Attila is Verdi’s ninth opera. Premiered
in 1846, it was well into what he called
his ‘galley years’ period following
the success of his third opera, Nabucco
in 1841. During this time he was
constantly on the move from his base
in Milan to bring his latest opera to
the stage and to supervise revivals.
This pace of life took its toll on his
frail psyche and bodily well-being.
In 1845 he wrote ‘My mind is always
black ... I must look forward to the
passing of the next three years. I must
write six operas’. One of those six
was Attila. It was the first
of three written under a contract with
the publisher Lucca who retained all
rights. It was the first time Verdi
had written for a publisher not a theatre.
Some years later Lucca sold the autograph
of Attila to a wealthy Englishman
living in Florence. It is now held in
the British Museum and is the only Verdi
autograph not held by the Italian publisher
Ricordi or the Bibliothèque Nationale
in Paris.
In Verdi’s compositional
sequence Attila follows on from
the failure of Alzira whose limitations
the composer himself recognised. With
their rousing choruses and oppressed
people, Verdi’s operas became associated
with the Risorgimento, the battle for
the unification of the separate states
of the peninsula, many of which were
under foreign occupation. Certainly,
when the Roman General Ezio calls on
the conquering Attila, King of the Huns,
‘You may have the universe but leave
Italy to me’ the line roused the contemporary
population against the occupying Hapsburgs.
Verdi was certainly inspired by the
story, and although there are significant
choral contributions, the librettists
followed Verdi’s instructions to concentrate
on the principles.
The role of the somewhat
magnanimous victor, Attila, requires
a full and refulgent basso cantante
voice. In the well-conducted and
recorded rival CD versions, on Philips
and EMI, Ruggero Raimondi and Samuel
Ramey sing the role. In this Bulgarian
performance the native-born bass Nicola
Ghiuselev takes it. Whilst never reaching
the heights of his recorded rivals,
or that which his compatriot Nicolai
Ghiaurov might have attained, he is
a singer who can do justice to the dramatic
demands of the role. His singing is
strong voiced, well characterised with
good diction and a feel for a Verdian
phrase. These attributes are heard to
good effect in Attila’s duet with Ezio
who utters the fateful phrase ‘Resti
l’Italia a me’ (CD 1 trs.9-10). It is
a thrilling duet in typical middle-period
Verdian style with some rum-ti-tum music
that belies the sentiments expressed.
The Ezio of Lybomir Videnov is also
strongly characterised. He sings with
firm tone but lacks any great variety
of tonal colours or elegance of phrase
(CD 2 trs. 1-4). Whatever those limitations
his singing is far preferable to the
strained efforts of the tenor Boiko
Zvetanov as Foresto (CD 1 trs 11-17),
a role memorably sung with consummate
Verdian style by Bergonzi on the Philips
issue. The role of Odabella, whose father
Attila has killed and who stabs him
in revenge at the conclusion of the
finale (CD 2 tr. 18), needs a strong
voiced soprano with flexibility and
heft as well as a wide tonal palette.
Cristina Deutekom for Gardelli (Philips)
lacks the ideal tonal variety and dramatic
vibrancy, skills that Cheryl Studer
(EMI) has in abundance in her outstanding
portrayal. In this performance Marie
Krikorian has vibrancy and tonal colour
but lacks steadiness of vocal emission
to the point of detracting from her
interpretation and destroying any enjoyment
in listening (CD 1 trs. 18-19).
The conductor Vladimir
Ghiaurov, tends to whip up the orchestral
and choral dynamics at any opportunity.
Regrettably he does so without any apparent
feel for Verdian cantilena or phrasing.
Initially exhilarating the effect soon
becomes tiring. Verdi’s music in Attila
does not need or benefit of this
treatment to give impetus or weight
to the drama. The music of Attila,
like its immediate successor Macbeth,
speaks for itself if the interpreters
let it. The singing and conducting found
on this issue might pass muster for
one night in the theatre, but do not
meet the requirements for enjoyable
repeated listening at home with no staging
to distract from its failings. This
is particularly so given the small price
advantage over the better recorded and
sung Philips recording which has been
recently reissued with full libretto
and English translation AmazonUK.
This issue has an excellent track-related
synopsis in four languages which benefits
from having the opening lines bolded;
an excellent idea. The discs are also
generously tracked.
Robert J Farr
Sofia National Opera Chorus 
