2023-04-23 16:08:28
A hint of extra confidence and mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo would achieve perfection! The artist born in 1994 has indeed no reason to doubt her talent as a certain restraint sometimes suggests. As soon as it “releases”, the sumptuousness of the timbre, brilliant but unctuous, opulent but clear, is striking, just like the length of the breath and that of the tessitura. As for the formidable vocalizations of which Handel offers an abundant bouquet to the character of Ariodante, she triumphs over them in an impressive way, like some of her great predecessors, such as Anne Sofie von Otter or Joyce DiDonato – to mention only the most recent. Without forgetting a slender, slender physique, more than credible in this disguised role as baroque opera is lavish.
A staging… to be discovered later
Of course, the strike some staff members “, in the words of Alexander Neef, the boss of the Paris Opera, before the curtain rose, hardly allowed to admire the palette of his playing, the premiere ofAriodante being reduced to a concert version, without staging. This one, signed Robert Carsen, places the action at Balmoral Castle, the Scottish residence of the British royal family… but we will not know more… The cross will come back to the “full” show, during its live broadcast on the new platform of the Paris Opera (1).
Love, conspiracy and relief
Based on the love shared between Ginevra, daughter of the King of Scotland, and the valiant Ariodante, the plot is inspired by an episode of furious roland from Ariosto who throws the lovers into the nets of the (very) wicked Polinesso, Duke of Albany: greedy for the princess’s favors as much as for power, the perfidious man manipulates Dalinda, Ginevra’s servant, deceives Ariodante’s trust in his bride and drives all the characters to despair. A happy ending will happily bring happiness and serenity back to the Scottish court.
Suffice to say that each and everyone crosses highly contrasting psychological landscapes which Handel makes his honey over inspired tunes. And if Ariodante sees himself endowed with the most extraordinary, in exuberant valor as in lamentation, his companions are also very well provided. The soprano Olga Kulchynska thus bends her luminous soprano to the moods of a Ginevra pleading in vain for her innocence with her father and her fiancé. The countertenor Christophe Dumaux plays the sharp metal of his voice, his extreme familiarity with the Baroque repertoire and his formidable musical and dramatic slaughter. It takes the loving blindness of Dalinda, embodied with ardor by Tamara Banjesevic, a bit shrill in the treble, not to grasp her perfect perversity.
Stylish and poetic, baritone Matthew Brook and tenor Eric Ferring complete this sovereign vocal team that evolves in front of a huge wall closing off the stage. The expression of the faces and the stylized movements partially compensate for the absent staging. The music radiating from the artists’ bodies is a fascinating spectacle in itself.
The Garden of Sorrows
In the pit, Harry Bicket shapes the instrumental sounds of the English Concert, invited for the first time to the Paris Opera. Woody, airy, suddenly much more intense, even vindictive, they coat the air or emancipate themselves during interludes reserved for dance. The excellence of the musicians never falters during the three acts and we particularly salute the delectable bassoons of Lisa Goldberg and Niels Collins. Responding – to soothe it or revive it? – to the pain of Ariodante in the air Treacherous joke (« Rejoice, faithless ) – one of the highlights of the work – they open the doors to a sublime garden. Sadness flourishes there even more beautifully than happiness.
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