Hellish for some, Zandonai’s “Francesca” finds redemption at the Met
Eva-Maria Westbroek in the title role and Marcello Giordani as Paolo in Zandonai’s “Francesca da Rimini” at the Metropolitan Opera. Photo: Marty Sohl
Riccardo Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini, like so many second-tier verismo operas, is rarely mounted in the United States, demanding three powerfully effective Italianate singers and a conductor unashamed of the score’s idiomatic lushness and unfazed by its stretches of flimsy atmospheric wanderings. Duets, rather than big aria moments, define each of its five scenes while elusive, perfumed melodic fragments waft the listener into each intermission.
Tito Ricordi’s libretto for Zandonai’s 1914 setting is based on a 1901 play by Gabriele d’Annunzio, written as a vehicle for the playwright’s mistress, the great actress Eleonora Duse. The tragic story of the adulterous lovers Paolo and Francesca is drawn directly from Dante’s Divine Comedy, but colored by Boccaccio’s later gloss that the lovers had been set up and Francesca tricked into marrying Paolo’s deformed and brutish brother Gianciotto. References to other doomed couples abound: in the opening scene a court jester presents the story of Tristan and Iseult and it is the reading of Lancelot and Guinevere’s illicit love tale that brings Paolo and Francesca’s lips together, in Zandonai’s sweeping and deliciously lingering climax.
After giving the work’s U.S. premiere in 1916 with Frances Alda and Giovanni Martinelli, the Metropolitan Opera shelved Francesca until 1984, when it was revived for Renata Scotto, a bit past her peak, but a supreme exponent of verismo’s vocal acting. An ardent Placido Domingo and a snarling Cornell MacNeil served James Levine’s enthusiasm and brought the work to vivid life.
After a revival in 1986, Francesca da Rimini lay in the Met’s warehouse until Monday night, when conductor Marco Armiliato proved a worthy champion, pacing the intensely romantic story urgently and highlighting Zandonai’s effective orchestral writing, while affording the singers ample room to maneuver.
Piero Faggioni’s production places the 13th century Ravenna setting within a gauzy pre-Raphaelite visual world contemporary with d’Annunzio and Zandonai. In this richly textured world, love causes physical suffering, gowns are wispy, blonde hair is loosely flowing and attractive armor enhances manhood.
Gil Wechsler lit Ezio Frigerio’s black and gold Art Nouveau-inspired sets effectively and the set even seems to close in as the story entraps the lovers. Stunning costumes by Franca Squarciapino, especially Paolo and Francesca’s first act pastels, and imaginative use of torches, fire and smoke perfectly evoke the medieval dreamworld and highlight the alternation of richly glowing feminine sensibility with the brutal, darkly violent world of men.
Best known to U.S. audiences as Sieglinde in the Met’s Walküre, Eva-Maria Westbroek possesses the acting skills, variety of attack, and vocal color for Italian repertoire, if falling somewhat short on idiomatic verismo bite. The Dutch soprano’s impeccable musicianship and artistic generosity highlight her glowing, rangy voice, while her tall and graceful bearing perfectly suit the production’s dreamy, Arthurian-revival aesthetic. Without a word Westbroek transformed herself physically from Act One’s eager, impetuous maiden to Act Two’s deadened wife all the while lavishing ample vocalism on a well-paced performance.
Three years ago Marcello Giordani might have filled the romantic role of Paolo more confidently, but his voice has stiffened to the point where color and richness are largely gone, and his squeezed tone rides high on the pitch. Authoritative language and artistic sincerity got him through the night, but the romantic pairing of Westbroek and Giordani was devoid of spark.
The superb Mark Delavan dug into the role of Paolo’s brother Gianciotto with evil relish, from his first lumbering, brutish entrance, while conveying nobility and sympathy with darkly polished tones that filled the house. Robert Brubaker’s bright, clear and powerful tenor made one wish the role of the third brother, the evil Malatestino, was even larger; Act Four’s confrontation scene, in which Malatestino promises Gianciotto proof of Francesca’s fidelity, found Delavan and Brubaker pelting each other with vocally thrilling insults.
Along with excellent work from the women of the Met chorus, and several onstage musicians, supporting roles were cast to strength. Soprano Dina Kuznetsova brought dark and well-projected sound to the role of Francesca’s sister, and Philip Horst impressed with handsome and full sound as their brother Ostasio. Ginger Costa-Jackson filled out Smaragdi’s low-lying lines smartly, while debut artists Caitlyn Lynch as Biancofiore and Dísella Làrusdóttir as Garsenda showed promise.
Francesca da Rimini runs through March 22. metoperafamily.org/metopera
An active concert soloist, Judith Malafronte is on the music faculty at Yale University. Her writings have appeared in several publications including Opera News and Early Music America.
Posted Mar 05, 2013 at 7:02 pm by Piotr Wyrwinski
Definetely well worth seeing. Singing was superb short of Giordani who might be past his prime (same criticism few years ago in Damnation of Faust). Music was heavenly and Armiliato once again proved to be a singers conductor…
Eva-Maria Westbroek singing was one of the best I have heard in recent past – she is getting better and better!
Posted Mar 07, 2013 at 7:18 am by Ralph Acosta
Thanks for the incisive review, and for mentioning the singers.
The new critic reviews the production and then a small footnote
on the singing, at the end. I suppose that’s in keeping with the new take on opera, where the singer must be svelte and lovely and the quality of singing be relagated to a back seat.
I am convinced that many reviewers didn’t even go to the performance, since no acknowledgement of Robert Brubaker’s fine contribution was even mentioned! I wish he had switched roles with Giordani, who does look good, but who barely gets through things these days. I was not impressed with Westbroek, on this occasion, and I usually like her.
Posted Mar 15, 2013 at 9:30 am by Giovanni Affinito
Opera critics {so called} are laugh riots. I’ve read all of the reviews of “Francesaca” which sound like they were group written. They complain that the opera had “inertia” and then get excited by the three norns in Gotterdammerung. who stand around slowly singing the notes about something we already know about and stare at the audiences for hours. They say the Francesca tunes are not “hummable” and then go into paroxsysims of joy about Moses and Aaron…which HAS no tunes, Who are these people and why should be care about their strange opinions?
Posted Mar 16, 2013 at 8:49 pm by Gloria Wolff
Just saw this opera today in HD. Enjoyed it very much. After reading the critic’s reviews I was not sure I wanted to see it. Now I am sure you should ignore the critics. It is really grand opera with beautiful music. The voices were excellant, Mr. Giodani not so great. I believe he should become a baritone, his lower register is quite good. I think all the close ups really make this opera very enjoyable. I also feel women get this opera more than men.