PS Un “blogger” non è un oracolo e commette inevitabilmente errori (il minimo possibile..). Ricevo spesso “correzioni” non sempre fondamentali e non sempre precise. Così come io mi sottopongo al giudizio altrui con nome e cognome così chi vorrà avere la bontà di segnalarmi eventuali errori o imprecisioni dovrà farlo unicamente mandando un commento: a ognuno la propria responsabilità. In base alla nuova normativa chi si fosse iscritto e desidera de-iscriversi è sufficiente che mi invii un messaggio e-mail..

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Werther is a difficult opera to perform, either because of its late-romantic libretto of not excellent quality (euphemism), or because of a music that has soaring in quality but also objectively modest if not long-winded parts. It doesn’t matter to discuss the subject. Why Charlotte, for example, puts Werther off until Christmas doesn’t make any sense. And why Charlotte swore to marry Albert on her mother’s deathbed is a mystery. But that’s it: logic is not the main value of the librettos (with laudable exceptions – especially those of Wagner) and precisely for this reason it would be necessary to have a direction that somehow compensates or at least finds a way to give a minimum of credibility to the whole.  None of this: in the case of La Scala, the direction certainly was not impeccable  (euphemism again). In a scene that remaines almost unchanged over the course of the acts (the only concession is a sliding door that opens from time to time to the interior of the house etc.) the story unfolds with some incomprehensible choices. Charlotte’s letters from Werther (her husband hadn’t so far noticed anything?) scattered on the floor were somewhat reminiscent of Mozart’s “catalogue”. Then in the finale, in a totally empty scene, a chair appears (uncomfortable) on which sit first Albert (who finally notices the letters – a man of not excellent acumen) and then Charlotte with dying Werther in her lap. Several times the librettos include dying protagonists (i.e. Tristan, Romeo etc.) who, however, sing for a long time and who require a lot of sensibility from the director to give everything a minimum of credibilty. Not here. Werther offstage, after asking Albert for the “pistolets” because he has to make a long journey (a typical hand luggage) shoots himself twice. He enters the scene and after staggering he lies down. Dead? No way. As a new Lazzaro rises and sings (even standing) for a comfortable 20 minutes before exhaling – finally! – the last breath. But why show it dead if it gets back up? And the whole scene is directorially improbable, with Albert and Sophie watching saying or doing nothing. We are in the theatre of the absurd, but in this case we are in the theatre of bad taste. Sed de direction satis. The voices (all of young people) are really very good and specifically Benjamin Bernheim’s Werther able to express all the pathos of the character with uncommon vocal gifts. Victoria Karkacheva’s Charlotte is good (but not excellent) and she is not always able to express the torment of her character and with fluctuating vocal skills. A special mention for Francesca Pia Vitale as Charlotte, who even in the reduced part manages to express all the freshness of the character. The other protagonists are normal, with praise for Jean Sébastien Bou’s tymber as Albert. As for the conductor, Alain Altinoglu is xuberant who makes the non-intimate approach his interpretative signature that exceeds in many moments and especially on the occasion of the high notes of the protagonists that are covered by an excess of sonority and roll of timpanis. Overall a good success (but when does the gallery ever go wild if not for Verdi’s operas?) underlined by prolonged applause.

PS I would kindly ask the readers of this blog to  register  (which implies nothing) which can be easily made  by “clicking” the black square above each post. By so doing they will receive an e-mail message whenever a new post is published.

PS A “blogger” is not an oracle and inevitably makes errors (the minimum possible..). I often receive “corrections” not always fundamental and not always accurate. Just as I submit myself to the judgement of others with the name and surname so those who want to have the goodness to report errors or inaccuracies will have to do so only by sending a comment: everyone has his own responsibility.

Per un elenco aggiornato di tutti i precedenti  posts di questo blog con i corrispondenti links

PS  Vorrei ringraziare tutti coloro che inseriscono commenti  ai posts utilizzando l’opzione “Lascia un commento”  (o “commenti” se ne sono già stati inseriti) prevista nella sezione sinistra (o prima del testo per schermi ridotti come i tablets) dei posts stessi affinchè tutti possano leggerli.  Il dibattito è sempre interessante per tutti…..grazie (è indispensabile lasciare nome e cognome – i commenti anonimi non saranno pubblicati)!!