verismo – Likely Impossibilities

French Revolution defeats Roberto Alagna

January 7, 2013 8 Comments

I went to see Andrea Chénier at the Opera Orchestra of New York and I wrote about it for Bachtrack.

Yesterday I went to see a convoluted
story about French revolutionaries, as belted out at top volume to
serviceable but hardly creative ballads. No, I didn’t go to the Les misérables movie. I went to see Roberto Alagna in Opera Orchestra of New York’s concert presentation of Umberto Giordano’s Andrea Chénier.

Read the rest here. This was bad, people. Roberto Alagna had barely learned the music, had no conception of the role, and seemed not quite present all afternoon. Alberto Veronesi is not a master conductor and didn’t offer anything to make up for this deficit, nor was he probably the ideal choice to lead someone unsure through this rhythmically tricky music for the first time. Kristin Lewis had some issues and this role was a little more than her voice can handle right now, volume-wise–at least with Veronesi’s insensitive conducting, in the unfriendly surroundings of Avery Fisher–but the sound is interesting, and I would like to give her another chance under happier circumstances. George Petean was the real pro here, and turned in a thoroughly decent performance, though not as scene-stealing as Rosalind Elias.

But a sad spectacle. I like Alagna (sometimes, it seems, inexplicably), the guy still has an attractive voice and considerable charm, but this was embarrassing for everyone. Maybe it’s personal issues, maybe he just didn’t take this gig seriously, but I hope this is just a temporary slip.

Photo copyright Stephanie Berger.

Review

Gheorghiu and Kaufmann turn violet again in Adriana Lecouvreur

November 9, 2011 2 Comments

(Not in concert.)

I went to see the ever-elusive Angela Gheorghiu and the happily ubiquitous Jonas Kaufmann in the Opera Orchestra of New York’s concert Adriana Lecouvreur at Carnegie Hall last night and I wrote about it for Bachtrack:

“I will return! I want to again be
intoxicated by the triumphant smile of art!” proclaims the actress
Adriana Lecouvreur in the extravagant opera of the same title. With this
role, the soprano Angela Gheorghiu returned to New York in the first
performance of the Opera Orchestra of New York’s Carnegie Hall season.
After financial difficulties the company itself has been making a
comeback as well, under new musical director Alberto Veronesi. For over
40 years, the group has produced concert performance of lesser-known
operas with outstanding casts, and this evening was a fine continuation
of that tradition, with strong performances from Jonas Kaufmann,
Ambrogio Maestri, and Anita Rachvelishvili in the other major roles.

Click here to read the full review.

I saw them in this last year in London and then I was conflicted between being overwhelmed and oddly not-quite-whelmed. In concert, this opera actually seems to work better. The music isn’t quite top drawer but it has a kind of sincerity and directness that can be both beguiling and exciting. This came through more clearly without having to think about the silly plot or David McVicar’s futile attempt to give the happenings some symbolic substance. The opera has emotional power but it lacks strong dramatic syntax, and it’s better when you focus on the former strength rather than the latter weakness. (It should be noted, though, that Angela’s couture for this concert was most impressive as well, both dresses very 1970’s, the first resembling a disco ball and the second a low-cut nightgown with a rhinestone belt and attached cape.)

This didn’t stop me from writing down some silly surtitles, though:

Love is a flame, friendship is its ashes.
I love him with the fiery recklessness of one who has had her heart taken for the first time.
You’re the sun that gilds the eternal Arctic night.
Their eyes flash like pairs of blades, showing no mercy.
Our love defies fate, eludes death in golden dreams.

Nevertheless, I was totally crying at the end, go figure.

Review

Following Tosca’s footsteps

May 26, 2011 6 Comments

While in Rome, I did what any self-respecting opera fan in Rome does: I took myself on a Tosca walking tour. Here’s what I found.

Like most verismic operas, Tosca is specific about details of setting. At the beginning of Act 3, Puccini specifies no fewer than fourteen different bells, situated in eight different locations as to aurally render dawn in Rome from the standpoint of the Castel Sant’Angelo. Compared to that, finding the three main sites is easy.

You can see these locations in literal-minded action in this movie version of the opera.

Act 1: The Church

Cavaradossi is doing his painting job at the Baroque basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and around the corner from the Pantheon. It’s spectacular, but doesn’t rank very high in the food chain of local ecclesiastical tourism, which tells you something about Roman churches (this is possibly because it lacks a defining big-name painting or statue; I guess Cavaradossi doesn’t count). Around a dozen people were milling around when I visited. It boasts lots of frescoes depicting the life of the eponymous St. Andrew and the third-largest dome in Rome (after St. Peter’s and the Pantheon).

A small sign identifies the chapel dedicated to the Barberini family as the relevant Attavanti chapel. Appropriately, it is enclosed by a locked gate. No lady’s clothes in sight.

The art ranges from the sixteenth to nineteenth century. The center of the church is filled with unusual yellow light due to colored windows around the dome, as seen above. Baroque fans should note that there is also a chapel dedicated to the Strozzi family (think Barbara Strozzi). The church is open from 7:30 a.m. until noon and 4:30 to 7:30 in the evening.

Here is the set from Franco Zeffirelli’s late Met Tosca prodution. As you can see, he enlarged the church to include (presumably) three vaults to accommodate the size of the Met stage. Shenanigans!

Act 2: The Palazzo Farnese
The home of Scarpia’s evil lair is only a five-minute walk away, on the other side of the Campo de’Fiori. Today, in what I’m not sure can be described as dramatic irony or just as strange, it houses the French embassy.

You can tour the building if you make an appointment ahead of time, but not being organized, I didn’t, and just admired it from the outside. Too big to fit in one photo!

Act 3: The Castel Sant’Angelo
The Castel Sant’Angelo is a major landmark just by dint of its size. It began life as the mausoleum for the emperor Hadrian but later was expanded into a fortress. It’s located on the other side of the Tiber, but I really don’t need to give directions. You can’t miss it.

Inside it looks quite cute and peaceful today. It houses a not terribly popular museum of miscellaneous objects, but it’s best for just wandering around the battlements.

You might also remember it from the film Roman Holiday:

I did wonder: so where did Tosca land? If she landed in the moat (is that what this is?), maybe she changed her mind and swam away down the river?

But pavement of some kind seems more likely. Hopefully she didn’t take a living statue out with her.

Her last view, however, was probably gorgeous (for verismic accuracy, I should note that this photo is was taken at around 11:00, not dawn).

The location of Mario’s villa, however, remains a secret.