Forza from the Future/ The Scourge of Body Mics
There is a new generation of viewers who don't have the context of the Verdi singing tradition, never heard of Tebaldi, Corelli or Del Monaco and couldn't care less about whether a singer is a spinto-shminto or not; if they sound good and look fine all is well. This review is not for them. As Sir John Falstaff puts it, "Tutto declina".
The booklet that comes with the Tutto Verdi box has an article by Roger Parker that discusses in its final paragraphs what may happen to Verdi's music in the next 100 years. He argues that the revival of earlier composers, particularly the flood of Handel, has brought new types of star singers, ones lacking the necessary heft for Verdi. "...if the vogue for lighter, more flexible voices continues, then more and more Verdi operas will become virtually unperformable". "In a vocal world in which countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has the vogue once enjoyed by, say, tenor Franco Corelli, the writing would seem to be on the wall."...
Unique vision, a somber, subdued Forza possibly the best in the series so far
Traditional performances from the past of this magnificent grand opera where Verdi even beat Meyerbeer in his own game,
were a mixed bag of monks walking around with lighted torches, colorful Spanish crowd scenes with dances, drinking songs and soldiers marching around. They were audience pleasers, so the average people got their money's worth.
For Verdi's 200th anniversary this certainly wasn't good enough. The very talented designer, Stefano Poda took this opera much more seriously and given it a new meaning, actually the meaning it always should have been there, but wasn't. The opera is about dark fate pursuing the seemingly helpless characters, about resentment, obsessive revenge and the ultimate destruction, such as War. There is also a strong element of Religion and people's escape into it for protection and consolation. All these elements are omnipresent in the dark hued, but monumental sets of monolithic slabs, sometimes pitch black and sometimes shining in...
Excellent performances, good staging but some lapses.
Let me get my bias out right here from the beginning- I love this opera. It is my favorite Verdi score after Traviata. It is filled with gorgeous arias and duets, and terrific chorus pieces. In short, one great tune after another- and packed with emotional drama as well.
I also have a good history with this opera. Living in Boston, we have GREAT classical music concerts (especially early music-Baroque, etc) but NOT a great opera company. Perhaps being only 4 hours from New York City has inhibited its development, but there is not a major opera group here, nor has there been. So my opera viewing since its inception (about 15 years ago), was with smaller companies, venues, etc. Finally, in 2004, my wife and I attended one of the great opera houses (Covent Garden) where we saw Forza. Our first experience with opera in a major place- and it was overwhelmingly terrific. (Violetta Urmana, Salvatore Licitra, Ferruccio Furlanetto) I was even able to get a bootleg audio of...
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