Continues with The Bajazet by Antonio Vivaldi the project dedicated to the rediscovery of the works of the Red Priest, inaugurated in 2018 at Malibran Theatre. Right here, seventeen years ago, the first performance of the opera took place in modern times.
As is known, the title represented is a mess, a mix of several arias removed from works by different authors (in the case in question, Riccardo Broschi, Geminiano Giacomelli, Johann Adolf Hasse and Vivaldi himself) inserted into the libretto prepared by Agostino Piovene : there is therefore no dramaturgical or musical coherence, other than the entirely arbitrary one of Vivaldi who personally selected the arias to be entrusted to each role. Bajazetin the common sense, is nothing more than an entertainment product as well as a testing ground for performers given the complexity of the songs.
Fabio Ceresa takes these historical-musical bases into account in his directorial project: the six soloists are lined up in the proscenium with lecterns and chairs, as if they were engaged in an Italian rehearsal. As soon as the recitatives that see them talking to each other end, after a quick change of costume they go up onto a small stage that resembles a television screen (Ceresa expressly cites the well-known advertising program Carousel) and perform their arias, the “siparietti” mentioned in the program.
Each piece is therefore self-contained, a show in itself within the show that does not take into account the story of the libretto: only the arabesque Castle of Sammezzano, which is the backdrop for Bajazet’s first aria “Del destin non dee lagnarsi”, pays the indebted to the “Turkish” matrix of the text, just as “Qual warrior in campo armato”, Farinelli’s workhorse, is a clever parody of the trunk arias of eighteenth-century castrati.
This metatheatrical anthology works best in the moments in which these skits follow the musical suggestions inspired by the arias, such as the touching laments of the betrayed Asteria and Irene, the effusions of Andronico during “Quel ciglio vezzosetto” or the burlesque show of Idaspe in “Nasce flattering pink.”
However, this mechanism repeated for every single song often expires in déjà vuand to renew the interest of the spectators the pedal of the forced ridiculous was pressed a little too much: you see Asteria dressed as a sadistic dominatrix in “Stringi le mie chains”, but Bajazet tanned by Super Mario during “Verrò cruel ruthless” was it really seemed like too much, also because the audience’s laughter almost completely drowned out the music.
The directorial work is however conducted consistently until the end of the show. The costumes of. are functional from this point of view Giuseppe Palellathe lights of Fabio Barettin and the videos of Sergio Metalli. In contrast, the scene of Massimo Checchetto it does not help the diffusion and projection of sounds but, on the contrary, it tends to absorb them and singers often find themselves forced to force the sounds to be heard.
In harmony with the directorial plan, Federico Maria Sardelli it does not seek a single fil rouge for reading the score but still provides a refined and diligent accompaniment to the individual pieces. The estate ofOrchestra of the Phoenix however it is not always uniform in all its sections, especially the wind instruments whose attack is Symphony initially it sounded imprecise.
The vocal company proves to be not only directed with zeal, but also close-knit and well-involved in the directorial project, although they often find themselves forced into uncomfortable if not downright precarious positions, such as Tamerlano who sings “Cruda fate, adverse fate” at the top of a staircase while maneuvering a puppet, in addition to the aforementioned acoustic problem of the “hole” sound box.
Despite having to interface with this inconvenient acoustic impediment, Renato Dolcini in the role of the deposed Bajazet he is striking for the incisiveness of his accents, the elegance of his phrasing and his skilful control of the register passages with which he faces the repeated sharp turns which pepper the part.
His daughter, Asteria, finds in Loriana Castellano a reference interpreter: the Apulian mezzo-soprano stands out above her colleagues thanks to a well-projected and robust vocal instrument, which does not lose color or enamel both in the low lunges and in the skilful use of the wind instruments with which she chisels the aria “La cervetta timidetta” .
The ringing Andronico by is also very good Raffaele Pewho cloaks his melancholic arias with refined pathism more than suitable to do justice to the character’s amorous torment.
Not entirely faultless, however, is Bajazet Sonia Prinawhich highlights coloraturas and register transitions that are anything but fluid, as well as a certain tendency to swell the centers and lows.
Similar speech for the Irene of Lucia Cirillowho launches into the flourishes of Farinelli’s arias in an all-too-reckless manner, especially those of “Qual warrior”, while the middle tessitura remains clean, by virtue of which he gives a touching and personal interpretation of “Sposa son scordata”.
The cast closes Valeria La GrottaIdaspe not always in focus but with easy and safe agility.
The audience is involved and very entertained, sealing each conclusion of the song with enthusiastic applause. A stadium triumph with repeated calls to the stage for the entire singing company, the director and the directing team, the latter greeted only by a few meager whistles (already heard at the end of Asteria’s aforementioned “sadomasochistic” aria).
The review refers to the performance on Friday 7 June 2024.
Martino Pinali
