Reviewed by James
Karas
Simon Boccanegra is a dark
and sombre work with a convoluted plot but it provides vintage operatic
pleasure with the right cast under the right conductor. The Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden, bats a thousand, as they say in baseball, with its current
revival of Verdi’s much-revised opera. We get the 1881 version, for those
tracking details.
Antonio Pappano’s
vigorous conducting of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House does not allow
for a dull moment. The production by Elijah Moshinsky has been around since 1991
and although I cannot express unreserved enthusiasm for the set designs, it is
a thoroughly enjoyable staging.
The sombreness of the
opera is reflected in the vocal distribution. We do have a tenor who turns out
to be a fine person after some wrong turns on the road and a much-suffering
soprano but the rest are baritones and basses.
The name role is
handled with ease and aplomb by baritone Thomas Hampson. He has sung the role
so many times that it seems to be a part of him. The tall American has a great
stage presence and he fulfils the vocal requirements with resonance and
complete control.
Bass Ferruccio
Furlanetto seems to have cornered the market for older men with rumbling low
voices. He has the role of Jacopo Fiesco, an angry patrician who hates Boccanegra.
Fiesco takes some unpleasant turns in the tortuous plot but in the end he comes
out on the side of morality and order. A fine performance on the high par
maintained by Furlanetto.
The unredeemed
villain of the opera is Paolo Albiani, politically and morally corrupt, who
ends up on the gallows. Baritone Dimitri Platanias shuffles on the stage, oozes
evil and gives an excellent vocal performance, acted well.
The lighter voices
are given to tenor Russell Thomas and soprano Hibla Gerzmava. Thomas may not
qualify as physically heroic but he more than makes up for that with his vocal
chords. He leaps to his high notes with ease and displays marvellous phrasing
and tonal beauty. We don’t always like his character but eventual heroes are
allowed to make mistakes.
The moral centre is
held by Amelia Grimaldi as sung by Gerzmava. She is the out-of-wedlock daughter
of Boccanegra who was raised by the wealthy Grimaldi family as a secret
replacement for their dead daughter. This plot bit is mentioned to dissuade you
from following the libretto and directing you to concentrate on Gerzmava’s
lovely voice and moving performance.
Hampson and
Furlanetto have sung the same roles at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in a
production by Giancarlo del Monaco. That production has been around since 1995
and a small comparison is inevitable. The Met production is over the top in its
monumental sets from a huge statue in the prologue to opulent displays for the
rest of the scenes.
The Royal Opera’s
sets by Michael Yeargan seem Spartan by comparison. A few oversize columns and
almost-blank walls are most apparent. The Doge’s apartments are utilitarian to
put it mildly and the only signs of wealth and splendour are the costumes of
the Genoan council. No fireplaces and decorated walls here except for the
limited grandeur created by the over-sized columns.
The sets take nothing
away from the performances by a superb cast and the orchestra and Royal Opera
Chorus. A great night at the opera.
___
Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe
Verdi in its current revival opened on June 27 and will be performed six times
until July 16, 2013 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. www.roh.org.uk
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