LOC 2009-2010: Effervescently charming Elisir (at last) - Cabell, Filianoti, Corbelli, Campanella - January 2010; Season opener Tosca - Deborah Voigt

Dr. Dulcamara has made visitation on yet another opera company in the States, this time Lyric of Chicago. It was here that he would make the sale better than his other two stops on the continent, as performed by one singer – Alessandro Corbelli. The other major company to have had Elisir on over the past year or so has been Los Angeles, with Ruggiero Raimondi instead as Dulcamara (with Nino Machaidze apparently a winning Adina).

Most astute, clear musical preparation went into this Elisir, quite unlike in Houston under Edoardo Mueller or perhaps even under Bruno Campanella himself from San Francisco (starring Ramon Vargas and unsteady Inva Mula there). A working assumption is that Chicago used a mostly traditional production of Elisir d’amore, which is practically just almost always the best way to go about it. Once the charm of this simple comedy goes, then the game is pretty much up - the humor of it all quickly out the back door as well.

Conductor being the same as in San Francisco, I begin to suspect a co-conspirator among team doing the musical preparation for Lyric - Dr. Phillip Gossett. He it was who provided wonderful commentary on Elisir during the broadcast interval. He described eloquently how Verdi intimated Nemorino’s part for an Act 2 duet in how he wrote some of Gilda’s lines. He also spoke of the popular song origin of ‘Una furtive lagrima’ of how Donizetti pleaded with his librettist to be able to include it – in context of a very limited time frame to get things ready for Elisir’s first prima. However Dr. Gossett may have provided a hand just resulted in the most airy sense of lightness, fun, joie de vivre throughout the entirety of this, as though it all could have been played off the cuff. The fruits of preparation so astute and clear on something like Elisir d’amore are just that.

The only detracting thing about this performance was the quality of some of the voices themselves – some tendency to vocal hardness, strain around the break Campanella always made enterprise of finding a way in his accompaniment and for the singers themselves to find ways around it, and succeeded quite often at it. There were any combination of things – encouraging singers to give the rhythms in their vocal lines the bounce they need, to point the text with as much unforced wit as possible, and to caress the lines they sing and shapes within thereof. Of what I have heard this season from the U.S., there simply has been no opera better conducted than this one,

Nicole Cabell made the warm, almost sultry toned Adina. She tended to understate the sarcastic edge, the cold indifference to Nemorino, even some of the early flippancy of Adina in early scenes. Underlying her flirtatious character was a sense of there being a tug on the heartstrings – recognition of how deeply, even hopelessly in love with her Nemorino is. On the other hand, one may have sensed through Adina expressing herself in so much earnest to the audience, a lack of variety in accent, some blandness, but she stopped well short of making anything coy of Adina.

Enormous highlight of the entire performance was the Act 2 duet with Dulcamara, during which Cabell converted Adina’s enhanced concern for Nemorino at this point over much patter goading from the quack into equally joining forces with Dulcamara. His elixir is no match for her wiles toward eventually winning over a Nemorino who has started haughtily affecting that with elixir in hand there is nobody in the village to whom women are more attracted than he. Cabell’s very heartfelt “Prendii, per me sei libero”, even if mildly placed back vocally, was moving. Her command of long lines without taking a breath, subtle rubato infused therein, even if for some ends of phrases, Cabell does not lighten tone to fully desirable extent. Two very minor slips, in getting off cleanest releases for taking breaths during the at once rapid and long-lined cabaletta, were all that betrayed any more insecurity than mentioned already. Compensating for such was Cabell’s very warm low register and fine achievement of both agility across the range and generosity of spirit, so much with which she invested singing Adina.

Giuseppe Filianoti made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut with Nemorino. His opening ‘Quanto e bello’ revealed a tenor unabashed in giving his lines much full-throated ardor, wile managing to avoid any too obvious strain, except perhaps on one optional high A toward the end of his first aria. For ‘”Una furtive lagrima”, he prudently eschewed attempting to achieve the sublime with this, with in mind first and foremost the simplicity of the aria’s popular origins – with just some hint of mezzo voce a la Alfredo Kraus for starting the second verse to it. It worked beautifully well for him and gave the obvious show-stopper its place within context of the entire comedy and very winningly so. Even if still spending a little too much of what vocal resources lie at his disposal, no effort of the kind unduly intervened on “Una furtive lagrima” this go at it.

What Filianoti had beforehand was the wit he put into so many scenes in-between the two arias – the rambunctious bounce he gave reprise of the chorus with his part in descant to them so early on. Also spot-on was his fulsome ecstasy in discovering the elixir, and insolence to others, as towards Belcore when things only seem to finally be going entirely his way. Filianoti pointed too the ease with which Nemorino can be so easily duped. He made a study in character acting here – requiring that he sing the part well - complete, not to mention very charming. His gently distraught ardor for “Ai perigli della guerra” – part of'Venti scudi' (duet with Belcore) that inspired Verdi’s writing of Gilda’s lines in quartet from Rigoletto, (as Gossett explained well) was most apt.

Gabriele Viviani also made fine casting as the haughty Belcore. With good command of line, he affected noble bearing well for his opening aria, “Come Paride vezzoso”, even the irony of it well. Just mostly to advantage, did Viviani revealwhat fulsomeness of voice he can command. Extra emphasis on bluster invited some strain, but the agility for runs and rapid patter, including in stern rebuttal to Nemorino’s entreaties Viviani clearly made known. Viviani commands a supple line, nuance thereof, especially when most relaxed - evident as Riccardo Forth throughout a Bologna Puritani seen here last year.

Nearly a week after the Puritani, courtesy of Rave and Emerging Pictures, Houston Grand Opera staged its Elisir d’amore, borrowed from Glyndebourne, starring Alessandro Corbelli as Dr. Dulcamara. By and large, let Corbelli be his own stage director, as Jack O’Brien (Met Trittico) and Giulio Chazzaletes have done, and out comes an artist entirely worthy of our trust. This Dulcamara was not only hilarious, but definitively revealed Corbelli’s love for both the part and the character. He even let on about chance of Dulcamara’s quackery catching up with him one day.

Corbelli made up for a little vocal stiffening that comes with age, with tremendous wit with the words. He commanded the stage here from first ‘Udite’ to both finish heralding his entrance and introduce his catalogue of wares and mostly elixirs with great aplomb. The awareness of all the highly varied whim and demand Dulcamara finds out on the street was acute, together with pointed parody of the clientele. Whatever trick might work with any of his clients, even if it is affecting amnesia, as with Adina, or befuddlement upon first meeting Nemorino (as though trying to keep pace with him) there was for us no mistaking it and no self-conscious underlining of the least bit. He even, upon reprise of ‘Io son ricco’ skipped a beat during the tune on purpose to affect catching himself saying something he should not, lest the cat get completely let out of the bag. Here was classic Corbelli, equal to any of the best he has given us in the past. With audience instead on or attentive to so much excess clutter, Corbelli too willingly took a back seat to it all, as he surmised what was demanded of him here in Houston. Such was our loss, but concerning Corbelli, all is definitely (forgotten and) forgiven now.

Guaranteeing that no number in this Elisir might seem least bit insignificant was Bruno Campanella on the podium. Take for instance the quasi-conspiratorial chorus (“Saria possible?’”) of girls, led by “Or Nemorino e milionario” that can so easily become so much marking of time. Between the very saucy Giannetta of Angela Mannino and Bruno Campanella’s highly attentive, but never obtrusive pointing of accents, it all instead turned out as much fun as all the rest of this very witty Elisir. Campanella’s leadership showed some awareness of ‘period’ in keeping string vibrato light, but without encrusting Donizetti with a level of tautology – of which it should never be in any need. While still keeping things a little subdued for it, he had the better shaping of ‘Adina, credimi’ during the finale to Act One than either Patrick Summers or Edoardo Muller. The animated passages that surrounded the moment of poignancy had all the air, lift, bounce, wit they ever needed. There was more detail heard throughout it all than we are most accustomed to hearing, not only for at times just Donizetti’s rhythms themselves – but for so very much that can infuse them with so much life.

The reading between the lines was also so complete, most of all in allowing deft space needed for his singers to make all of their words count – even at a few tempos mildly breezier than usual. All worked as though magically to the singers’ advantage. All backed off from contributing to a situation in which they might strain their voices. Much highly attentive rehearsal, sufficient time for such contributed so much – such that Campanella may have been denied months earlier in San Francisco; performance broadcast from that run did not lift spirits to the level this one did. All effervesced, bubbled here - even preceding excellent flute principal in the sinfonia - to extent as though no effort could have been put into it - indeed why to prepare Elisir so well.

Short work here can be made of the Tosca that followed. Andrew Davis’s conducting just about thoroughly missed it in line, sostenuto, and in sufficient necessary buildup, maintenance of dramatic tension. Past the dryly enunciated opening ‘trionfar’ on solo horn more color and nuance emerged for much of Act Three – taken less draggy overall than Act One. Even the dryly enunciated Scarpia chords opening Act One (with urbane manner for much of the rest of this Tosca) showed incomplete understanding of their import, even of the harmonic progression itself. Davis applied so much elision to in effect override scene of Scarpia’s murder that, as a result, he thoroughly deflated it. No, the heavy grind he made out of resuming the dirge that has moments before accompanied Scarpia’s writing of the safe-conduct did not help matters. Deborah Voigt could hardly be blamed for not knowing what to do with ‘Avanti a lui’, except to just do it by rote.

Deborah Voigt, in caressing so many lines, showed a very welcome feminine, even girlish vulnerability as Tosca that helped obscure some hollowness of midrange and wiry strain on top. It became a little too evident, however, during ‘Vissi d’arte’ a lack of grandeur of expression, but of course a very opposite way of playing the Roman diva has seldom worked well either. A little of such glibness carried over into Act Three, but not enough to ruin matters. The fear, anxiety in Voigt’s voice during tense moments with Scarpia rang true, especially as far as through the interrogation scene.

Vladimir Galuzin was out-and-out disastrous as Mario Cavaradossi – all thick bluster and little else, and even in effect, with as thick a wobble as he could let out, gave off ability to hit a good several pitches at once (at crest of 'Trionfar', for instance). It is such at which Buddhist monks in remote parts of Mongolia are adept - to depict varied states of nature, as host of PBS travelogue let us see probably the same Saturday afternoon this broadcast. First of two ‘Vittoria’s in Act Two wobbled out of control, followed by second one that seemed to get stuck on its second syllable. Number of sub-phrases Galuzin managed to sing softly could be counted on the fingers of one hand. There was little meaning to Cavaradossi’s defiance of Scarpia or of his circumstances, as so many lighter, more ardent passages contained the same bluster as well.

Garnett Bruce, for this restaging of the Met Zeffirelli production, spoke of the Russian pessimistic view of the final scene, regarding Cavaradossi, for Cavaradossi to be telling Tosca, ‘Don’t worry, honey. I will look good’ – in response to coaching of how to handle supposedly simulated situation at hand. One can not doubt Galuzin’s ability to look good, act well and have some feeling for Cavaradossi, but a much more relaxed approach to all this is necessary for any of it to come across vocally.

James Morris, seen soon thereafter as a disastrous Fiesco for Met revival of Simon Boccanegra, showed unerring command of the words and of even some of the gravitas of Scarpia, not to mention the to-be-feared aspects of this character. Voice was too dry to sustain well the legato for ‘Ella verra’, but he made much of the declamation in the Te Deum and of so many lines, playing off the vulnerable sounding Deborah Voigt, both in his Act One interview of Tosca and throughout the interrogation scene in Act Two.

Among supporting cast, John Easterlin (Spoletta), Paul Corona (Sciarrone) and sonorous jailer of Sam Handley distinguished themselves most, but weak Angelotti (Craig Irvin) and extra-buffo, vocally weak Dale Travis as the Sacristan less so. Angela Mannino made ideal a picture of boyish wistful innocence, as treble-toned Shepherd to help open Act Three.

RAVE: Musically riveting I Puritani (Bologna - January 2009) - Machaidze, Florez, Mariotti

It is good, after the bel canto morto di Glyndebourne/Muller/Arden in Houston to finally make assessment, of this Bologna/Mariotti/Pier’All I Puritani, filmed last winter at the Teatro Comunale, as shown at cinemas across the U.S. and the world, including Yorktown Rave in northwest Houston. Given often at times the provincial character of the musical performing arts here, it is a great outlet to have the innovation of operas in HD from even overseas so readily available to us. Not near enough people here take advantage of such great opportunity available to them.

Some Rave managerial staff has adjustment or two to make, to guarantee their audiences chance for an interval - for instance at least ten minutes after a long act. Theater staff waited to inquire until right after Act 2 of Puritani, as to if we all needed a break, whereas there were people who had sat for it for a little over two hours thus far. We did get the break, but there was chorus to open Act Two several people still missed.

It is also rare to get such a fine performance of a Bellini opera available to us; whatever shortcomings this one may have had, it would be churlish not to somewhat make light of them. One of the very first operas the Met gave us in their HD series was also I Puritani (January, 2007). I was satisfied just to pick up Act 3 on NPR and then was content that I had missed out on attending it. The Teatro Comunle di Bologna has a very gifted new music director, just barely thirty, in Michele Mariotti. Catching just a snatch of Act Two from the Met in HD Puritani off youtube – as conducted by Patrick Summers - I was immediately turned off by the wan, pallid color, equally pallid ‘period’ assumption or approximation of ‘bel canto’ of the orchestral playing under him at the Met.

Mariotti spoke in interview, via youtube, of an element of parlando in Bellini’s writing that does indeed, on close observation of Bellini’s vocal lines, infuse his writing with considerable degree of realism. Such makes Bellini, as has been written about him before, indeed a forerunner of verismo. Leaving the theater, it was commented by a retired lady from Italian faculty here that both there is such tragic and passionate feeling in Bellini’s writing, even for an opera the plot of which results in a happy ending. I find it quite visceral myself to have such a direct encounter with this opera from the old house in Bologna - with the distinctive richness of color from the orchestral playing and overall ambience of everything, beautifully supportive of the singers. Such can give vent to strong feelings and emotions from anyone watching so sensitive, open to allowing response to something so different, as this is for people here.

Nino Machaidze was the Elvira Walton on this occasion. Her name was merely just that, a name, while attending my first from overseas HD presentations of opera I ever did – her Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) in an immensely great and penetrating Il Trittico conducted by Riccardo Chailly and staged by Luca Ronconi at La Scala in March of 2008 - viewed here soon thereafter. In her expression, an utter determination to get most everything right for this most demanding part, one can not help but be moved by what Machaidze put into it. The emotions of a character of somewhat fragile mental and emotional state were made palpable in facial expression and sensitive shading of Bellini’s melodic lines. She also cuts a most lovely figure on stage, and except on slightly smudged rapid chromatic scale patterns, her coloratura emerged clear across the range.

As Bellini’s vocal writing exposes so much, there did however come up a few issues. Legato, for long spun vocal lines in Bellini is less pure and secure than it ideally should be – with as Neil Rishoi has pointed out before about this same performance, a mild intrusion of aspirates. No more challenging moment for either Machaidze or Mariotti occurred the entire way through I Puritani than the first part of the Mad Scene, during which Mariotti perhaps just slightly insisted on too regular a pulse for good of how to shape the line. There is by now a rarefied sense to getting such a passage, in the very individual way in which Bellini writes such, up to what demands really should be. Such issue as Machaidze had with legato was exposed here more than anywhere else - and also some coolness to the timbre, to just gently perhaps remind us of from how far East comes this attractive artist. I would welcome however eschewing having to make homage to Netrebko by lying prone on stage for any portion of the Mad Scene. This, in terms of stage direction, regardless as to who came up with it, accomplished nothing.

The smoky color of Machaidze’s lower register is very attractive; such, without pushing chest excessively, allows for just adequate flexibility to expand into the middle register without doing anything precarious. For there to be a podium with true authority doing Bellini, there needs to be along with the strong rhythmic profile that Mariotti brings to this, the yielding rubato for the long lyric lines that can help a singer bring out the right qualities for such. “Oh, vieni al tempio” in Act One, preview mad scene it is often called, made one first so very aware of these qualities - how they may have been shortchanged by mild enforcement of too regular pacing through it.

Once on to ‘Vien, diletto, - though it possibly lacked the last amount of current of hysterical ecstasy to it - Machaidze pretty much hit home stretch from this point on - with splendid support for Juan Diego Florez in duets and ensemble with him for highly successful third act from her as well. Her opening duet with Ildebrando d’Arcangelo made apparent fine psychological understanding of Elvira with the fine vocal qualities she has at her disposal too. Communication between singers on stage was acute, in an opera with drama, action so often static. Stage direction was attentive to getting all this right – momentarily heavy reliance on stock gesture aside.

Ildebrando d’Arcangelo was curiously just halfway effective as Giorgio Walton. It is a good resonant voice, with an internal rapid vibrato, that under stress, approaches becoming a beat. A little of such internally old-world quality to tone production though got curiously matched up with a modern approach to making something expressive with it here. Legato varied between good to halfway patchwork. For comfort in making strong sense of his line and of gravitas in dramatic situation at hand, he chose to sing “Se tra il bujo un fantasma’ – middle section of his long scena with Riccardo Forth declamatory, non legato. Lines therein allow for breaks for verbal emphases; taking it all non legato however is slightly vulgar. “Cinta di fiori” conveyed fine sense of narrative– a comparable piece to introducing Lucia’s mad scene in Donizetti for Raimondo – but was as always here slightly weak on legato. D’Arcangelo overall had the vocal weight if a bit exaggerated for an essentially lyric bass, the gravitas too in appearance; it was just more legato that one sought here. Ugo Guagliardo, as Lord Walton, second bass, gave his two passages of accompanied recitative the weight, warm gravitas desired and fine look of authority as well. Gianluca Floris (Bruno) was adequately incisive on his thankless opening lines but sounded thin vocally.

Gabriele Viviani, with still the youthful bloom on his voice and fine malleability too, was Riccardo Forth. It is hard to make much villainous out of “Ah, per sempre io ti perdei”, but still first, this being Bellini, in its demands is the legato, and.Viviani has it. Such grasp of legato enhanced bringing out just right the auburn grain, color in his sound; all worked to make very attractive Forth’s first act aria and cabaletta. This is an essentially lyric instrument, one we do not want to see pushed into the dramatic repertory, at least too soon, as is tempting way too often these days. Viviani was incisive, if with in facial expression stock gestures for playing a villain, in making something menacing of those lines with which Riccardo threatens Arturo in Act One. As up to task d’Arcangelo was, one’s ear still often led one to Viviani whenever the two sang together.

Incisively facing up to him was the Arturo Talbot of Juan Diego Florez. “A te, o cara,” which in supporting lines had Machaidze so engaged – promising their very fine Third Act together – carried with such pliancy, ease, shape to line, passion, as to send shivers up and down one’s spine – even more than his handsome looks - for me that alone would not do it. A recent recital disc of Florez sounded as though recorded so close it brought out more metal to this voice, suggesting perhaps that Florez might already have started forcing things too heavy. There was however so little evidence of such on this occasion, perhaps that it also takes some economization to sensibly be able to get through the Third Act for any Arturo.

Florez eschewed taking the high F in “Credeasi, misera”, settling for a strongly delivered D-flat instead. The scene with Henrietta in the First Act, rightly considered a lapse in dramatic and musical inspiration on Bellini’s part, hardly seemed so at all, with the strong single-minded determination with which Florez started it, fine support from Nadia Pirazzini as distressed Henrietta with fine character to his lines and from Mariotti accompanying, leading it all. Someone wrote in somewhere about Florez’s tone being too clear, perhaps too open, light for the demands of singing Arturo. Florez however mapped, scaled what he had before him so wisely, singing it all very expressively, that one can only reckon such remark as churlish.

Pier’Alli’s stage direction was somewhat of an abstraction, but such was his intent, not to distract from what penetrating insight he sought into what goes on psychologically with the characters in I Puritani. He also has a weak libretto with which to work – having as much as any other producer to rely so much upon Bellini’s musical inspiration alone. In persistence of abstract hand motions for chorus, he did seem mildly glib in taking passages involving them on. The somewhat geometric blocking into varied military positions he applied to his choral forces, during early scenes especially, made good sense and even enhanced atmosphere, as did even more the deep lighting across width and breadth of the stage past well lit proscenium. Only a little rushing up and down the length of the stage floor - perhaps in pursuit of Arturo – looked almost silly, as did lapse of judgment during the Mad Scene already mentioned.

Michele Mariotti did not waste any time, revealing what understanding and command he has of Bellini. The opening introduction and choruses were rapt with intensity, color, suavity for subtle harmonic changes in and beneath the line and intimations of febrile meaning along with it. His allowing color that occurs naturally in ruddy form to the orchestra of the Teatro Comunale, such as very seldom encountered on this side of the pond (or at Glyndebourne for their excursions into bel canto either) and command of fine choral forces all emerged very naturally. All was so distinctive and also indicative of wonderful gain of having someone already so sensitive on opera podiums in various locales before long. The swagger he brought to this score’s polacca (and habanera?) rhythms and to extensive scena closing Act Two, especially to the Risorgimento driven ‘Suoni la tromba’, especially there, was fiery, highly compelling.

Mariotti’s atmospheric framing starting Act Three and line to command all so flexibly but authoritatively the remainder of the way, including incisiveness during storm portion of this to set things off, was all remarkable. There were just one or two passages, most of all the first part of the Act Two Mad Scene, that betrayed some inexperience, but such with time that may get well overcome and before long from such an already determined mind and with serious intent not just about his craft, but about the art as well. This makes, in high definition, a most auspicious debut for the young Mariotti, in contrast with more venerable complacency that still visits local opera podium this week. Mariotti demonstrated by his own work there should be little room for such complacency.

With this for Bellini, not being quite everything it could have been by standards a generation or two ago, there was still something to have been reckoned about this experience. Such can only linger on for having faithfully disclosed most of all the paramount virtues of Bellini’s music, as opened out so very well here.