Verdi - I Vespri Siciliani / Merritt, Studer, Furlanetto, Zancanaro, Musinu, Banditelli, Gavazzi, Muti, La Scala Opera

This old (1990) and thoroughly old-fashioned production truly is Verdi as Verdi should be done. The orchestra in black, elegant Riccardo Muti in white tie and satin lapels, traditional sets, almost no milling around on stage by the chorus, no hint of nudity, no singers lying on the floor or leaning into the walls for their arias, huge voices and gorgeous costumes ... Or perhaps it should be gorgeous voices and huge costumes, to accommodate the lovers Arrigo and Elena ... singers standing stage front, feet planted foursquare, arms extended to expand the rib cage, projecting gorgeously even to the cheap seats in 'paradise'!"Squillo" is a technical opera term for the 'ringing' quality of the trained voice that allow it to project over thick orchestration. You'll hear astounding squillo from all three principal male singers in this production, most thrillingly from tenor Chris Merritt (Arrigo) in the later acts. That clarion quality is less obvious in the voices of baritones and basses, but both Giorgio Zancanaro (the French Governor, Guy de Montfort) and Ferruccio Furlanetto (the rebel leader Giovanni Procida) offer conservatory-perfect demonstrations of how squillo is different from mere volume. Both of them make even their most piano asides pierce through the orchestral textures. Furlanetto is unsurpassable in his dark role as the relentless patriot. Cheryl Struder (the Duchess Elena) sings with consummate taste and lovely timbre, but she's out-matched by the three males at times, and that's the only musical weakness in this resoundingly musical production.I Vespri Siciliani was composed first with a French libretto and staged in Paris in 1855. When it was 'translated' into Italian for staging in Parma, ironically the setting was also translated, to Portugal, for political reasons. This La Scala production uses elements of both scores, keeping the extended ballet sequences from the French opera but using the Italian libretto. The pair of dancers who enliven the visuals of the third act are Carla Fracci and Wayne Eagling. Canadian-born, California-raised Eagling is 100% Italian 'bella figura', with a kind of grace that's the physical equivalent of a singer's squillo.To my ears, I Vespri Sicilano is one of Verdi's finest musical achievements, alongside Simon Boccanegra (of 1857) and Ballo in Maschera (of 1859). I can't imagine why it's not produced far more often.Just a thought about those "traditional' sets and costumes: the historical event known as The Sicilian Vespers occurred in 1282! It was a rebellion against the Angevin French King Charles the First!! But this staging uses uniforms, gowns, and peasant frocks of the 19th C, perhaps of the Napoleonic era. And I'm fairly sure that such costuming would have been what Verdi and his dramaturges expected. So "anachronism" was part of the traditional staging all along? Would it be any more anachronistic to stage a music-drama depicting an uprising in 1282 in the garb of Chechens or Libyans in 2011?

This is "Grand" Opera of the grandest style. Written by Verdi for the Grand Paris Opera house. It is truly a pageant of the history of a people seeking freedom from a tyrant ruler. Filled with idealism, drama and high human emotions all in grand, soaring melodies with Verdi at his operatic best. I have loved this work since I first heard it with Arroyo and Levine in the 70s and later with Susan Dunn and Ricardo Chailly. Both good productions but no match for this present recording. The setting is 13th century Sicily now governed by an agent of the French King of Naples. The governor (Montfort) is cruel and repressive and well acted and sung by Zancanaro. He has as hostage Elena whose brother was murdered by the French and is sung by Cheryl Studer. The hero Henri who turns out to be Montfort's son is sung by Chris Merritt. The conductor is Riccardo Muti at his best and grandest. This is probably the only complete recording that includes the full ballet music and none of the usual cuts for the singers. We can thank Muti for this. The music here carries the drama which is just as well as both Merritt and Studer are superb singers of their parts but are rather stout individuals so stage action is best kept to a minimum. And soar they do. They are a good match for each other and their singing is glorious. Both have clear large voices that can handel the challenge of the difficult Verdi line. Some ten years later they would again appear together with Muti in a superb William Tell of Rossini. The ballet is at the end of Act 3 and titled The Four Seasons. The prima is Carla Fracci; both she and the corps are excellent in a truly satisfying ballet full of beauty and happiness. I'm really thrilled to have it included in an otherwise cruel, bloody strife filled opera. I highly recommend this album.

How do I remember the Met's most unfortunate staging of this opera! Characters were supposed to climb up from the beach into the town. Well, the powers that be decided for the action to take place on a set of descending stairs! And then Caballe fainted after the first act and the public had to wait for an hour and a half. but she did finish the performance.La Scala's version is led by two formidable American singers: Cheryl Studer and Chris Merritt, both in superb voice. A solidly traditional staging, thank God. I just do not like the French habit of demanding ballets that really do not contribute anything to the action and make the performance longer than it should be. Personally, I loved Zancanaro as Giorgio de Monfort. I already have four from La Scala collection, and plan to complete the set (11 operas).

Listen to the performance without image, or if not possible close your eyes! It must be appreciated as a normal CD, Chris Merrit and Cheryl Studer belong to an older generation of singers, physically not very much adequated to the characters they represent. Anyway, the voices are good enough.Basics: The conducting of Riccardo Muti, the ballet scenes, and Giorgio Zancanaro. He is indeed Guido de Monforte, it's hard to believe he is the father of Arrigo... Furlanetto is not bad but far away from the conspirator in my imagination. For me Procida must be Ruggero Raimondi, the dark voice and imposing presence.As a cd, 4 stars. Visually, 3 stars.

Enjoyable stage performance in decent costume. I've had the opera in audio only for 20 years and never seen it on stage. This DVD is a good way of seeing it until I can see a live performance.

great

Verdi eut bien du mal avec ce grand opéra "à la française" qu'il devait livrer à l'Opéra de Paris en 1855, et qui devait comporter obligatoirement cinq actes basés sur des faits historiques, et puis des décors, des costumes, un grand ballet. Il a conçu une oeuvre ambitieuse de 3H30 relatant la révolte du peuple sicilien en 1282 contre la domination de Charles d'Anjou.Malgré des pages magnifiques dirigées par Ricardo Muti, on reste un peu sur sa faim, et pourtant quel sujet, la patrie en danger, un tyran face à face avec le fils qui lui est né du viol d'une sicilienne......!!! Or le scénario reste confus, le couple d'amoureux manque de caractère, le ballet du 3e acte (Les Quatre Saisons) est interminable, la mise en scène plate et terne, la direction d'acteurs à peu près nulle, et la transposition indéfinissable (d'après le décor du Grand Salon, et le costume des soldats, époque Empire?.....). C'est grand dommage, car les interprètes ne manquent pas de qualités. Ferruccio Furlanetto, basse (Jean Procida) et Giorgio Zancanaro, baryton (Guy de Montfort, Gouverneur) tirent magnifiquement leur épingle du jeu. Un peu moins, Chris Merritt, ténor (Henri) qui paraît bien empoté sur scène, et livré à lui-même - et Cheryl Studer (Hélène) desservie par des coiffures et des robes ingrates.Malgré ces réserves, je trouve qu'il s'agit-là d'une version honnête (bien qu'imparfaite) avec une belle distribution, et digne d'intérêt. En plus ce dvd est accessible pour un prix très modeste, donc je le recommande.Les sous-titres sont en anglais.

Es una opera molt bona i la versió aquesta te un ballet que la majoria no tenen.