Nabucco Review - Arena di Verona
To be honest, I was quite confused about the production by Stefano Poda for most of the opera. I did not feel like it added anything to the story, in fact, I found it pretty confusing to follow, though it did have some beautiful visuals. I generally try very hard to see a director's vision and I couldn't really tell what Poda was trying to do with this. The production opened during the sinfonia with people coming onstage and constructing a rocket ship before carrying it away and it never being seen again. There were two rotating kidney-shaped structures that included lights at the back of the stage. Throughout the production they would move back and forth toward and away from each other, though this did not seem to be connected to anything specific in the text. I was wondering when the two kidneys would meet to create a sphere, and indeed they did at the very end of the opera. The fighting in the opera was fencing, and the idol of Baal was what looked like a big gem that said "VANITAS" across it (meaning "vanity" in Latin). When Nabucco declares himself a God in Act II, a large firework emitted from the stage, which was also pretty cool. I would say the most breathtaking technical moment, however, was when the costumes of the entire ensemble lit up and started glowing. There was an audible gasp from the audience, as well as murmurs of applause. I thought this moment should be saved for the famous chorus "Va, pensiero", but alas, it was still a striking visual.
Though the production was technically interesting and pushed the capabilities of the Arena, it was plagued by technical problems. First and foremost, the entire action of the opera takes place on a translucent and hollow raked stage. When the stage lit up, it was beautiful and added to the drama of the piece, but there seemed to be one section of the stage that was disconnected from the lighting grid or something. This one square had lights emitting almost the entire opera and was not even fixed at intermission. The projections on the staircase leading to the top of the arena on the back of the stage also had some glitches. The other major technical flaw in Poda's production was the sound the stage made. There was a lot of running and jumping in the choreography, and as you can imagine, hundreds of people running on a hollow acrylic stage is not quiet. At times, it even drowned out the music. I found this highly distracting and something that Poda probably should've anticipated when conceptualizing this project.
Maestro Michele Spotti conducted the piece with grace and ease, and the orchestra and chorus sounded top-notch. Of course, when performing "Va, pensiero" for an Italian audience, the chorus really has no choice but to be absolutely perfect.
Amartuvshin Enkhbat was the real highlight of the evening. He was the most audible voice from where I was sitting (a good 200 feet away from the stage, if not more). Nabucco is not an easy role—it requires beauty of tone, stamina, and a wide range of colors and emotions—and he sang with a power that I have never heard live. I am looking forward to hearing more of him in the future - hopefully I will be able to catch his Scarpia at the Met next season.
Maria José Siri was a bit disappointing. Of course, Abigaille is essentially an impossible role to sing well for anyone who was not Giuseppina Strepponi. Verdi (her husband at the time) wrote the role for her voice only, and it has been next to impossible for anyone to recreate since. However, there have been people who have done real justice to the role (Callas, Dimitrova, and Saioa Hernández). Siri was difficult to hear and had a noticeably slow and wide vibrato cycle, as well as the fact that her coloratura was lacking, but her pianissimi and ability to hit the high notes work to her advantage. I enjoyed the few times she dipped into her chest voice. Compared to the recording from the Met Opera on Demand with Maria Guleghina (who seemed to be struggling with the many high Cs present in the piece), Siri was able to hit the high notes with relative ease.
Simon Lim as Zaccaria was impressive but hard to hear from 200+ feet away—the Arena is not a very friendly acoustic though, and he was fully capable of singing the role. I will be seeing him as Ramfis later in the season (a role and opera I am more familiar with), so I will come back with more thoughts.
Annalisa Stroppa was not good as Fenena. She suffered from a lack of connection to her chest voice, making her lower range almost completely inaudible. She also had a distinct wobble. Luckily she was not onstage for much of the opera.
Another highlight of the evening was the young Mexican-American tenor Galeano Salas as Ismaele. He made a meal out of a less-than-thankless role, had an impeccable technique, and was completely audible, even from the back of the arena. His is a voice I will definitely be seeking out in the future, and I would love to hear him sing roles along the lines of Il Duca di Mantova and Alfredo Germont.
All in all, despite the disappointment with the soprano and mezzo and the production's technical flaws, it was a satisfying first night at the Arena di Verona, and I look forward to returning for a couple more operas this summer!