By Natalia Di Bartolo. An Ernani performed in one breath, but very successful and with high-level voices.
Ernani is one of those works in which each note has an artistic weight, which counts as a whole and makes the whole sublime. But Maestro James Conlon, on 10 November 2011, in the Metha room of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, as part of the "Autumn Festival", seems to have pressed the accelerator too much on this which is a positive fact, but it can also represent an executive trap. In fact, Ernani cannot be swallowed like a glass of water, but should be drunk in sips, even in small sips when necessary, avoiding rushing, chaining each melody to the other without interruption and with a consequent lack of chiaroscuro.
The precipitous execution of the excellent Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra, if on the one hand harmed the work, on the other had the desired enthralling effect on the public, who followed the work with bated breath, letting themselves be overwhelmed by the baton by Maestro Conlon, making his debut conducting Verdi's masterpiece.
As for the voices, in the title role a Francesco Meli in great shape, a timbre that is obviously not heroic but lyrical, which however did not spoil going a bit’ against tradition. You have to forgive him for a few breathless breaths in the pianos, but, as we know, it is his constant "modus in rebus".
The real pearl of the evening was Maria Josè Siri, making her debut in the role, who gave voice to an Elvira with burnished tones and at the same time with a brilliant ring like never before. Endowed with a dark voice with bass worthy of a mezzo, yet with peaks of great significance in the treble, Maria José Siri grows more and more in skill and identification in her roles.
Roberto Frontali, Carlo V, has put all his experience into play, with a robust and even rough voice, when needed, as well as an ability to express himself as an actor, which now lends itself to practically all Verdi's roles. Particularly appreciable is his duet with Siri, in which the two voices, in the medium-low register, competed for softness and ductility, which curiously assimilated them into a rare unicum in a duet between a baritone and a soprano: everything from to listen.
Pleasant and young the "Old Silva" Vitalij Kowaljow, who has a bass voice that certainly needs polishing in terms of legato and clarity of diction, but has notable bass and correct and well-projected emission.
The other performers and the choir, directed by Maestro Lorenzo Fratini, stood out for their precision and clarity.
A "tranquil" direction by Leo Muscato, linear, coherent, in the new staging transposed to the early nineteenth century, in the slightly’ claustrophobic scrolling and shutters by Federica Parolini, with costumes with a pleasant chromatic effect by Silvia Aymonino and the well-kept chiaroscuro lights and shadows by Alessandro Verazzi that completed the show.
An evening of excellent quality, the favor of the public was high, with long, even rhythmic applause, enthusiasm on the part of the singers, who, drawn along by Meli, did not spare themselves the jogs towards the proscenium, we do not know, as always, how appropriate and elegant after the gloomy atmosphere and the tragic ending of the Opera. This too would be a "modus in rebus" to be reviewed.
Natalia Dantas ©
Photo Michele Monasta