I attended L'elisir d'amore at the Royal Opera House on the 15 May.
For most of the time I was bored stupid. It took me a long time to work out why.
I liked the production. It was bright and lively, and colourful. I thought Diana Damrau was sensational. I have never heard her live before, and I don't think I have any DVDs of her in an opera. What really came over was how sexy she is. Facially she's not especially pretty not particularly striking, but she looked fabulous on stage. A great figure, really bubbly personality, a really physical performance, she seemed to me to be giving it all. And vocally. Oh, I like her! A few times, I thought - would I want Angela Gheorghiu or Anna Netrebko down there instead? ( I love them on the two DVDs I have). And the answer was, no. I wanted Diana Damrau there.
Simone Alaimo was vastly entertaining as Dulcamara; Anthony Micaels-Moore acted Belcore well, and often sang well, although often didn't.
I so wanted to like Giuseppe Filianoti. He was so endearing in the character and, again, really threw himself into the part. It was clear to me that he has a gorgeous voice, but it was also so very unreliable. I just kept giving him the benefit of the doubt, and I kept forgiving the flaws because of the beauty. I kept thinking, I would like him a lot more in a different style of music. I thought he often sounded ragged on top. And he seemed consistently to be just under the note, hooking into it from below.
But I had to stop giving him that benefit during Una furtiva lagrima, the big tenor solo. It wasn't bad for the most part, it was sincere and convincing, and often sweet. But when he cracked on a note, wobbled on others and strained and gasped on others, I thought, no, not up to the job. Sorry.
All of the above may lead you to think that it was an above average performance. Unfortunately, there was a major factor missing. It took me a while to work it out, and then it hit me. It was the orchestra.
Obviously, it wasn't missing as such but it was anonymous. I got this feeling that the conductor Bruno Campanella thought they were just there to accompany the singers. I got no sense of them being an integral part of the opera. No doubt they played all the right notes, and in the right order, but with little conviction.
I do like this opera, I have it on DVD twice and I find them both really enjoyable. When I reviewed them, I described the opera as 'gorgeous' and I raved about 'wonderful numbers' and 'gorgeous orchestra writing'.
Melody is at the forefront, but despite the apparent simplicity of the melodies, there is some complex and always pleasant, often delightful work in the orchestra.
But on that Friday night several weeks ago, I just didn't feel that. I thought it was a trivial waste of time, and even contemplated leaving at the interval, until I thought 'I'm not actually hating it, just a bit bored, and Una furtiva is yet to come'.
I wrote most of this post in draft when I got home, then decided it was too short, and then thought, maybe there's something wrong with me. I subsequently read several reviews which praised the orchestra and specifically the conducting, making me further question my judgement. I did then read a review which encapsulated my thoughts. Naturally this doesn't prove that I'm right, but suggests I'm not entirely barking.
I'm glad I saw Diana Damrau, but her aside it really was nothing special. It didn't do justice to Donizetti, and I was very disappointed in the tenor. I'd go and see it again, with the right cast, and the right conductor - although how am I to know whether the conductor's 'right'? And I would definitely go and see Diana Damrau again.
