Bellini's opera, first performed in Milan in 1831, was based on a Parisian
ballet about a sleepwalker. Sleepwalking on stage was a fashion in the 1820s. La
Sonnambula is at the Théātre des Champs Elysées on certain dates in June.
Despite its name, the theatre is not on Paris's famous avenue, but a ten minute
walk away, towards the river. It is a theatre full of cosy atmosphere and pink
carpets, with decorative motifs from the 1920s when it was built.
The title role is sung by Pretty
Yende. Her rich generous voice is perfect for this bel canto work. From being joyful and giggly in the early scenes, where
her marriage to a local farmer Elvino is announced, right through to the climatic aria
« Ah ! Non credea mirarti… » when she compares her fiançé's love
to a withered flower, lasting only one day, Pretty Yende sparkles.
Stage director Rolando Villazòn, himself a well-known tenor, has decided to give an unusual (feminist ?) twist to the traditional happy ending. He was met by boos from some members of the audience on the first night. Indeed Villazòn came prepared, with a red nose in his pocket, which he popped on during the curtain calls! The Parisians were a bit harsh perhaps, as he was only trying to innovate and have a little joke ( Amina decides to go off with her mother and leaves Elvino to marry her jealous rival Lisa, played convincingly by Sandra Hamaoui. ) After all, the priggish farmer and the scheming inn keeper do deserve each other.
Italian tenor Francesco Demuro plays farmer Elvino. He attacks Bellini's high notes vigourously, is powerful in the lower scale and plays his role of disappointed fiançé to a tee. Demuro made his US. début with the Seattle Opéra as La Traviata's Alfredo in 2009.
Two other innovations by Villazòn might be criticised :
the three flimsily dressed young women continually floating around- a little
overdone?- his intention being perhaps to introduce a sense of poetry and mystery…
the second, to the reviewer's mind, is unpardonable : one of the ‘floaty’
ladies replaces the crucial sleepwalking sequence normally performed by Amina, so proving to all the village that she
was not unfaithful but simply asleep when she ended up in the wrong man's
room ! Surely this is the dramatic turning point of the opera and has to
be performed by Amina herself?
 |
| Villazòn with red nose |
The minimalist set, in a pale blue colour with numerous doors, focuses our attention on the singers,
while the snowy mountainscape above with its cliffs of ice is a magnificent
setting and it would have been just perfect to see Amina precariously walking
along the top.
The costumes, exquisitely designed by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, are rather drab, giving the feeling of some quaker or Amish community, but they set the scene in a small time 19th century community. So the stage becomes a kind of ‘huis clos' where passions are confined and the spite of
the uniform-looking villagers is concentrated against Amina.
Bellini's score accompanies the text with great sensitivity. The soft
pizzicato violins underline the delicate passages, while French horns add to the
jollity at the planned wedding or the drama of Amina's ‘broken' oath. The Radio France choir and Paris Chamber Orchestra (40
strong approx.), under the direction of maestro Riccardo Frizza, are excellent.
This production is to be recommended. It was specially
appreciated by a ‘first night out after lockdown' crowd, all thoroughly tested
and checked, and the choir's singing was not hampered by the masks. Even if the
theatre bar was closed and the audience had to scurry home before curfew, a
wonderful night was had by all. Except perhaps for traditionalists who didn't like the shock ending. As they say in French : ‘ Vive l'opéra !
Vive la mariée ! , even if it's the wrong one!
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