Post by tmesis on May 18, 2019 9:28:46 GMT
I was at the General Rehearsal of this yesterday.
Giordano's is a very good, dramatic and entertaining opera but it is no masterpiece. Although it has some challenging and exciting arias for the principals, musically it never quite takes off like it should - it really needs a Puccini to make those moments soar.
The production itself is very handsome. I almost felt I was back in the 70s when I first started going to ROH so straightforward and opulent was the production/design.
When it was new I saw Kaufman and Westbroek in the main parts and very good they were too. No such luck for this cast. Roberto Alagna was Chenier. Even in his prime I was not a great fan but he's now way past his best. The voice is now very coarse and he belts everything out with questionable pitching. Sondra Radvanovsky was better as Maddelena. She doesn't have a very attractive voice and her early scenes were a trial but she improved and her final aria was delivered well. Not for the first time in opera it was the baritone that stole the show - Dimitri Platanias was excellent as Gerard.
Giordano's is a very good, dramatic and entertaining opera but it is no masterpiece. Although it has some challenging and exciting arias for the principals, musically it never quite takes off like it should - it really needs a Puccini to make those moments soar.
The production itself is very handsome. I almost felt I was back in the 70s when I first started going to ROH so straightforward and opulent was the production/design.
When it was new I saw Kaufman and Westbroek in the main parts and very good they were too. No such luck for this cast. Roberto Alagna was Chenier. Even in his prime I was not a great fan but he's now way past his best. The voice is now very coarse and he belts everything out with questionable pitching. Sondra Radvanovsky was better as Maddelena. She doesn't have a very attractive voice and her early scenes were a trial but she improved and her final aria was delivered well. Not for the first time in opera it was the baritone that stole the show - Dimitri Platanias was excellent as Gerard.
