Ode to Verdi and Speranza Scappucci
Opéra Royal de Wallonie Liège set a brilliant full stop to a fine opera season with Simon Boccanegra, by Giuseppe Verdi. Director Laurence Dale delivers a compelling and above all clear version of the complex story in monumental sets by Gary Mc Cann. Speranza Scappucci proves to be the fervent inspirer of Verdi's masterwork.
As is often the case in Verdi's oeuvre, political and personal entanglements are intertwined and form a complex whole. Verdi composes the opera after his Parisian opera Les Vêpres Siciliennes. The opera enjoys moderate success at its premiere at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in 1857. Verdi nevertheless loves his opera and in 1880, 23 years later, he reworks it together with librettist Arrigo Boito, whom he considers the right man for the job. From the correspondence during this collaboration comes Verdi's well-known quotation: "I agree that the table wobbles a bit, but with improvements to a couple of legs it will stand." At that point he already has plans for an Otello opera based on Shakespeare and he wants to test Boito, so to speak, as a librettist for that next major project. The reworked version of Simon Boccanegra at La Scala in Milan in 1881 is an enormous success. Following the previous quotation, Verdi responds: "the broken legs of old Boccanegra seem to me to be splinted in the right way."
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Story with a double layer
Simone Boccanegra, the sea captain who has cleared the Ligurian and Adriatic coasts of African pirates, is put forward by the people of Genoa for the office of Doge. In this function, Boccanegra considers it his task to reconcile the nobility (the patricians that is) and the people of Genoa – the plebeians - with each other. But he must reckon with resistance from the patricians, represented by the nobleman Jacopo Fiesco. And here comes the personal line in the story, for – from the prologue we learn that Boccanegra once seduced Fiesco's daughter, Maria, and has a daughter with her. The child has gone missing. Later in the opera it turns out that she was raised as Amelia by the noble family Grimaldi. Simone discovers that Amelia is his lost daughter. After a story of betrayal and false accusations, Simone only reveals at the end of the second act that he is her father. After a rebellion, Paolo is condemned as a traitor but in the meantime he has poisoned the doge. Only at the end does Boccanegra introduce his daughter to her grandfather Fiesco and he gives his blessing for the marriage of Amelia to Gabriele Adorno before he dies. Gabriele becomes the new doge.
A direction that is both contemporary and classical
It is no easy task to make the complicated story of Simon Boccanegra clear on stage. Director Laurence Dale has succeeded remarkably well. It is certainly good that the opening curtain shows a suggestive seascape, a curtain that also serves as the backdrop in later scenes in the opera. The sea is indeed an aspect connected with the historical doge city of Genoa, the location of the story. The blocking of characters is perfectly worked out with both sharp confrontations and subtle indications. For example, in the prologue there is the refined depiction of the death of Maria, Simon's secret love, daughter of Fiesco and mother of Amelia. The scene is dark and bathed in mourning. In the great scene of the Council of State, the correct positioning of the characters builds high tension. A first highlight is Amelia's sudden intervention in defense of Simon (at a moment when it is not yet known that she is his daughter) and a second highlight is the curse that Simon pronounces over Paolo. (Looking at Verdi's repertoire, this reminds us of the fierce and equally sinister curse of Marullo in Rigoletto). Equally convincing is Amelia's second intervention to save her father in the second act. The final scene offers, in all its tragedy, a comforting image. The political solution consists in appointing Gabriele as the new doge and the marriage of the young couple Gabriele and Amelia. And privately, Simon experiences, as it were, a peaceful end, united in love with the deceased Maria. A moving image as the conclusion of a gripping production. A veritable ode to Verdi.
Stylized set design
To this successful directing certainly also contributes the beautiful stylized décor. The Doge's Palace in art-deco style is versatile and offers the opportunity to suggest the diverse locations in a simple manner. The large lamps are splendid and the statues in the second act emphasize the aspect of private relationship and love. The space around the pillars of the building offers the chance to let the outdoor scenes of uprising intrude inward, without extra scene changes. The Doge's throne in the third act is with the stairs not only an expression of power and grandeur but also a symbol of distance and risk. Within the ornate decorative image, the stylish costumes fit equally well, in their elegance and reference to the bygone period equally modern.
Gripping musical drama
Against the somber décor background described above, bass Riccardo Zanellato set a first vocal high point of this rich score with the sorrowful lamentation "Il lacerato spirito" (the tormented spirit). With his warm bass and measured authority, Zanellato created a perfect Jacopo Fiesco. Lionel Lhote once again proved his flexible acting talent and voice control as the villain of the piece, Paolo. Marc Laho was somewhat disappointing as Gabriele Adorno. His voice remained flat and even in the beautiful passage where he suspects Amelia of love for Simon ("O inferno!….Cielo pietoso, rendila") sounded monotonous and the required vocal shadings that Verdi composes for him did not always come through. As an actor too, he could not really make the passionate lover convincing. A pity, especially since we have heard his voice sound more beautiful in Liège. Federica Lombardi gave an elegant and self-assured portrayal of her character Amelia. In her opening aria "Come in quest'ora bruna" – that delightful opening after the musing prelude of the first act, a tribute to the dawn at sea – she initially sounded somewhat sharp but she mastered her part with emotional involvement and vocal colors (the duet with the Doge). George Petean, who through his extensive repertoire can practically be considered an ideal Verdi baritone, performed Simon Boccanegra in all required aspects, the forceful ruler but also the sensitive father and friend.
To the musical celebration in this Simon Boccanegra, the orchestra contributed greatly, under the direction of the beloved retiring conductor Speranza Scappucci. Rarely have we heard the orchestra play so motivated, harmonious and captivating. Scappucci stimulates her musicians to their utmost ability and they clearly respond with pleasure to her stimulus. The mournful shimmering strings in the prologue, the beautiful oboes in the prelude of the first act and in the introduction of Amelia's narrative confession as an orphan, the lyrical duet between father and daughter, but equally the stirred-up intensity of the fierce scenes including the overwhelming curse of Simon at the end of the first act. The mysterious trombones and timpani as Simon drinks the poisoned goblet, the desolate horn melody, the motif in the trombones and bassoons in his death scene. They are in every way orchestral highlights that Scappucci brilliantly draws from Verdi's score. That the orchestra responds to it so sublimely can only be interpreted as a tribute to an appreciated and respected conductor, from whom they are taking leave as chief conductor! A tribute to Scappucci, who indeed received abundant applause.
- WHAT: Giuseppe Verdi Simon Boccanegra
- WHO: Director: Laurence Dale
Conductor: Speranza Scappucci; chorus master Denis Segond
Cast: George Petean, Federica Lombardi, Riccardo Zanellato, Marc Laho, Lionel Lhote - WHERE: Opéra Royal De Wallonie Liège
- WHEN: Sunday 19-6-2022
(still to be seen until 25-6-2022)
© J. Berger © J. Berger © J. Berger © J. Berger © J. Berger © J. Berger
