Delightfully dramatic – a beautiful fluidity between the orchestra and the singers
Last night’s performance of A Celebration of Puccini at the Liverpool Philharmonic was an opera lover’s dream. Performing to a packed auditorium, the orchestra was ably conducted by Liverpool’s renowned Domingo Hindoyan for two acts of emotive magic, featuring guest soprano and tenor Sonya Yoncheva and Riccardo Massi.
It’s hard to say for which of his works Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini is best-known, though the use of ‘Nessun Dorma’ as the theme tune for a ’90s World Cup makes it a hot contender. Being a particular fan of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, I had high hopes for the theatricality of the evening, and was not disappointed. Criticism of Puccini has included his popularity and mass appeal, which I don’t see as negative: the emotions behind his compositions are so clear that it’s a joy to listen to every one, and fairly impossible not to become invested, especially with excellent musicians at the helm, as was the case at yesterday’s performance. Subtle, the evening was not – big emotions and big facial expressions abounded. I was grateful for the leaflet of lyrics and translations provided; though certainly it was possible to get the gist of each piece just by watching and listening, it was nice to have the extra context.
The evening’s programme was split into parts: selections from La Villi were followed by selections from La Boheme, with Madame Butterfly and Manon Lescaut following in the second act. Each part was opened by an orchestral piece, ahead of the guest singers joining. The orchestra was, as ever, impeccable: they were note- and tone-perfect, able to soar when required and at other times become such subtle background to the opera singers as to be almost unnoticed (the highest of compliments).
Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva and Italian tenor Riccardo Massi took the stage to great acclaim. Yoncheva has recently performed in Madama Butterfly in Berlin, and Massi is known for playing the various heroes of Puccini, so expectations for both were high from the get go. Massi wore a dark suit, and had facial expressions which would put the drama masks to shame – the explicitness of his every feeling of despair, joy, lust, and heartbreak was fully supported by his vocals. Yoncheva was the quintessential soprano, in bridal white and draped in pearls for the first act, and shimmering in silver and black sequins for the second.
Yoncheva’s voice was a little thin on the high notes pre-interval, lacking a certain resonance which came through with gusto in the second act – she performed the various extracts from Manon Lescaut especially well. The power of her voice didn’t play quite so well during the pleas in her encore, ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’, which could have benefited from a more bell-like tone.
Massi was a powerhouse, never struggling to find or reach a note. Particular mention must go to his encore of ‘Nessun Dorma’ – following his climactic high note, the audience burst into applause while the orchestra played through the final triumphant notes of the piece.
There was a beautiful fluidity between the orchestra and the singers, with Yoncheva and Massi’s performances straddling their fictional operatic worlds and the realism of the stage: both used the conductor’s podium to lean against throughout the show; Yoncheva gently blew flower petals into Domingo Hindoyan’s face in the first act, and later refused Massi’s advances by gesturing to the orchestra to indicate that they had company. The conductor was instrumental in this weaving of worlds, acting as the conduit through which the singers and orchestra flowed, met and parted.
During the final bows, Yoncheva was presented with a bunch of flowers by an audience member – she accepted with grace before presenting Massi with a small sprig, and giving a red rose each to the conductor and to the lead violinist. It was a fittingly theatrical note on which to end an emotional and delightfully dramatic performance.