patrikpen: Born Again in Music and Vision 4 October

Born Again

GIUSEPPE PENNISI visits the
revitalised Verdi Festival
in Parma for 'Don Carlo'

After a few lackluster years, in Parma the October Verdi Festival appears to be born again: Three operas are on the program, along with concerts, seminars, shows, plays and music for children to celebrate Giuseppe Verdi. As the festival does not receive any special contribution from central government, about a million euros were raised through crowfunding. Also, intense marketing abroad showed its results: the city is full of foreign visitors.

This year the theme is Verdi and Schiller, entailing three new productions of Don Carlo, Giovanna D'Arco and I Masnadieri, all based on Schiller plays. A fourth new production is the very popular Il Trovatore. This report describes the festival's opening night on 1 October 2016 with Don Carlo at the Teatro Regio. A different report will deal with Giovanna D'Arco in the peculiar Teatro Farnese.

There are least three quite different versions of Don Carlo. The original 1867 version has five acts with a ballet and quite a few symphonic interludes ('New Directions', 31 August 2013 and 'Troubles in Florence', 7 May 2013). It seems that the score was never performed as preserved in the Paris Opéra archives; due to the estimated length of 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. It is generally called the 'Paris Don Carlos'.

Several small revisions were made in translations for Italian and Germans theatres. Eventually, in 1884, Verdi made a new four act version for La Scala ('A Complex Plot', 17 April 2013). Named the 'La Scala Don Carlo' (with Italianized name of the protagonist), this is the edition generally performed in Italy and seen in Parma on 1 October. 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. In a few months' time at La Scala, this version can be experienced in a recent Salzburg Festival production.

For this 'reborn' Verdi Festival, the La Scala 1884 four act version was chosen for reasons of duration and cost. Also to contain the length, the opera was presented in two parts with only a short intermission between the second and the third act. Nonetheless, the performance started at 7.30pm and ended at almost midnight. Then a buffet dinner was offered to some two hundreds guests and journalists in the very attractive Teatro Region foyer.

The direction was much awaited because it was entrusted to Cesare Lievi (a well known director often bordering on the avant garde). Sets and costumes were signed by another well-known artist: Maurizio Balò. An additional challenge is that the staging is co-produced with other theatres (Genoa's Carlo Felice, Lisbon's Sao Carlos, Tenerife's Opera), each with different size and design. In my view, the objective of an 'adaptable' stage machinery is fully reached. The sets and the props are grey and white; the costumes, black and grey. The attire reflects Verdi's times rather than the Spanish siglo de oro. The basic concept is that the Royal Court is in mourning (for the disappearance of Emperor Charles V). Even though a 'black-and-white' Don Carlo has its charm, this is too simple a concept to capture a complex plot of power, love, lust, religious conflicts and friendship. Lievi does not chose a dominant theme and, probably as a result, the acting is somewhat wanting. As the opera is on stage in Parma until 11 October 2016 and then tours to other theatres, this aspect can yet be made good.

A scene from 'Don Carlo' at the Verdi Festival in Parma. Photo © 2016 Roberto Ricci

Daniel Oren was the conductor. He performed better than on the other recent occasions I observed him (when he seemed like a routinier). The Toscanini Orchestra provided the right black, bleak atmosphere for the opera. The chorus, directed by Marino Fagiani, was excellent.

The Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma in Verdi's 'Don Carlo'. Photo © 2016 Roberto Ricci

In the voices department, Michele Pertusi was a real triumph in his debut as King Philip II: he can be both imposing and tender (with his son, his wife, his mistress, and his son's best friend) as well as shy in front of the Great Inquisitor.

Michele Pertusi as King Philip II in Verdi's 'Don Carlo'. Photo © 2016 Roberto Ricci

Vladimir Stoyanov (the Posa Marquis) is a veteran of the role, and as such, flawless.

Vladimir Stoyanov as Rodrigo, the Marquis of Posa, in Verdi's 'Don Carlo'. Photo © 2016 Roberto Ricci

José Bros is making a transition from coloratura roles (where he excelled for nearly twenty years, especially in Donizetti's operas) to Verdian tenor parts. In my opinion, his register is still too high, but he has plenty of volume.