D’Intino’s Azucena Rescues Liceu’s ‘Trovatore’

Opera research tells us that, at first, Giuseppe Verdi was considering “Azucena” as the name for his 1853 opera, Il Trovatore. If the composer were still alive and had attended the opera’s December 22nd performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, he very well might have. There was no doubt while watching the telecast at the Loft Cinema on the same date, that mezzo-soprano Luciana D’Intino captured one of the most intriguing and vocally-effulgent interpretations of Verdi’s gypsy outcast this opera lover has ever heard. D’intino’s vocal ease and textual command of the role was in the tradition of two of Italy’s best interpreters from the past, Giulietta Simionato and Fiorenza Cossotto. And the audience was very fortunate to hear and see her, for what remained was one of the dullest performances of Verdi’s magnificent musical masterpiece.

For once, the physical side of the production was not the culprit in the show. The sets, costumes, and lighting by William Orlandi were in vogue with many of the opera productions of today. They combined a style reminiscent of older times with the sleek lines of today. Orlandi’s unit set was composed of white side walls and back scrims that changed from the orange sun of daylight to the dusky blue of nighttime. Orlandi’s work followed Director’s Gilbert Deflo’s concept of chiaroscuro in Salvatore’s Cammarano’s text. (By the way, one remarkable thing about the libretto is how the librettist was able to wheedle down the verbosity in Antonio García Gutiérrez’s long romantic drama typical of early 19th Century Spain.) The set designer also carried the day/night theme over to his costumes. They had a hint of 15th Century soldiers’ uniforms united with the clean lines of modern-day dress. This was most apparent in the plastic sheen of the blue and red helmets of the opposing armies with both clad in black soft-shelled armor. He dressed the heroine Leonora in one costume only: a long white, tailored tunic. Beautiful though it was, it got a little boring to look at by opera’s end. As a matter of fact, ennui was something that plagued the whole production, even making Marco Armiliato’s conducting seem routine.
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Puccini, Madama Butterfly

From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun; Picture courtesy of the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia
(below)Oksana Dyka as Cio Cio San

After opening its opera season with Berlioz’s Les Troyens, Valencia returned to box-office security by programming Madama Butterfly, last performed here in April 2008. Some would say it is far from interesting to repeat these operas within such a short period of time, but the public does not seem to agree with that view and the eight performances are already sold out.

On the previous occasion the production was by Keita Asari, from La Scala. This time, we were presented with one of Mariusz Trelinski’s productions. I say one of his productions because, to my knowledge, there are two – the one seen in Valencia and the production being performed at the same time at the Mariinski Theatre. The productions are very similar, although chronologically the Valencia Butterfly had its premiere in Warsaw in 1999, while the Mariinski one was premiered in 2005. Mariusz Trelinski is one of the stage directors preferred by Placido Domingo and Valery Gergiev and both have presented several of his productions in the theatres they manage.

I found Trelinski’s production quite appealing aesthetically, but rather uneven and only able to carry the emotion of Puccini’s work here and there. There are excellent moments, especially Butterfly’s entry with her entourage, all on board boats, or the end of Act II, with the silhouette of the hull of Pinkerton’s warship and a small boat going towards it, while we listen to “il Coro a bocca chiusa”. There are almost too many scene changes, with sliding curtains that open new sets at the back of the stage (e.g. the Yamadori scene, the Commissioner, or an absurd Zio Bonzo hanging from the ceiling in a dragon’s mouth). The sets are attractive, but the costumes are not truly appealing to my mind.

What is outstanding in this production is the wonderful lighting by Tomasz Mierzwa, some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. (Apparently, he is not responsible for lighting the Mariinski production). But Trelinski’s stage direction is not that interesting, since the drama is lost in aestheticism and none of the characters is particularly well defined. In summary, this is a brilliant production, but rather short of emotion – something less than ideal for Puccini.
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Turandot vs Mother Nature

While watching the Turandot HD Telecast on November, 7th, it became apparent that the performance in the house was definitely superior to the one shown in selected movie theaters around the world, or to be specific at the El Con in Tucson, AZ. Just a few minutes into Act One, the audience realized the weather patterns were not going to cooperate with the Satellite in the sky.

The glitches started in Act One when the sound would go off for a second or two accompanied by some visual dropouts, causing the thrust of Puccini’s great music to develop a case of the jitters. In Act Two, after Turandot’s In Questa Regia aria, the first five or six measures of Straniero, Ascolta! went silent, lessening the intensity which soprano Maria Guleghina had so effectively established for her ice princess up to that point. Shorter silence spans along with some horizontal white lines darting across the screen plagued the rest of the telecast.

Critics of Franco Zeffirelli’s opulent production have called it everything from breathtaking to gaudy, depending on their tolerance for the director’s theatrical display. On the other hand, audiences have had nothing but praise for Zeffirelli’s detailed production of Carlo Gozzi’s 1762 fairy tale. And from the smiling faces at the Saturday matinee, their approval will continue as long as the Met wants to keep the director’s money-making 1983 production.

The theater was packed, and it remained so until the opera ended. Luckily, the performance had enough going for it to compensate for the technological blips.

Both Guleghina and tenor Marcello Giordani as Calaf, the unknown prince, are new to their roles this year, with varying results. The soprano, from her first entrance in Act Two for what is described in the libretto as the ‘Riddle’ scene, showed she had a clear vision of the role. Her comportment and gestures were in tune with the music, so she was able to make the called-for transition from the iron-willed princess who was determined not to give in to Calaf’s advances, to finally accepting his love in Act Three. Guleghina’s middle voice was secure and warm, and, for the most part, she hit the many high B’s and C’s that Puccini demanded from his Turandot. During an intermission interview, Guleghina stated the role is hell to sing – an apt description with which many sopranos would agree. The role fits the soprano’s present vocal state, and one she will keep in her repertoire.
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