The Verdi Project: Nabucco

By the waters of Babylon, Verdi's legend begins.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Historic bas-relief of the Babylonian king Nebachudnezzar, hero of Verdi's third opera Nabucco.

Nabucco put Giuseppe Verdi on the map. The composer's third opera premiered in Milan in 1842. It was an absolute smash. Its success would not only alter Verdi's fortunes, but the popularity of its message and its famous chorus "Va, pensiero" may claim some credit for reshaping the political map of Italy. It was Verdi's music and the eventual rallying cry "Viva Verdi" (code for "Vittorio Emmanuel, Re d'Italia") that would help propel that collection of nation-states toward revolution and eventual political unity.

New Head on the Block

Puccini's Turandot claims yet another victim.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Princess Turandot. Art from the original cover of the score as published by Ricordi.

The title character of Puccini's final opera Turandot is a fabulous Chinese princess, and possibly the most bloodthirsty heroine in opera. Y'see, Turandot, the daughter of the Chinese Emperor, is a single girl. And in a vow to her ancestor, she has her would-be suitors decapitated when they fail to answer three riddles. One could view this work as an exotic vision of ancient China through the eyes of a late Romantic Italian composer...or a game show gone horribly wrong.

Sending Don Carlos To Therapy

An in-depth look at Verdi's longest and most troubled opera.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Placido Domingo in Don Carlos.
Cover art © 1990 Deutsche Grammophon/UMG

Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlos is an opera that is beloved by Verdi lovers, but one that took a very long time to find its audience. Based on a searing play by Friedrich Schiller. Don Carlos was originally composed for the 1869 season for the grand stage of the Paris Opera. The premiere of its initial French version was a late-career failure for the Italian composer, one of three largely unsuccessful attempts that Verdi made in his life to conquer the hearts of Parisian opera-goers. (The other two, Gerusalemme and Le Vepres Siciliennes are less well known.

Recordings Review: Thinking Outside the Sack

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Rigoletto. 

by Paul J. Pelkonen

One had the feeling that the marketing department at DG weren't trying too hard to sell CDs with this cover,
which appeared on the initial 1980s pressing of this set. Image © Universal Classics. 

This 1964 La Scala recording of Rigoletto features the unusual choice of acclaimed German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title role and Czech conductor Rafael Kubelik leading the proceedings. That sounded pretty strange when I first saw this set sitting on a shelf in a used CD store in Boston, but surprisingly it works.

DVD Review: Fire, Flood, and Formaldehyde

The La Scala Ring ends with Götterdämmerung.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A wall of corpses: Lance Ryan (left) and Iréne Theorin in Götterdämmerung.
Photo © 2014 Teatro Alla Scala/ArtHaus Musik. 

Richard Wagner originally planned the Ring Cycle to be one opera, Siegfrieds Tod, which would tell the epic story of Siegfried and his adventures among the Gibichungs, a grasping, Rhine-dwelling royal family who figure prominently in the German national epic the Nibelunglied. However, he wrote the music for the retitled Götterdämmerung last in the Ring, meaning that the epic, sweeping music propels a libretto that could be suitable for French grand opera. This stylistic dichotomy is never easy for any conductor to resolve, but on this 2014 Blu-Ray filmed at La Scala, conductor Daniel Barenboim does a pretty impressive job.

DVD Review: The Wild One

The Guy Cassiers production of Siegfried storms La Scala.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

"D'you want to know how I got these scars?" Peter Bronder's Mime (right) prepares to tell
Lance Ryan's Siegfried (left) in Act I of Siegfried.> Photo © 2013 Brescia/Amisano/Teatro alla Scala.

Siegfried is the third and most problematic opera in Wagner's epic Ring Cycle. It's a three-act fairy tale about a lunk-headed hero who slays the monster, gets the treasure and (fumblingly) wins his woman over a five-hour stretch. But in the hands of conductor Daniel Barenboim in this 2014 Blu-Ray from La Scala (filmed in 2012 and released last year on the ArtHaus Musik label) , the languors of this opera seem to just fly by. It's not that Mr. Barenboim is fast, it's that he keeps the action moving forward producing the most exciting Siegfried on DVD since the one he made at Bayreuth in the 1990s.

DVD Review: Back to the Valkyrie Rock

Daniel Barenboim conducts the La Scala Die Walküre.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Nina Stemme sleeps under sun-lamps--er Magic Fire in Act III of Die Walküre. 
Photo by Brescia e Amisano © 2014 Teatro alla Scala.

In the early 1990s, conductor Daniel Barenboim shot to the forefront of Wagner interpreters with a gutty, anachronistic and thoroughly entertaining audio and visual recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen from the Bayreuth Festival. That staging, by German director Harry Kupfer, channeled the Mad Max films of George Miller to create a high-octane cycle set along a post-apocalyptic road. In this new cycle, Mr. Barenboim is paired with director Guy Cassiers, who combines the latest technical wizardry with detail-heavy acting to create a bold and entertaining  show.

DVD Review: No Glove, No Love

Daniel Barenboim conducts the La Scala Das Rheingold.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A game of thrones: Johannes Martin Kränzle as Alberich in Das Rheingold.
Photo by Koen Broos © 2013 La Scala ArtHaus Musik.

(This is a repost in anticipation of forthcoming reviews of the rest of this Ring  later this week.)

There are a lot of familiar theatrical ideas at work in this Das Rheingold, a DVD issue of the 2010 La Scala production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Digital back projections, dancers serving as scenery (and occasionally, props and furniture) and little square pools of water onstage for the singers to splash in are not new. However, director Guy Cassiers succeeds in combining all these elements to present the "preliminary evening" of the Ring in a fresh and intelligent way. With an emphasis on acting and singing over technology and spectacle, this is a production for these economically uncertain times.

Obituary: Claudio Abbado (1933-2014)

An Italian conductor who defined opera and symphony.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Precision and refinement: the conductor Claudio Abbado.
Photo © Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Classics

Claudio Abbado died today at his home in Bologna, Italy, according to a report in the New York Times. In a career spanning more than half a century, Mr. Abbado served as music director of La Scala, the London Symphony Orchestra and later the Vienna State Opera and  Berlin Philharmonic.

Mr. Abbado passed peacefully following a long illness, the Times reported. He was 80.

Ring! Ring! It's Rossini Calling!

Cell phone follies at La Scala recital.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Gioachino Rossini and his little digital friend.

Anybody who goes to classial music concerts or opera performances knows that the modern, digital age has introduced the annoyance of cellular ring tones as unwanted accompaniment to the music of Mozart, Beethoven and Rossini. But on Sunday night, opera star Joyce DiDonato found a new way of coping with the digital menace.

DVD Review: Hell is for Minimalists

Robert Wilson vs. Monteverdi's L'Orfeo.

Doomed, I tell you: Orfeo (Georg Nigl) and Euridice (Roberta Invernizzi) prepare to get hitched.
Image by Mario Brescia © 2011 Teatro della Scala Archives/Opus Arte.

Theatrical styles clash across a 400-year gulf in this Opus Arte DVD of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, shot at La Scala. American director/designer Robert Wilson applies his trademark minimalist style to this opera, the oldest work from the Italian renaissance to remain in the repertory today. But fear not. If you can't stand the visuals, turn off the TV and run your player through the stereo. This is a beautiful performance.

Monteverdi's setting of the Orpheus myth is the oldest work in the repertory--a stark retelling of the story that combined dance, solo singing and skilled choral writing in a way that would prove enduring for the next four centuries. First performed in Mantua at the court of the Duke of Gonzaga in 1607, L'Orfeo proved instantly popular. Conceived as an entertainment for the nobility, it was soon discovered to resonate with the common man, sowing the seed for the entire operatic genre.

L'Orfeo takes place on the fields of Thrace and in the underworld below. Mr. Wilson chose a painting by Titian (well actually, a small bit of the background from Venus and Music) to create a Greek grove that, by his standards, qualifies as an actual set. the second act takes place mostly in the dark.There is not much action, but by the standards set by this director's Wagner productions or his work with Philip Glass, this staging is positively hyperactive.

The Italian Job

Daniel Barenboim takes over at La Scala.

Daniel Barenboim leads a rehearsal in 2005. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Conductor/pianist Daniel Barenboim has been appointed as the new Music Director of La Scala. He is the first conductor to hold that post since Riccardo Muti left in 2005. The conductor signed a 5-year contract which starts Dec. 1. He has been a frequent guest conductor at the house in recent years.

By taking this position, Mr. Barenboim has effectively swapped jobs with Mr. Muti, who now serves as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Barenboim led the CSO for 17 years, stepping down at the end of his contract in 2006.

The La Scala position is one of the most important jobs in Italian musical culture and the operatic world. As the house is often subject to strikes and other unpredictable labor actions, the music director must balance singers, unions, press, and a volatile and vocal public.

Mr. Barenboim will also retain his current post as the Music Director of the Berlin Staatsoper. An acclaimed conductor of operas and symphonies, he remains in international demand as a solo pianist and a performer of concertos. His newest recording is the two Liszt piano concertos, recorded with the Staatskapelle Berlin. Pierre Boulez conducts.

Born in Argentina in 1942, Mr. Barenboim was raised in Israel. He received early praise from Wilhelm Furtwängler and formal training from Nadia Boulanger. Mr. Barenboim rose to fame in the early 1970s as a pianist, conductor and accompanist to his first wife, the late cellist Jacqueline du Pré. She retired from music in 1973, and died in 1987.  

He has served as music director at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted the Ring at Bayreuth and issued a massive recording catalogue over a 44-year career. Among his prominent recordings: two cycles of Beethoven piano sonatas, the major  symphonies of Beethoven and Brahms, and two cycles of Bruckner symphonies recorded in Chicago and Berlin. 

A number of those recordings are being reissued this month, including a 34-disc box set (on Warner Brothers Classics) of his complete Wagner operas, recorded in Bayreuth and Berlin. (This has been released in Europe on Oct. 10--an American release date remains TBA.) Also newly available, Mr. Barenboim's first recording of the complete Bruckner symphonies, made with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the 1970s.

DVD Review: The Old Switcheroo

Così fan tutte from La Scala.

Dolores Ziegler (left) and Daniela Dessì in a frame-grab from Così fan tutte.
Image © 1998 OpusArte/Teatro alla Scala.

As Mostly Mozart opens this week, it's time to blow the dust off this underrated 1998 film of Così fan tutte from La Scala. Made during Riccardo Muti's tenure as music director, this fizzy performance is notable for an excellent ensemble cast and the pert Despina of Adelina Scarabelli.

Despina is a complex role, the maid-servant who sets Da Ponte's whirling plot in motion. She must be trusted confidante, smart servant, and immediately the most appealing character to the audience. As the female equivalent of Figaro in the earlier collaboration between Mozart and da Ponte, Despina is a challenging part for even the starriest singer.

With her low-lying, rapid-fire soprano, Ms. Scarabelli meets all of the requirements. Her "Una donna a quindici anni" is marvelously delivered, earning deserved "bravo" cries from the Milan audience. But she is also strong when disguised as the mesmerist and the notary in the finales of each act, delivering the dialogue with good comic acting and a minimum of irritating vocal effect.

She is surrounded by an excellent cast. Daniela Dessì and Delores Ziegler are a compelling pair as Fiordiligi and Dorabella, generating onstage chemistry with both of their leading men. A regular singer at the house during the Muti years, Ms. Dessì leads off "A ugarda della sorella" with sweet, carefully formed tone. She is well-matched with Ms. Ziegler, and the two voices blend well.

Alessandro Corbelli and Josef Kundlak are the two fellas who dress up as Albanians and go through all sorts of plot contrivances in order to see if their partners are willing to trade. The tenor and baritone (respectively) make the most of Da Ponte's cynical humor. Mr. Corbelli is especially compelling in the later acts, as the would-be girlfriend-swappers discover that they may not want to switch back. Claudio Desderi plays it fairly straight as Don Alonso, the old gentlemen whose bet with these two cads sets the story in motion.

This production was shot in Mr. Muti's salad days, when the raven-haired conductor ruled Scala with an iron fist and a velvet baton. Michael Hampe presents a traditional production in authentic-looking period costume, keeping the opera in its correct geographical setting. In today's age of regietheater run wild, this simple approach makes this DVD refreshing. The only device is a blue curtain which creates a theater-within-a-theater. But even this serves a dramatic purpose, allowing for quick changes and theatrical asides to the audience from Despina and Don Alonso.

Riccardo Muti is an underrated Mozart conductor whose recordings were drowned in the flood of major label releases at the end of the 20th century. Here, he leads Mozart's music in a crisp, even style, driving the action forward and setting an expert pace for the singers. It's a little fast when it has to be, but the big lyric moments in this extraordinary score are allowed to blossom fully.

One complaint. In the finale, the maestro makes a ghostly appearance over the stage, burned in digitally so the viewer can watch both maestro and performers. But the effect distracts mightily from the fine staging presented here, coming as it does at the most inopportune moments.

DVD Review: Attila at La Scala

Stud Muffin: Samuel Ramey bares it as Attila at La Scala.
Screen capture © 1991 La Scala/EMI/RAI Recording

Twenty years ago, the bass Samuel Ramey was assocated with the role of Attila the Hun, whose invasion of Italy is the subject of the Verdi opera that bears his name. This DVD, filmed at La Scala by RAI, is compelling solely for Ramey's magnificent performance as the Scourge of God. With his bellowing bass, raw sexual charisma and that famous bared chest, Ramey dominates the action from the barbarian's arrival onstage to his murder in the final scene.

DVD Review: Don Giovanni from La Scala

It's all about Riccardo Muti.
(Well, not really but he likes to be seen while conducting.)

This 1987 film of Mozart's Don Giovanni is memorable for the superb , old-fashioned performance of Thomas Allen in the title role. Seductive and courtly without being oily or disgusting, Allen is a Don that captures everything that is right (and deeply wrong) with the character. And his damnation scene (more on that later) is a spectacular performance, struck with horror at his fate. He is well-matched by Claudio Desderi, who has a pleasant baritone, and more importantly, the right amounts of sleaze and comic timing to make a great Leperello.

Edita Gruberova is an odd choice for the role of Donna Anna. She hits the notes, but does not support them with enough bloom. The effect is that of a thin, column of sound, not the robust woman determined to get her revenge and kick the Don's ass in the process. Ann Murray is better as Donna Anna, blending beautfully in the arias and duets. Suzanne Mentzer is a smart, coquettish Zerbinetta, torn between her need for the Don and love for her new husband, Masetto (the excellent Natale de Carolis). Finally, Don Ottavio may be the most ineffectual tenor in opera, but Franceso Araiza is a perfect fit for the part.

If you are expecting Don Giovanni to end in a spectacular "zombie statue damnation", (something between Night of the Living Dead and Dante's Inferno) this is not your production. The good Commendatore (Sergei Koptchak) appears merely in the form of his statue, still on horseback. And the singer is off in the wings, or hiding behind the horse, or some other such nonsense. This scene does not sound right with one of the singers off-stage. And you never get to see him actually drag the Don down to hell--he just disappears, horror-struck into the smoke.

Aside from an annoying tendency to cut to Riccardo Muti in the orchestra pit (part of the "conductors as stars" trend that infected a lot of late '80s/early '90s opera videos) and some odd choices in the subtitles, this is a pretty good Don Giovanni. It's a basic, traditional production that explores the psychological issues of the characters. Its biggest flaw is the director's decision to ignore the spectacular, unearthly ending that Mozart and Da Ponte planned. Maybe they should have had the Don attacked by a giant statue of Riccardo Muti?






Watch Thomas Allen and Suzanne Mentzer in "La ci darem la mano."

DVD Review: I due Foscari at La Scala

Renato Bruson as Francesco Foscari.

This is a fascinating DVD, filmed at La Scala in 1988 and originally broadcast on RAI Rome Television. Written right after Ernani, I due Foscari is based on a play by Lord Byron, andremains one of the least-known early Verdi operas. Frankly, while the music is quite wonderful, the libretto (an early Piave effort) lacks drama. It is a story of power and politics, the wheels of justice in 15th century Venice, and of a father and son caught in their gears.

One reason to see this opera is the performance of baritone Renato Bruson in the leading role Francesco Foscari, the Doge of Venice. Old Foscari is a father who is about to lose his son, who has been convicted of murder. Instead, he loses everything, including his crown and his life. Bruson is simply towering in the opening scenes and then frail and vulnerable in the final act. This role is ideally suited to the great baritone, and is one of his finest performances available on home video.


The role of Jacopo Foscari is an ungrateful one. The Doge's son copes with his murder conviction by singing a lot of treacherous high notes. (That's the other reason you don't see this opera too often.) Tenor Albert Cupido hits the notes, but his piercing delivery and stiff "tenor-ish" acting fail to draw the viewer's sympathy, especially in the crucial prison scene. As Lucrezia, soprano Linda Roark-Strummer sings with a sharp, incisive attack that makes the character memorable, if not always likeable.

The production is a curious modern staging with all the action of this very dark opera taking place in…the dark. Even thes simulated grand canals of Venice look as if they have seen better days in this grim setting , dominated by a huge throne and giant staircase. The whole affair is ably conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni, who displays mastery of the early Verdi style. I due Foscari is not the most interesting or spectacular of Verdi's "galley years" operas, but this DVD may be your only chance to see it.




Watch a scene from I due Foscari

DVD Review: The Swiss Miss

Guglielmo Tell filmed at La Scala.

by Paul Pelkonen

Is this the DisneyWorld ride "Soarin'"? No, it's Gugliemo Tell from La Scala

As of this writing, this is the only DVD performance available of Rossini's final opera.  Tell is better known for its overture than the work itself, which was one of the most important grand operas of the 19th century and the final stage work by Giacchino Rossini. This is a magnificent score, with Rossini at the height of his powers, presented here by an excellent conductor with absolute respect for the composer's written notes. The results are entirely mixed.

To start with, it's in Italian. Rossini intended for his opera to be sung in French, and while the transliteration from Guillaume to Guglielmo is an acceptable one, the opera works better in its original language. (Compare it to this superb French recording conducted by Lamberto Gardelli and then let me know what you think.) The three leads are acceptable, but not great. (For "great", pick up the Chailly recording with Pavarotti and Montserrat Caballé in the lead roles.)

Chris Merritt's high-range tenor passes the vocal torture test that is the part of Arnold. He has a slight metallic bite to his voice, but he shines in the big Act II duet. Cheryl Studer, then in her brief prime, sings well as Mathilde but lacks emotional warmth. Giorgio Zancanarai is a solid Tell, tender and militant at the same time. In the treacherous "Resta immobile" Zancanari slips easily into the high tessitura and does not miss a single note.

The team of director Luca Ronconi and designer Gianni Quaranta opted to place the action in front of huge projection-screen televisions, that are used to place the actors against lakes, rivers, forests and even a huge medieval church. However, this method serves to neutralize the acting space. Singers are confined to wooden pews in the opening scene. An enormous tree rises out of the stage in Act II, unfolding like Fafner the dragon. The church scene looks like Cheryl Studer and Chris Merritt are warbling in a movie theater. The finale jumps the shark completely, when the Swiss scenery is replaced by shots of conductor Riccardo Muti toiling in the orchestra pit. We waited four hours, just to look at the conductor?

With its killer tenor role, long part for soprano and heroic baritone lead, the story of the legendary Swiss revolutionary leader is almost impossible to put on the stage today. And as this DVD shows, it was damn near impossible twenty years ago. Singers who can handle Arnold's Act IV cabaletta are few and far between. Mathilde isn't an easy sing either. It's a miracle that we have any performances of this opera at all, so this La Scala production (filmed in 1988) despite its flaws, will have to do.

Don't believe me? Watch the finale here.

DVD Review: Dick Johnson's Revenge

La Fanciulla del West at La Scala

And here's a nice photograph of La Scala

This DVD preserves a 1991 Jonathan Miller production of Puccini's "spaghetti Western," filmed at the venerable Milan opera house. Fanciulla was composed for the Met, and its libretto, with cries of "Wisky per tutti" still sound a little odd to American ears. But this simple, effective Jonathan Miller staging works well. This DVD provides a good argument for the elevation of Puccini's Western opera into the regular repertory--if one can still find the voices to sing it.

Placido Domingo's performance as Dick Johnson is everything a gentleman bandit should be: handsome, dashing, and equipped with a ringing tenor voice. This is Puccini's most technically difficult music for the male voice and Domingo sings with flair. He is tender in the love duets, and rises to the next energy level when his identity as the dastardly (but also dashing) bandit Ramerrez (sic) is revealed. Guess "Dick Johnson" is not the most convincing alias.

Maria Zampieri is not the most beautifully sung Minnie on record, but she has all the vocal strength that this role requires, and a rough-and-tumble demeanor that suits this frontier opera well. Her laser-beam soprano slices through the thick orchestral fabric, and she acts well in a physically demanding role. Finally she is convincing in her love scenes with Domingo, tentative at first and then blossoming into glorious vocal womanhood. And yes, she hits that pesky high B-flat in the second act.

Juan Pons is also a success as Jack Rance. Although the Spanish baritone is an experienced Scarpia, he knows the difference between Rance and the Tosca police chief. Rance is a much warmer role, a complex, honorable man whose genuine love for Minnie (and inabiity to catch her cheating at cards) gets in the way of doing his job. He treats the Sherrif position as an unpleasant, thankless task that sets him apart from the mining community. The Act II card-playing scene is harrowing with expert musical direction and the two singers glaring over their cards as conductor Lorin Maazel tightens the orchestral screws.

The opera's staggering list of comprimario roles (fifteen of them for men) are handled with skill by the La Scala cast. Lorin Maazel conducts a generally slow performance throughout that exposes some of the beauties and nuances of this neglected score, but lacks momentum and forward thrust.