La Scala plays triumphant tribute to Italian opera

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 06/09/2007 7:16 AM  |  Life

Harry Nazarudin, Contributor, Jakarta

An Italian operatic performance? Honestly, I accepted with some doubts. I have attended many classical concerts and several operas, but I try to stay away from operas whose language I don't understand.

I can enjoy German and English operas, because I can speak those languages. This enables me to follow the story, which governs the music and dance of an opera. If I listened to The Magic Flute in Chinese, I would immediately lose track and fall asleep before the fat lady sang.

While the Italian language is highly suitable for singing because of its pronunciation, watching an opera without the ability to understand the plot can be dangerous.

Especially if it is an invitation-only performance at the grand Usmar Ismail Hall, held on May 30 under the auspices of the Italian Institute of Culture and sponsored by the Nusantara Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and the World Food Programme to mark Italian National Day.

So my question to Aida Swenson, executive director of the NSO, was on how I should prepare for this concert.

Her answer was firm. ""No preparation needed,"" she said, ""Just come and enjoy the music.""

And she was right, as nothing could have prepared me for the performance that night. All vocalists of the La Scala di Seta Ensemble are world-class performers, with technique beyond anything I have ever heard.

And not just the vocalists -- the Florilge d'Opera (Anthology of opera) concert program read like the track list from an album that could be called ""The Greatest Opera Compilation Vol. 1"": The Magic Flute, La Traviata, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) and Carmen, among others, featuring only the best pieces from each.

You didn't have to be an opera expert to have enjoyed the show -- almost every song sounds familiar, because they have been featured on movie soundtracks, TV commercials and radio broadcasts the world over.

The La Scala orchestra that accompanied the vocalists consisted of six players: Cesare Carretta on violin, Massimo Repellini (cello), Nicola Zuccal (clarinet), Alessandro Longhi (flute), and Michele Fagnani and Antonello Ghidoni, both on guitar.

The concert started a little behind schedule, but in a straightforward, Italian style: straight to the music, with no opening speech.

The orchestra might be small, but it is rich in variety and very well synchronized. Each instrument offers a different tone which, in the end, gave out a complete spectrum of melody and pitch.

It was interesting especially to see the two guitars, which are rarely featured in an orchestra. They were played in full classical style, almost upright, serving as melodious instruments. The orchestra played the ""Ouverture"" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia as the opening piece, with perfect intonation and synchronization. But the best was yet to come.

The Florilge d'Opera featured four vocalists: soprano Domenica Briganti, mezzo soprano Alessandra Palomba, tenor Maurizio Comencini and baritone Carlo Morini.

They are not only Italian by nationality, but their physical appearances also fit the imagined esthetics of Italian opera singers, including the penguin tuxedos. All of them have international reputations and very impressive resumes in vocal performances.

They performed 12 songs from eight great operas: The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, both by W.A. Mozart; Il Barbiere di Siviglia and La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) by G. Rossini; Rigoletto and La Traviata by G. Verdi, Carmen by G. Bizet, and Tosca by G. Puccini.

Each vocalist has their own strength.

Morini's performance when he sang ""Largo al Factotum"" from Il Barbiere di Siviglia was his best that night. It was the second song after ""Papageno e Papagena"" from The Magic Flute, which he performed almost sparingly well with Briganti. But performing the challenging melody of ""Largo al Factotum"" solo enabled Morini to explore his deeper talents and power.

Tenor Comencini shone like the morning star with ""La donne mobile"" from Rigoletto. This has been my favorite song for a long time, so hearing it performed live by someone of Comencini's caliber just took my breath away. His powerful voice, firm gestures, perfect intonation and, last but not least, high-pitch finale at the end of the song mesmerized the audience that night with a wonderful show of talent.

The divas deserved no lesser compliment.

Briganti's unforgettable performances of the evening was when she sang ""Caro nome"" from Rigoletto and ""Addio del passato"" from La Traviata. Both songs display a deep melancholy, expressed by a high-pitch melody that sweeps through the mind. Briganti has the ability to project this emotion, as well as to sing every note with precision and overwhelming soul.

Even when the melody rose higher and higher, she was able to exert superb volume and intonation control, hypnotizing the audience to stillness.

Briganti's ""Addio del passato"" nearly made me cry -- and I was wrong about Italian operas. Even without understanding the language, it was clear she was singing about a tragedy.

Mezzo soprano Palomba is just as enchanting, her evening's best being ""Habanera"" from Carmen.

This version was in French, but I was just as moved as if the song was in English. The dragging, tango-like melody of this song, along with Palomba's sweet gestures and emotive vocals, made me shake my shoulders left and right to dance along.

After all this, the only song separating me from a gondola in Venezia was ""O Sole Mio"".

The last song of the program was ""Bella figlia dell'amore"" from Rigoletto, performed by all four vocalists to as great a delivery as all previous songs.

As the formal program closed, a representative of the Italian cultural center and Bank Indonesia deputy governor Miranda Goeltom -- who is known for her dedication to music appreciation, education and development -- presented bouquets to all members of La Scala di Seta Ensemble. Throughout this time, the audience wouldn't stop applauding.

Following the bouquets, the ensemble prepared for an encore.

""This is a famous Italian song,"" said guitarist Ghidoni. And then the opening melody started... It was ""O Sole Mio""! I thought I'd died and gone to Venice.

The four vocalists took turns in singing this simple, but very Italian song. I felt like I was no longer in Jakarta, but wandering the canals of Venice, crossing the Piazza San Marco and under the Rialto bridge.

This true finale was met with a rousing standing ovation that lasted at least 10 minutes.

What a wonderful night, and the sponsors should be lauded for providing an Indonesian audience with internationally acclaimed musicians such as La Scala di Seta.

If there is one thing I might suggest, it would be that if tickets could be sold to the public at a reasonable price on the next opportunity.

Nevertheless, bravo for the Italians!

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