Verdi: Un ballo in maschera - Claire Rutter, Vincenzo Costanzo - Grange Park Opera (Photo Robert Workman) |
Verdi's complex opera in its American setting with some strong individual performances
Elisabetta Fiorillo - Grange Park Opera (Photo Robert Workman) |
For his new production of Un ballo in maschera at Grange Park Opera, Stephen Medcalf opted for the American setting, with Jamie Vartan's sets and costumes firmly placing it in the mid-19th century (seen 27 June 2018). Vincenzo Costanzo was Riccardo, now a very presidential figure, with Claire Rutter as Amelia, Roland Wood as Renato, Elisabetta Fiorillo as Ulrica, Tereza Gevorgyan as Oscar, Matthew Buswell as Sam and Matthew Stiff as Tom. Gianluca Marciano conducted the orchestra of English National Opera.
Historical accuracy in Un ballo in maschera is an impossible thing as Verdi and Somma played so fast and loose with history. The real King Gustavo III certainly did not have an affair with his best friends wife, in fact he was probably homosexual, had trouble consummating his marriage and may well have not been the father of the royal princes. Also, the real fortune teller, Madame Arvidson (Ulrica), used coffee grounds for the purpose rather than communing with Satan.
Roland Wood, Tereza Gevorgyan Grange Park Opera (Photo Robert Workman) |
The advantage of the 19th century American setting was also economic, Medcalf and Vartan re-purposed the set from their 2017 production of Wagner's Die Walkure for Grange Park [see my review], which coincidentally also starred Claire Rutter. This provided a very handsome setting for the opening and closing scenes, and by using inserts Vartan created credible and evocative settings for Ulrica's hut and for Renato's study. The problem came in Act Two where David Plater's lighting could not disguise the rational grey of the set, and the emotional atmosphere of the setting just did not match that of the music. But then again, I have yet to see a production of the opera which manages to bring this act off completely successfully.
That it worked is thanks to the commitment and intensity of the performance. The whole production was crisply and tightly directed, and the performers brought the drama strongly to life making suspension of disbelief quite easy. The libretto has quite a few dramaturgical holes if you aim at naturalism, but here we simply were gripped by the characters presented to us.
Vincenzo Costanzo, Claire Rutter - (Photo Robert Workman) |
Vincenzo Costanzo was a real charmer as Riccardo, bringing out the lightness and comedy in moments like Riccardo's reaction of Ulrica's fortune telling. His attractively lyric voice has an interestingly edgy quality to it which lent his performance real distinction, though there was a tendency to tightness in the upper register. But he never quite convinced that this happy go lucky man would consider risking everything for love in Act Two. I think part of the problem was that Costanzo's voice did not quite have the heft to ride over the orchestra. So whilst we missed some of the role's complexity, there was certainly much to enjoy in a finely lyric account of the role.
There was a wonderful solidity to Roland Wood's portrayal of Renato, the dependable best friend, both in terms of his physical presence and the strength of his vocal performance. This made the reversals of Acts Two and Three all the more shocking and believable. We had a very musically satisfying account of 'Eri tu', with Wood giving us finely shaped and supported phrasing, yet it was dramatically apposite too.
Roland Wood & Chorus - Grange Park Opera (Photo Robert Workman) |
Oscar is a slightly strange role. Verdi famously disliked women singing male roles, and some commentators have speculated that the role is a covert nod to King Gustavo's homosexuality. There was none of that here, and Tereza Gevorgyan played him as an annoying brat whose rather unspecified role allowed him carte blanche within presidential entourage. Frankly, I longed to give him a good slap. But Gevorgyan was spectacular in her account of the role, giving us plenty of charm and a winning way with the role's roulades.
As the two lead conspirators, Matthew Buswell and Matthew Stiff provided a suitably threatening background and made a strong impression in the moments in the spotlight in Act Three.
The chorus is given plenty to do in this opera, and the chorus of Grange Park Opera seized their opportunities from the opening counterpointing of support and opposition to Riccardo to the wonderfully pointed laughing chorus at the end of Act Two.
In the pit, Gianluca Marciano gave us a lithe and fluent account of the score, with the orchestra of English National Opera following him and giving us a highly sophisticated performance, which combined a nice bounce in the rhythms with some particularly atmospheric moments in Act Two.
Verdi: Un ballo in maschera - Matthew Stiff, Claire Rutter & Chorus - Grange Park Opera (Photo Robert Workman) |
The new theatre has come on enormously since last year, acquiring a handsome brick-work skin and the temporary toilet block has been replaced with the permanent lavatorium rotundum. There is still a lot of work to do, but there is an undoubted attractiveness to the auditorium in its stripped back state.
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