Laura Giordano

Per il primo appuntamento del 2016 con un’opera del compositore orobico nella sua città natale, la Fondazione Donizetti ha scelto di rispolverare, per la prima volta in epoca moderna, l’opera buffa Olivo e Pasquale, nella versione andata in scena al Teatro Nuovo di Napoli nel 1827.

Andrea Dellabianca

The version offered at the Festival Internazionale Donizetti Opera is that of the Naples revival, which features two important changes from the Roman premiere. For one thing, the recitatives are replaced by dialogues in the Neapolitan dialect. In addition, the character of Camillo is now a tenor instead of a mezzo soprano. The staging in Bergamo is nicely suited to an opera buffa, but the performances were too extreme: the artists seemed to be looking for an easy laugh, but they didn’t achieve that goal to any great extent. The sets consist of painted fabrics in vivid colours, in line with the costumes which are dominated by red suits. In general, it’s all somewhat childish and exaggerated, especially on the part of some of the characters. Federico Maria Sardelli conducted with good rhythm and in a way that suited this particular opera, but I prefer him in the Baroque repertoire. The orchestra did well but without any special brilliance. Olivo was interpreted by Bruno Taddia, whose voice is not especially attractive and whose stage performance was too exaggerated. Filippo Morace as Pasquale does not have a very appealing voice either, though it worked better here than did that of his colleague. Isabella, Olivo’s daughter, was played by Laura Giordano, who has a well-managed voice and was the best in the cast. Tenor Pietro Adaini as her beloved Camillo offered good high notes but too little elegance and charm. Matteo Macchioni has a pleasant voice and did nicely as Le Bross. Although Camillo is the object of Isabella’s love, Le Bross is a more interesting character. The secondary characters were covered by tenor Edoardo Milletti as an over-the-top Columella; Silvia Beltrami, a better Matilde on stage than vocally; and Giovanni Romeo, as a sonorous Diego.

José Irurzun