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Music
by
Giuseppe
Verdi
Libretto
by
Antonio Somma
Directed
by
Mario Martone
Designed
by
Sergio Tramonti
Orchestra
of the Royal Opera House conducted
by
Charles Mackerras
Riccardo
Giuseppe
Gipali
Renato
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Amelia
Nina Stemme
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Royal
Opera House
17
Nov - 10 Dec 2005 |
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Even
when one leaves all other
its complexities aside and
tries to treat 'Un Ballo in
Maschera' simply as opera,
ambiguities and dissonances
remain. Each of the three
main characters, despite the
conflict between their respective
positions in the drama, and
ultimately between them personally,
invite our sympathy; so there
is no one to cast as the villain.
The conspirators who plot
Riccardo's death are never
given a plausible motivation
for it, against the background
of the populace's love for
him. Riccardo himself bears
this out; he loves Amelia
honourably, and strives to
save them both from the consequences
of his - indeed, their - passion,
and her from her husband's
wrath, giving him more the
dimensions of a tragic hero
than a would-be adulterer,
still less tyrant.
These aspects of plot make
for an unusually subtle and
demanding psychological texture
in the music. In this performance
the majestic qualities of
Dmitri Hvorostovsky's voice,
with which he absolutely stole
the show, were well served
in the part composed by Verdi
for the faithful secretary
turned wronged husband. His
is some of the best music
in the whole, though the whole
is rich in moving, powerful
and dramatic writing.
It is fitting that this wonderful
opera should have had so chequered
an early history, being subjected
to the worst and crassest
interference by censors in
Naples and Rome before finally
finding its improbable resting
place as a story about a count
who is 'governor of Boston.'
To Anglophone sensibility
the Italianate misperceptions
of class, government and American
arrangements strikes very
oddly - but only for a moment,
for opera and in particular
Verdi's operatic genius raise
what is prima facie a most
absurd libretto into transcendence,
and suddenly the exportation
of Italian cultural givens
to the New England coast seems
as natural as can be. And
this is despite the fact that
the original donnČ of the
story was a the assassination
of a Swedish king.
The orchestra of the Royal
Opera House under Charles
Mackerras's distinguished
direction gave the score a
marvellously rich rendering,
and although Hvorostovsky
was the evening's star, his
two fellows in the main roles
were a treat, both Giuseppe
Gipali and Nina Stemme giving
beautifully convincing accounts
of themselves.
This is the 230th performance
of 'Un Ballo in Maschera'
at Covent Garden, making it
an absolute standard of the
repertoire. In Sergio Tramonti's
remarkable and highly effective
design - the masked ball scene
is played under a reflecting
backdrop which shows the dance
floor and orchestra below,
with curving staircases to
the stage, now serving as
an upper gallery where the
murder takes place - Verdi's
conception is given proper
scope and expression. It makes
great theatre, as befits a
great opera.
AC
Grayling |
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