English Touring Opera are delighted to announce a season of lyric monodramas to tour nationally from October to December. The season features music for solo singer and piano by Argento, Britten, Tippett and Shostakovich with a bold and inventive approach to making opera during social distancing.
This tenth of ten Live from London concerts was in fact a recorded live performance from California. It was no less enjoyable for that, and it was also uplifting to learn that this wasn’t in fact the ‘last’ LfL event that we will be able to enjoy, courtesy of VOCES8 and their fellow vocal ensembles (more below …).
Ever since Wigmore Hall announced their superb series of autumn concerts, all streamed live and available free of charge, I’d been looking forward to this song recital by Ian Bostridge and Imogen Cooper.
The Sixteen continues its exploration of Henry Purcell’s Welcome Songs for Charles II. As with Robert King’s pioneering Purcell series begun over thirty years ago for Hyperion, Harry Christophers is recording two Welcome Songs per disc.
Although Stile Antico’s programme article for their Live from London recital introduced their selection from the many treasures of the English Renaissance in the context of the theological debates and upheavals of the Tudor and Elizabethan years, their performance was more evocative of private chamber music than of public liturgy.
In February this year, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho made a highly lauded debut recital at Wigmore Hall - a concert which both celebrated Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and honoured the career of the Italian soprano Rosina Storchio (1872-1945), the star of verismo who created the title roles in Leoncavallo’s La bohème and Zazà, Mascagni’s Lodoletta and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Evidently, face masks don’t stifle appreciative “Bravo!”s. And, reducing audience numbers doesn’t lower the volume of such acclamations. For, the audience at Wigmore Hall gave soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn and pianist Simon Lepper a greatly deserved warm reception and hearty response following this lunchtime recital of late-Romantic song.
Collapsology. Or, perhaps we should use the French word ‘Collapsologie’ because this is a transdisciplinary idea pretty much advocated by a series of French theorists - and apparently, mostly French theorists. It in essence focuses on the imminent collapse of modern society and all its layers - a series of escalating crises on a global scale: environmental, economic, geopolitical, governmental; the list is extensive.
For this week’s Live from London vocal recital we moved from the home of VOCES8, St Anne and St Agnes in the City of London, to Kings Place, where The Sixteen - who have been associate artists at the venue for some time - presented a programme of music and words bound together by the theme of ‘reflection’.
'Such is your divine Disposation that both you excellently understand, and royally entertaine the Exercise of Musicke.’
Amongst an avalanche of new Mahler recordings appearing at the moment (Das Lied von der Erde seems to be the most favoured, with three) this 1991 Mahler Second from the 2nd Kassel MahlerFest is one of the more interesting releases.
‘And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven … that old serpent … Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.’
If there is one myth, it seems believed by some people today, that probably needs shattering it is that post-war recordings or performances of Wagner operas were always of exceptional quality. This 1949 Hamburg Tristan und Isolde is one of those recordings - though quite who is to blame for its many problems takes quite some unearthing.
There was never any doubt that the fifth of the twelve Met Stars Live in Concert broadcasts was going to be a palpably intense and vivid event, as well as a musically stunning and theatrically enervating experience.
‘Love’ was the theme for this Live from London performance by Apollo5. Given the complexity and diversity of that human emotion, and Apollo5’s reputation for versatility and diverse repertoire, ranging from Renaissance choral music to jazz, from contemporary classical works to popular song, it was no surprise that their programme spanned 500 years and several musical styles.
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields have titled their autumn series of eight concerts - which are taking place at 5pm and 7.30pm on two Saturdays each month at their home venue in Trafalgar Square, and being filmed for streaming the following Thursday - ‘re:connect’.
The London Symphony Orchestra opened their Autumn 2020 season with a homage to Oliver Knussen, who died at the age of 66 in July 2018. The programme traced a national musical lineage through the twentieth century, from Britten to Knussen, on to Mark-Anthony Turnage, and entwining the LSO and Rattle too.
With the Live from London digital vocal festival entering the second half of the series, the festival’s host, VOCES8, returned to their home at St Annes and St Agnes in the City of London to present a sequence of ‘Choral Dances’ - vocal music inspired by dance, embracing diverse genres from the Renaissance madrigal to swing jazz.
Just a few unison string wriggles from the opening of Mozart’s overture to Le nozze di Figaro are enough to make any opera-lover perch on the edge of their seat, in excited anticipation of the drama in music to come, so there could be no other curtain-raiser for this Gala Concert at the Royal Opera House, the latest instalment from ‘their House’ to ‘our houses’.
"Before the ending of the day, creator of all things, we pray that, with your accustomed mercy, you may watch over us."
![Aleksandra Kurzak as Fiorilla [Photo © ROH. Photographer: Tristram Kenton]](http://www.operatoday.com/Il%20Turco%20In%20Italia-ROH-623%20ALEKSANDRA%20KURZAK%20AS%20FIORILLA%20%C2%A9%20ROH.%20PHOTOGRAPHER%20TRISTRAM%20KENTON.png)
This second revival of Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser’s 2005 production of Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia seems to have every going for it: excellent principals comprising experienced old-hands and exciting new voices, infinite gags and japes, and the visual éclat of Agostino Cavalca’s colour-bursting costumes and Christian Fenouillat’s sunny sets which evoke the style, glamour and ease of La Dolce Vita.
Add to that Romani’s profusion of mad-cap motion and Rossini’s tuneful, if largely indistinctive, musical fun and what’s not to like?
So, why did I find myself yawning rather than guffawing during this first night of the run? Things certainly unfolded efficiently enough, from Fenouillat’s sliding flats to Alessandro Corbelli’s wry patter. Yet, some of the paint’s brilliance has faded and Corbelli, while still the master buffo caricato, was not always focused of voice and at times seemed to be going through the theatrical motions. The ensemble was good and the farce fluent: three of the cast — Corbelli, Thomas Allen and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo have sung in every performance of this production, while Barry Banks was the original Don Narciso and Aleksandra Kurzak sang Fiorilli for the first revival in 2010, so one would expect the slapstick to be slick. Indeed, Don Geronio (Corbelli) and Selim (D’Arcangelo) conclude their tussle by trapping a waiter between two chairs with the grace and precision of Royal Ballet principals (Movement Director, Leah Hausman).
Conductor Evelino Pidò draw some charming playing from the ROH orchestra and created a good balance between stage and pit. There was strong singing too from the ROH chorus: the women were a sharp band of pick-pockets and the men looked glitzy in their blue wigs and ball-gowns. But, despite the incessant on-stage commotion, it all felt rather perfunctory and dramatically sluggish. There was plenty of laughter around me but, unfathomably, that seemed to be prompted by the unembellished surtitles rather than anything happening on stage.
Aleksandra Kurzak as Fiorilla, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Selim, and Rachel Kelly as Zaida
The 1950s and 60s have been fertile decades of late for opera directors seeking a piquant period-update. And, it seems appropriate for Caurier and Leiser to recreate an era which saw a revival of interest in Il Turco, starting with Maria Callas’s 1950 performance in Rome at the Teatro Eliseo and the 1955 La Scala production of the opera, which had been absent from that house’s stage for 130 years.
The directors give us every cliché in the book, from Narciso’s greased Elvis-quiff to a superfluity of vintage vehicles: one scene assembles a taxi, a Fiat 500 and a Vespa. This is a simple, carefree world where everyone is rich and happy, and the sun always shines. No wonder that the arrival of a Turk — atop the prow of his luxury yacht — creates such excitement amongst these urbane Italians. If one were tempted to detect a touch of xenophobia in Romani’s libretto, Caurier and Leiser certainly don’t cast even the slightest glance in the direction of UKIP.
It’s probably not the directors’ fault if things feel rather insubstantial — the text and score are frivolous froth. But, during the evening’s longeurs — particularly in Act 2 — I found myself musing on tangential matters. Last year, an exhibition at the Estorick Collection in London presented photographs of the era of Italy’s ‘economic miracle’; of Brigitte Bardot indolently sipping champagne, and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor idling on the deck of their yacht. But, Fellini’s film, which is repeatedly referenced in the programme, was not a celebration of a hedonistic golden age, rather a critique of it: the title is highly ironic. And, the parallels with post-Berlusconi Italy are not particularly heartening. Those living in the Roma camps of southern Italy face bitter discrimination; a few years ago, the Guardian reported that photographs had emerged of a beach in Naples where two young Roma gypsy girls had drowned, while just feet away from them a carefree couple enjoy a leisurely picnic.
If I’m straying from the point, it’s because I spent much of the evening struggling to find the ‘point’ of this production; but this was undoubtedly futile, for there isn’t one … and, indeed, why should there be more to Rossini’s opera than harmless fun under an azure sky? Those around me evidently enjoyed themselves.
Barry Banks as Don Narciso, Thomas Allen as Prosdocimo, and Rachel Kelly as Zaida
One of Rossini’s earliest comic farces, Il Turco in Italia was first performed in 1814 at La Scala. The score is busy and bustling, but largely unmemorable; Rossini makes little attempt to use his music to characterise and it often feels oddly disconnected from the text. But, then, the ‘text’ is ‘made up’ as it goes along … for the Poet, Prosdocimo, struggling in the mires of writer’s block, has arrived at a gypsy encampment hoping to find inspiration for his new opera libretto among the everyday happenings of the common folk. As so, our opera unfolds before us … except that the common folk prove more unpredictable that the Poet anticipated and re-write the scenes that he has penned for them. The result is an intrigue that would be a serious contender for the ‘most confusing plot in opera’ prize.
But, here goes … we are in Naples. A Turkish prince, Pasha Selim, wanders into a beach-side gypsy camping ground, irritated because his favourite amour has escaped from the harem and confused because he finds that on this foreign soil he cannot simply buy himself another wife if he wants one. But, things soon look up: Fiorilla — the flighty, flirtatious wife of put-upon Don Geronio — is happy to take Selim's mind off his troubles … if she can squeeze him in between assignations with her lover Narciso. Prosdocimo is relieved to find the elusive plot for his new opera buffa among these tangles of romantic philandering and marital suffering. The action occasionally veers in tragic directions, but the Poet successfully engineers a happy ending. At the close repentance is sworn, forgiveness is dispensed, and the various couples are reunited, leaving a lonesome Narciso to nurse his wounded pride and heart.
As the abused Geronio, Corbelli once again showed us how buffo should blend buffoonery and pathos, whether tangling with the fronds of a palm tree or fighting strands of spaghetti. This was a theatrical masterclass even if at times Corbelli’s singing was rather unfocussed, particularly in the more florid passages. The influence of Così fan tutte on Rossini’s opera can be strongly felt (Mozart’s opera had been staged at La Scala shortly before Il Turco was premiered) and as the stylishly white-suited Prosdocimo, Thomas Allen essentially reprised his inimitable Don Alfonso, confidently manipulating the action with suavity and wit. There isn’t much of a voice left, but Allen can still effortlessly command the stage.
Barry Banks, attired in garish yellow denim and sporting an unattractive beard, sounded a bit strained in Narciso’s show-piece aria but established a good rapport with Corbelli, the two rivals brought together by Fiorilla’s perfidies. Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzakreturned to the role of Fiorilla and perted, pouted and strutted with aplomb. She showed vocal athleticism, although some of the coloratura was ragged at the top, and I didn’t always find her tone attractive — it was rather too ‘edgy’ when in the stratosphere and Kurzak didn’t capture the vulnerability with should show through Fiorilla’s narcissism in her soul-searching aria of repentance, ‘Squallida veste, e bruna d’affanno e pentimento’, as she reflects on her love for the three men and her anguish at being torn between them. There was more warmth, however, in her final reconciliation duet with Geronio.
There were no doubts about Ildebrando d’Arcangelo, though; he was as sumptuous of voice as he was alluring of appearance. His bass was velvety and dark, wonderfully conveying the exoticism of the strange and foreign. D’Arcangelo’s virtuosic arias were technically precise but also full of colour and character, and his duets with Corbelli and Fiorilla were the highlights of the evening.
Two Jette Parker Young Artists were given their chance to shine. As Zaida, Irish mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly impressed, competing feistily with Fiorilla for Selim’s attention and affection. When I heard Kelly last year, in the role of Mirinda in the ROH’s production of L’Ormindo at the Globe Theatre, I remarked the ‘rich sensuality’ of her voice, and this glowing warmth was much in evidence again. Portuguese tenor Luis Gomes had little to do as Albazar but acquitted himself well.
This was a good ensemble performance. If you like a dash of Pirandello spiced with Goldoni, then you’ll enjoy.
Claire Seymour
Cast and production information:
Fiorilla — Aleksandra Kurzak, Selim — Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Don Geronio — Alessandro Corbelli, Don Narciso — Barry Banks, Prosdocimo — Thomas Allen, Zaida — Rachel Kelly, Albazar — Luis Gomes; Conductor — Evelino Pidó, Directors — Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, Associate Director — Richard Gerard Jones, Set Designs — Christian Fenouillat, Costume Designs — Agostino Cavalca, Lighting Design — Christophe Forey, Movement Director — Leah Hausman, Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House. Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Saturday 11th April 2015.