Boccanegra botch-up
Fiesco fiasco mars night that was meant to be all about Domingo
Antony Craig 12:32pm GMT 14th July 2010
Compromise can sometimes be the worst of all possible worlds. When Ferruccio Furlanetto lost his voice before the performance of Simon Boccanegra that was due to be broadcast from the Royal Opera House to big screens throughout the UK, that old stalwart John Tomlinson stood in for the key role of Jacopo Fiesco – except that he didn’t. Mr Furlanetto wandered around the stage gesticulating while Mr Tomlinson sang, behind a music stand, from the wings.
When Fiesco was back of stage left duetting with a centre-stage Boccanegra, facing him (and not the audience), it was disorientating (not to say bizarre) for Fiesco’s voice to be emanating from the front of stage right. Even if Tomlinson had been in really good voice (which, arguably, he was for the low notes but emphatically was not for the high ones) I would have questioned this decision. Surely this fiasco could have been averted – why did Tomlinson not just take over the role? Doesn’t Covent Garden believe in understudies these days? Is it impossible to find someone suitable to play a repertoire bass role at short notice?
All of which cast an unexpected light on an evening where one had expected to be concentrating on the assumption of the title role by a superstar (“Don’t worry, he’s fine,” Covent Garden’s director of Opera Elaine Padmore had sought to reassure the audience beforehand) – but singing outside of his comfort zone. So I should say that Plácido Domingo sang a fine Doge and looked suitably statesmanlike (although these performances do have a valedictory feel about them).
No one would question that Domingo is one of the greatest tenors. Simon Boccanegra is one of Verdi’s most magnificent baritone roles. Tito Gobbi produced the Covent Garden premiere in 1965 (the palpable excitement at the time matched that surrounding the current cycle of performances) and remains unrivalled in the title role (hear the astonishing recording from 1957 with Gobbi, Victoria de los Angeles and Boris Christoff, originally released on EMI and now available on Naxos 8.110119-20). Domingo lacks the baritonal splendour Gobbi would evince and I want a greater vocal depth from my Doge, but one cannot deny that Domingo has the presence to carry off an impressive performance and both the recognition scene with a gorgeous Maria (Amelia) from Marina Poplavskaya and the trio with the addition of Joseph Calleja’s Gabriele Adorno made the spine tingle. Calleja is a glorious tenor (of the Flórez generation) and while it might be contentious to suggest that he and Poplavskaya stole the evening’s vocal honours, they were certainly no makeweights.
My reservations notwithstanding, this was a musically inspired performance (Pappano in charge) to be savoured and remembered – and one that does nothing to counter my conviction that, despite its clumsy construction (Boito’s late revision of Piave’s libretto can’t overcome completely the opera’s awkward and untheatrical structure), Boccanegra deserves to be considered one of the very greatest works in the operatic canon.
Comments
Gosh, Mr Craig -- what a sad and negative gloss you have chosen to put on a rather splendid evening (for which I queued from dawn to get a ticket). This was live opera. These things happen, sometimes at very short notice. Tomlinson sang heroically -- of course, after all those Wotans, the top is not what it was. How could you possibly expect it to be? And how could he take in all the stage directions -- and be score perfect -- when the notice was so pitifully short, and (as Ms Padmore clearly announced) he himself has just recovered from sickness? As your view of him was so ungenerous, perhaps you missed that?
To compare Domingo with Gobbi seems a little unreal and adademic -- a discussion perhaps best confined to an ivory tower. They are two entirely different operatic animals. The '57 recording is wonderful, of course, though it was made under more sterile studio conditions -- and technically, it is far from a model of its kind.
If you were looking for a sensational intro and headline, you might have got a better one out of something more positive -- the wonderful performance of the tenor, Joseph Calleja. In an age when many tenors are pushing their voices -- with some very unfortunate results -- it is inspiring to hear one who doesn't have to. Well-placed, unforced, a real sense of Verdi's line and thrilling moments of real drama -- he, for me, was the hero of the evening.
The enthusiastic applause and cheering at the end of last night's performance is still ringing in my ears and quite drowns out Mr Craig's attempts to put a dampener on the proceedings. For those unable to get to Covent Garden, there'll be a performance of Boccanegra at the BBC Proms. This is Verdi at its very best. Don't miss it.
I agree with "Sharpless" about the sad comments from Mr Craig about this performance. It was a outstandingly excellent live performance because of the conviction of the singers and their total immersion in what they were doing.This was made more so by the fact of Furnaletto's superb acting of his role and it did not seem to matter that the voice was not his. John Tomlinson was a hero to even take on the part which he did splendidly. To make comments on his singing seem spiteful when this man has given of himself and his voice to so much wonderful singing of Wagner. Mr Calleja does have a good voice but his singing lacks sensitivity.He was too loud too often and his expressiveness of voice and body was not there. Domingo should not be criticised for not being the full rounded baritone needed for the role, he gave an amazing performance as Boccanegra, every bit as good as Gobbi and, Gobbi himself was more blessed with acting ability than excellence of voice. I would suggest that the greatest singer of the Verdi baritone roles was Capucchilli. So Mr Craig...this was no botch up or fiasco and I do hope your singing is rather better than your critical journalism.