BOV Opera Festival - Great one-act plays
Gianni scicchi, La notte di un nevrastenico, Manoel Theatre
The brief BOV Opera Festival ended with a double-bill which included what was a first performance in Malta. This was Nino Rota's La Notte di un Nevrastenico, in one act and preceded by Giacomo Puccini's one-act Gianni Schicchi. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra was under the baton of Michael Laus, while artistic director was Elizabeth Smith of Palermo's Teatro Massimo's Operalaboratorio, which is markedly specialised in the nurturing and coaching of young voices.
In most ways Gianni Schicchi was quite a hit. The production and staging were very slick and smooth. One finds that setting the plot in the 1920s (maybe slightly earlier) rather than the original 1299 did not detract at all from the overall effect. At the base of the whole story is greed, a timeless human trait. So are quick-thinking, timely exploitation of circumstances and cunning, all encapsulated in Schicchi himself. Puccini's comic genius finds full vent in the bubbly and effervescent score which was kept moving at the right pace. The acting was good... whether on an individual basis or the well-controlled but flexible, circuitous movements on stage highlighting confusion or in collective time-suspended tableaux highlighting consternation. It is a pity that the only Maltese singer, baritone Kevin Caruana (as Simone) who also happened to have one of the best voices of all, slightly over-acted.
The principal singers were of mixed ability as far as voices were concerned and all of them were good actors with a good stage sense. Massimiliano Gagliardo in the title role did very well and combined good voice with facial expressions and the right timing to achieve the desired effect. Soprano Federica Alfano as his daughter Lauretta has a beautiful voice at times with a rich velvety timbre and the-looked-forward-to O mio babbino caro did not disappoint. She sounds very promising and should go places. Tenor Vincenzo Bonomo's Rinuccio made a comely and convincing young suitor (Lauretta's), but his voice is rather thinny and the high tessitura which Puccini gave to some of this character's music was too taxing for him and sounded strained in delivery. Of the main secondary characters, Lorena Scarlata Rizzo's Zita was also pretty good all-round, not so the reedy-voiced and frequently off-pitch bass Gabriele Giannino as Marco, Simone's son. As such the relationship with Marco was rather unconvincing judging by the way each singer looked. From the little one could hear from them (for their parts are relatively minor) Sara di Bella's Nella and Roberta Caly's La Ciesca were happy contributions to the general effort.
Thirty-two years separate Schicchi (1918) from Rota's Nevrastenico (1950). The latter proved to be an enjoyable romp even if it is at the cost of the poor insomniac of the title's unsuccessful attempt to enjoy a decent night's sleep! The link between the two opere buffe is greed. In the latter case a hotel receptionist who allots rooms on either side of the insomniac's when the latter had already paid for these rooms to remain vacant. The only fault of the other hapless guests is that one, the Commendatore, sleeps very soundly and his snoring disturbs the insomniac; the couple in the other room are too noisy with their love-making. The insomniac almost becomes a homicidal maniac and at the end says that night (read his sleep), had been assassinated.
Here again there was another case of a well-timed and very slick production. The stage remained open, the audience could "see" all three rooms without dividing walls. Considering what he was being put through, the insomniac was not as absolutely mad as one could have become if faced with such a situation! Still Salvatore Grigoli made a very convincing insomniac for whom one could not but feel very sorry in view of the predicament he finds himself in. Vincenzo Bonomo's Commendatore luckily had for the singer none of the difficulties presented by Rinuccio's part in Schicchi. Rather more than sing, Sara di Bella as the lover/girlfriend (Lei) had more miming to do above and below the sheets but what she sang she sang very well. The same could be said of her partner in love/lust, Lui (Giulio Giuseppe Pelligra). One can detect a very pleasant timbre in his well-pitched voice and he sounds very promising. Filippo di Giorgio's greedy Portiere was carried off well... grasping, unctuous and eventually deservedly scared out of his wits by the insomniac's justified angry fits. The score is light and pleasant and while being rather unfamiliar to the ear, it is still very accessible and was given an aptly multi-faceted reading to deal with some even darker situations than those which prevail in Gianni Schicchi.
In most ways Gianni Schicchi was quite a hit. The production and staging were very slick and smooth. One finds that setting the plot in the 1920s (maybe slightly earlier) rather than the original 1299 did not detract at all from the overall effect. At the base of the whole story is greed, a timeless human trait. So are quick-thinking, timely exploitation of circumstances and cunning, all encapsulated in Schicchi himself. Puccini's comic genius finds full vent in the bubbly and effervescent score which was kept moving at the right pace. The acting was good... whether on an individual basis or the well-controlled but flexible, circuitous movements on stage highlighting confusion or in collective time-suspended tableaux highlighting consternation. It is a pity that the only Maltese singer, baritone Kevin Caruana (as Simone) who also happened to have one of the best voices of all, slightly over-acted.
The principal singers were of mixed ability as far as voices were concerned and all of them were good actors with a good stage sense. Massimiliano Gagliardo in the title role did very well and combined good voice with facial expressions and the right timing to achieve the desired effect. Soprano Federica Alfano as his daughter Lauretta has a beautiful voice at times with a rich velvety timbre and the-looked-forward-to O mio babbino caro did not disappoint. She sounds very promising and should go places. Tenor Vincenzo Bonomo's Rinuccio made a comely and convincing young suitor (Lauretta's), but his voice is rather thinny and the high tessitura which Puccini gave to some of this character's music was too taxing for him and sounded strained in delivery. Of the main secondary characters, Lorena Scarlata Rizzo's Zita was also pretty good all-round, not so the reedy-voiced and frequently off-pitch bass Gabriele Giannino as Marco, Simone's son. As such the relationship with Marco was rather unconvincing judging by the way each singer looked. From the little one could hear from them (for their parts are relatively minor) Sara di Bella's Nella and Roberta Caly's La Ciesca were happy contributions to the general effort.
Thirty-two years separate Schicchi (1918) from Rota's Nevrastenico (1950). The latter proved to be an enjoyable romp even if it is at the cost of the poor insomniac of the title's unsuccessful attempt to enjoy a decent night's sleep! The link between the two opere buffe is greed. In the latter case a hotel receptionist who allots rooms on either side of the insomniac's when the latter had already paid for these rooms to remain vacant. The only fault of the other hapless guests is that one, the Commendatore, sleeps very soundly and his snoring disturbs the insomniac; the couple in the other room are too noisy with their love-making. The insomniac almost becomes a homicidal maniac and at the end says that night (read his sleep), had been assassinated.
Here again there was another case of a well-timed and very slick production. The stage remained open, the audience could "see" all three rooms without dividing walls. Considering what he was being put through, the insomniac was not as absolutely mad as one could have become if faced with such a situation! Still Salvatore Grigoli made a very convincing insomniac for whom one could not but feel very sorry in view of the predicament he finds himself in. Vincenzo Bonomo's Commendatore luckily had for the singer none of the difficulties presented by Rinuccio's part in Schicchi. Rather more than sing, Sara di Bella as the lover/girlfriend (Lei) had more miming to do above and below the sheets but what she sang she sang very well. The same could be said of her partner in love/lust, Lui (Giulio Giuseppe Pelligra). One can detect a very pleasant timbre in his well-pitched voice and he sounds very promising. Filippo di Giorgio's greedy Portiere was carried off well... grasping, unctuous and eventually deservedly scared out of his wits by the insomniac's justified angry fits. The score is light and pleasant and while being rather unfamiliar to the ear, it is still very accessible and was given an aptly multi-faceted reading to deal with some even darker situations than those which prevail in Gianni Schicchi.