Enrico Casari / Recensies

We are grateful to the Opéra de Monte-Carlo for having, as a prelude to Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo , preferred to the eternal Cavalleria Rusticana the rare Florentinische Tragödie by Alexander von Zemlinsky . These two works present the same narrative scheme, it is true quite archetypal, of a jealous husband killing his wife's lover ( Florentinische tragödie ) or alternately his wife and her lover ( Pagliacci ). Signatory of memorable Trojans for the Opera of Valencia, the Hispano-Brazilian director Allex Aguilera transposes the action of Pagliacci in the Italy of the Seventies, by offering a hard-hitting reading of the drama of Leoncavallo: point of transgression easy intended to bait the barge but a coherent approach, faithful to the spirit of the booklet, illuminated by details that we will not soon forget (magnificent idea, for example, to show us an audience of villagers made up as characters of the Comedia dell'arte while the actors perform in street costume...). The cast brought together by Jean-Louis Grinda proves to be close to the ideal and receives a delirious ovation at the time of the salutes. In the role of Canio, the Argentinian tenor Marcelo Alvarez leaves the Monegasque public stunned, and amazes both by the beauty and the brilliance of the instrument and by an incarnation that we will qualify as major, even anthological: he draws a Canio profoundly human and tragic, a wounded animal that howls its pain and draws us to tears. As for the great Leo Nucci (Tonio), he ignores - like Placido Domingo - the passage of time, and it is something unheard of to hear his marvelously unaltered timbre and his phenomenal vocal power for a singer aged ...72 years! As for the actor, he is simply prodigious, and a long round of cheers comes to greet the artist from his grand air of the Prologue . Difficult to exist in front of her two monsters of the international lyrical scene, but the Uruguayan soprano Maria-José Siri nevertheless has "responsibility": she thus embodies a Nedda full of ardor and youth, with a radiant vocal line and the truly intoxicating treble. Finally, the Chinese baritone ZhengZhong Zhou has a resonant and sensual voice at the same time, while the Italian tenor Enrico Casari delivers Beppe's Serenade with great delicacy.

The Neapolitan composer Ruggero Leoncavalo , although having composed various operas, will remain for the general public the composer of a single work: Pagliacci , which will be performed around the world from its creation in Milan in 1892. In this veristic opera, introduces with a prologue, Ruggero Leoncavallo stages theater and reality on a libretto he wrote himself. Allex Aguilera signs here a staging as close as possible to the text, respecting the place and the intention of the author; only freedom, the actors parade in costume and interpret the comedy in their street costumes. But here, theater, life, drama and comedy mix, giving free rein to some fantasies. Rudy Sabounghisigns the decor that passes from the village square to the bleachers where the villagers have taken their place. A fair direction of the actors gives life to this drama of jealousy, in a reduced space where the dramatic intensity is at the rendezvous. The lights by Laurent Castaingt as well as the costumes by Stefano Visconti preserve the unity and the realistic side of the work. From the first notes, Leoncavallo takes us to the heart of the matter with a colorful and rhythmic introduction where the themes are exposed in a series of melodies and disturbing atmospheres leading to a prologue sung with mastery by a Leo Nuccibig nights. Invested, making his warm voice resonate with varied intonations, he continues an extraordinary performance from start to finish of the work making his Tonio, the archetype of the one through whom misfortune happens. As great actor as singer, we find all his qualities that have charmed us for so many years: timbre with warm colors, power and roundness of sound, breath and musicality. At ease in his game, he is also vocally with treble of absolute safety. it is an unforgettable interpretation. We have tonight with tenor Marcelo Alvarez (Canio) and soprano Maria José Siri (Nedda)an exceptional trio. Invested in his playing, with a brazen voice with resonant and colorful high notes, the Argentinian tenor embodies a human Canio , tortured by jealousy, who sings with passion without forcing on the voice or on the style. His “Ridi Pagliaccio” is of great realism, sung with a depth that brings out the pain. Maria José Siri is a Nedda who manages to stand up to a raging Canio , as well as the deceitful Tonio.She performs with strength and musicality the Airs which follow one another bringing out the different colors of her voice, passing happily from lightness (Ballatella of the birds) to anger, from tenderness to fear. Maria José Siri is a complete soprano, which gives great strength to the character of Nedda , often interpreted with more fragility. Next to this woman of character, the Chinese baritone Zhengzhong Zhou (Silvio) seems quite unobtrusive. If the timbre of the voice is pleasant, the lack of projection dulls the color, leaving an impression of a character a little behind. Enrico Casari is a valiant Peppewhose tenor voice works wonders in the Serenade, we regret that he does not wear Arlecchino 's costumeand that the director omitted to give him a guitar, thus depriving us of the wink of the composer who plays the pizzicati of the violin as he tunes. The very present and very involved choir gives a very good performance here. The orchestra again demonstrates, in a music completely different from that of Zemlinsky, great flexibility and a fine intelligence of execution, bringing out superb sonorities. Once again, Pinchas Steinberg shows us how much the conductor also makes the success of the show, by guiding the orchestra, but also by giving all the artists the breath and the colors wanted by the composer.

Luckily, the music, quite disappointing in the first act, gradually takes on more substance. Manon remains for a long time a simple cooing machine, apparently devoid of any inner life, and Des Grieux hardly has the opportunity to exist as a character, but the score fortunately expands, and ends with a long and beautiful duet during the death of the heroine. The conductor Cyril Englebert seems to have taken the work seriously and avoids drawing it towards operetta. While contemporary opera opens its doors to her – she was an exceptional Madame Mao in Paris in Nixon in China – Sumi Jo persists and signs in her exploration of the repertoire to which her virtuosity destines her: after Fra Diavoloof the same Auber, which she sang in Paris and Liège , Manon Lescaut undoubtedly imposed herself, even if the artist no longer has the crystalline transparency of her treble, which the enthusiasm does not quite compensate for. scenic she demonstrates. Faithful to its recruitment policy, the Royal Opera of Wallonia continues to seek its tenors in Italy, but Enrico Casari 's Auberian Des Grieux is a much better pick than Alessandro Liberatore's Massétian Des Grieux. Seen regularly in small roles in Strasbourg, Rouen or Limoges, Enrico Casari finds here a role that is ultimately not very exposed, where he can assert a very pretty voice, despite an articulation that can still be improved. Same remark concerning the accent ofDenzil Delaere , a young Flemish tenor with a slightly sharp timbre. As the Marquis d'Hérigny, the Dutch baritone Wiard Witholt 's French is as stiff as his gait (accident during rehearsals or choice of director?), but the voice is opulent, if not having all the flexibility expected in vocalizing passages. How refreshing it is to hear the perfect diction of Roger Joakim en Lescaut alongside them ! With each of his interventions, we understand how a French comic opera could and should sound because, independently of the vocal qualities of each other, the theatrical component of the genre should if not come to the fore, at least be on par with the music. , which we are unfortunately very far from, except with the Renaud which allowsPatrick Delcour to compose a deliciously despicable character. Sabine Conzen 's Marguerite is also one of the few to express herself in clear French, unlike Laura Balidemaj 's Bancelin .

Auber's "Manon Lescaut" was also repeatedly put aside: Liège does not make the first attempt to snatch this charming piece from oblivion. In 1856 the joint work of the 74-year-old master of the opéra comique and the renowned opera rhymer Eugène Scribe was a respectable success, was performed 63 times at the Opéra-Comique and stood up again and again until 1882 – for example in Berlin, Stockholm and also in Liège a game plan. In 1975 Jean-Pierre Marty rediscovered the work and recorded it for the record; nine years later he conducted it in a staged production by Dominique Delouche at Verona's Teatro Filarmonico. But neither this production nor the others in Paris and Caen (1990), Wexford (2002) and Los Angeles (2006) inspired the fortune of this opera version of the once famous novel by Abbé Prévost. The singers only partly compensate for the helpless bloodlessness of the scene, which was already acknowledged with two strong boos during the break. Sumi Jo doesn't let himself be fooled in the agility of her coloratura, but neither in her timbre nor in her doll-like movements does she have the carefree, natural elegance of a young girl. Enrico Casari as Des Grieux proves to be a singer who can successfully fraternize not only - as at his house in Strasbourg - with character roles, but also with the fine line, the elegant intonation and the exposed high tones of Auber.

There are shows that mark the history of the theater or even just the interpretation of a single text, others that let themselves be meekly carried away by history. Then there are those shows that go further, classics in spite of time, perfect balances that seem to never get old. This is the case of the Kat'a Kabanová set up in 2004 by Robert Carsen in Antwerp: thirteen years have passed and we count them in disbelief thinking that they could spend ten times as long without affecting its charm, intensity, poetry, intimacy ineffable between aesthetics and drama, the richness of content distilled in the most essential image. Andrea Dankova (formerly Jenufa in Bologna and Palermo ) has, in her timbre, a lilial luminosity, a fragile soul that is particularly suited to these heroines by Janáček and allow her to play with almost adolescent innocence on the ambiguity of an oppressed and guilty, pure and sensual Kat'a. To her sister-in-law Varvara Lena Belkina offers, with her fresh mezzo-sopranile singing, a particularly captivating spontaneity, while Rebecca de Pont Davis is a dry and inflexible Kabanicha, almost a specter guarding murky secrets. In his shadow Stefan Margita lets live a Tikhon whose submission takes on the vein of opportunism so as never to have to assume his responsibilities as a man, quite the opposite of Enrico Casari, who instead makes his tenor singing the frank expression of Kudrjáš's free spirit . The same more open mentality would also characterize Boris, whose sincere sensitivity and whose training are however imprisoned by a yoke of family oppression, further different declination of the key themes of this desperate dramaturgy: Misha Didyk offers a restless and introspective portrait, impatient and powerless in the face of Oliver Zwerg's massive Dikoj, skilled in dosing authority and small grotesque cues. Lorena Scarlata and Sofia Koberidze as the maids, Roberta Garelli as coryphaea, together with the choir, complete a theatrical and musical microcosm in which everyone is indispensable.

The second title of the multi-year cycle that the Teatro Regio dedicates to Leoš Janáček, this edition of " Kát'a Kabanová" has proved to be one of the most accomplished and exciting shows seen in recent seasons on the subalpine stage, a perfect alchemy between all the parts that led to the birth of an episode destined to remain in the recent history of the theater (and which clashes only with a decidedly subdued audience attendance compared to what the production would have deserved). conductor, as a great connoisseur of the modern and contemporary repertoire, does not tend to tone down the harshness of Janacekian writing, but enhances its expressive and theatrical values. Angius's is a lucid and nervous reading, capable not only of enhancing the tonal and chromatic richness of the Moravian master's writing, but above all of enhancing its structural strength and expressive modernity. Although not so significantly engaged, the chorus contributes excellently to the overall success with the important off-stage interventions of the III act.