Supported by the Chelsea Opera Group Trust.  Registered Charity Number 247438

Newsletter

Spring 2012

St Petersburg version of Verdi’s La forza del destino on Sunday 25th March 2012 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at 6pm

The Chelsea Opera Group’s exploration of early versions of Verdi’s operas has always been worthwhile, not only for the insights into Verdi’s unending experimentation and innovation but also for the sheer enjoyment for performers and audiences alike.

A quick search on the internet will reveal that the St Petersburg version of La forza del destino is not as much of a rarity as you might think. You can find reviews of performances and also extracts on YouTube. There is even an “MP3 Song” on Amazon of the scintillating 1862 prelude (later replaced by the overture we know and love) recorded under the baton of Riccardo Chailly.

The differences between the 1862 St Petersburg version and the better known 1869 Milan version, apart from the overture, relate mainly to the last two acts. The modifications were described by Nicola Lischi, reviewing and comparing alternating performances of each of the two versions by the Sarasota Opera, as “major and drastic”. In Act 3, after the encampment scene, Melitone’s sermon and the splendid Rataplan chorus (I had to learn it off by heart when COG did the 1869 Milan version in 1986) there is a “quarrel” duet between Alvaro and Carlo, which Verdi shortened a little in 1869. Included in the version we shall perform, which was later cut, is a splendid scena and aria written for the exceptional tenor, Enrico Tamberlick, which is notable for its “high tessitura and neurotic tension”. Obviously, Verdi was fearful of finding another tenor equal to the task.
The most significant changes are to the conclusion of the opera. Verdi’s editor, Ricordi, was worried by the reaction of the early audiences. They found the original ending disconcerting and even horrifying, in which Alvaro fatally wounds Carlo on stage, asks the hermit for assistance and engages in a joyous duet with Leonora, once he has recognised her. The dying Carlo, seeing this, concludes that they must have been together all along, calls his sister over to him and stabs her. She dies without the redemption trio of the later version. Alvaro, now in delirium, declares that he is a messenger of Hell, and cursing the human race, throws himself off a cliff. The closing music is chilling, bringing none of the peace of the later version.

The reviewer of the consecutive Sarasota performances of the two versions wrote that “the 1862 Forza is a far more theatrically effective and coherent opera than its later counterpart. Not only does Alvaro’s death adhere to Rivas’ original play, but it also justifies more fully its title. Destiny mercilessly claims all three protagonists, and none of them can escape it. Destiny fatally binds them together, and together they all must die.”  We are clearly in for a thrilling evening under the baton of Robin Newton with Gweneth-Ann Jeffers as Leonora, Peter Auty as Alvaro and Donald Maxwell as Melitone.  We are also pleased to welcome the Imperial Male Voice Choir who have kindly agreed to join us for the substantial men-only choruses that the work requires.

Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict – Saturday 26th November 2011 at the Cadogan Hall

“All in all a magical evening” and a “terrific performance” were some of the conclusions of our reviewers after our Berlioz evening in November. Jonathan Burton opened his description with “COG orchestra on sparkling form, conductor Nicholas Collon fantastic – precise, clear and engaged (grinning widely throughout the Overture). Robert Hugill wrote “Nicholas Collon drew fine playing from the orchestra, in fact I think this was one of their best performances.” He also praised the chorus for being “participants in the drama, not only singing but entering into the dialogue with enthusiasm and commitment”.

Duncan Orr, our talented casting director (and violinist) delivered a very fine array of singers. Jonathan Burton described the female soloists as “wonderful”, and of Liora Grodnikaite, he wrote, “she sang Beatrice (without a score) with wit, fire and musicality, her looks and gestures conveying a huge range of emotions including amusement, uncertainty and confusion”. Robert Hugill found “Ana Maria Labin an attractive Hero, delivering her aria Je vais le voir with passion and with a richer, more vibrant voice than I am used to in this role”. He also liked Emma Carrington’s Ursule. “Carrington is possessed of an extremely striking contralto voice and I would love to have heard more of her”. “Labin and Carrington’s voices combined superbly” in the duet at the end of Act 1 “and conductor Nicholas Collon coaxed some hushed magical playing out of the orchestra.”

There was praise too for the male trio of Ben Johnson (Benedict), Simon Lobelson (Claudio) and Adrian Clarke (Don Pedro), described by Robert Hugill as “robustly enjoyable”. “Johnson has a lovely lyric voice ... he negotiated Berlioz’s lines beautifully...”.

The spoken text was delivered with great spirit by Donald Maxwell who also sang Somarone and two excellent actors from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Helen Ramsorrun and Sion Davies who gave “sterling performances”. Jonathan Burton observed that “there was plenty of chemistry and flying sparks” between them. Robert Hugill found Sion Davies to be suitably “schizophrenic in his abilities to deliver two different characters simultaneously. Ramsorrun was nicely tart as Beatrice, so much so that I felt it would be interesting to see her in the full role in Shakespeare’s play.” “Maxwell as Somarone ... brought off delightfully the rather embarrassing rehearsal scene, where Berlioz pokes fun at musical performances of his own day ... using a degree of improvisation ... as well as giving us a fun rendition of the drinking song at the opening of Act 2”.

Donizetti’s Maria Padilla on Sunday 27th May 2012 - Queen Elizabeth Hall

Nelly Miricioiu brought this masterpiece to life on stage last year in Warsaw and we have jumped at the opportunity to bring it to our London audience in concert, with Nelly in the title role. Brad Cohen will conduct.

Our 2012-13 Season

Please make a note of the dates of the performances in our next season, all of which will take place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall:

25th November 2012 - Massenet’s Don Quichotte, with Robert Lloyd in the title role

17th March 2013 – Wagner’s first opera Die Feen (in a centenary year)

2nd June 2013 – Verdi’s Alzira (also a centenary year) under the baton of GianlucaMarcianò with Majella Cullagh in the title role

Cognoscenti –The Recorded Archive on 13th February 2012

Our supporters’ group, Cognoscenti, is holding a historic evening in every sense of the word to spot the amazing talent whose careers were launched by COG in an exploration of our recorded archive! The famous names will include Colin Davis (of course), Alberto Remedios, Josephine Veasey, John Tomlinson, Robert Lloyd, Kiri Te Kanawa and John Eliot Gardiner (singing, not conducting). Brian Godfrey will conduct us on quite a journey! If you would like to join, please contact Vanessa Dennison on 07789 935357 or by email, cognoscenti@chelseaoperagroup.org.uk. You can also discover more about Cognoscenti on this website.

Salisbury

The COG orchestra will perform three rarities on 31st March 2012, Polonia and Light of Life by Elgar and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater with the Salisbury Music Society in the magnificent cathedral setting.

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Fiona Woolf
Chairman

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