‘Viva Verdi’ 2,  Roberto Alagna sings Verdi: Roberto Alagna (tenor), London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra; Ion Marin (conductor). Barbican Hall, London 2.5.2008 (JPr)


The popular phrase ’It does exactly what it says on the tin’ applied to this thoroughly old-fashioned evening. Chunks were hacked out from operatic masterpieces,  ’bleeding’ rather less than if they were Wagner but still devoid of the context in which they occur in the operas - and so also devoid of any real dramatic sense and emotion. That this was an evening  I was glad to attend however,  meant that I realised what was in store beforehand,  and left my forensic critical sensibilities at the cloakroom along with my bag.

The musical programme was not designed to tell us anything about Verdi’s development as a composer as the items performed did not give even a passing nod to their chronology but was instead an increasingly self-indulgent vehicle for Roberto Alagna’s current vocal health. To his credit, this was not an easy evening for him and he did not stint himself. We are all aware of how he reacts to criticism and I reported on that in my review  of the cinema broadcast of his one and only performance of Aida at La Scala (a theatre in Milan and not Rome as someone behind me told his colleague at this concert.)  Alagna certainly would have left himself wide open to criticism had he not managed to succeed so splendidly. There was no flouncing off stage here never to return, for return he did often,  to more and more jubilant (sometimes  standing) ovations.

Alagna certainly did not display any great dramatic skill in this concert,  though he seemed to connect with the emotions of the chosen pieces with more animation than I saw in  the  filmed performance. He is however redolent with stock gestures such as hands clasped or left arm thrust out along with left foot firmly planted in front of right one,  and his head thrown back (also towards the left) at high notes. He seems most suited to angst and suffering so Macduff’’s ‘O figli … Ah, la paterna mano’ from Macbeth made a sombre and suitable opening,  though perhaps he overdid the sob at the end. Perhaps unsure of the reception he might get,  he made a low-key entrance, informally dressed in suit and tie, after an opening from the chorus (‘Patria oppressa’) which seemed a little undercooked and revealed a weakness in the women’s voices.

‘Very nice to be here’ he told us,  before launching into more despair as Alvaro in his scena and aria ‘La vita è inferno … Oh tu che in seno agli angeli’. It became clear that Ion Marin’s conducting would be expansive and indulge Alagna's tenor whenever possible.

It was also clear by now,  that Alagna’s voice is in fine shape; there were no gear changes from a well-supported sufficiently baritonal and smooth chest voice through to a ringing, if occasionally a touch dry, top. At last he was allowed a smile for Oronte’s cavatina ‘La mia letizia infondere’ about secret love from the 1843 Il Lombardi alla prima crociata. He then the sang ‘Celeste Aida’ that caused him all those problems in Milan. That he didn’t seem entirely at ease with this  was perhaps understandable , yet despite fleeting intonation problems it was a rousing conclusion to the concert’s first half.

Alagna began the second half with two examples of the more lyrical Verdi roles that first brought him success. He was a passionately devoted Alfredo for ‘Lunga da lei … De’ miei bollenti spiriti’ and a libidinous, smirking Duke for ‘Questa o quella’ from Rigoletto. He seemed to find the quieter more reflective Verdi of Rodolfo’s aria ‘Quando le sere al placido’ from Luisa Miller a little more challenging particularly when trying to sing softly.

Throughout the evening,  the orchestra and chorus had punctuated Alagna’s tenor bravura with their own contributions and had their own opportunities to show off. There was a measured account of the Overture from La forza del destino that no gala opera evening can be without. The chorus gave us an introspective ‘Va, pensiero’ to be perversely followed by the rousing Overture from the same Nabucco,  with some more Aida and an interval in between! More interestingly,  the orchestra  also played an arrangement of motifs from Un ballo in maschera, set  as a Quadrille by Johann Strauss II. It reminded me of the New Year’s Day Strauss gala; an orchestra on top form (the brass led by Katy Jones’s trombone had been resplendent throughout the concert) capable of playing the music regardless of the  energetic arm-waving of the conductor in front of them.

The official programme ended after a rollicking ‘Anvil Chorus’ and with ‘Niun mi tema!’ from Otello. To wolf-whistles,  Alagna removed his red-lined jacket which he clutched like the dying Desdemona during a poignant and movingly sung performance - without him ever seeming a truly natural Otello  - and he held onto the quiet G at the end of the phrase ‘Or morendo … nell’ombra’ for much too long.

This was never going to be enough for the enthusiastic audience and there were four encores. Indulging himself hugely he sang ‘Esultate!’ from Otello where a mishmash of chorus and orchestra rushed us to Alagna’s brief top note rich entry. More combined fireworks for Manrico’s ‘Di quella pira’ from Il trovatore during which memories of the late Franco Bonisolli flooded back. He was another tenor who was a show-off but unlike Alagna who is reasonably faithful to the score and  Bonisolli always gave us more high notes that the composer ever wrote. Alagna will sing this role next season at Covent Garden, if he is in good voice and the director can get a performance out of him this will be something not to miss.

Still,  the best was left for last with return to the libertine Duke for ‘La donne è mobile’ and a character he appears to relish : perhaps this is the real Alagna was another passing thought here.  Leaving Verdi far behind however,  he finally brought out true feeling from within himself through a tender unaccompanied love song dedicated to his wife, Angela Gheorghiu, who was sitting a few rows back in the audience. He explained that  the words said something like ‘You want to know when I will stop loving you … only when I die’. This time he  meant every one of them and it was clear for all to hear.

Jim Pritchard

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