Scottish Opera, 28/10/2018
Puccini : Edgar
The Chorus of Edgar
Scottish Opera Young Company
The Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Gianluca Marcianò
After the modest success of his first opera, Le Villi, Puccini was signed up by the editor Ricordi, and a full-length opera was promptly commissioned. The result was Edgar, but the initial four-act version of 1889 was indifferently received, and Puccini spent quite some time tinkering with it, before eventually giving up in exasperation. A final, three-act version was staged in 1902, but neither Puccini himself nor the public was ever terribly interested in it. Yet, as with Le Villi (which Scottish Opera performed in concert last year), early Puccini is quite intriguing.
This time, there's very little question as to who the composer is. There might be one or two passages where, if you arrived in the middle without warning, you could be briefly puzzled, but take this opera from its beginning, and you know immediately it's Puccini, in the colour of the orchestration, and the use of percussion. The reorganising of the work, from four to three acts, has left, I suspect, some rather gaping wounds; the libretto is not the most coherent to begin with, and there are some structural infelicities, notably the end of the first act, where Puccini sets up a fine concertato number, but too close to the end of the act, which concludes with another, shorter, but very similar ensemble.
As for the last act, while it has some of the best music of the score, dramatically it's simply incomprehensible. Why has Edgar faked his own death, and why does he show up at his funeral as a hooded monk in order to trash his own reputation? This is never explained, so you're just left to scratch your head in bewilderment. Also, the characters are all, frankly, rather lightweight. When you consider what Puccini went on to do, and the psychological subtleties he was able to explore in his mature operas, Edgar can only be viewed as somewhat disappointing on that level. There's some very good music, and quite a lot of very interesting music, but a lost masterpiece, it is not, even given the kind of full-blooded performance Scottish Opera delivered this afternoon.
I've heard Peter Auty often enough over the last few years to hear whether he's having a good day or not; from the very start today, it was clear he was not. The voice was tight and he seemed a little uncomfortable from the outset, then the high notes started cracking slightly. By the third act, he was clearly in some difficulty, and I imagine he has succumbed to typical Glasgow sniffles. However, he soldiered on valiantly. It would clearly have been impossible to replace him at such a late stage and in such a rare piece, so I think we were all grateful for his fortitude, and for what he was able to deliver of this impassioned music.
Everyone else, however, was in fine form. I will admit that when Claire Rutter, as the saintly Fidelia, commenced proceedings, I was getting the impression of a sledge-hammer used to crack a walnut. Rutter is an excellent soprano with a powerful, bright voice, and I thought she was simply overpowering some fairly wispy music for a rather bland character. The need for a good-sized voice became evident in the ensembles, because Puccini holds nothing back in the orchestra and chorus, and neither did the conductor, but Fidelia, on the whole, is rather milquetoast, musically as well as dramatically, and Rutter was luxury casting somewhat wasted on the part. The main female role here is that of a wild seductress with the suitably evocative name of Tigrana. Again, in the original version, Tigrana was another soprano, but in the revisions Puccini darkened the part, producing one of his very rare dramatic mezzo roles. In fact, the only other one I can think of is the Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, and that's more of a character part. An unrepentant femme fatale, she was smoulderingly delivered by Justina Gringytė, with a rich, sensual timbre. Baritone David Stout and bass Richard Wiegold completed the line-up as Fidelia's brother, Frank, and father, Gualtiero, with good, solid performances.
There's a big chorus part in this opera, which was enthusiastically delivered, but for me the real focus of interest was the orchestra. Puccini's orchestrations are always interesting, he has a deft touch for colour and timbre, frequently producing intriguing combinations and effects. That was what was evident here, even at this early stage, and much more so than in Le Villi, and Gianluca Marcianò was doing everything possible to bring it all out. His was a no-holds barred approach, his commitment to the music evident in every bar and clearly communicated to the players. I could have wished for a better balance in some of the big ensembles, where the soloists were sometimes a bit swamped, but his enthusiasm for the opera was persuasive, and carried the day with ease. If you're going to unearth forgotten works - and especially those which have been forgotten for good reasons - this is just how you want them to be presented.
[Next : 30th October]
The Chorus of Edgar
Scottish Opera Young Company
The Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Gianluca Marcianò
After the modest success of his first opera, Le Villi, Puccini was signed up by the editor Ricordi, and a full-length opera was promptly commissioned. The result was Edgar, but the initial four-act version of 1889 was indifferently received, and Puccini spent quite some time tinkering with it, before eventually giving up in exasperation. A final, three-act version was staged in 1902, but neither Puccini himself nor the public was ever terribly interested in it. Yet, as with Le Villi (which Scottish Opera performed in concert last year), early Puccini is quite intriguing.
This time, there's very little question as to who the composer is. There might be one or two passages where, if you arrived in the middle without warning, you could be briefly puzzled, but take this opera from its beginning, and you know immediately it's Puccini, in the colour of the orchestration, and the use of percussion. The reorganising of the work, from four to three acts, has left, I suspect, some rather gaping wounds; the libretto is not the most coherent to begin with, and there are some structural infelicities, notably the end of the first act, where Puccini sets up a fine concertato number, but too close to the end of the act, which concludes with another, shorter, but very similar ensemble.
As for the last act, while it has some of the best music of the score, dramatically it's simply incomprehensible. Why has Edgar faked his own death, and why does he show up at his funeral as a hooded monk in order to trash his own reputation? This is never explained, so you're just left to scratch your head in bewilderment. Also, the characters are all, frankly, rather lightweight. When you consider what Puccini went on to do, and the psychological subtleties he was able to explore in his mature operas, Edgar can only be viewed as somewhat disappointing on that level. There's some very good music, and quite a lot of very interesting music, but a lost masterpiece, it is not, even given the kind of full-blooded performance Scottish Opera delivered this afternoon.
I've heard Peter Auty often enough over the last few years to hear whether he's having a good day or not; from the very start today, it was clear he was not. The voice was tight and he seemed a little uncomfortable from the outset, then the high notes started cracking slightly. By the third act, he was clearly in some difficulty, and I imagine he has succumbed to typical Glasgow sniffles. However, he soldiered on valiantly. It would clearly have been impossible to replace him at such a late stage and in such a rare piece, so I think we were all grateful for his fortitude, and for what he was able to deliver of this impassioned music.
Everyone else, however, was in fine form. I will admit that when Claire Rutter, as the saintly Fidelia, commenced proceedings, I was getting the impression of a sledge-hammer used to crack a walnut. Rutter is an excellent soprano with a powerful, bright voice, and I thought she was simply overpowering some fairly wispy music for a rather bland character. The need for a good-sized voice became evident in the ensembles, because Puccini holds nothing back in the orchestra and chorus, and neither did the conductor, but Fidelia, on the whole, is rather milquetoast, musically as well as dramatically, and Rutter was luxury casting somewhat wasted on the part. The main female role here is that of a wild seductress with the suitably evocative name of Tigrana. Again, in the original version, Tigrana was another soprano, but in the revisions Puccini darkened the part, producing one of his very rare dramatic mezzo roles. In fact, the only other one I can think of is the Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, and that's more of a character part. An unrepentant femme fatale, she was smoulderingly delivered by Justina Gringytė, with a rich, sensual timbre. Baritone David Stout and bass Richard Wiegold completed the line-up as Fidelia's brother, Frank, and father, Gualtiero, with good, solid performances.
There's a big chorus part in this opera, which was enthusiastically delivered, but for me the real focus of interest was the orchestra. Puccini's orchestrations are always interesting, he has a deft touch for colour and timbre, frequently producing intriguing combinations and effects. That was what was evident here, even at this early stage, and much more so than in Le Villi, and Gianluca Marcianò was doing everything possible to bring it all out. His was a no-holds barred approach, his commitment to the music evident in every bar and clearly communicated to the players. I could have wished for a better balance in some of the big ensembles, where the soloists were sometimes a bit swamped, but his enthusiasm for the opera was persuasive, and carried the day with ease. If you're going to unearth forgotten works - and especially those which have been forgotten for good reasons - this is just how you want them to be presented.
[Next : 30th October]