I Vespri Siciliani/Les Vepres Siciliennes is not one of Verdi's best, not his worst but the weakest of the middle-period operas. It does have some great music that is unmistakably Verdi, but it is overlong and the story isn't enough to sustain the length. There are five productions on DVD that I know of of the opera, I have seen all but one(a later Leo Nucci production that I knew nothing about until a couple of days ago). The best of them is the La Scala production with Studer, Merritt, Zancanaro and Furlanetto. The 1986 production with Dunn and Nucci is very good, and while lacking visually the 2003 Amarilli Nizza performance has a lot of good points, the Procida in particular is a real find.
This production does have some interest value, as it is the only one of the DVD productions available that is in French. While I am more familiar with the Italian version in regard to I Vespri Siciliani(likewise with Don Carlo) admittedly the French version suits the music more. But of the four productions of I Vespri Siciliani I've seen it is the weakest as well. Not terrible entirely(then again I can have a tendency to be on the generous side with my comments and ratings), but in all honesty I really didn't know what to make of it. There is enough to redeem it though. The chorus are rousing with animated presence and vibrant singing, the orchestral playing is stylish with lots of power and beautiful tone and the conducting is assured with good tempos and an ability to be accommodating to the singers.
As for the performances of the lead roles, three of the principal singers are good. The best for me was Burkhard Fritz's lyrical and very supple Henri, the role is a killer but Fritz doesn't make that apparent. Barbara Havemann is an excellent actress, is very musical and attractive and apart from some fatigue in her Bolero Merce Dilette Amiche sings with a gleaming beauty. Balintz Szabo's Procida, even with occasional trouble sustaining the longer legato lines, is grave and dignified with an authoritative voice. Two bits of staging do work, the video projections are sublimely poignant and Procida's introduction aria even in a non-traditional setting is very compelling stuff. The technical values of the DVD are also first rate.
Conversely I didn't care for the Montfort of Alejandro Marco-Buhrmester, his stage presence is nowhere near powerful enough and his voice for my tastes is colourless and lacking in depth and it gets even more problematic as the long evening progresses. The production values are very sparse and hollow, with very little indication of the time and period, everything is harshly lit and the costumes are similarly unappealing. But it was Christof Loy's staging that was the biggest problem, the way the production is directed is Loy all over it, and I am really not sure whether that is a good thing. Excepting the two exceptions mentioned above, the staging is taken to the extremes and hardly ever gels. I just couldn't stop cringing with the mother stroking herself and the women with the glass touches, and the ending is more at home in Un Ballo in Maschera and jarring with the libretto.
Just for the record, I don't mind non-traditional settings and staging, I do when it's distasteful, uninteresting or don't add anything for the opera, and for me Loy's ideas here and in general fall into that category. The ballet is very lengthy(around the 30 minute mark I think) and all for the efforts of the orchestra and conductor as well as the dancers the choreography was dull and lacking in any kind of musicality or subtlety. Overall, a very difficult production to rate. Has its interest points but I don't there is really enough to recommend it. 5/10 Bethany Cox
This production does have some interest value, as it is the only one of the DVD productions available that is in French. While I am more familiar with the Italian version in regard to I Vespri Siciliani(likewise with Don Carlo) admittedly the French version suits the music more. But of the four productions of I Vespri Siciliani I've seen it is the weakest as well. Not terrible entirely(then again I can have a tendency to be on the generous side with my comments and ratings), but in all honesty I really didn't know what to make of it. There is enough to redeem it though. The chorus are rousing with animated presence and vibrant singing, the orchestral playing is stylish with lots of power and beautiful tone and the conducting is assured with good tempos and an ability to be accommodating to the singers.
As for the performances of the lead roles, three of the principal singers are good. The best for me was Burkhard Fritz's lyrical and very supple Henri, the role is a killer but Fritz doesn't make that apparent. Barbara Havemann is an excellent actress, is very musical and attractive and apart from some fatigue in her Bolero Merce Dilette Amiche sings with a gleaming beauty. Balintz Szabo's Procida, even with occasional trouble sustaining the longer legato lines, is grave and dignified with an authoritative voice. Two bits of staging do work, the video projections are sublimely poignant and Procida's introduction aria even in a non-traditional setting is very compelling stuff. The technical values of the DVD are also first rate.
Conversely I didn't care for the Montfort of Alejandro Marco-Buhrmester, his stage presence is nowhere near powerful enough and his voice for my tastes is colourless and lacking in depth and it gets even more problematic as the long evening progresses. The production values are very sparse and hollow, with very little indication of the time and period, everything is harshly lit and the costumes are similarly unappealing. But it was Christof Loy's staging that was the biggest problem, the way the production is directed is Loy all over it, and I am really not sure whether that is a good thing. Excepting the two exceptions mentioned above, the staging is taken to the extremes and hardly ever gels. I just couldn't stop cringing with the mother stroking herself and the women with the glass touches, and the ending is more at home in Un Ballo in Maschera and jarring with the libretto.
Just for the record, I don't mind non-traditional settings and staging, I do when it's distasteful, uninteresting or don't add anything for the opera, and for me Loy's ideas here and in general fall into that category. The ballet is very lengthy(around the 30 minute mark I think) and all for the efforts of the orchestra and conductor as well as the dancers the choreography was dull and lacking in any kind of musicality or subtlety. Overall, a very difficult production to rate. Has its interest points but I don't there is really enough to recommend it. 5/10 Bethany Cox
