‘While each individual voice was a joy to listen to, it’s in full voice that this opera truly shines’
I’ll be honest: many people know more about opera than I do. I’m very familiar with Puccini’s one act comic opera Gianni Schicchi, but that’s about the sum of my operatic experience. With this in mind, I was looking forward to Opera North’s take on Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra – a concert staging as opposed to a full production, I thought it would be a good foray into the operatic world.
Performed in Liverpool’s Philharmonic on a swelteringly hot May afternoon, the set for Simon Boccanegra was cool and spare – two of its three ‘rooms’ contained marbled benches and plinths, with the third housing a bed shrouded in white gauze. The whole thing felt evocative of a mausoleum, which it turns out was apt – the body in the bed was revealed to be Maria, erstwhile lover of our titular Simon (played by Roland Wood, with a masterful command over voice and expressions alike), and now dead.
Apparently this opera has by popular opinion a complicated and rather far-fetched plot, the knowledge of which made me feel better as I tried to keep all threads and developments straight throughout. To briefly summarise: Simon Boccanegra (a Plebian) is named Doge (head of state) of Genoa, and has fathered a child with the daughter of his sworn enemy, Jacopo Fiesco (a Patrician). Twenty-five years later, the child has grown up and is in Fiesco’s care, though he has no idea that she is his granddaughter. The young woman, now named Amelia Grimaldi, is herself in love with a Patrician, Gabriele Adorno. There’s a deeply unsettling ‘rival’ for her love in Paolo, once loyal to Simon and latterly a despicable character, and it is his actions that ultimately bring about the deeply sad climax of the opera. At its heart, while this is of course about love – it’s hard to conceive of any great story that isn’t – it’s really about politics, in this case exemplified by the Plebians vs the Patricians: the workers vs nobility is truly a tale which can stand the test of time.
The orchestra was nestled directly behind the set and cast, which gave an intimate feel to the performance – having both good sight and sound of the orchestra allowed for extra punch and depth of feeling. The audience also had a clear view of the singers’ faces, which in turn allowed for a level of sincerity that wasn’t overblown – this is true of all of the cast, but again particular mention must go to Roland Wood as Simon, who was able to convey years’ worth of emotion in mere moments.
Sara Cortolezzis gave an innocent youthfulness to Amelia Grimaldi (or was it Maria? Hmmm…), always hoping that various kinds of love can conquer all. Her lover, Gabriele Adorno (as performed by tenor Andrés Presno), was rather more one-note a character, but had a pleasingly strong and clear voice, a much-needed contrast to the richness of the baritones and basses. The chorus was used offstage to great effect: haunting voices drift through as though on the wind, with our cast seemingly confused and afraid as to where they are coming from. The voices of the angry mob came in turn from various points from different directions within the hall, sometimes sidestage and sometimes behind us, giving a still more immersive feel to the production.
While each individual voice was a joy to listen to, it’s in full voice that this opera truly shines, and the Philharmonic was just the building to house such a glorious climax of voices and instruments, allowing the sound to rise uncurtailed to ring throughout the venue. My biggest complaint is that there wasn’t a little more of this, though there’s an argument to be made that less sparing use might detract from its magical effect.
Opera North’s Simon Boccanegra is showing in Hull on May 17th, and in London on May 24th.