2 days ago
Simon Boccanegra, Grange Park Opera: Simon Keenlyside triumphs in Verdi's smart, sombre masterpiece
Verdi's sombre yet uplifting opera Simon Boccanegra, the story of power struggles and betrayals in 14th-century Genoa, will never be among his most immediately appealing works. But in a production as strong as Grange Park Opera has mounted, with a cast led by the magnificent Simon Keenlyside as the first Doge of Genoa, it accumulates tremendous intensity. David Pountney's vintage staging, with a fine idiomatic Verdi cast, lifts the achievements of Grange Park Opera onto a new level.
Pountney's production, billed here as a revival (though the opera has never previously been seen at Grange Park), actually originated over a quarter of a century ago at Welsh National Opera. It is now revived by Robin Tebbutt. No problem there, especially as it has brought with it the outstanding sets by the late Ralph Koltai – bare hanging sheets of metal and mirrors that move, with atmospheric abstract seascapes – all lit to vivid effect by Tim Mitchell.
The smell of power is on-stage from the start of the prologue, as the pirate Boccanegra is surprisingly chosen as Doge with the approbation of the crowd. Keenlyside transforms himself, growing in stature and nobility, his voice weaving around Verdi's lyrical baritonal lines with gripping shaping and eloquence. One of the challenges of the score is Verdi's over-reliance on bass voices, but here James Creswell as his rival Feisco (a fine debut here), David Shipley as the popular leader Pietro and Jolyon Loy as Paolo Albani (who poisons Boccanegra) all manage to accumulate great weight, not always avoiding heaviness, but projecting strongly.
The only counterweight to this male dominance is the ethereal voice of Amelia Grimaldi, an outstanding debut here by Elin Pritchard. She is revealed as Boccanegra's lost daughter Maria, and their recognition scene is deeply touching, especially when her devoted Gabriele Adorno, sung with stentorian if raw tone by tenor Otar Jorjikia, is overcome with relief at the revelation. The plots turn sour when Adorno is commanded to kill Boccanegra, but Albani's poison has already had its deadly effect, and in the third act the walls close in on the Doge as he fades, nobly blessing all and nominating Adorno as his successor.
Verdi had two major attempts at his score: realising that the 1857 version was just too gloomy, he radically revised the piece in 1881. (Mark Elder recently recorded the earlier version.) So there is now a mix of traditional arias, adjusted to provide more continuity, and new ensembles –especially the dramatic Council Chamber scene at the end of Act I. Here the resources of Grange Park, which has limited choral forces, told against the spectacle, which is dominated by a few spiky nobles on stilts. And although conductor Gianluca Marciano drove the score with vigour on Thursday, the playing of the Gascoigne Orchestra isn't yet quite a match for Verdi's ever-subtle accompaniments.
However, in assembling such an idiomatic cast in this fine historic staging, Grange Park Opera has raised its game and made a powerful new case for Verdi's score.
