Review: Cavalli opera charms at Spoleto Festival

CHARLESTON_The Spoleto Festival staging of Francesco Cavalli’s “Veremonda,” said to be the first for this 1652 comic opera in 350 years, is sexy, funny, deftly acted and splendidly sung.

The creative team, which includes the fine conductor Aaron Carpene, performs more than a little alchemy in making the production soar in Charleston’s intimate Dock Street Theatre.

Cavalli’s score is tripping and pleasant but rarely more than that. The opera, centering on romantic intrigue amid Spanish and Moorish wars, features long stretches of serviceable recitative enlivened by relatively short arias. There’s little of the vocal pyrotechnics that characterize the later Baroque operas of Handel and Vivaldi.

But what Cavalli’s music lacks in consistent appeal is made up for by Giulio Strozzi’s spicy libretto and sparkling production values: Stefano Vizioli’s buoyant direction and Ugo Nespolo’s playful, colorful pop-art sets.

“Veremonda, L’Amazzone Di Aragona” (“Veremonda, the Amazon of Aragona”) takes place on Gibraltar. The Spanish Queen Veremonda, sung by the wonderful Vivica Genaux, is frustrated about the lack of progress in the war against the Moors. What’s to account for the delay? King Alfonso is distracted by his scientific studies. The Spanish general Delio, meanwhile, is having a secret affair with the Moorish queen, Zelemina.

The strong-willed Veremonda resolves to lead the combat against a Moorish fort herself. She orders the women of the court to abandon their usual pursuits and form an Amazonian army. (For history buffs, the opera is based on the conquering of Granada, of which of which Gibraltar is part, by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492.)

“Veremonda,” with long stretches of sung dialogue, is an actor’s opera. Vizioli’s detailed staging is filled with comic hijinks and romantic tussles. The libretto has serious and comic elements, but the former are overshadowed by Vizioli’s ebullient direction, embraced with zest by the superb, world-class cast.

Genaux, an Alaska native known for her interpretation of Baroque roles, sang on opening night with a rich, beautiful mezzo-soprano. She negotiated ornamental passages with nimble artistry. She was also a commanding presence, whether dressed as the queen early in the opera or, later, in Amazonian garb, ready for battle — of both the martial and romantic sort.

Italian countertenor Raffaele Pe exhibited a mellifluous tone, elegant phrasing and adroit acting chops as the vain Spanish general Delio, who loves Zelemina but also hopes to seduce Veremonda. The comic coupling of Veremonda and Delio in Act 2 is simultaneously steamy and the stuff of high farce.

Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli, as Zelemina, offered a radiant, silvery soprano. She sang Zelemina’s plea for mercy near the end of the opera exquisitely. Celine Ricci was a delight as Vespina, a petite member of Veremonda’s army who nevertheless possesses a sizable, lustrous mezzo-soprano.

Ricci and Veremonda’s six other leggy Amazons bring considerable sex appeal to the proceedings. Nespolo has costumed the women warriors, who dance but don’t sing (with the exception of Vespina) in the sort of skimpy costumes you might find in a Rockettes’ skit. Though gorgeous and formidable in appearance, the Amazons cringe at the prospect of war.

It was great to see the versatile tenor Steven Cole in the comic role of the cartwheeling Don Buscone. Brian Downen played the role of Vespina’s love interest Zeriffo with a ringing lyric tenor.

Carpene, an Australian early-music specialist based in Rome, conducted the New York Baroque Incorporated ensemble, which plays period instruments. Except for a wayward pitch or two, the orchestra of about a dozen was clean, precise and transparent on opening night.

Two performances remain of this charming opera: Tuesday and Friday. For tickets, call 843-579-3100 or see the Spoleto Festival’s website at spoletousa.org.

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