La donna del lago
Richard Osborne says of La donna del lago that it’s
“ill-suited to larger houses, however grand the piece can be made to seem
scenically.” It’s a spot-on observation
and one that Royal Opera Associate Director John Fulljames, in stepping onto
the bigger stage, should have heeded. It
would have been better to have acknowledged the dramatic weaknesses of the work
and let Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Flórez just sing. After all, that’s what the audience is there
for.
Fulljames would have been
criticised if he’d done that, of course, so it’s a bit of a no-win situation
for him. In fact, his new production can be a very
enjoyable outing, if you go to indulge yourself in a gorgeous score and some
world-class singing. The staging isn’t
all bad, by any means. Fulljames has
ideas, some big and bold, and some badly under-developed but he’s thought about
the piece and designer Dick Bird presents some pleasing visuals. But then there are some horrible misjudgments,
such as the gratuitous mauling of a group of women which does nothing but tell
us that the hairy highland chieftain Rodrigo is not the ideal husband for the
heroine. We kind of know that without
the unpleasantness.
The framing device is clumsy and
hackneyed. Updated from its original 16th
Century setting to Rossini’s time, we’re in an early 19th-century
version of Night at the Museum, with exhibits springing
to life and acting out a historical pageant, while two minor characters, Albina
(Justina Gringyte in trousers) and Serano (Robin Leggate) are re-cast as
guides. Is one of them supposed to be
Rossini? Which one and why? The convention is tentatively carried out and
confusing.
Later, when the King defeats the
rebels, highlanders are corralled by redcoats (instruments of oppression of an
English rather than Scottish king), casting us back a century to the time of
Culloden. Or is that when the pageant is set anyway? I’ve lost track. Based on Sir Walter Scott’s
1810 poem The Lady of the Lake, the plot is mindboggling
enough without these unnecessary interventions.
Elena (DiDonato), the daughter of highland
rebel Duglas (Simón Orfila), is courted by an endless stream of men, including the
Scottish king in disguise as one Uberto (Flórez), while betrothed
to the gruesome Rodrigo (Michael Spyres standing in for an indisposed Colin
Lee), an ally of her father’s. Her true
love is Malcom, another great lump of Scottish manhood, portrayed here by another Rossini specialist
Daniela Barcellona in her belated Covent Garden debut. Despite Uberto’s ardent wooing, Elena remains
faithful to Malcom and, finally revealed as the monarch of the glen, Uberto,
like Mozart’s Tito, learns clemency and generously brings the lovers together.
Conductor Michele Mariotti, making
his house debut, begins slowly, without the lushness one can imagine Antonio
Pappano bringing to the colourful orchestrations, but things get better during
the performance. The score is full of
attention-grabbing numbers and wonderful tunes, from Elena’s opening greeting
of the dawn (“Oh mattutini albori”) to the lilting Act 1 duet for Uberto/Elena
(“Quali accenti!”) and the show-stopper finale “Tanti Affetti,” a true pin-drop
moment in DiDonato’s hands.
The two lead singers, as good as
you’ll get in the world today, are magic together (and earn this review an extra star). Thankfully, Fulljames
gives them their moments without too much in the way of distraction. Barcellona’s scena and cavatina “Elena, oh tu
che chiamo” draws the longest applause of the evening and Spyres, who was
scheduled to sing Rodrigo later in the run, is an adequate foil to Flórez in
the sparky tenor rivalry which is as much about vocal prowess as getting the
girl.
It’s a mixed evening but one that
has plenty of delight if you go without expecting too much in the way of
theatrical insight or dramatic integrity.
– Simon Thomas
