollers. In the mid and late nineteenth century, the audience required stronger emotions than those of melancholic 'semi-serious' operas. After World War II, two important Italian conductors, Tullio Serafin and Gianandrea Gavazzeni revived Linda di Chamounix because they believed in its musical quality. It landed in Rome on 17 June 2016 for the first revival in one hundred and three years. I was in the audience. The opera was co-produced with the Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona.

Jessica Pratt as Linda and Bruno De Simone as the Marchese in Donizetti's 'Linda di Chamounix' in Rome. Photo © 2016 Yasuko Kageyama

It is fair to say that a staging of Linda di Chamounix requires six excellent voices with a flair for belcanto. These are rare and difficult to find. Donizetti had learned a lot from Bellini during his stay in Paris and the vocal score is quite impervious. Some of the arias (eg 'O Luce di Quell'Anima') are known as favorite concert pieces of belcanto specialists such as Joan Sutherland. They are very impervious arias with quite a few high Cs, E flats and difficult vocalizing.

Jessica Pratt as Linda and Ismael Jordi as Carlo in Donizetti's 'Linda di Chamounix' in Rome. Photo © 2016 Yasuko Kageyama

The plot is quite simple. Although it develops in Savoy and Paris, it is most likely inspired by the Alessandro Manzoni novel I Promessi Sposi ('The Betrothed'), extremely popular at that time. An innocent girl is in love with an honest young man but a rich Savoy landowner wants her to be his mistress. With the help of a priest, the young couple escapes to Paris. These two protagonists often pray to Divine Providence for help. After a series of adventures and misunderstandings, there is a happy ending.

After a fifteen minute symphony, the music is mostly in support of the singers. In this joint Rome-Barcelona production, the symphony and a few other moments were cut in order not to have an overly long evening. Also there was only one intermission, after the first act; the second and the third acts were staged with a short pause to change the set. The conductor, Riccardo Frizza, and the orchestra provided an effective melancholic tapestry to the action as well as support to the singers. In the first and third acts, the chorus, directed by Roberto Gabbiani, was of very high standard and acted quite well.

Jessica Pratt in the title role of Donizetti's 'Linda di Chamounix' in Rome. Photo © 2016 Yasuko Kageyama

Emilio Sagi's stage direction and Daniel Bianco's stage sets provide the right colors — white, beige and gravure — for the atmosphere. As always in Sagi's productions, the acting was quite effective.

The cast was international and well selected. The Australian Jessica Pratt (now almost an Italian resident) showed her belcanto talents. Next to her was a young Spanish tenor, Ismael Jordi, already a rival to Juan Diego Florez. Two really happy discoveries are the mezzo Ketevan Kemoklidze in a role en travesty and the bass Christian van Horn in the part of the priest. Bruno De Simone, Roberto De Candia and Caterina di Tonno are old hands at semi-serious opera, and ensure a good performance.

A scene from Donizetti's 'Linda di Chamounix' in Rome. Photo © 2016 Yasuko Kageyama

Even though 17 June 2016 fell on one of those weekends when several Roman families go to nearby beach resorts, the theatre was full, with quite a few youngsters, and there was plenty of applause after the main arias and at curtain calls.