Past Production Reviews
5The Italian director Damiano Michieletto put himself in the critical doghouse with his Covent Garden production of Guillaume Tell earlier this year, thanks to a rape scene which gave enormous offence. But his crime was a matter of tone: in an otherwise stylised production, the aggressively in-your-face naturalism of that scene was grotesquely misplaced.
In Damiano Michieletto’s new production of this famous double bill, the stories are presented straightforwardly and the tragedies perfectly defined. Among the singers, soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek is a standout
Laurent Pelly’s glorious take on Donizetti’s masterpiece is now back in its fourth revival, and it remains a winning formula, with Pelly’s transposition of the plot – an ingenious send-up of the love-potion idea in Tristan and Iseult – to the Fifties Italy of Fellini’s Amarcord. The joy is in the detail, with the chorus turned into a believably real community, and little dashes of colour – for example, a real dog suddenly belting across the stage – to enliven the rustic charm of the village perspective. There are moments when the revival direction gets a shade clunky, but the differing levels of the giant haystack dominating the set are still very cleverly exploited, and the Dad’s Army duo taking the place of Belcore’s usual platoon remain a sight gag one doesn’t tire of.This time we have new principals, and if Paolo Bordogna fails to find the appropriate swagger for Belcore, Alex Esposito’s Dulcamara is hugely commanding. And in Armenian Liparit Avetisyan and South African Pretty Yende we get a pair of lovers whose rocky path to felicity is portrayed with wonderful freshness. Yende’s singing has a silvery brightness and purity, while Avetisyan’s sweet bel canto remains flawless no matter how much he hurls his india-rubber limbs about: I’ve never seen a funnier Nemorino.Later in the run Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak – also married in real life – will take over these roles. That should be a knockout too.
This was meant to be Pretty Yende's night. The South African soprano, praised for her bel canto feats at houses like The Met and Paris, was making her much-anticipated Royal Opera debut as Adina, the beautiful landowner playing hard-to-get in Donizetti's joyous comedy, L'elisir d'amore. In the end, it was the Armenian tenor singing country bumpkin Nemorino who stole hearts. Liparit Avetisyan wasn't quite making his Royal Opera debut, having performed in a single La traviata earlier this season. His appearance here saw Avetisyan replace the originally scheduled Rolando Villazón. Avetisyan could well have studied Villazón's Nemorino, one of his better roles, right down to his expressive eyebrows. He played the lovesick puppy to perfection, doting hopelessly around Adina, clambering the giant haystacks of Laurent Pelly's production with the eagerness of a mountain goat. His sense of bravado, inspired by Dulcamara's “love potion”, was very funny and his little jump when Adina finally admits she loves him was completely endearing. Avetisyan's tenor is a good fit for the role – large enough for bel canto and with a sweet, easy top which made “Una furtiva lagrima” the highlight of the show that it deserves to be.Pelly's at his best in comedy, even if he refers to the Ministry of Silly Walks too often. Revived by Daniel Dooner, this infectious show bursts with sunshine, reflected in the pit, where Bertrand de Billy conducts with a sense of beaming joy. Just the thing to raise the spirits.
This year�s summer Festival in Verona honors star director Franco Zeffirelli by staging five of his productions: season opener Turandot, Aida, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, and Il Trovatore. This last production, which premiered in 2001 and was then revived in 2002 and 2004, featured a star studded cast, with Arena favorite Marcelo Alvarez in the role of Manrico and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in his Arena debut and Italian role debut as his rival Count Luna. The two singers did not disappoint: Alvarez, arguably the best Manrico of his generation, was perhaps not at his best and had to force somewhat in the first duet with Azucena; the perilous high note of the cabaletta was perhaps not perfect, but the dynamics of piani and forti were excellent and his performance was compelling throughout. Hvorostovsky�s performance was flawless. His nicely colored baritone voice is not especially large, but it is perfectly projected by means of a reliable technique. His accurate diction and theatrical skills were appreciable even on the large stage of the Arena. The women were also excellent: Maranne Cornetti as Azucena is perfectly cast both for the role, which she masters completely, and for the Arena, given the size of her voice and despite some imperfect diction. Sondra Radvanovsky�s performance as Leonora was somewhat uneven. The soprano started with some problems, which made the sound of her voice unpleasant at the end of her first aria with a missed note on which she also lost intonation. However she recovered afterwards and was especially compelling in the death scene after which she deservedly received the biggest applause of the evening. As usual, Zeffirelli not only directed the stage action but also designed the opulent medieval sets. The large space allows the director to follow his taste and use a large number of extras with knights riding horses during the soldiers� chorus. The ballet music composed by Verdi for Paris was inserted in order to allow the dance company El Camborio to perform (in costumes that could as well be those they also use for Carmen, which is playing on alternate nights). Conductor Marco Armiliato was making his debut at the Arena, which was perhaps the reason he produced a smaller volume of sound than usual from the orchestra. This had the welcome consequence that the singers could be heard unusually well. The evening ended in a triumph for everyone.
