I Vespri Siciliani/Les Vepres Siciliennes is not one of the Verdi greats(La Traviata, Rigoletto, Otello and Don Carlo) with the overlong length and sprawling story. However while not Verdi at his most consistent, the music is just great, the four arias and the big Act 3 duet between Montfort and Henri being the highlights as well as one of Verdi's best overtures. While it is a problematic opera it is a long way from Verdi's worst (Il Corsaro and I Masnadieri), and it has grown on me, seeing the live simulcast on Monday is part of the reason. This was a very good performance(sung in French, which was somewhat more authentic to the Italian that I've heard more of) and it does a valiant job taking on an opera that is difficult to stage and very taxing for the leads. There were short-comings understandably with one uneven performance and some oddities in the staging.
Of the staging which is mostly clever and inventive while maintaining the spirit of the opera, there are some oddities. The two big ones were with the child-cupid/cherub executioner in , that did diminish the tension seen with the sighting of the big axe from the back of the stage and Schrott wearing a dress in the last act did bring unintentional campiness to the scene. The final act did have some powerful moments, mostly because of the musical values being so outstanding throughout but conceptually with the whole illusion business it was a little over-complicated. And the chorus looking almost like zombies at the end of Act 2 did come across as on the weird side.
Liana Haroutounian is also an uneven Helene. It is a tough role and she copes bravely replacing Marina Poplavskaya but it doesn't quite come off. She definitely has strengths, she does have a beautiful tone and a brilliant top and she also shows an expressive face, natural warmth and some powerful acting in the final scene. Several things let her down though, most of her acting is stand-and-deliver quality, her middle did sound underpowered in places(nerves perhaps?) and neither of her arias come off well, with a very flat fourth-act and a very unrhythmic Bolero(she was constantly behind the beat and laboured, and this is not a good thing as it is the most well known part of Les Vepres Siciliennes.
The production is well done visually. The sets are large and theatrical and they succeed in being beautiful and atmospheric too, the stark foreboding Act 4 prison setting is a good contrast to the opulence of Act 2 with the mirror-like walls. The balconies are used to great effect too, and the costumes are nice though Henri's was somewhat unflattering making Hymmel looking beefier than he actually is. As said most of the staging is good, faring best is the incredibly intense duet between Monfort and Henri in Act 3(musically and dramatically the best of the five acts too, and of the character relationships theirs in the opera and production is the most believable), the end of Act 1 likewise. The idea of the prologue being staged during the overture came off brilliantly and really moved the story forward as well as showing the brutality of the French portrayed in the opera. The decision to cut the very lengthy ballet(as lovely as it is it does grind things to a halt in a sense) and incorporate it as part of scenes was a good one, not distracting whatsoever, helped by the nimble choreography and dancing.
Musically the production is outstanding. The orchestra play beautifully throughout and with lots of fire and passion, never putting a foot wrong despite how demanding the music is. The chorus sing vibrantly and with good balance, and there is also a real sense of immediacy and involvement. And Antonio Pappano's very energetic and authoritative conducting accommodates that, someone who really knows how to be sympathetic while not losing the drama and pulse of the music.
And the other three lead performances are great. The most consistent is Michael Volle as Montfort, while sometimes there is too much of a Scarpia-like quality to how he's made up and made to act(think of Bryn Terfel in the role at ROH two years ago) that doesn't distract from a very powerful performance, you don't want to mess with him, with specks of humanity in his act 3 aria that came off just as brilliantly. He has a very resonant voice that has some menacing grit, nuanced musicianship and lovely mezza voce passages. Bryan Hymmel is a revelation as Henri, the only character that really develops in Les Vepres Siciliennes, his singing boasts ringing high notes and burnished Italianate tone and dramatically he is impassioned and ardent. His Act 4 aria is a killer and he nails it. Erwin Schrott's French is questionable but with his warm tone that carries through the whole auditorium he does provide the production's most beautiful singing. He is noble and defiant with a scheming and vengeful quality too.
To conclude, a very good production even with its shortcomings. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox
Of the staging which is mostly clever and inventive while maintaining the spirit of the opera, there are some oddities. The two big ones were with the child-cupid/cherub executioner in , that did diminish the tension seen with the sighting of the big axe from the back of the stage and Schrott wearing a dress in the last act did bring unintentional campiness to the scene. The final act did have some powerful moments, mostly because of the musical values being so outstanding throughout but conceptually with the whole illusion business it was a little over-complicated. And the chorus looking almost like zombies at the end of Act 2 did come across as on the weird side.
Liana Haroutounian is also an uneven Helene. It is a tough role and she copes bravely replacing Marina Poplavskaya but it doesn't quite come off. She definitely has strengths, she does have a beautiful tone and a brilliant top and she also shows an expressive face, natural warmth and some powerful acting in the final scene. Several things let her down though, most of her acting is stand-and-deliver quality, her middle did sound underpowered in places(nerves perhaps?) and neither of her arias come off well, with a very flat fourth-act and a very unrhythmic Bolero(she was constantly behind the beat and laboured, and this is not a good thing as it is the most well known part of Les Vepres Siciliennes.
The production is well done visually. The sets are large and theatrical and they succeed in being beautiful and atmospheric too, the stark foreboding Act 4 prison setting is a good contrast to the opulence of Act 2 with the mirror-like walls. The balconies are used to great effect too, and the costumes are nice though Henri's was somewhat unflattering making Hymmel looking beefier than he actually is. As said most of the staging is good, faring best is the incredibly intense duet between Monfort and Henri in Act 3(musically and dramatically the best of the five acts too, and of the character relationships theirs in the opera and production is the most believable), the end of Act 1 likewise. The idea of the prologue being staged during the overture came off brilliantly and really moved the story forward as well as showing the brutality of the French portrayed in the opera. The decision to cut the very lengthy ballet(as lovely as it is it does grind things to a halt in a sense) and incorporate it as part of scenes was a good one, not distracting whatsoever, helped by the nimble choreography and dancing.
Musically the production is outstanding. The orchestra play beautifully throughout and with lots of fire and passion, never putting a foot wrong despite how demanding the music is. The chorus sing vibrantly and with good balance, and there is also a real sense of immediacy and involvement. And Antonio Pappano's very energetic and authoritative conducting accommodates that, someone who really knows how to be sympathetic while not losing the drama and pulse of the music.
And the other three lead performances are great. The most consistent is Michael Volle as Montfort, while sometimes there is too much of a Scarpia-like quality to how he's made up and made to act(think of Bryn Terfel in the role at ROH two years ago) that doesn't distract from a very powerful performance, you don't want to mess with him, with specks of humanity in his act 3 aria that came off just as brilliantly. He has a very resonant voice that has some menacing grit, nuanced musicianship and lovely mezza voce passages. Bryan Hymmel is a revelation as Henri, the only character that really develops in Les Vepres Siciliennes, his singing boasts ringing high notes and burnished Italianate tone and dramatically he is impassioned and ardent. His Act 4 aria is a killer and he nails it. Erwin Schrott's French is questionable but with his warm tone that carries through the whole auditorium he does provide the production's most beautiful singing. He is noble and defiant with a scheming and vengeful quality too.
To conclude, a very good production even with its shortcomings. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox
