Written by Neco Verbis —
It is immediately noted that the collection ’ l Lucia di Lammermoor, staged in Liège at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie on November 25, 2015, has departed in many ways from that of lightning and storm shadow stylized romantic corrusca, ghosts and Gothic castles, that atmosphere strongly evoked and predicted, among other things, in the interview video from Director Stefano Mazzonis by Carlos Wagner.
The figure of interpretation of Lucia in particular is the collective Ethereal, intangible moments, both vocally that scenically, while present with a song of extreme difficulty, involving all vocal registers of the interpreter and so forth a strain on each skill.
Annick Massis, in the title rolewith multifarious voices, was confirmed in Liège, if any were needed, even voice properly Bel Canto, devoid of mushy, well screened with a hymn every rotor forwards, straight, fire. The famous French artist showed off a surprising freshness, despite acute occasionally in the area of middle voice undergoes a few moments of misting. The agility gushed with an ease that even today one can only recognize them and, at the same time, with a display of serious substantial and some liberties in cadences. In fact, the version performed was the philologically revisited. Which, of course, far from virtuoso coloratura Sopranos of the countless historical and traditional monetarists who have endorsed, returned to a lyric soprano so-called "pushed" the original part and allowed the Massis to meet it with relative equanimity.
Evidently, the reactive nature, temperamentally interpreter; and the Director left it to do, maybe too much. From the scenic point of view, then, the Massis wasn't fully Lucia. It was perhaps because he was too engaged in vocal part; not passed on to yearning, that fragility, that dose of victimhood, prelude to madness, that Lucy must possess. The character has proven successful in half, because the emotion of feeling rarely grazed the accuracy of sound result.
Even in the scene of madness the Massis gave expressiveness felt the character. Interpreting Donizetti's Lucia is abstracted from reality, not retiring, as was the case also for stage direction input, which even led her to decapitate the poor Arturo and throw your head between the guests at the wedding. Plausible in his grasp to Othello, a Saracen's head…Or in more modern Pu Tin's hands, Puccini and ben Pao, that of a hapless suitor of Turandot. Directing this questionable solution then, like that, for example, double ring provided to Lucia by Edgardo, so that he could make pendant with that man.
And, speaking of Edgardo, Celso Abelo was probably more at ease in the age and character that the protagonist, but he could not find emotional attunement with the monumental Massis, nor was in itself correct accents heard in the song though but, at the beginning, which is also not yet focused and showed how confused, especially in the first act.
Abelo-Edgardo became himself the last act, when left alone; in fact, oddly accompanied by an appearance, a kind of shadow derelitta, who attended wetsuit to its self-destruction. Only from "Graves of my fathers" the Spanish tenor gave the best of themselves, showing off the ability of empathy that even in a character like Edgardo must be within the font rendering, or reduces it to a pale appearance that, albeit splendidly, vocalizes.
Abelo, singing is not beautiful, it is not lavish, but it proved a sharer and warmed by the soul: and that's where he blossomed the show, which has been concluded with an unusual death of the male lead, caused by the collapse of the castle ruins of Ravenswood and part of that of Ashton. Even here the unusual directorial played their part controversial.
Cannot be shared even excessive violence registicamente Enrico, coming to yank and pushing for land Raymond on the first act.
The young Ivan Thirion, as Ashton, good looking and voice yet to be identified as a baritone timbre, gave a yield scenic brother who looked more like an executioner than a treacherous germano misleading, with good diction, but with inaccuracies in the text and in taking winds, and a mighty voice in pectore, but Donizetti, or tending to aura verdiana: perhaps by developing , especially in terms of projection, that showed how "braking".
Too blatant, then, his behavior was to push: Lucia and jerking. One wonders why direction, when the ingredients to make it a memorable edition there were all these distinguished the great Italian bass voice Roberto Tagliavini, Raymondthat "was" really Raymond, caught in full in every aspect, both in singing and interpretation and that, thanks to this, stood out on the entire cast.
Excessive loudness in instrumental Belgian theatre company, as in Chorusled by new Director Pierre Iodice, which threatened to overwhelm at times the soloists. No fault choral singers nor their Manager, but overall probably attributable to feature directorial conception of the show of Spanish Maestro Jesús López Cobos? Probably: monochrome and compact, too, to a Donizetti ascetic and steeped in Celtic patterns and storms scottiana memory of heaven and soul.
At times orchestral times accelerated, probably to facilitate the protagonist, especially in Act I cabaletta; by the book, however, the use of philological glass harmonicavery skillfully played and that was the debt, finally, the whole scene of madness. Less effective a’harp uneven and choppy in the first Act, which lacked the evocative capacity of nicety arcane prelude to the proper entrance to the scene and its heroine's cavatina.
Strictly Italian tradition, which should have its own weight as any other of equally high stature, the staging of an opera as Lucia should be as thin as the lines on the staff, both musically and from that of pure Visual spectacle. The costumes by Fernand Ruiz they were very colorful and draped, illuminated by lights equally colorful Franco Marri and this didn't help to seize the stage action.
The scene same, by Jean Gui LecatWhile interesting, opulent two-story Palace and symbolically by Enrico and cramped, scottiana pretension in the residence of the Ravenswood, by contrast, with a descent from the top of the stone source then the scene of madness, welcomed a show at which would be beneficial to be streamlined and essentially. So did not do justice the Arabesque cloths covered themselves, damasks, velvets and cloth Scots up to rimpinguarsi as the feast in the Palace of the Duke of Mantua. It would have been more appropriate to keep that hieratic sobriety that you think should be tap to performers and spectators, with aural and Visual sensations together Donizetti's masterpiece, even a world dominated by the paranormal.
The nobles invited to the wedding, laughing, albeit jubilant, in Exchange, no humming noise deliberately accentuated reveler curtain as others, scene 3 of Act II, then, mal agreed with both those who personified, both with the atmosphere that the music was intended and intends to recreate, if not create, a uniqueness that should be read fully, not neglecting any aspect : in this case the setting and then knowing how to "catch the spirit" of an Italian masterpiece.
Therefore, a certain infarcendola also operates scenic weighted fatness of a confusion in the arrangement of interpreters and chorus that not extolled the presence of the protagonists, even visually.
Either way, the taste of the writer, Italian at its finest with regard to Italian opera, has experienced a fundamental fact that has signed the absolute success of this show good overall quality, streamed live and still visible on line for some time: cohesion, research work of colourful, accents and consistency of the whole. Therefore, both while noting what over stressed, this result, which is positive, we have to acknowledge a’theatrical team respectable, is on the scene behind the scenes.
Ultimately, then, if you do not want to go over these in separate calls and smearing his directing, since even the secondary characters, for once, they sang properly, a voice, Lucia, from the point of view not heard from time…And it was still a nice listen.
© Neco Verbis
PHOTOS OPERA ROYAL DE WALLONIE