« Attorney-General's advice III | Main | SNP website links down »
March 14, 2005
Scottish Opera: Andrea Chénier
I’ve never seen Andrea Chénier live and I was delighted to have the chance of hearing it, albeit in concert but with a first rate cast, performed by Scottish Opera at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 13 March.
Composed by Umberto Giordano, with a libretto by Luigi Illica, it was first performed in 1896. Puccini’s Tosca, with a similar melodrama set in the same period and by the same librettist, followed four years later. While overshadowed by the later work, Andrea Chénier has some spectacular arias and lots of interesting orchestral colour.
One reason that it is not put on more often is the problem of finding a spinto or dramatic tenor to do justice to the title role, associated with powerful singers like Franco Corelli and Mario del Monaco. Franco Farina doesn’t have the most beautiful voice in the world, but he deserves every credit for getting the show on the road. His voice is dark and baritonal, with a constricted top that somehow squeezes out the higher notes. He made a fine job of his first act aria ‘Un dì, all’azzurro spazio’ but his final ‘Come un bel dì di maggio’ in the last act was effortful.
As the heroine Maddalena, Claire Rutter produced some ravishing sounds, while also proving completely equal to the powerful climax at the end of the work. Just a bit more text, a little more attention to diction, would have nailed the drama down perfectly, nevertheless ‘La mamma morta’ in the third act was splendid.
This is the first time I’ve heard the baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore live - a terrific singing actor. His portrayal of the bitter and ambivalent Gérard was not only beautifully sung, but also dramatically right inside the role, stylistically absolute right. The minor roles were also well sung without exception, and the chorus was excellent.
Conductor Richard Armstrong is the music director of Scottish Opera and was doubtless involved in the decision to put on the work, but while he is known for his Verdi, Wagner, Janacek, Strauss etc., unfortunately verismo doesn’t seem to be his thing.
Instead of the expected simple, bitter sweet, elegant, singing sound, we heard music that was precise, deliberate, unidiomatic, stolid, and symphonic in its seriousness. The orchestra played well enough with some fine solo passages, but overall the effect was just wrong - not verismo, not Giordano - as if the orchestra had been playing Debussy, or maybe Mahler, with great concentration, and then made a delicate transition into Andrea Chénier. Wrong style!
Note: excellent subtitles were provided - complete with stage directions - but so small they could hardly be read.
Posted by Simon Holledge at March 14, 2005 12:38 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.skakagrall.com/cgi-bin/MT/mt-tb.cgi/320