A great Proms occasion! Antonio Pappano put his idiomatic mark on
this compelling performance from the first bar, one of the most beautiful
of opera preludes, a gentle seascape, the waters continuing to lap at
various points during the opera, and with orchestral details that are
not so apparent when the orchestra is in the pit here emerging illumined
from the stage. Without the anathema of amplification, the voices carried
beautifully (making one wonder why its hideous use should be necessary
when operas are presented in this venue at other times). A remarkable,
and remarkably intimate, atmosphere was established, the Royal Albert
Hall shrinking to envelope all those seating and standing in the auditorium
yet resounding thrillingly when the opera is at its zenith - the Royal
Albert Hall is something of an alchemist when something special is happening
and with convincing perspectives for such things as off-stage brass.
The adversarial plotting, the conflicting and loving relationships
that are the core of this opera were vividly presented, the use of the
Royal Opera production's costumes, and the singers' movement, adding
a nice touch of drama to the occasion, a residue of Elijah Moshinsky's
focused direction maintaining a theatrical import.
Plácido Domingo in the title role was magnificent, really opening out.
If he is a lightweight baritone, and most recognisably himself when
the part is more in the tenor fach, his conviction and tender and generous
approach to the music and his colleagues was typically unselfish, he
was a genuine part of a strong ensemble, and with a very convincing
dying fall at the end; too realistic for some; a noble death.
The whole cast was in terrific form, somehow, like Domingo, each managing
to outshine themselves from the first night at Covent Garden (29 June)
- with the possible exception of Ferruccio Furlanetto's Jacopo Fiesco;
Furlanetto wasn't quite as resonant or commanding as he had been on
that first night, when he stole the vocal honours. This though could
simply be due to a different acoustic, for he lacked nothing in arresting
portrayal.
At this Proms performance Marina Poplavskaya (Amelia) was the revelation;
she was transformed from her broken-phrases and intonation difficulties
(which did improve bit-by-bit on that first night); here, from the off,
she was radiant and alluring, living Amelia's innocent yet moralistic
persona.
The exchanges between Boccanegra and Fiesco were electrifying and the
Gabriele Adorno of Joseph Calleja was a vocal joy, his focussed and
warm tenor in the love-duet with Poplavskaya as sweet and amorous as
could be wished for. Jonathan Summers was a furious and resentful Paolo.
One understands the audience's enthusiasm for individual contributions,
but sometimes this great symphonic opera was halted by ruinously intrusive
applause - reducing arias to sound-bites; and Pappano sees this work
whole.
The Royal Opera Chorus (singing from memory, as befits their contribution
as characters in the staged production) was superb. The solo singers
were at the front of the stage, their backs to Pappano, yet scintillatingly
involved through being coordinated to the conductor's cues and shaping
by TV monitors including one centrally located in the Arena. The starlit
pianissimos at the opening of Act I were magical and carried effortlessly
to the recesses of the auditorium; and if the alarm bells could have
rang out even more at the close of the Prologue, then Pappano's pacing
and attention to detail, and his concern for Verdian sound per se,
matched anything the greatest singing (and there was much here) could
muster. Verdi's requested cimbasso was in place, rather than a tuba
substitute, the horn-playing was smooth yet luminous, and Verdi's meaningful
use of harps, bassoons and bass clarinet was further testimony to his
masterly and painterly orchestration. Nor should his thrilling writing
for brass be forgotten, not least the closest one can get to trombones
trilling - at the point when this opera is at its most emotionally burgeoning
and almost-'religious' in its intensity. Pappano's innate conducting
was palpable - what a great job this man has done as both music director
and conductor at Royal Opera.
If the pause before scene 2 of Act I was too long and tension-dissipating
(maybe to accommodate BBC Radio 3's live broadcast) - perhaps Pappano
then consciously misread the script and plunged straight into Act III,
eschewing the advertised "brief pause" between it and its predecessor.
It worked well dramatically. Highlights, of many, included a charged
Council Chamber scene, and curiosities embraced what may be Verdi's
'borrowing' skills - the pizzicatos that launch Act II that remind of
'In the Hall of the Mountain King', from Grieg's Incidental Music for
Ibsen's Peer Gynt (first-performed in 1875 and therefore presaging Verdi's
1881 revision of Boccanegra, as played here) or the gentle rhythmic
motif that that underlines the reconciliation of Fiesco and the Doge
in Act III that recalls the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight
Sonata.
On the Covent Garden first-night, this surely-a-masterpiece of an opera
had seemed rather less so, the performance then somewhat restricted;
at this Proms presentation Simon Boccanegra blazed with intense declamation
and depth of feeling, led by an inspirational Pappano and a galvanised
Orchestra, the singers stimulated to bring us animated characters and
the magnificent creation that this opera truly is.
