Verdi, Ernani: Soloists, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa. Coro de Ópera de Bilbao. Conductor: Sir Mark Elder, Palacio Euskalduna de Bilbao. 16.1.2010 (JMI)

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Editor - Bill Kenny
Founder - Len Mullenger

Ernani is one of the best Verdi operas from the so-called ‘years in the galleys’ so far as I am concerned, although it is a long time since it lost the favour of the big opera houses. Certainly its irregular libretto and its need of four truly great singers – no less than Trovatore - can explain some of this hardly justified oblivion but in the last 10 years the opportunities to enjoy this opera in decent conditions have been very few. I dare say in fact that only the United States has staged the work with more or less with great singers, the last of them this season in Chicago with Sondra Radvanovsky (to me the best Elvira today). Three years ago it was given at the Metropolitan with Radvanovsky again, accompanied by Giordani, Hampson and Furlanetto and before that at Carnegie Hall some 12 years ago – it appeared in a concert version with a surprising June Anderson as Elvira. Appearances of the title in Europe have also been very scarce, mostly in Italy and for the most part with rather mediocre casts, with the exception of Trieste some three years back. Sadly, this ABAO performance was closer to Italian mediocrity than to American splendour.

ABAO’s new production was directed by Michal Znaniecki from Poland. On paper, the selection couldn't have been more fortunate, judging by his other operatic works in recent years, all characterized by good taste and respect for the music and singers. Unfortunately, this did not happen this time. The staging was dominated by a large gothic rose window partially raised, creating a stage with a slope of about 40 degrees. In these circumstances the movements by soloists, chorus and extras showed their worries about falling over all to clearly and adversely projected lots of extraneous noise into the theatre. The singers had to share their focus on singing wth concerns for physical security and to this I should add the fact that often Znaniecki made them sing from the top of the rose window, damaging projection of the voices – which otherwise only came into its own when the performers sang from the front of the stage. In these circumstances the direction of actors was fairly well impossible, not to mention the lack of mass direction, which was little better than a concert version. The drama of big scene of act III, with the company in the rose window and the Emperor placed behind them, was completely missed.

Sir Mark Elder was in charge of the musical side of the production and for any opera lover having such a prestigious conductor in the pit could be but nothing less than a cause for great satisfaction. He offered a complete version of the opera, always with huge respect to the score. Mark Elder is undoubtedly one of the most expert conductors of bel canto and and this was the first time I can remember a performance of Ernani with all the cabalettas duly repeated as they should be. Apart from his obvious respect for the score and his excellent ear for detail, his reading was always firm and secure, despite of the problems that the setting caused singers trying to follow his baton. In general his tempi tended to be a little slow, which could have been excellent with a better orchestra than Bilbao’s, which was not outstanding. The chorus showed their excellent adaptation to Italian opera in general and to Verdi in particular but they were also affected significantly by the production. In other circumstances, their performance – especially that of the men - could have been memorable.

The protagonist, the bandit Ernani or Don Juan of Aragon, was the Venezuelan tenor Aquiles Machado. The vocal development of this singer has turned out to be rather disappointing in recent years, to my mind. His voice has widened considerably, but he has developed a worrying vibrato in the upper register and his voice does not have quite the weight demanded by the role, although he was still acceptable however. Two months ago I heard him in Verdi’s Requiem and I found him better than expected and this time I had much the same impression. Ernani is not an ideal character for his vocal capacities, but he sings with very good taste, sensibly avoiding some of the high notes.

If we look back at the history of ABAO we can see that the most important character for them in this opera has always been the Emperor Don Carlos. Cappuccilli, Milnes, Bruson and Bastianini have all sung the role in Bilbao and to this list should be added an outstanding Paolo Gavanelli, when he was at his best. In this production the most important voice among the quartet of protagonists was the Serbian baritone Zeljko Lucic, one of the few true Verdi baritones around today. However, his performance was not entirely convincing because the character was not lived with the required intensity and there was an excessive tendency to singing forte. There were also some dubious pitch moments in the third Act, especially in his great pardoning scene. Having said this, if I am not mistaken this was his debut with the character - always a handicap, but particularly in the circumstances of this production.

The Greek soprano Dimitra Theosossiou was the weakest item in the casting and the least suited to the demands of her role. While this singer has always seemed to me an outstanding belcanto specialist, she loses some of her quality in the more dramatic repertoire. Elvira requires a spinto, even sometimes a dramatic soprano. The singer need a sonorous low register, which Ms Theodossiou lacks, and a very bright top, while hers was mostly rather shrill. Much the same thing happened to her some eight years ago at the Teatro Real in the same role and the situation has not improved. Without a doubt however, she was at her best in the last act, where she did prove that she is an excellent singer, although slightly too late.

Silva requires a powerful bass, like the role’s last interpreter in Bilbao, Roberto Scandiuzzi, who was at his best then. The Bulgarian Orlin Anastassov is more like a bass-baritone with a pleasant, voice that mixed some elegant singing with rather substandard vocal projection. So far he has not fulfilled the high expectations that he raised only a few years ago.

There was a full house, despite the fact that Real Madrid was playing just across street. There was no applause after any of the arias and at the final bows there was decidedly cool reception for the cast with no cheers for any of the artists with the biggest applause going to Anastassov and the smallest to Theodossiou. Sir Mark Elder, orchestra and chorus were warmly received, while the creative team raised some boos and some rather sonorous foot stamping, not a sign of enthusiasm in this part of the world.

José M Irurzun

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