Dec. 2, 2002
Rossini tragedy gets
Opera in Concert treatment
GEOFF CHAPMAN
MUSIC CRITIC
Rossini was an expert composer of comic operas such as The Barber Of Seville and The Italian Girl From Algiers but how
many know him as a master of opera seria?
It would be difficult to find much to laugh about in Semiramide, based on a Voltaire tragedy that
features a wicked queen of Babylon who murdered her husband Nino with the help
of Assur, a former lover – and has taken a real shine to the fruit of their
union, Arsace.
He of course is in love with a princess, and so are Indian prince
Idreno and Assur, who will do anything to be crowned king.
With a plot this labyrinthine, and with its Oedipal aspects ripe
for exploitation, it needs music that clearly spells out the intricate twists and
turns. Rossini, with his great ear for detail, character and colour, found a
brilliant way through the wordy thickets with a bountiful banquet of bel canto.
Opera In Concert found interesting ways, too, to portray this epic
at Jane Mallett Theatre yesterday despite not having the requisite orchestra,
costumes and sets. Yet with Sandra Horst on piano, a 34-member chorus expertly
marshalled by Robert Cooper and strong soloists this lengthy (almost three
hours) exposition was worthwhile.
(It's not often done. There was a Vancouver production, but buzz
about any previous mounting of it in these parts was conspicuously absent
yesterday.)
Without full-scale trappings, it is always difficult to make
concert staging meaningful. There's not much that can be done by singers beyond
a stare or a glare, or perhaps a touch of the hand, and there were no surtitles
to enlighten yesterday's almost-full house.
When Semiramide dies from a blow from her son at opera's end, that
is signified by the singer (Jane Archibald) turning her back to the watchers,
and the only real action occurs when the ghost of the murdered king (Robert
Gleadow) bellows oaths from an upstairs balcony box.
Thus an enormous burden is placed on the soloists, since the
chorus in this opera plays a quasi-militant role with much emotional
commentary. Although they were in generally fine voice, on occasion lines
tended to come out in clipped, staccato form, almost as if the words themselves
had been cut short.
For the soloists, however, it was a field day, with handsome vocal
numbers following one after another in quick succession through two acts. Yet
curiously, the best writing seemed to be when the music was scored for duets
and trios, with even the rare opportunities for four and five singers producing
deluxe effects.
The ladies came off best, though one was in the "trouser
role" of Arsace – mezzo-soprano Lynne McMurtry, formidable at full
decibels and offering serious emotional weight, particularly in higher
registers. Lower down, there was less clarity.
In the title role Archibald gets full marks for diction,
attractive coloratura work in the work's towering crescendos and an unforced
sound right at the top, but there was rather less interpretive character in it
than one would have liked. Nonetheless, her passions were front and centre and
it is clear she has the ability to become a tragedienne of rare eloquence.
The high tenor of Eric Shaw as Idreno registered well with its
warmth and controlled vibrato, the bass of Charles Baxter's Assur was robust
and burnished though a tad unsteady and the ringing bass-baritone of Giles
Tomkins as the High Priest was most secure.