Ankstesnės produkcijos apžvalgos
2The action is therefore planted on a bare stage and under harsh lights, with a backdrop dotted with black tubes or crimson spots (designed by the painter Frederic Amat), on which stand out the characters dressed in ageless allegorical outfits. in parsimonious gestures. The events which bring together the actors of the drama, the mythological one of Iphigénie confronted with avenging oracles, therefore remain confined to the metaphorical stature. Rather attractive! The musical side, it seems that the approach is of the same order. Since it uses the theater orchestra holds more customary repertoire of the XIX th and XX th centuries. On the contrary , other baroque productions in this house, such as the Durón diptych seen last season with García Alarcón's Cappella Mediterranea (2) or Viento es la dicha de Amor, by the same Nebra, performed in 2013 with the excellent Baroque Orchestra of Seville. In addition to the forty or so instrumentalists of a traditional “Mozart” formation, there is however a continuo, with cello and harpsichord, as well as natural winds, in a completely period style. A way of treating Nebra like a classic, like we treat Mozart. Why not? ... Especially that the lively direction of Francesc Prat knows how to find the carried accents which innervate a splendid score, whose brilliant exuberance returns to soloists who defend it without counting. The merits of María Bayo (photo) are no longer to be singled out, who plays the title role with the vocal authority that we know her. But Auxiliadora Toledano, Ruth González, Erika Escribá-Astaburuaga and Lidia Vinyes-Curtis, also experienced in baroque singing, give it a proud reply.
Daniel Bianco’s settings, with their sliding lattices and Persian arches, are surprisingly close to the 1923 originals, replacing painted backcloths with equally colourful modern back projections. Is this, I wonder, his olive branch to traditional audiences, or a tongue-in-cheek exercise in post-modernism? No matter: paired with Gabriela Salaverri’s bold, technicolour diaphony of costumes and Albert Faura’s poetic lighting (some of the best I’ve seen at Teatro de la Zarzuela) they cook up an enchanting visual soufflé. The Good is the choreographed, musical-theatre style staging of the musical numbers, fluid and wittily in period. Viana also plays the ‘first comedian’ role of Abedul, with unexpectedly quiet, self-absorbed whimsy, rather than the verbal and physical skills we expect in such roles. Francisco J. Sánchez is a well-projected captain of the Janissaries, Gerardo Bullón and Gerardo López contrast drolly as the ‘butch’ and ‘fem’ suitors for Benamor’s hand (their catchy entry number is deliciously moved by Castejón). Irene Palazón’s lustily forthright Netetis reminds me of a young Amelia Font – easy to bring to mind when the original is also here, breezily strutting her stuff as the royals’ mother, Pantea. How nice to see her back where she belongs. Emilio Sánchez is another blessedly familiar face, precise and characterful as ever, in the role of the slave-trader Babilón. Esther Ruiz, in the acting role of the harem slave Cachemira, provides one of the show’s edgiest moments when breaking away terror-stricken from Princess Benamor’s unexpectedly ardent embraces. The outstanding vocalist on the night was undoubtedly Carol García, whose creamy mezzo-soprano is in demand throughout Europe, for everything from baroque to modern opera. Her gentle presence and touching confusion of identity kept her ‘Sultan’ Darió in the mind long after the curtain fell, and her soaring line in the love duet with del Castillo’s Juan capped her contribution to the evening, as well as the composer’s own.
