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Music for
Grown-Ups Newsletter
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23/02/2004 Angela Gheorghiu lights up a dull Simon Boccanegra
Saturday's opening night of Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House was a curiously unengaging affair. Though the applause greeting the finale was enthusiastic, there had been few spontaneous bursts to greet the arias and duets in the course of the work; not one in the entire first half. The production wasn't to blame. Under Mark Elder, the band drove the piece with energy. Angela Gheorghiu (Amelia) fully justified her diva billing, her rich soprano lifting the production each time she performed; she's a graceful actress, too, who dominates the stage whenever she's on it. (Any music lover who who doesn't own a Gheorghiu CD is missing one of today's landmark musicians.) The other principals, notably Neil Shicoff (Adorno), also lit up their roles. The Act 3 duet between Covent Garden veteran Robert Lloyd (making his last appearance, as Fiesco, before retirement) and Franz Grundheber (Boccanegra) was moving. The sets and direction were fine. The problem with Boccanegra is that it's a fundamentally poor opera. The dramatic structure is weak. The narrative is tortuous. The characterisation is confusing, and the characters only rarely elicit any emotion ("Maria - you are my daughter" was a rare chilling moment). The Piave/Montanelli/Boito libretto is a mess. The political messages are about as subtle as those of an anti-war 1960s folkie revival. The allocation of tunes to the principals is niggardly. And Verdi somehow forgot to include any strong melodies: you'd wait a long time to hear delivery boys whistling tunes from Simon Boccanegra. All gigs, from Miles to Mozart, Dylan to Duke Ellington, stand or fall on the quality of the setlist. Verdi's no different. This opera wouldn't make my top 50 (100?). It's not even in Verdi's top dozen. So, credit to Covent Garden for doing so well with unpromising material. Gerry Smith
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