patrikpen: Rigoletto on the Beach in Music and Vision 16 Giugno

mercoledì 16 agosto 2017

Rigoletto on the Beach in Music and Vision 16 Giugno

Rigoletto on the Beach

Verdi in Sardinia,
reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI

Rigoletto is one of Verdi's most popular operas. Its productions are often reviewed in this magazine (eg 'A Big Splash', 27 February 2013; 'A Turning Point', 20 August 2013 and 'Troubles in Rome', 17 November 2014). Why should one fly to Sardinia and have an hour's drive to see and hear a staging of such a well known work? The reason was the inauguration on 10 June 2017 of a new multipurpose arena, the Forte Arena, featuring Rigoletto. The open air arena is next to the Forte Village, one of the best known beach resorts in Southern Sardinia. It is a high class resort, as can be seen from the photos with eight five-star hotels, twenty-two restaurants, excellent service thanks to a thousand permanent staff and beautiful lush Mediterranean gardens tended by fifty-five gardeners.

A beach scene in Sardinia. Photo: Forte Village. Click on the image for higher resolution

The arena has been conceived in a modular manner: it can accommodate an audience varying from two thousand and five hundred (operas, concerts) to five thousand (rock concerts); acoustics are quite good. In short, the arena is conceived both for a top-class high paying audience (on the opening night, top prices for best seats were higher than at the Salzburg or Bayreuth Festivals) and for the population of the area.

The Forte Arena in Sardinia. Photo: Forte Village. Click on the image for higher resolution

This Summer, four performances of Rigoletto, one on each Saturday in June, will alternate with a popular American musical comedy (Mamma Mia!), ballet (Roberto Bolle and his company) and concerts (including one by eighty-three-year-old Charles Aznavour).

This Rigoletto is produced by Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, which has established a close relationship with Forte Village, one of its sponsors. It is not an entirely new staging, and is based on an idea by Alberto Fassini; the stage director is Joseph Franconi Lee; the sets and the costumes are by Alessandro Ciammarughi. The original production had to be revised to fit the very large stage: without a roof, the full moon and stars of the Sardinian sky added charm to the reconstruction of palaces and alleys of Renaissance Mantua.

Forte Arena at night. Photo: Forte Village. Click on the image for higher resolution

The orchestra and corps de ballet come from Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, of course. The cast is international and internationally known. In the pit the baton is in the hand of Donato Renzetti, a frequent guest of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and of the main orchestras in France, Germany and other countries. He, the orchestra and the singers had an especially difficult task; whilst the weather was dry on the previous nights when the rehearsals took place, on 10 June 2017, the weather was dry and the sky was blue, but the atmosphere was quite damp — not the best conditions in which to play and sing. Nonetheless, they did quite well.

Seventy-five-year-old Leo Nucci had the title role. He has performed Rigoletto at least six hundred times on various continents. He knows, the part inside out, of course, but he also knows how to tame the adverse implications of humidity. He acted and sang like a middle age star. He received open stage applause and accolades.

Leo Nucci in the title role of Verdi's 'Rigoletto' at the Forte Arena in Sardinia. Photo: Prima Tolu. Click on the image for higher resolution

Gilda was played by Barbara Bargnesi, a young Italian soprano who started her career with Ricardo Muti, and is now quite well known, not only in her own country, but also in Salzburg and Shanghai. Her Caro Nome — an aria anticipating those of La traviata — was flawless.

Barbara Bargnesi as Gilda (centre) with Leonora Sofia as Giovanna (left) in Verdi's 'Rigoletto' at the Forte Arena in Sardinia. Photo: Prima Tolu. Click on the image for higher resolution

At the strong request of the audience, Nucci and Bargnesi had to encore Sì vendetta, tremenda vendetta. The Duke of Mantua was the Spanish tenor Antonio Gandìa, another international star. He has a generous voice, a clear timbre and an excellent acute. Rigoletto offered him many opportunities for open stage applause.

Antonio Gandìa as the Duke of Mantua (right) with Ivana Canovic as the Countess of Ceprano in Verdi's 'Rigoletto' at the Forte Arena in Sardinia. Photo: Prima Tolu. Click on the image for higher resolution