|
Back
The Avaricious Englishman and the Savage Canadian Pesaro
Teatro Rossini
08/11/2025 - & August 15, 17, 20, 2025
Gioacchino Rossini: Soirées musicales (arr. Fabio Maestri)
Vittoriana De Amicis (soprano), Andrea Nio (mezzo), Paolo Nevi (tenor), Gurgen Baveyan (bass)
Gioacchino Rossini: La cambiale di matrimonio
Pietro Spagnoli (Tobia Mill), Paola Leoci (Fannì), Jack Swanson (Edoardo Milfort), Mattia Olivieri (Slook), Ramiro Maturana (Norton), Inès Lorans (Clarina)
Filarmonica Gioacchino Rossini, Christopher Franklin (conductor)
Laurence Dale (stage director), Gary McCann (sets & costumes), Ralph Kopp (lighting)
P. Spagnoli, R. Maturana, M. Olivieri, J. Swanson, P. Leoci
(© Amati Bacciardi)
Rossini’s first professional opera, composed at eighteen, is stylistically more akin to Cimarosa and Pergolesi than mature Rossini, though he already shows signs of his eventual greatness. One duet from this work, “Dunqu’io son,” was later reused (albeit with more finesse) in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Though one cannot expect too much from a one‑act farce composed by an adolescent, surprisingly, thanks to an excellent cast and to Laurence Dale’s expertly refined staging, it was hands down the most enjoyable production at this year’s ROF. The multi-talented English tenor Laurence Dale is also a conductor and director. He was able to produce a delectable comedy without resorting to slapstick or vulgarity.
La cambiale di matrimonio is notable as the earliest opera to refer to Canada. Fortunately, Dale puts Slook, opera’s first Canadian, in a good light. The opera is about an overly materialistic English businessman, Tobia Mill, who views everything through a pecuniary prism. When Canadian business partner Slook asks Mill in a letter to find him a suitable wife, the greedy Englishman decides to offer his own daughter, as Slook is not demanding a dowry and is even paying for the bride. Unbeknown to Mill, his daughter Fannì is in love with the penniless Edoardo Milfort.
Dale’s depiction of the Canadian was priceless, a typical coureur des bois, a French-Canadian merchant who traded with North American natives, selling them European goods in return for furs which in turn were traded with European merchants. Dressed in typical coureur des bois attire, Dale’s Slook did not come to London alone (as in most productions), but rather in the company of a Native American, gruff and protective of his friend, as well as a huge brown bear! The extravagance of the brown bear was Dale’s intelligently introduced comic element. Also protective of Slook, this bear is quite intelligent and an expert cook. The bear’s antics provided plenty of laughs without resorting to vulgarity, a common failing in comic opera.
The opera’s two stars are usually the amorous young couple, but not here. Tobia Mill and Slook are the stars, and it could not be any other way as they were sung by none other than Pietro Spagnoli and Mattia Olivieri respectively. Spagnoli is one of the most in‑demand comic basses in opera. Heard as Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola in Montréal, he was the star of the show thanks to his natural comic verve and mastery of Rossinian comedy.
Mattia Olivieri is one of today’s leading baritones. In addition to his beautiful timbre and vocal mastery, this versatile singer can easily incarnate any character, tragic or comic, with equal skill. Few can be as dashing as his Don Giovanni, recently admired in Berlin; as menacing as his Conte di Luna in Il trovatore in Venice; as scheming as his Malatesta in Don Pasquale in Milan; as memorable as his Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia in Paris; or as affecting as his Marcello in La bohème in Munich. One of this amazing singer’s greatest virtues is his humility. At ease whether leading star or a supporting role, Olivieri never tries to steal the limelight. Thanks to his immense stage presence, he knows very well that he will stand out without any great effort. And this he did.
The amorous couple were portrayed by Paola Leoci as Fannì and Jack Swanson as Edoardo Milford. Leoci is an up‑and‑coming lyric soprano. Heard in smaller roles such as Eurice in Adelaide di Borgogna in Pesaro and in the trousers role of Walter in La Wally in Lucca, Leoci is endowed with a sweet high soprano, ideal for ingénues and soubrettes.
American tenor Jack Swanson was much more convincing as Edoardo Milford than he was as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia in last year’s edition of ROF, as the role’s tessitura is not as high and because the Teatro Rossini is a smaller venue than the Vitrifrigo Arena. Also, playing a timid ingénue suits him much more than nobleman Almaviva. Though Swanson’s timbre of voice is appealing, his voice itself is small, with a tight vibrato.
Fannì initially tried to get out of the marriage proposal, but when the Canadian remained insistent on “buying” his bride, both Fannì and Edoardo threaten him. When Slook surprises the two kissing, they explain their predicament due to Edoardo’s poor situation. The Canadian decides to make the penniless Edoardo his heir. When Mill is told that Slook no longer wants to marry his daughter, the spurned businessman demands a duel, but fortunately decides against it. He also accepts the marriage of Fannì and her now rich heir.
Gary McCann’s sets and period costumes were appealing. The coureur des bois and the Native American costumes were quite authentic. The bear was quite convincing though initially menacing, but once he started preparing the wedding cake became less so.
Christopher Franklin led the Filarmonica Gioacchino Rossini with panache, bringing out the joyfulness of the music. The score of La cambiale di matrimonio is quite modest but nonetheless holds a certain charm.
A. Nino, V. De Amicis, P. Nevi, G. Baveyan (© Amati Bacciardi)
As the opera is short, it was complemented (as the show opener) by the collection of songs called Soirées musicales, composed by Rossini after he stopped writing operas, for the purpose of entertaining at his own Parisian salon. These vocal pieces are exquisite gems that alternate between irony, elegance and charm. The delightful texts are by none other than poets Pietro Metastasio (1698‑1792) and Carlo Pepoli (1796‑1881), the latter being librettist of Bellini’s I Puritani.
The songs were brilliantly interpreted by young singers who are either students or recent graduates of the Pesaro Festival’s Accademia, a vocal training program. Italian Paolo Nevi is an emerging tenor who has taken on smaller roles at major theatres such as Benvolio in Roméo et Juliette at La Scala and Eacide in this edition of ROF’s production of Zelmira. The other three young singers, Italian soprano Vittoriana De Amicis, Colombian mezzo Andrea Nino, and Armenian baritone Gurgen Baveyan sang the roles of Elvira, Zulma and Haly in this edition’s production of L’Italiana in Algeri.
Given the delectability of this production, I’ll be sure to see Laurence Dale’s future stagings, especially that of my favourite opera, Tristan und Isolde, at Genova’s Teatro Carlo Felice this coming February.
Ossama el Naggar
|
