Oh dear, if it was down to Roberto Alagna, poor old Giuseppe would be dead and truly buried.
I can see the attraction of wanting to do an all-Verdi programme, but it wasn't wise.
Obviously, all the pieces performed were at least vaguely familiar and most of them extremely so.
I came away with an increased fondness for Verdi, knowing that he must be special to survive this onslaught.
I think I also came up with a new notch on the scale of awfulness. This was 'Exponentially better than that dreadful Icelandic last year'. I can see a future critique being 'Well, a lot better than Alagna but nothing special'.
I don't know what inspires a singer to come up with a programme which is beyond his capabilities. My verdict on the first half was 'no sense of pitch, no sense of rhythm'. One friend remarked that it's like as soon as he goes above the stave it's just random. And then another friend joined us, with the question "Isn't it usual for singer and orchestra to be in the same key?'
He was out of step rhythmically with the orchestra in 'Oh tu in seno agli angeli' and in Celeste Aida, he finished with an interpolated random high note which is neither in the score nor supported by tradition. It was just bad. People say he has no business singing Radames; arguably a singer can get away with an isolated aria from the wrong fach, not him.
I was slightly surprised that, having heard Va pensiero in the first half, the second half opened with the overture from Nabucco. I was struck by its similarity to Finlandia, and suddenly got a craving for Sibelius. Very strange in a Verdi concert!
Lunge da lei...De' miei bollenti spiriti (Traviata) and Questa o quella (Rigoletto) were just meugh. Not bad, but just very unspecial. When I consider the fine tenors I have heard sing these, in the past year alone, he simply doesn't cut it. Then a piece I hadn't previously heard, although it was familiar: Quadrille on motifs from 'Un ballo in maschera' arranged J Strauss II. I enjoyed that. Oh! fede negar potessi...Quando le sere al placido (Luisa Miller) was so-so, then a fun Anvil Chorus (Trovatore) made me sit up.
Up to this point, I had been willing to give Roberto the benefit of the doubt, reminding myself that it is easy to criticise someone standing there exposed on the concert platform; in a staged performance, because there are so many more stimuli I would be forgiving of a minor slip, or a less than ideal this or the other. I was perplexed that while I thought it was a second rate performance, the hall was full of people shouting and clapping and screaming as if they were at the performance of a lifetime.
He came out for Niun mi tema (Otello). Bizarrely, he removed his jacket in one of those 'let's get informal with the audience' moments. And he proceeded to hold his jacket throughout the murder of an amazing aria. In fairness, he did start in tune, and singing, but it just deteriorated. I suddenly remembered what my friend had said during the interval. If you can imagine Sacha Distel singing Otello, this would be partly it. The rest, well - I know it's not a very lyrical aria, but that doesn't mean it should be delivered in a talking growl. At the end someone shouted out "Bravo". I can only hope that they were actually bravoing Verdi, because the orchestral writing is tremendous, incredibly atmospheric and evocative. They can't possibly have been bravoing the singing, could they?
That was the "end" of the show, but there was more to come. The opening struck up and I got ever so excited: the opening scene of Otello. I had half-sensed it, because just before Niun mi tema I had noticed a wind machine in the percussion, and I had subconsciously thought about the opening, but didn't make that thought concrete. So, the orchestra and chorus started up. What they lacked in finesse and precision they more than compensated for in welly - it really is a wonderfully loud and raucous storm scene. And of course, then, our tenor comes in with "Esultate!"
Oh dear! I had already been ticked off in the interval for making comparisons with 'the Master' even though I hadn't said a word, and I firmly resolved to make no further comparisons with El Maestro, because, especially in Otello, they would be unflattering. But I have heard others than The Master singing it live and on recordings, so I have a good few with which to compare. Frankly, I would rather have heard a counter-tenor. It was a disgrace. Involuntarily I put my hands to my ears to block out the ugly sound of a tenor crashing and burning. And to my amazement most of the rest of the audience were beside themselves in sheer ecstasy.
Next we had Di quella pira (Trovatore), which was, if anything even worse. And was capped off by a random discordant high note (or rather several, such was the wobble) that brought the audience to its feet, screaming for more. By then I had had enough. I thought it might be over, save that the orchestra were rooted to the spot. I later discovered that I had missed 'La donna è mobile' (oh, my heart is breaking) and a cheesy dedication of a Sicilian song to his wife. As I wasn't there, I can only quote a friend of mine (who will remain anonymous unless they wish to claim credit!)
He turned to the audience and said something like "This is a Sicilian love song - I would like to dedicate it to my beautiful wife who I love so much. The words mean "How long will I love you for? = Until I die"Morticia was sitting in the stalls, ridiculously over-dressed in a vulgar bright red satin cape with a glittery silvery Chav handbag and glittery silver Chav shoes. Clearly dressed to get the maximum attention and shout "Look at me, I'm a diva". She was "holding court" on the way backstage afterwards, being followed by her niece and Bobby's daughter who both looked embarrassed to be seen with their stepmother.
I can't put my finger on the problem. Clearly he has a first-class voice and a confident stage manner. He knows the pieces well. So, what is the problem? He often lost time with the conductor ie the orchestra. He inserted ridiculously long held notes for the sheer macho show-off of it (such as 'morendo' in Niun me tena, and, apparently, in La donna, he held one note so long the conductor just went on without him). He didn't give any great impression of really understanding what he was singing. Yes, the words (although I found his Italian diction to be mediocre) but not actually the meaning, the sentiment. Almost total lack of legato, and something wrong with his breath control that sometimes made the volume uneven and at others demonstrated a wobble. And there was a lack of natural beauty. Obviously, he's a big star; I got the distinct impression that many people had travelled from far for this event. They seemed to enjoy themselves, which is great, but I can think of any number of tenors I would prefer to spend an evening with.
As a result of this evening I am resolved not to go to Trovatore at ROH next season. I detest the voice of the soprano singing Leonore (I'm sure she's a lovely person), and I couldn't risk that and a crash-and-burn Alagna.
Roberto is due also in the future to sing the following in London: Carmen, Boheme and L'elisir d'amore. Boheme I will happily miss, Carmen and L'elisir will depend upon the rest of the cast.
