by Full of paradoxes, The Giconda (1876) was a triumph at its premiere for its Italian composer, Amilcare Ponchielli, but is now rarely staged. The music is hardly known but there is a ballet, Rince na n’Uaire, which is so famous through appropriation and parody that the name Ponchielli lives on. (Think hippos en pointe in Walt Disney’s Fconvenience.) The Salzburg Easter festival was praised for putting together a versatile program for this grand four-act opera, led by soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Jonas Kaufmann, conducted by Antonio Pappano.
They were accompanied by the all-Italian forces of the orchestra and the chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, who showed their affinity for the opera – a departure from their usual activities in the concert hall – with triumphant and trackless skill, in the pit. and on stage. Pappano is director emeritus of Santa Cecilia, after 18 years as music director. (His British successor, Daniel Harding, takes over next season.) The warmth of this established relationship was evident, in The Giconda and in concerts they gave as a resident ensemble elsewhere in the festival.
Netrebko ruled the stage, finding new colors for her voice, hitting the important mid-range with intensity and richness
Chronologically squeezed between two titans – Verdi in his prime, Puccini starting out – the prolific Ponchielli (1834-86) has suffered for a long time in “one wonder” exile. Grange Park Opera on stage The Giconda in 2022 and the Royal Opera gave concert performances two decades ago. Based on Victor Hugo Angelo, Lord of Padua, it tells the story of a ballad singer who falls in love with Enzo (Kaufmann), who prefers the married Laura (mezzo-soprano Eve-Maud Hubeaux). Disbelief, religion and inquisition come against the backdrop of Venice and the lagoon. Some will know the opera through Maria Callas’ recording in 1952 but for most, it is still new material. A third performance was added in Salzburg to meet demand.
Staged by the Royal Opera House’s production director, Oliver Mears, with an elegant loggia arcade design by Philipp Fürhofer (lighting by Fabiana Piccioli), this Gioconda to be performed at Covent Garden in a future season. The soundtrack to Netrebko – who, after much controversy, and rejection by several international houses, condemned the war in Ukraine and distanced herself from Putin – in his leading role, it was crucial to his appeal. Whether pirouetting in a dress glittering split, or lurking, covered in black and dark glasses, in the shadows, she was on stage, finding new colors of her voice, hitting the important mid-range with intensity and richness. Kaufmann’s recent vocal problems, ever visible, have been under control by avoiding fortissimo excess, instead emphasizing expression and restraint. Hubeaux, together with the contralto Agnieszka Rehlis as the blind mother Gioconda, the baritone Luca Salsi as the villainous informant Barnaba and the bass Tareq Nazmi as Alvise, leader of the bullying inquisition, completed the excellent main cast, which includes the six main voice types.
There were some great guignol excesses, easy to excise, in another powerful update. We can understand the backstory of the abuse Gioconda suffered without going into so much detail (too many candyfloss sticks, electric-shock therapy). With costumes by Annemarie Woods, choreography by Lucy Burge, and Hannah Rudd and Adam Cooper among the dancers, there was a significant British presence – as elsewhere in the 10-day event (which is independent of the ritzy summer festival). . Audiovisual artist Max Cooper’s immersive Same, designed by the London-based Architecture Social Club, exemplifies Salzburg Easter’s desire to broaden its artistic horizons. Cooper’s name – and Pappano’s – dominated the big yellow street banners in a city where Mozart, who was born here, is a god.
Also in the Grosses Festspielhaus, the festival’s main venue for operas and concerts, Pappano gave an unforgettable performance of Verdi’s. Messa da Requiem (1873), in which the musicians of Santa Cecilia were joined by soloists Masabane soprano Cecilia Rangwanasha, mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi, tenor Luciano Ganci and bass Michele Pertusi. From the opening Requiem to the heartbreaking expressions of the Dies Irae, the figural riot of the Sanctus and the pleading ecstasy of the Libera Me, Verdi’s masterpiece brought all its familiarity and passion, yet fresher than ever.
Completing the complex relationship in Salzburg last week, the principal guest conductor at Santa Cecilia is Czech-born Jakub Hrůša, who will succeed Pappano at the Royal Opera House as music director from 2025. Conduct Hrůša musicians of Rome in Italian program- thematic works: the sensuous Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca by his fellow Czech, Bohuslav Martinů, and quasi-concertoid oddball Berlioz Harold in Italyafter Byron’s Harold’s child. Pinchas Zukerman, as soloist on the viola, was happily working with the orchestra. A septuagenarian should inspire us all to dream of Byron’s heroic youth.
Star ratings (out of five)
The Giconda ★★★★
Messa da Requiem ★★★★
Harold in Italy ★★★★
