Welsh National Opera |
| Welsh National Opera- Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci , Wales Millennium Centre , March 12, 2005 |
| Often referred to as ‘Cav and Pag’, anyone not familiar with these two short operas might think they are in for a light-hearted experience but both are of course very traditional operas with similar plots of betrayed love and murderous revenge. In the first Dennis O’Neill is the victim and in the second, at the climax of the story he commits a double killing, the curtain going down on the tragic figure with his clown’s made up face and his body racked with remorse. Dennis O’Neill is as much a fine actor as he is a great singer. Perhaps, because of his inspiration, I felt the quality of the acting here was, throughout the whole company much improved on other recent performances. What the acting was like sixty years ago when the newly formed Welsh National Opera presented this double bill as their first ever performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Cardiff on the 15th April 1946 one can only speculate. Brave and adventurous as those early pioneers were they could never have had the advantages now afforded to the company by the wonderful Donald Gordon auditorium. It is a real privilege to sit there and let the music under the impassioned control of Carlo Rizzi swirl over ones head and into the brain. In Cavalleria rusticana the WNO chorus have once again hit the fine form they are best known for and that has eluded them slightly in the previous two operas this season. Michael Yeargan’s sets serve both works very well, The opening front cloth of Cavalleria following the overture, the rising of the main ‘tabs’ with its delicately silhouetted trees and the voice of Dennis O’Neill singning off-stage was one of those very special, director Elijan Moshinsky, moments. The sheer melodrama and passion of Turiddu seducing Santuzza when he returns from the army only to find that the love of his life Lola has married the swaggering Alfio, but the flame between them refuses to be quenched and the now jealous and discarded Santuzza betraying the lovers to Alfio who challenges Turiddu to a knife fight and kills him, is very much in contrast to the quiet peaceful and deeply religious Sicilian village where all this mayhem takes place. The whole tale evolves as everyone processes to Easter Mass in the off-stage church. I know that traditional Roman Catholic services can go on for quite some time but this one seemed to go on for precisely long enough for the opera’s story to be told. This illustrates the deft touch, almost tongue-in-cheek approach that Moshinsky has brought to the first piece to give it a unique feel to suit the developing tastes of this twenty-first century. Pagliacci ,with its play within a play device, has its own moments of light relief with the clown’s white faces, stilt-walking and fire juggling, all in sharp counterpoint to the melodrama which resolves itself in Columbine’s death by Pagliaccio’s knife in front of the village audience, there to be entertained by the troupe of clowns. The final curtain falling on the bereft Pagliaccio, making a breath taking and stunning moment of pure theatre. The demand for impassioned and assured singing is splendidly met by all the cast in both operas. Marianna Tarasova is a fine and passionate Santuzza, Jason Howard, strong in both pieces matches his true and resonating singing voice to some very convincing acting. Delphine Gilot brings a near perfect naturalism to Nedda the wife of the chief of the clowns and a wonderful knowing sparkle when she assumes the role of Columbine on the rustic stage. Dennis O’Neill with his rotund handsomeness topped with dashing black wig in the first half sings with all the energy of a much younger man and the thrill of listening to him in this new WNO home bodes well for a very exciting future for opera in Cardiff Bay. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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