Claudio Fenoglio / Recenzii

On the podium of the Orchestra of the Teatro Regio , Marco Angius prefers a dynamic, vibrant direction, with a strong emotional and vital impact, clearly contrasting the elegiac parts and the more lively ones (the storm of the third act). To underline a preference for often full-bodied and voluminous sounds, sometimes overwhelming compared to the stage. The Slovak soprano Andrea Danková is Katěrina Kabanová, known as Katia: very musical and elegant, with a non-protruding voice, metallic in the high and at times weak in the low register, with attention to accents and singing line. The interpretation is excellent and heartfelt, where the loneliness of a woman eager for love emerges and who, with difficulty, manages to repress her erotic impulses. Baldanzoso is Boris Grigorjevič by the Ukrainian tenor Misha Didyk : shrill and vigorous vocality, characterized by almost always sure and thundering high notes, outlines a passionate and at the same time caring lover. On the shields the rehearsal of the English mezzo Rebecca de Pont Davies, in the role of the algid and authoritarian Marfa Ignatěvna Kabanova, known as Kabanicha, custodian of an asphyxiating matriarchal tradition: the voice is luminous, firm and penetrating in the high notes, in some cases opaque in the low ones; the acting is magnetic and charismatic. Characteristically centered is the weak Tichon Ivanyč Kabanov by the Slovak tenor Štefan Margita , with a brilliant and controlled voice, lively and well projected, able to bend to suggestive mezzevoci. The Ukrainian mezzo-soprano Lena Belkina as Varvara is credible : using a clear tonal voice, homogeneous and round in the emission, and a rightly flirtatious interpretation, she gives the character the freshness and imprudence of youth. The tenor Enrico Casari (Váňa Kudrjáš) and the German bass-baritone Oliver Zwarg (Savjol Prokofjevič Dikoj) performed more than good : decisive in the accents and handsome the first, remarkable in the phrasing and ugly in the scenic hatching the second. The interventions of the Chorus of the Teatro Regio , led by Claudio Fenoglio, were centered . At the end, a warm success and strong applause for all the performers

tage director Claus Guth focused on the passionate love story between the two, and highlighted its intimate facet by setting the action in a 19th century high-middle class apartment. Isolde wakes up in the morning in her bedroom to the nicely sung outside melody, and asks to see Tristan. The sets, designed by Christian Schmidt (who also took care of the costumes), featured a revolving structure that showed the elegantly furnished rooms of the apartment. In this way, the director was able to add some action to this otherwise quite static opera. Five hours has elapsed, and while part of the audience had left the house earlier, there were still enough spectators left to pay a big tribute of applause to all the cast members, who had accomplished the deed of bringing back Wagner’s masterpiece to Turin after a ten-year absence. And this was indeed deserved. For Maestro Gianandrea Noseda this was the first Tristan. The conductor prepared with great care for this debut, and worked out all the details with the orchestra of the Teatro Regio, which played with commitment and produced a compact, vibrant sound. The chorus, instructed by Claudio Fenoglio, contributed to the success of the performance.

The show seen in Turin, directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright , the choreography by Bill Deamer , the sets and costumes by Matthew Wright , the lights by Tim Oliver and the sound by Dan Samson , is of very enjoyable effectiveness, but above all it rests on the shoulders of a superb company. Formidable the dancer, singer and actor Gian Marco Schiaretti , already known for having taken part in Italy in musicals such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Romeo and Juliet, Tarzan and Snow White , who as a hypercritical narrator of Evita's life, observes her parable, from rise to collapse, with moments of great effectiveness in the song “ Oh What a Circus! ”, Sung while the man of the people, after Evita's death, makes fun of his“ divinization ”with caustic tones. She is played by Madalena Alberto , a Portuguese singer and actress who boasts an enviable career in the musical on the London stage; has a voice that immediately conquers, which not only knows how to find eloquent yet delicate tones in a splendid " Don't Cry For Me, Argentina " - famous page, sung at the opening of the second act, on the balcony of the Casa Rosada by election of the President just happened and in front of a crowd of cheering supporters - but in the end he knows how to be touching in portraying the scenes of pain with moving effectiveness. All the others are good, including Jeremy Secomb , in the role of Perón, President of Argentina and husband of Evita, so close-knit and well-suited to their parts that they leave their mark. At the end of the show, one leaves the theater and ends up believing in the tale of Evita, a woman who has become an icon for her homeland, protector of the needy and of those " descamisados " who carried their protector in their hearts, a symbol of elegance and an ability to understand and take charge of the needs of a people who idolized her, making her a sort of lay saint of her time, or rather, without the risk of falling into myth, an expert in mass communication.

The production, directed by Mario Pontiggia with sets and costumes by Francesco Zito, originated at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. It is a stunningly beautiful, richly detailed re-creation of the three locations in Rome where the tragedy unfolds. The dresses of the heavily veiled women who crowded the church and Tosca’s second act gown and sparkling jewels, complete with tiara, were the most sumptuous of the costumes. When Tosca’s shadow suddenly appeared on the wall as she placed candles and a crucifix over Scarpia’s body, the man sitting next to me shuddered. It is of such details that memorable operatic performances are made. I have heard Marcello Álvarez many times, but never experienced him performing with such carefree abandon. Sleeker these days, he emanated a youthful energy but, more importantly, he made the audience see Tosca through his eyes: passionate, jealous and alluring. His Cavaradossi was vocally and dramatically impetuous and daring; as to the former, he may be throwing caution to the wind, but the result is thrilling. Ambrogio Maestri’s Scarpia can only be described as massive in temperament, voice and person, yet there was a delicacy to his performance. His Scarpia was a connoisseur of cruelty and capable of expressing it in the most subtle of manners, unless more drastic measures were needed. Oren had missed the first four performances of the run due to health reasons, but he was in fine form for these two. His verismo is the stuff of raw meat being thrown to the lions at one end of the spectrum and champagne at the other. His broadest musical brush strokes, as well as his most sensitive shadings, came from the orchestra and chorus, who responded brilliantly to the frantic beating of his baton and grunts and shouts that could be heard throughout the house. All of Rome may have trembled before Scarpia, but Oren can make the earth move.