Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901)
Joanna d'Arc - Opera in a prologue and three acts (1845)
Carlo VII, King of Spain - Nikolay Dorozhkin (tenor); Giacomo, a shepherd
- Marinz Godlewski (baritone); Giovanna D’Arco, his daughter - Anna
Lichorowicz (soprano); Delil, an officer of the King - Lukasz Gaj (tenor);
Talbot, commander of the English army - Marek Pasko (bass)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Wroclaw Opera/Ewa Michnik
rec. live, Wroclaw Opera, January 2011
DUX CD 0846-7 [63.16 + 41.09]
Giovanna D’Arco is Verdi’s seventh opera. It is based on Schiller's
play Die Jungfrau von Orleans, a fact denied by the librettist for
copyright reasons. It was premiered a mere four months after I Due Foscari
and six months before Alzira. These were the years that Verdi was later
to call his period in the galleys. Not only was he composing, but also presenting
revivals in various theatres throughout Italy. Whilst his first four operas
had been premiered at La Scala, his fifth was first seen in Venice and his
sixth in Rome. Both the latter had been successful, helped by librettos produced
by Piave who worked hand in glove with Verdi, the composer having an excellent
theatrical sense. Verdi had been reluctant to go back to La Scala with a new
work as far too often singers dictated what went on. This even involved them
inserting arias, other than by the composer of the work on stage, in order
to show off their strengths or to give greater weight to a part that they
considered not commensurate with their status. Although little is known of
the genesis of Giovanna D’Arco it seems that Verdi, perhaps under
pressure from Merelli, impresario at La Scala and his publisher Ricordi, agreed
to compose another opera for that theatre in 1845 to make up for the loss
of his services the previous year. This was despite the fact that the impresario
would have the choice of singers, subject and librettist, as was the standard
practice there.
During the composition, Verdi contracted to mount a revival of I Lombardi
for the opening of the carnival season. Problems began to gather. The orchestra
was too small, the scenery and costumes were inadequate whilst the singers
were inclined to take too many liberties. These were the same singers scheduled
to present Giovanna D’Arco. Despite a poor public response to
the tenor, the work was well received and soon the street barrel organs were
ringing to the prologue tune of Tu sei bella, the demons’ chorus
that haunts Joan. As well as the stage and singer problems, Verdi’s
relationship with Merelli became strained when the latter negotiated the sale
of the full score without the composer’s knowledge. It was the end of
a friendship. Verdi vowed never to set foot in the theatre or speak to Merelli
again. A man who carried grudges, Verdi carried out his threat until the revised
La Forza del Destino was premiered at La Scala in 1869. The hatchet
buried, La Scala premiered the four-act 1884 version of Don Carlo and
Verdi’s two final operatic masterpieces, Otello and Falstaff.
Giovanna D’Arco is scored for three primo singers, soprano, tenor
and baritone. It requires true Verdian voices, ones with a subtle combination
of legato, a wide range of vocal expression and also the heft to convey the
emotional freight. None of the three principal characters, Joan herself, Carlo
the King and her father Giacomo, are sketched, musically, in any great depth
or complexity. The trio of soloists have to work really hard to make the roles
anything other than ciphers. This may well contribute to the paucity of both
staged and recorded performances. The only studio recording is that from EMI
in 1972 with James Levine conducting the trio of Montserrat Caballé,
Placido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes. Levine’s conducting, particularly
of the overture and chorus scenes, is to my ears often harsh and metronomic.
With the Verdi bicentenary due in 2013 perhaps Wroclaw and its music director
saw an opportunity to raise the theatre’s profile with a staging and
associated recording. Certainly the conducting is one of the strengths of
this performance with Ewa Michnik on the rostrum having a nice feel for Verdian
line and melodrama. Given the paucity of recorded competition why cuts have
been made in the score defeats me. Around sixteen minutes have been excised
compared with the EMI issue. Granted some of the deleted music cannot be described
as vintage Verdi. It does, however, add to the melodrama particularly in respect
of the choral contributions, which are quite good here. Consequently, the
cuts result in some loss in terms of quality and vitality.
Levine benefits from a trio of some of the best Verdi singers of their generation,
all approaching the height of their powers. Ewa Michnik’s soloists are
not in the same league. Nikolay Dorozhkin, the tenor in this performance,
has some vocal grace but often sounds strained and tight, even raw (CD1. Trs.
3-6). As Joan, Anna Lichorowicz has plenty of vocal heft and some promising
tone at times though her legato is not an ideal. She also tends to interpolate
high notes and sound shrill. Her voice thins under pressure as in Qui!
Qui ..dove pui s’apre (CD 1.Trs. 17-18). There is the inevitable
father-daughter duet (CD 2.Trs. 8-11) which shows baritone Marinz Godlewski
at his expressive and tonal peak. He is by far the best of the trio of soloists
here (CD1. Trs. 7-9).
The recorded sound is good with a relaxing ambience. The booklet has a full
track-listing with cast. There is a brief introductory essay and synopsis
in Polish and English, albeit the translation has its idiosyncrasies. The
performance libretto is given in Italian only.
Robert J Farr
Idiomatic conducting, but mediocre soloists. This live performance only fills
the gap of a modern recording for enthusiasts.
see also review by Göran
Forsling