Living at the Opera

In today’s opera world with so many opera directors and production designers running rough-shod over the musical and artistic intentions of composers, particularly those of the Romantic and Verismo periods, it was a great pleasure and quite a relief to encounter Opera Orchestra of New York’s (OONY) presentation of Ferderico Cilea’s 1897 opera, L’Arlesiana on February 21, 2007, at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Eve Queler, the company’s musical director has been at the forefront of presenting seldom-performed operas in concert version for just about 40 years now. She is well known for giving new talent and for that matter, established opera singers a chance to show off their vocal and dramatic abilites before enthusiastic audiences who feel the voice is the most important element in opera. And on this evening, Ms. Queler, once again, made good on her pledge with an outstanding performance of Cilea’s versimo work before a hungry audience clamoring for an operatic feast.

It has become obvious over the years that Ms. Queler loves the opera singer, and she certainly demonstrated that with the four leads found in this work. She gave tenor, Giuseppe Filianoti, mezzo soprano, Marianne Cornetti, soprano, Latonia Moore and baritone, Weston Hurt, a wide berth in which to establish a close rapport with the audience, an overlooked attribute in many of today’s puffy, stuffy productions.

Leopoldo Marenco, Cilea’s librettist, followed the dictates of verismo’s direct style in shaping his libretto. Rosa Mamai is very concerned about her older son, Federico, who is in love with a girl from Arles-hence the opera’s title- whom he has met at a fair. Previously, she had a love affair with Metifio, a stableman and when the emotionally fragile Federico hears of this, he becomes heartbroken. Rosa Mamai urges her goddaughter, Vivetta to lure her son away from his obsession. When Vivetta is unable to agree to this suggestion, the mother realizes that Federico’s suffering leaves her no choice but to accept his marriage to L’Arlesiana. On hearing this Federico, touched by his mother’s sacrifice say he will abandon the woman who has claimed his heart and will marry Vivetta. Sometime afterwards, Federico learns of Matifio’s plan to abduct L’Arelesiana and his jealousy is inflamed to the point of delirium. Federico climbs to the top of a barn and throws himself to his death.

Verismo opera is prone to exaggerate the trials and tribulations of “everyday” life, but in the right hands, the style’s emotional content is capable of expressing a high level of empathy and even pathos. Here, Queler’s cast definitely rose to the occasion.

Giuseppe Filianoti has had a great deal of success singing in his native Italy since he first appeared at the Rossini Opera Festival as Argirio in G.Rossini’s Tancredi in the summer of 1999. He has made only two appearances at the Met, but has been well-received by the New York public. Queler, again following her instincts to focus in on the right singer at the right time, brought Filianoti to OONY for his only appearance this year in the United States. It was obvious from the audience’s roaring approval that the tenor’s performance as Federico, the small town boy in love with the suductive L’Arlesiana, was a great choice. Filianoti, slight of built, but so pleasing to the eye, proffered a strong vocal and dramatic interpretation. His attractive tenor spun mezzo piano and mezzo forte dynamics throughout the evening. But it was in the famous aria, Lamento di Federico, Cilea’s beautiful and heartfelt piece that the tenor really connected with the audience that called for and got an encore - a happening that is so ripe for concert opera.

Marianne Cornetti gave a robust and intense reading as Rosa Mamai, Federico’s fretting mother, culminating in an emotional rendition of Esser madre e un inferno, another well-known aria from this opera. Latonia Moore, commited herself to the role of Vivetta, the young maiden desperately in love with Federico, with a big but beautiful voice that matched Filianoti’s intensity. Weston Hurt’s Baldassare, the old shepherd, completed the opera’s quartet with a sensitive but powerful interpretation as the story’s observer of the opera’s tragic events that lead to Federico’s suicide.

Although it became understandable as the opera progressed that the singers were forced into some vocal pushing to cover Queler’s off and on heavy-handed conducting, it did not detract from their overriding belief in the opera’s drama. And, of course, Queler is always able to convince her forces, including the New York City Choral Society, to give their very best effort.

Unfortunately there was a veil of sadness that lay over the evening’s operatic joy. OONY is facing a troubled financial future as Queler expressed in a New York Times article on Saturday, February 17th, with only one opera scheduled for next year’s season. It definitely would be a loss to the opera world if the company should go under. Certainly, there is enough money floating around the New York cultural scene to secure OONY’s future. Let’s hope New York opera lovers come up with the necessary funds.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 3rd, 2007 at 7:22 pm and is filed under Italian opera. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.