Photograph: Steven Pisano
After a detour to Metropolis Middle final summer season, Teatro Nuovo returned to the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Middle to supply its eagerly anticipated annual pair of semi-staged opera performances. This July, the enterprising firm, beneath its Basic and Inventive Director Will Crutchfield, devoted its season to a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the ten-month residency that launched Italian opera to New York Metropolis. Starting on November 29, 1825, an organization of eight singers led by legendary tenor Manuel Garcia Sr. carried out the U.S. premieres of 9 works together with Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Rossini’s Il turco in Italia, the 2 operas Teatro Nuovo offered this yr.
The latter work is likely to be finest remembered for its catchy title somewhat than for its music. A yr earlier than Turco premiered, Rossini provided L’Italiana in Algeri in Venice, and it proved a grand success. The twenty-two year-old composer then made his La Scala debut with Aureliano in Palmira adopted by Turco in August 1814. Neither proved successful, with Turco being inevitably and unfavorably in comparison with Italiana: They shared an identical title, and their antic plots revolve round a foreigner’s arrival in an unfamiliar locale, setting off a farcical collection of comedian misadventures. Whereas Italiana contains a fascinating and quick-witted heroine, the tasteless title character of Turco rapidly turns into secondary to Fiorilla, the married siren decided to seduce any man who crosses her path, particularly Selim, newly-arrived from Turkey.
Turco’s uncommon libretto, an early work by the twenty-six year-old Felice Romani, might partly clarify why the work has by no means been embraced as enthusiastically as Italiana has. Regardless of an ornate “11 o’clock” scena through which she alerts a renunciation of her compulsive man-eating methods, Fiorilla is a most unsympathetic central determine, pursuing Selim purely for the sake of novelty whereas blithely ignoring each her husband, Don Geronio, and her present lover, Don Narciso. Nonetheless, Turco’s occasional post-war revivals have been as diva autos for Maria Callas, Beverly Sills, Montserrat Caballé (who solely recorded the opera), and Cecilia Bartoli. Extra lately, Lisette Oropesa has carried out Laurent Pelly’s tackle Fiorilla, and Julie Fuchs takes on the position this November in a revival of Christof Loy’s manufacturing on the Hamburgische Staatsoper.
Being removed from a Callas-completist, I’ve by no means listened to her full Turco recording, however I bear in mind the pretty latest ecstasy that greeted the rediscovery of a good-sounding aria from 1950 which I duly appreciated for her trademark bel canto ease.
I bear in mind beginning to watch the reside 1978 Turk (it was carried out in English) telecast of Sills from New York Metropolis Opera, however I turned it off halfway as I’d developed an allergy to America’s sunny Prima Donna by that point. As anticipated, Rossini basso par excellence Samuel Ramey did briefly embrace Selim; he’s Caballé’s accomplice in flirtation on CD, whereas he and Lella Cuberli (my Met Assur and Semiramide seven years later) teamed up on the 1983 Rossini Opera Competition in Pesaro. In 2014, Juilliard revived Turco beneath Speranza Scappucci’s fizzy baton in a brightly persuasive manufacturing by John Giampietro that includes standout portrayals by Hyesang Park and Michael Sumuel as Fiorilla and Selim.
Whereas it lacks Italiana’s inviting plot and limitless fount of melody, Turco however accommodates many creative numbers, significantly dazzling ensembles through which the principals mix in near-every permutation. The opera’s most intriguing function is the character of Prosdocimo, a poet whose struggles to create a brand new libretto are wittily confided to the viewers in recurrent fourth wall breaks. Sadly, his meta-comments stand exterior the principle motion aside from an distinctive trio with the Selim and Geronio. Teatro Nuovo veteran Hans Tashjian introduced a wryly bemused whimsy to Prosdocimo, his mild bass-baritone, nevertheless, often obtained misplaced within the ensembles.
Photograph: Steven Pisano
Initially, Elisa Citterio’s giant period-instrument ensemble typically coated her singers, however steadiness points resolved themselves by the top of the primary act. Main her enthusiastic crew as primo violino, Citterio set vigorous tempi that however allowed beautiful particulars from Rossini’s scrumptious orchestral writing to emerge. Nonetheless, Turco’s power started to significantly lag through the inordinately lengthy second act, the place consecutive (and unilluminating) arias introduced the plot to an absolute standstill. Nonetheless, Max Alexader Prepare dinner as Don Narciso and David Freides as Albazar introduced pleasingly agile tenors to their solo moments within the highlight.
Kresley Figueroa as Fiorilla should have drained, as her attenuated ultimate aria featured more and more chaotic coloratura. Previous to that, nevertheless, her fevered sensuality and vivid depth together with pungent excessive acuti enlivened her seduction sport. She lacked an equal accomplice in Vincent Graña, whose wooly bass-baritone struggled with Rossini’s florid strains. His uncharismatic Selim did not command the stage which, as standard with Teatro Nuovo shows, featured apt projections of historic venues—in lieu of units—and modern costume. I used to be shocked to see Sabatina Mauro listed in this system as a soprano. Her Zaida, Selim’s discarded betrothed, abounded with lush mezzo fervor, prompting a buddy to comment that she appeared destined for Amneris.
Nonetheless, the star of the night was as soon as once more Italian bass-baritone Mattia Venni as Fiorilla’s brutally ignored husband Don Geronio. In 2018, the cameraman-turned-bass-baritone (try his IMDB web page) deserted movie for opera, and he introduced irresistible power and classy élan to Crispino in Teatro Nuovo’s immensely pleasurable revival of the Ricci Brothers’s Crispino e la Comare three years in the past. As soon as once more, his beautifully easy patter received the day and almost made Geronio the central character.
Regardless of reservations which have surfaced concerning works that includes awkwardly satiric portraits of Muslim-associated characters, not solely this Turco has been revived this summer season however the Ravinia Competition and the Chicago Symphony simply offered Die Entführung aus dem Serail , which too was simply staged at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. One other stab on the Mozart happens at Bard Summerscape on August 16.
Christopher Corwin
Christopher Corwin started writing for parterre field in 2011 beneath the pen title “DeCaffarrelli.” His work has additionally appeared in , The New York Instances, Musical America, The Observer, San Francisco Classical Voice and BAMNotes. Like many, he got here to opera by way of the Saturday Met Opera broadcasts which he started listening to at age 11. His explicit enthusiasm is seventeenth and 18th century opera. Since 2015 he has curated the weekly podcast Trove Thursday on parterre field presenting reside recordings.
