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| Omer Arieli,Daniel Luis de Vincente,Yasmine Levi-Ellentuck (Elad Zagman) |
At the front of the stage, the bow of a
boat, a life buoy, some sacks and crates create a tasteful setting for Giacomo
Puccini's passionate late masterpiece "Il
Tabarro" (The Cloak). Taking place in the Henry Crown
Auditorium of the Jerusalem Theatre on November
19th 2022, this was the Jerusalem Opera's first performance for the 2022-2023
season. Conducting the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (its players seated
on stage) and a line-up of fine Israeli and overseas singers was Maestro Omer
Arieli, the Jerusalem Opera's musical director and house conductor. Stage
director was Daniel Lasry. Costumes, sets and props - Shira Wise.
Set on the banks of
the Seine, this one-act opera tells the story of barge owner Michele, who
suspects his young wife Giorgetta of being unfaithful. Packed with side plots
and characters bringing to life the sights and sounds of 1910, the opera
reaches its dramatic conclusion when Michele unexpectedly catches his wife’s
lover. Featuring in this dark tale of love, loss, adultery and murder were
US-born baritone Daniele Luis de Vicente as Michele, soprano Yasmine
Levi-Ellentuck in the role of Giorgetta and Ukraine-born tenor Vitaliy Kovalchuk
as Luigi, Giorgetta's lover. Well cast, each gave articulate and convincing
expression to the concentrated dramatics with outstanding vocal performances,
each artist so different in character, each endearing him/herself to the
audience. In addition to Michele's pivotal aria "Nulla…Silenzio!",
the audience was treated to opera performance endorsing some of Puccini’s most
stunning vocal writing. The other singers made for a colourful band, their
different human agendas, sometimes high-spirited (and drunken) actions,
striking a clever balance with the more intense and ill-fated main plot. No new
face to opera stages in Israel, mezzo-soprano Noa Hope, playing the sassy
Frugula, always delights with her lively stage presence and easeful
singing.
Maestro Arieli reads
well into the melodrama of Il Tabarro, highlighting the brilliance of one of
Puccini’s most modern and impressionistic scores. He and the Jerusalem Symphony
Orchestra gave precision and attention to the fine detail, shaping and beauty
of the instrumental score, sharing the plot and emotions with Intensive
orchestral involvement, drama, surprising contrasts, musical predictions,
comments and some surprises. Take, for example, the French waltz played by
a desperately out-of-tune street organ; Puccini scores this with clarinets and
"out-of-tune" flutes, playing not in octaves but in major sevenths.
The original idea for “Il Tabarro” had come to Puccini in Paris in 1912. He wrote: " I already have the idea for the veristic opera; the story will be based on a play by a not-so-well known French playwright called Didier Gold. It is a romance tragedy that takes place on a barge. I find life on the docks quite intriguing. The docks swarm with workers, boatmen and ordinary people. This gives a lot of opportunity for life-like scenes both on the boat and ashore." The darkest of Puccini’s works is centered around the idea of passing time, metaphorically embodied by the time of sunset, by the Autumn season and, above all, by the slow, inexorable flow of the river, around which the whole story develops.
And a life-like and
dynamic stage it was in the Henry Crown Auditorium! A fine opera performance,
swift-moving, rich in emotion and marvellous music, here was the great opera
composer at the very height of his powers, Puccini at his most verismo. The
audience drank in every nuance, emotion and event of this small gem. Kudos to
all involved.
Established in 2011,
the Jerusalem Opera’s goals are presenting opera productions of the highest
quality in Jerusalem and the promotion of Israeli artists.
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| Daniel Luis de Vicente,Yasmine Levi-Ellentuck (Elad Zagman) |
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| Lev Elgardt,Noa Hope (Elad Zagman |
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| Yasmine Levi-Ellentuck,Vitaliy Kovalchuk (Elad Zagman) |
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| Daniel Luis de Vicente (Elad Zagman) |
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