Bellini was among the
first of composers who wrote non-formulaic
operas, where the music was carefully
tailored to the words and the meaning
behind them. His operas were described
as "filosofica" with the music
tailored to the words of the libretto.
It also conjures up the feelings behind
the words and how these mesh with the
engaged listener.
Bellini took great
pains to make his music fit the words
of the story, and so it is almost mandatory
that the producers and directors of
the performance try to recreate the
story for the audience. Bellini was
also one of the first of the so-called
bel canto composers who created musical
lines which flowed graciously and smoothly.
He aimed at creating an atmosphere which
earlier opera composers had not really
considered.
Beatrice di Tenda is
a relatively late work of the composer,
completed only two years before his
death. At this point in time, he had
the successes of Norma and La Sonnambula
behind him. He had little to prove.
He started looking for a new subject
for an opera in 1832, and he and his
librettist, had decided to write an
opera for Stockholm, Fontainebleau and
Rome by Alexandre Dumas, the most successful
of the Romantic ‘stage’ novelists next
to Victor Hugo. It very shortly became
apparent that this subject was too vast
to be viably converted into a successful
opera. Their attention then switched
to the story of Beatrice di Tenda, a
real person who lived in the 15th
Century. On 16th May 1412,
Giovanni Maria Visconti, the Duke of
Milan, was the victim of a conspiracy.
At the same time, the famous commander
Facino Cane died and his widow, Beatrice
de’ Lascari, also known as Beatrice
di Tenda, was given command of an army
well versed in battle, which until then
had fought under her husband’s banner.
Thanks to Beatrice’s support, Filippo
Maria Visconti, the brother of the murdered
Giovanni Maria, succeeded in defeating
the conspirators and in recapturing
the Dukedom of Milan. He married Beatrice
soon afterwards. However, after only
six years he tired of his wife and fell
in love with Agnese del Maino. In order
for him to end his marriage, he accused
his wife of having an affair with a
courtier, Michele Orombello. He had
Beatrice tortured and beheaded at Castle
Binasco during the night of 13th
to 14th September 1418.
The first performance
of the opera was given at the Teatro
la Fenice in Venice on the 16th
March 1873 and was an abysmal failure.
Shouts of "Norma! Norma!"
were heard from the gallery , which
was a clear indication that the audience
missed the bel canto style in Beatrice
di Tenda. In his new opera, Bellini
did not continue, as he did in Norma,
with the virtuosity and coloratura artistry
of the voices, but explored a new way
of musical expression, which brought
to the fore a new warmth and different
characteristics. Indeed the second performance
already had a much warmer response from
the audience. It was performed in Florence,
Turin, Bologna, Rome, Vienna and Paris
between 1834 and 1855. It returned to
La Fenice in 1844. Although it is one
of Bellini’s less popular operas, the
title role is a popular showpiece with
sopranos.
In recent times the
main contender for the principal soprano
was Joan Sutherland, and her Decca CD
issue of the opera is still in the catalogue.
In the current issue,
Edita Gruberova, whilst completely competent
in the role, is no Joan Sutherland.
She wobbles in her tone whereas the
Australian Diva was rock steady, and
where Sutherland produced a glorious
steady tone of true bel canto, Gruberova
is a mere shadow of her illustrious
predecessor. The other voices in this
production are fine, whilst the orchestral
contribution is first rate, with Marcello
Viotti making a very fine contribution
to the proceedings with the orchestra
and chorus of Zurich Opera delivering
all he could possibly want.
If the less than perfect
singing was all that concerned me, I
would be recommending this release almost
without reservation, but what I find
absolutely damning about this release
is the production. When the story is
set in the 1400s, why on earth put it
in the 20th Century in modern
dress. For me this totally ruins a reasonably
good performance, together with fine
visual and sound quality. The producer
should be taken to task for ruining
an otherwise perfectly acceptable performance.
If on the other hand
you are not disconcerted by the practice
of dressing traditional operas up in
modern dress, you are unlikely to find
a better performance in the catalogue.
John Phillips
Chorus and Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House/Marcello
Viotti.
TDK
DV-OPBDT [2 DVDs: 144 minutes plus 26 minutes
special features].