|
Back
A Queen triumphs in Death Valencia
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía
12/07/2023 - & December 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 2023
Gaetano Donizetti: Maria Stuarda
Eleonora Buratto (Maria Stuarda), Silvia Tro Santafé (Elisabetta), Ismael Jordi (Roberto), Manuel Fuentes (Talbot), Carles Pachon (Lord Cecil), Laura Orueta (Anna Kennedy)
Cor de la Generalidad Valenciana, Francesc Perales (chorus master), Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Maurizio Benini (conductor)
Jetske Mijnssen (stage director), Ben Baur (sets), Klaus Bruns (costumes), Cor van den Brink (lighting), Lillian Stillwell (choreography)
I. Jordi, E. Buratto, S. Tro Santafé (© Miguel Lorenzo & Mikel Ponce)
Maria Stuarda (1835), Donizetti’s operatic adaptation of Schiller’s play Maria Stuart (1800) is one of his best‑written works, both musically and dramatically. In addition to Schiller’s theatrical genius, its libretto by Giuseppe Bardari (1817‑1861) is based on an Italian translation of the play by Andrea Maffei (1798‑1885). The latter was a leading poet and intellectual of the Italian Risorgimento.
Schiller’s play adds a fictional encounter between Elizabeth I and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots that is essential to the play. This personal interaction is the driving engine of the opera and of Dutch stage director Jetske Mijnssen’s vision. Known for her psychological approach to opera, Mijnssen makes the weight of each monarch on the other’s psyche oppressive. She achieves this by brilliantly choreographing multiple Mary look‑alikes in Elizabeth’s solo scenes, and vice versa. She also creates a foreboding sense of anxiety in each woman’s mind by refashioning the stage as a triangular room with a door at its apex, through which each woman dreads the (figurative) entrance of her rival. The ballet of multiple look‑alikes and their respective constricted triangular dwellings keep the tension to a maximum from start to finish.
Contrary to the anglocentric view of Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was not held in high esteem in then mostly Catholic continental Europe. After all, she was pivotal in ejecting the Catholic Church from Britain and executed a legitimate Catholic Queen. She was also seen as a bastard child, as her father Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was never annulled, hence his marriage to her mother Anne Boleyn was not recognized by the Church. Mary, Queen of Scots, daughter of James V and Marie de Guise, was the legitimate Queen of Scotland, therefore as the great‑niece of Henry VIII, she too had a viable claim to England’s throne.
Portrayed as a dignified, proud and angelic woman, Mary was by all accounts not saintly. She was believed to have conspired with her lover (and later spouse) Lord Bothwell to murder her first husband (and half‑cousin) Henry Stuart. In Catholic Europe, Mary was seen as a martyr, and since her execution in 1587, a plethora of plays and operas were inspired by her dramatically curtailed life.
There is little point in mounting Maria Stuarda unless two charismatic bel canto singers of the highest calibre are available, which happily is the case for this production. I first heard Eleonora Buratto in 2016 for her debut as Mimi in La Bohème in Barcelona. I was flabbergasted by her voice, particularly its huge size and its beautiful timbre. Seven years later, my admiration is stronger. In 2017, I heard Silvia Tro Santafé in Mozart’s Lucio Silla and was enchanted by the beauty of her voice and her elegance. In addition to possessing beautiful voices, both Buratto and Tro Santafé enjoy a magnetic charisma, requisite for this opera.
Director Jetske Mijnssen’s conception is that Elizabeth felt eclipsed by her younger cousin Mary’s beauty, charm and natural regal quality. This was conveyed in a ballet in the opera’s opening scene, where a gauche young Elizabeth feels intimidated by the courtiers. This putative argument supports Schiller and Donizetti’s views, but it was hard to see Tro Santafé as effaced or unsure of herself. She appeared jealous and irritated.
Since the revival of Maria Stuarda in the 1960s, it’s been de rigueur to feature a charismatic lyric coloratura soprano for the role of Maria, with particular ease in the upper register and floating pianissimo, such as Leyla Gencer, Montserrat Caballé, Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Edita Gruberova, Carmela Remigio or Mariella Devìa, and a mezzo (or even a dramatic soprano) Elisabetta, such as Shirley Verrett, Huguette Tourangeau, Agnes Baltsa, Sonia Ganassi or Anna Caterina Antonacci. Such pairings offered a sharp contrast between high soprano and low mezzo. However, this is not always the case, as the creator of the title role was mezzo Maria Malibran (1808‑1836) who often ventured into soprano roles. The sharp distinction is more typical of our epoch than that of the nineteenth century. In recent years, one of the most remarkable Maria Stuardas was mezzo Dame Janet Baker, whose voice enjoyed exceptionally extensive range and unbridled power.
In the present performance, the two queens have equally impressive instruments, which make Maria’s fragility and Elisabetta’s insecurity more interior than exterior. It allows for a confrontation of equals. The most intense scene is the fictional meeting of the two queens. When Buratto uttered the pivotal phrase “Figlia impura di Bolena” (“Impure daughter of Boleyn”) at the end of Act I, all hell broke loose. It was a catfight between dignified nobles. Elizabeth’s humiliation and Mary’s rage were shattering, yet the two maintained their dignity. Burratto’s phrasing of “Profanato è il soglio inglese, vil bastarda, dal tuo piè!” (“England’s throne is profaned by you, vile bastard”) was delectable, sending shivers down one’s spine. Wisely, stage director Jetske Mijnssen chose to avoid having Elisabeth falter and fall down, as is sometimes the case. Elizabeth’s fragility is more elegantly displayed in her jealousy over Leicester. Though there is little historical evidence of his being either queen’s lover, the fictional love triangle intensifies the drama.
The final scene, the opera’s most moving moment, was splendidly interpreted. Buratto’s singing of Maria Stuarda’s prayer “Deh! Tu di un umile preghiera il suono odi” was a paragon of both vocal beauty and dramatic prowess. Maria Stuarda triumphs in death; her regal character is revealed in her forgiveness and continued love for Britain in the shattering finale “Ah! d’un cuor che muore reca il perdon, ah! dal rimorso non sia punita, tutto col sangue cancellerò”.
One couldn’t hope for a better Roberto than Ismael Jordi. Given the overpowering presence of Maria and Elisabetta, all other roles are dwarfed, even their supposed love object. In addition to his beautiful voice and elegant style, Jordi’s dashing looks and stage presence made him truly the ideal Roberto. The supporting roles of Talbot, Lord Cecil and Anna Kennedy were well performed by Manuel Fuentes, Carles Pachon and Laura Orueta.
Maurizio Benini led the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana with gusto. One of the most sought‑after bel canto conductors, Benini brought out the pathos of the score and supported the soloists with the tempi they needed. The chorus, which plays an especially important part in the opera’s final scene, was well-prepared by Francesc Perales.
Due to an online confusion in the dates, I planned my stay in Valencia on the wrong dates, prior to the opening of Maria Stuarda. The media service was kind enough to allow me to attend the dress rehearsal, reserved for students under 29 years old. For a city with a modest opera tradition, Valencia has taken considerable measures to render opera and classical music popular since the opening of the splendid Palau de les Arts in 2005, a modern venue designed by Santiago Calatrava.
The performance I attended was sold out. It was heartening to see the theatre’s 1,470 seats replete with young people, all of whom stayed after intermission. Tickets for dress rehearsals are sold for €10 each, bought by the students themselves rather than by schools. This is offered in addition to performances for children and families, for works appropriate for such a purpose. For those who lament the absence of a tradition in their cities, Valencia demonstrated that it can be done with dedication and perseverance.
Ossama el Naggar
|
