Closing with a bang for Mariani
No smears or lapses in the May 9 closing concert for the 2018 Ravenna Musica festival, organized by the Angelo Mariani Ravenna Association, the last of nine events experienced in the company of top-notch orchestras, ensembles and musicians.
The stage of Teatro Alighieri was lined up by the full-bodied City of Ferrara Orchestra conducted by Maestro Massimiliano Caldi, from Milan, a former conductor of major international orchestras, warming up the atmosphere with the polychrome, effervescent and accelerated symphonies from Gioachino Rossini’s Barber of Seville and Cinderella performed with the verve that these highly original slices of Marche-Romagna genius with a European flair deserve.
As for the singing, Bruno Praticò’s incipit with Don Bartolo’s aria from “Barbiere” A un dottor della mia sorte, behind him a career studded with successes in the world’s most prestigious theaters, confirmed a style and class capable of unleashing the audience’s jubilation.
The mature baritone, a true singing actor, has his own way of delivering arias that are already hilarious in themselves, as was also confirmed in the last duet sung together with the soprano respectively in the roles of Dulcamara and Adina from L’elisir d’amore: Quanto amore! And I ruthless!.
While Praticò apostrophized Giuliana Gianfaldoni (Adina) with the epithet “Bricconcella” and she shielded herself with that air of feigned naivete that knows it all, there was such a total adherence of both to the dynamics of the scene as to make it very enjoyable and truly special, far beyond the content impressed by a Gaetano Donizetti different from Rossini but certainly not inferior to them as far as opera buffa is concerned.
The audience, literally seduced by the talented and beautiful singer, appreciated the ease with which Gianfaldoni moved from the naïve trills of Gilda from Verdi’s Rigoletto from Signor né Principe to the sublime melodies of Oh quante volte oh quante from Vincenzo Bellini’s Capuleti e Montecchi, practically a duet between the angelic voice of the soprano and the heavenly voice of the harp. The effect of this double tasting is soon said: a great desire to see the two operas again in full because that is what concerts are, “appetizers” to whet the appetite for an entire meal.
Tenor Riccardo Gatto, in Puccini’s E lucevan le stelle from Tosca and in the role of the Duke of Mantua from Rigoletto, showed singing and stage professionalism even if at times he appeared less fluent than his fellow performers. The impression is that his excessive self-control penalizes him a bit on the interpretation front, but then he was able to cast himself wonderfully in the role of Nemorino in duet with Dulcamara in the aria Voglio dire, lo stupendo elisir, and one could not help but consider that he has all the qualifications to please, a young man with a good performance, a polite voice, and the ability to be on stage with verve and professionalism. What he lacks, compared to Praticò, is long experience, the kind that makes you feel more comfortable on stage than off, like an opera histrion.
All in all, a top ten concert that warmed spirits by refreshing the passion for opera.
Let us never forget, when we judge with arrogance, that what is consumed on stage in a few minutes is the result of very long and arduous studies, sacrifices and personal hardships that could not be faced without a genuine vocation for this profession, one of the most beautiful and ungrateful, where a simple hoarseness can take you from ovation to booing. But this cast of singers got only warm and prolonged applause, a sign that they hit the mark by moving smoothly from opera buffa to melodrama.
In the evening it was learned that the 20-year term of artistic director Ottilia Zaccari has expired and she will be replaced at the artistic helm of the Mariani Association by her longtime collaborator Romano Valentini. It is comforting to think that the competence with which she has directed the choices of the past few years, diversifying the offerings without ever lapsing in quality, will not be lost as Zaccari will continue to collaborate as a member of the board of directors with the Angelo Mariani Association, one of the oldest musical associations in Ravenna, dedicated to the Ravenna conductor favored by Giuseppe Verdi.
Edited by Attilia Tartagni.
Source : www.gliamicidellamusica.net