La Serenissima at Cadogan Hall
8th December 2008
I do not mind, if operas are long, but I do, very much, mind, if an opera is so late, as to cause me, to miss the last train, home. It is inconvenient, and could, so easily, have been avoided, if the opera had, instead of at seven, which is, undeniably, far too late, for an opera, of some four hours, in length, been started instead, at around 6.30, or even 6. Although early, this is not unheard of, and would have been, entirely acceptable, or at least, more so, than a finishing time, of 11pm.
There are, certainly, times, when the cutting of an opera, is inappropriate, but La fida ninfa, was so long, as to be trying, on my very senses, despite, the removal, of parts, of the recitative. Vivaldi, is not a bad composer, although, of course, he is not, one of the operatic greats, but so little happens in this opera, and, much of what does happen, is, sadly, incomprehensible. The music, is similar, throughout, with little regard, to what is happening, on the stage, although, of course, as this was a concert performance, nothing was happening onstage. La Serinissima, played beautifully, but, two hours, or three, not four, would have been sufficient. It was, an evening, of the profoundest, tedium.
There was some singing, of notability, although, unable to buy a programme, and unable, also, to work out who was whom, not least, because, the opera had, in it, two Osminos, both, in love with, the same woman, both, additionally, sung by women, so I had little idea, at any point, of their identities.
The singer, I assumed, to be Judith Howarth, in the role of Licori, sang sweetly, with none, of the unhappy shrillness, that has, unhappily, accompanied her performances of late, but she did not seem, a nymph, of any particular, speciality.
One of the Osminos, was called Morastro, which I believe, scanning the libretto, in the greatest perplexity, means, he is the true Osmino, the other, being an imposter. I could not ascertain, with any certainty, which one was real, but one of them, either Mhairi Lawson or Marie Elliott, sang powerfully, giving a dramatic performance, of considerable strength. I am aware, that one is a soprano, and the other, a mezzo, but I could, still, not distinguish the two. The other, gave a performance, of adequacy.
The best, of the performers, was Sally Bruce-Payne, striking in appearance, and singing, with a significant, beauty of tone. She sang, the roles of Elpina, and, at the end, Juno, and her Elpina, appeared, effortlessly, more dramatically alive, than any other character. She is not, acclaimed so much, for her operatic performances, as for other works, but, this performance demonstrates, she has the ability, for drama. Stephen Gadd, as Oralto, father, to Licori and Elpina, captured, the Vivaldian style, with surprising, finesse, considering, his repertoire includes, also, such roles as Macbeth. Mark Tucker, as the evil Narete, was, too, ideal in stylistic matters ,but there was, a disappointing lack, of villainy, in his sweet, tenorial tones.
What exactly, was coming to pass, on the stage, I could not tell you, but the first two hours, made extremely, pleasant listening, if you do not require, a plot.
Violetta
primi-divi at hotmail.co.uk