A Teatro di San Carlo specialty, August 2, 2000

By	Noam Eitan (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This may be a dress rehearsal since the auditorium is half empty (the premiere was on May 28 1998). Even though it means that there is less give and take with a responsive audience, the singers seem to benefit from the less oppressive presence of the Neapolitan operatic mob. There are no signs of anxiety, everyone warms up to their roles from the first note. Everyone, including the conductor and orchestra are in top shape and give their very best. (Old European opera houses are infested with gangs of homicidal tradition keepers: if a singer as much as misses one note, the conductor stops the performance, conducts a hasty requiem mass and the wretched singer is dispatched to his creator with a short, sharp shock, from a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block. These frequent executions are part of an East European conspiracy to take over the opera houses of Europe, since they sustain the need for a constant supply of fresh talent from the east bloc).

The camera crew takes advantage of the higher freedom of movement with sweeping movements that cover the orchestra pit (and occasionally the stage) almost side to side, with a very dynamic effect. This is the best camera work I've seen in any "live" opera production on a DVD so far (although it's not unusual on rock/pop videos). The picture quality is excellent, with vivid colors and well defined picture. The 5.1 Dolby surround sound is the best audio so far on any opera DVD: very focused, with a pleasing feel of "air" around the voices, that carries this hollowed auditorium's sonic signature.

Bulgarian soprano Alexandrina Pendatchanska won the 1990 UNISA international singing competition in South Africa. She is Ghena Dimitrova's student and protégée, who is reported to have said on Bulgarian television that her student has a truly remarkable talent. A talent indeed she is. In the lyrical passages she has that young girl sound of the old Italian school - light, agile and plaintive. When she digs the spurs in the voice becomes strong and full, almost metallic and quite thrilling. Her superb Elisabetta is musically and dramatically almost overwhelming. She tears into the final scene with ferocity and real pathos. Her voice is expressing both strength and vulnerability in every phrase and the queen's physical decadence is laid devastatingly bare - an unforgettable performance.

Giuseppe Sabbatini in the title role has a such a charismatic stage presence that it is little wonder that the queen almost loses her mind over him. His Devereux is the impetuous heart breaker as well as proudly aristocratic. He is a real artist and stylist and seems to be very well versed in 19th century stylistic practice. His medium-weight voice enables him to bring out the qualities of a bel canto tenor, as well as to project a more dramatic presence.

(The historic Devereux, the 2nd earl of Essex was executed after he tried to organize a revolt against Elisabeth - nothing to do with a love triangle. He constantly provoked her - she put up with his impudence for years because he was her cousin. But she gradually grew alarmed of his behavior, finding him to be "a nature not to be ruled." During one of their disputes, Essex turned his back upon the queen, who promptly slapped his face. He organized the revolt after she confined him to house arrest, following an unsuccessful campaign in Ireland.)

Italian lyric baritone Roberto Servile has a real personality and a wonderful voice. It is quite rare to hear such perfect diction and precise phrasing even from an Italian singer. I found his performance the most satisfying of this cast because of his unusual respect for the text, combined with his lyrical timbre and big voice that fills the auditorium with no hint of strain. His Duke is very convincing in his transformation from the loyal friend to the wronged, raging and vindictive husband. Hungarian soprano Ildikó Komlósi as his consort is more restrained than Pendatchanska in her singing and acting and thereby provides a musical-dramatic counterpoint. She sings Octavian on the Palermo Der Rosenkavalier DVD that is due to appear later this month.

The success of the performance owes much to the sensitive conducting of Alain Guingal that sustains and inspires the singers rather than drowning them.

The costumes and sets are gorgeous - all the elements of this production fit in perfectly and are very well thought out, from Komlósi's sad demeanor in the opening scene to the blazing red of Sabatini's costume.

Roberto Devereux is scheduled to open this season at the NYC Opera with Lauren Flanigan as Elisabetta.

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