Paying tribute to Puccini - <i>review</i>
Gala concert, Manoel Theatre
The Manoel Theatre has been inundated with a spate of excellent concerts, all marking the end of its theatrical season before summer sets in.
Among them was a gala concert, held to commemorate the 150th anniversary since the birth of Giacomo Puccini, organised by Paolo Andrea Trabalza, Ambassador of Italy to Malta, whose idea it was to hold the concert in the first place, an excellent idea when one considers the affection which the Maltese have for Puccini and his operas and their high regard for Italian culture in general.
On this occasion, the theatre was filled to capacity with an expectant and enthusiastic audience, confirming the fact that operatic concerts fall within a genre of entertainment which invariably attracts patrons in droves. In this case, the choice of Puccini was a considerable contributing factor to sure success.
The fact that we have now become accustomed to more refined operatic performances did not seem to detract from the warm reception with which the concert was greeted. But then the essential ingredient was there for it was ultimately the intense dramatic presence of Puccini present in his music which won the audience's hearts.
Torre del Lago enjoys a long standing association with Puccini for it is there that the Puccini Festival, the only one in the world which is dedicated solely to the works of Giacomo Puccini is held every summer in the very locality which inspired some of the composer's immortal melodies.
This year the festival celebrates its 54th edition with a full programme including 17 performances of Edgar, Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Turandot with internationally acclaimed singers. It was as though part of the Torre del Lago contingent had been transported to Malta during the Puccini evening at the Manoel.
For a start it featured the Puccini Festival Orchestra which was brought over specifically for the occasion and which though reduced in numbers had the dramatic effect of a much larger one, in particular in its rendering of the instrumental fantasias from Manon Lescaut and La Boheme.
Conducted by Valerio Galli, who also works as a repetiteur with the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, the orchestra accompanied Elmira Veda and Alessandra Meozzi (sopranos), Fulvio Oberto (tenor) and Massimiliano Valleggi (baritone) in well-known arias from Manon Lescaut, Edgar, Gianni Schicchi, Madama Butterfly,
La Boheme, La Fanciulla del West and Turandot.
Fulvio Oberto made a well-deserved impact with his full-bodied contributions, both in his solos as well as in his duets, particularly so in the final duet of the concert, Viene la sera, a complex musical and dramatic extended love duet from Madama Butterfly, in which his performance was matched by that of Elmira Veda who confirmed her versatility and musicianship.
Massimiliano Valleggi, who is familiar with audiences at the Manoel, where he successfully sang the title role in Verdi's Rigoletto in the Opera Festival of 2006, warmed nicely as the evening progressed and successfully combined dramatic qualities with singing prowess in particular in A Vittoria! Vittoria! From Gianni Schicchi.
Alessandra Meozzi is still pursuing her studies and perhaps it was unfair to put her alongside more seasoned performers and even more so to allot her arias such as O mio babbino caro which every opera lover knows backwards.
Yet she was to be admired for her efforts to hold her own and is to be commended in particular for her delivery of Tu che di gel sei cinta from Turandot, which turned out to be her most successful attempt.
The inititiave to hold such a concert was indeed much appreciated.
Among them was a gala concert, held to commemorate the 150th anniversary since the birth of Giacomo Puccini, organised by Paolo Andrea Trabalza, Ambassador of Italy to Malta, whose idea it was to hold the concert in the first place, an excellent idea when one considers the affection which the Maltese have for Puccini and his operas and their high regard for Italian culture in general.
On this occasion, the theatre was filled to capacity with an expectant and enthusiastic audience, confirming the fact that operatic concerts fall within a genre of entertainment which invariably attracts patrons in droves. In this case, the choice of Puccini was a considerable contributing factor to sure success.
The fact that we have now become accustomed to more refined operatic performances did not seem to detract from the warm reception with which the concert was greeted. But then the essential ingredient was there for it was ultimately the intense dramatic presence of Puccini present in his music which won the audience's hearts.
Torre del Lago enjoys a long standing association with Puccini for it is there that the Puccini Festival, the only one in the world which is dedicated solely to the works of Giacomo Puccini is held every summer in the very locality which inspired some of the composer's immortal melodies.
This year the festival celebrates its 54th edition with a full programme including 17 performances of Edgar, Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Turandot with internationally acclaimed singers. It was as though part of the Torre del Lago contingent had been transported to Malta during the Puccini evening at the Manoel.
For a start it featured the Puccini Festival Orchestra which was brought over specifically for the occasion and which though reduced in numbers had the dramatic effect of a much larger one, in particular in its rendering of the instrumental fantasias from Manon Lescaut and La Boheme.
Conducted by Valerio Galli, who also works as a repetiteur with the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, the orchestra accompanied Elmira Veda and Alessandra Meozzi (sopranos), Fulvio Oberto (tenor) and Massimiliano Valleggi (baritone) in well-known arias from Manon Lescaut, Edgar, Gianni Schicchi, Madama Butterfly,
La Boheme, La Fanciulla del West and Turandot.
Fulvio Oberto made a well-deserved impact with his full-bodied contributions, both in his solos as well as in his duets, particularly so in the final duet of the concert, Viene la sera, a complex musical and dramatic extended love duet from Madama Butterfly, in which his performance was matched by that of Elmira Veda who confirmed her versatility and musicianship.
Massimiliano Valleggi, who is familiar with audiences at the Manoel, where he successfully sang the title role in Verdi's Rigoletto in the Opera Festival of 2006, warmed nicely as the evening progressed and successfully combined dramatic qualities with singing prowess in particular in A Vittoria! Vittoria! From Gianni Schicchi.
Alessandra Meozzi is still pursuing her studies and perhaps it was unfair to put her alongside more seasoned performers and even more so to allot her arias such as O mio babbino caro which every opera lover knows backwards.
Yet she was to be admired for her efforts to hold her own and is to be commended in particular for her delivery of Tu che di gel sei cinta from Turandot, which turned out to be her most successful attempt.
The inititiave to hold such a concert was indeed much appreciated.