Devilishly Good: Nicola Luisotti Soars Through Mefistofele in Valencia

From Seen and Heard International
By: José MªIrurzun; Photo courtesy Palau de Les Arts de Valencia

A. Boito, Mefistofele: Soloists, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana, Escolanía de la Mare de Deu dels Desamparats. Conductor: Nicola Luisotti. Auditóri Palau de Les Arts de Valencia. 27.4.2011 (JMI)

Valencia’s Palau de Les Arts had a good idea in offering Arrigo Boito’s Mefistofele, an outstanding opera that has inexplicably become a rarity on stage, even if it was ‘just’ in a concert performance. I fondly remember attending a stage performance of Mefistofele at the Madrid Teatro de la Zarzuela in the 80s with Nesterenko and Caballé. Later in the 90s I saw a concert version at Bilbao Teatro Arriaga with Paata Burchuladze as the Mefistofele and Francisco Araiza as Faust. Since then I have only seen a couple of very modest performances of this opera in Palma di Majorca… altogether not a whole lot in 25 years for such an important opera. Fortunately the result of this concert version was spectacular in musical terms and just well enough cast, too.

The musical direction was Italian Nicola Luisotti’s, who offered a spectacular reading of the work and proved once again that in the Italian repertoire he is a real benchmark. He is a conductor in his prime, with astonishing energy and an absolute control of all the forces under his command. To this we should add a great care to support voices… in a word a superb performance from one of the best conductors of his generation in this repertoire. Among the real winners is clearly the San Francisco Opera who named him their music director in 2009. The Valencia Orchestra is rightly thought as Spain’s best and at its best a match for top orchestras of any theatre. That’s certainly true when they have an outstanding conductor, which is what has happened on this occasion, with a result that sounded wonderful from beginning to end. The other positive surprise of the evening was the performance of the amateur Choir who has reached an excellent level in just 5.
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Verdi, I Lombardi

From Seen and Heard International
By: Lew Schneider; Picture © Rod Millington
Soloists, Sarasota Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Victor DeRenzi (Conductor), Sarasota, Florida, 6.3.2011 (LS)

The Act II Finale

I Lombardi, Verdi’s fourth opera, was first performed at La Scala in 1843. It was quite well received, and became the first of his operas performed in the United States (1846). Why was it so popular? Just look at some of its features:

- Not one but two prayers for the prima donna

- A thundering cabaletta for the prima donna

- An incredibly beautiful tenor aria sung from heaven

– A blockbuster tenor aria ” La mia lètizia infondere”

– A spectacular trio which ends Act III

– A patricide accompanied by a sinister chorus

– A conversion of the tenor from Islam to Christianity by the holy man (a hermit) who had committed the patricide

– A Muslim king surrounded by his singing and dancing harem

– Wonderful choruses culminating in a praise to the Lord that brings down the final curtain

– Stunning sets including a Moorish palace, the hermit’s cave, and a splendid view of Jerusalem.

Yet, I Lombardi is very rarely staged these days. Why?

First and foremost, it is a very difficult opera to produce. The cast is huge. Not one but two excellent tenors are required. Inasmuch as most tenors want to be numero uno, it is not easy to cast Arvino, the second tenor. Giselda, the prima donna, must possess both lyricism for her prayers and love duets, then shift into a highly dramatic prophetic cabaletta. Two additional sopranos-Viclinda and Sofia- have important arias. Three basses must be cast. Pagano, murderer, would be adulterer, hermit , and ultimately holy man, is written for a bass who must not only have a wide vocal range, but the ability to act. The other two bass roles, Pirro, confidant and turncoat, and Acciano, king of Antioch, are also interesting and demanding.

On top of all this, oth large and small choruses must be deployed and the multiple sets test the skills of scenic ,costume and lighting designers.

The second reason for I Lomabardi’s rarity is the strangeness of its plot. Temistocle Solera concocted the four act tragedy from an epic poem by Thomasso Grossi (the only time Verdi used an Italian text as the basis for his operas). Act I begins on a happy note. Arvino is chosen to lead the First Crusade and his brother Pagano has returned supposedly to reconcile with Arvino. (Pagano had been banished, because he tried to take Arvino’s wife Viclinda for himself.) But Pagano has his own ideas for the future. He plans to kill his brother and abduct his wife. Unfortunately within the plot’s darkened chambers he manages to kill his father instead. Both Viclinda and her daughter Giselda plead for Pagano’s life and he is banished again.

As Act II opens, the audience is presented with Acciano the tyrant of Antioch raving against the Christians and their crusades. His son Oronte has eyes on a new captive, none other than Giselda. Sofia, Oronte’s mother and a secret Christian, encourages her son to convert to Christianity and woo Giselda. Oronte is more than happy to do so.

The scene then shifts to a cave where Pagano is engaged in penitence. Incredible as it may seem, his former squire Pirro, and his brother Arvino do not recognize him. Pirro has renounced the Crusaders and joined the Muslims but Pagano convinces him to double cross the Muslims and open the gates of Antioch to Arvino and his followers. Pirro does this and the Crusaders storm Antioch. ….
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Prokofiev, Betrothal in a Monastery

From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun; Production Picture courtesy of the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse

Soloists, Orchestre National du Capitole, Choeur du Capitole. Conductor: Tugan Sokhiev. Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse. 16.1.2011 (JMI)

To start the year 2011 the Capitole offers this funny and original opera by Prokofiev – also known as The Duenna – which is slowly entering into the repertoire of well known opera houses. That’s is not surprising, considering that each performance I have attended of this work has been received with much pleasure by the audience.

The stage production for this one is due to British director Martin Duncan, who provides a colourful and lively setting, very well suited to an opera buffa like this. The sets offer a flexible staging with simple well chosen elements that give great slickness to the numerous changes of scenes. The action is transferred to around 1946, when the opera was premiered, and has some very colourful costumes. Good lighting is an excellent complement for this production and Martin Duncan’s stage direction emphasizes the buffo aspects of the opera, particularly in the scenes of Mendoza’s fish warehouse and the last scene at the Monastery. This is a fairly simple production that works at the service of music and libretto, and has been very well received by the public.

Musical direction was entrusted to young Russian maestro (33) Tugan Sokhiev, who has been musical director of Orchestre National du Capitole since September 2008. His work in recent years has been superb and it is not surprising that his contract has been recently extended through to 2016. Tugan Sokhiev seems to me one of the great conductors today, shining especially in the Russian repertoire. His reading of Prokofiev’s opera was truly outstanding. I confess that at the start of the opera I was worried because as the sound coming from the pit was so spectacular that I wondered what would happen to the singers, but my fears were unfounded: Sokhiev knew perfectly how to balance the sound. Under his baton the orchestra were at their very best. There was also a good performance from the the Capitole’s chorus.
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