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Carnegie Hall, New York City
www.CarnegieHall.org
LA GIOCONDA
Performed in Concert
Music: Amilcare Ponchiellli
Libretto: Arrigo Boito
Cast
La Gioconda: Aprile Millo
Enzo Grimaldo: Marcello Giordani
Laura: Mitena Kitic
Barnaba: Anooshah Golesorkhi
La Cieca: Sheila Nadler
Alvise: Luiz-Ottavia Faria
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Chandak Ghosh
April 20, 2004 The Opera Orchestra of New York (OONY) is not a world-class orchestra, yet the operatic evenings it presents are, very often, the highlights of the season. Committed to presenting neglected operas in concert form for the past 33 years, OONY has proved that, with excellent, committed casts, many forgotten gems deserve a place in the modern repertoire. Two years ago, OONY’s performance of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur qualified as a legendary night of music making. With Aprile Millo, Marcello Giordani, and Dolora Zajick as the leads, the electricity burned through Carnegie Hall like few nights in recent memory. OONY originally wanted to recapture that moment by presenting the same three this season in La Gioconda, but without Zajick to complete the triumvirate, the evening never quite heated up.
La Gioconda remains a mediocre opera with some startling gorgeous moments. Premiering in 1876, it bridged the eras of Grand French Opera and the Italian Verismo. Both are known for their excesses—the former for form, length, and style and the latter for emotion and storyline—and La Gioconda revels in combining elements of each. Its plot centers on a love triangle among Venetians La Gioconda, Enzo, and Laura. The story, outlandish even for operatic standards, involves daggers, poisonous potions, sinking boats, masked balls, seemingly dead people who come back to life (a la Romeo and Juliet), and elements of the Inquisition, just in case the audience gets bored. Interestingly, the opera is best known for its non-operatic ballet, Dance of the Hours, immortalized in Disney’s Fantasia with its dancing hippos. Surrounded by rather banal music, however, are some of the repertoire’s greatest arias and duets—particular the soprano’s Suicidio! and the tenor’s Cielo e mar. Both extraordinarily dramatic and thrilling pieces have carried the fame of this opera to modern day.
The star of the evening was Marcello Giordani whose tenor rang with such squillo that only the most jaded would not immediately name him the heir to the Pavarotti-Domingo throne. His big aria, with its high notes sung fearlessly and flawlessly, led to a deafening ovation. Aprile Millo remains the “Last of the Great Divas” for her grand manner, stunning sense of Italianate line, and her innate ability to camp up just about everything she touches. Her singing was sensational in the fourth act, but that required three acts of mixed success to reach it. Her Suicidio! showed off a vibrant chest voice, but failed to thrill like the versions of her predecessors in the role. In her fach, however, Millo remains the greatest of the current generation. She understands Italian opera, and every note she sings proves it.
Mezzo Mitena Kitic, though blessed with a pleasant, medium-sized voice, failed to muster the glow of her colleagues. To work, La Gioconda requires at least three fantastic vocalists—anything less will doom it. Kitic was the weak link of the trio. Baritone Anooshah Golesorkhi was a passable, not commanding, Barnaba. Sheila Nadler wobbled her way through the role of La Cieca. Bass Luiz-Ottavia Faria’s Alvise took time to gain confidence. Andrew Gangestad who sang the one line of the Barnabite Monk, however, gave the audience a moment of wondrous singing.
Eve Queler should be elevated to “national treasure” for all the love, care, and effort she has placed in reviving these dusty works. Her conducting, however, was idiosyncratic at best, and the orchestra muddled through most of the music (except a bright and lively Dance of the Hours)—but harping on those would miss the point of such an important evening.
Next season, Millo returns as Minnie in Puccini’s Fanciulla Del West. Also scheduled are Thomas’ Mignon with Stephanie Blythe and Von Weber’s Der Freischutz with Sandra Moon. Visit www.www.OONY.org for details.
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