These live recordings of four grand operas were staged at the first century Roman quarry at St Margarethen in Austria, which has the largest natural stage in Europe, more than 8000 square yards. These sumptuous productions were obviously created to attract cultural tourism. The Verona arena notwithstanding, not all big operas naturally accommodate themselves to such a rugged open-air ancient historical site.
Carmen has several crowd scenes that fill the stage and come to life, with real horses, bikes, and trikes (but no bulls). Nadia Krasteva (Carmen) is suitably seductive and has a chilling feline side. Aleksandrs Antonenko (Don José) kooks ardent and can turn on a good hang dog look, but fails to break your heart and convincingly to pour himself out in the marvellous music Bizet has given him. Sebastian Holecek is a masterly Escamillo.
Aida makes the best of its crowd scenes and boasts real elephants. (Sir Thomas Beecham was once conducting a production featuring live elephants which defecated on stage, causing the maestro to exclaim: “What manners! But what critics!”) Eszter Sumegi (Aida), Kostadin Andrev (Rademes), Comelia Helfricht (Amneris) can deliver, but Pier Dalas (Ramfis) steals the show. The elaborate ballet, curiously, portrays the seduction of Julian Clary by Miss World. (But I could be wrong). I’ve seen and heard grander grand marches, too.
La Traviata hardly lends itself to the spectacular, so they actually built the Paris Opera here to stage it in. While lovers Kristiane Kaiser and Borras are quite touching, only Georg Tichy as Germont senior realizes the rich pathos Verdi has given him.
In later life, Verdi said his career began with Nabucco, which premiered in 1842. It was the composer’s first great melodrama and became an instant hit. It has a rattling plot, lifted from a French drama by Verdi’s librettist, and is cleverly coloured with biblical names. It has effective references and locations. Sure enough, it has solos and duets with rum-ti-tum accompaniments, but also several effective arias, a strikingly Verdian father-daughter duet and fine choruses, as well as the deservedly celebrated Va Pensiero, which so notoriously captured Italian patriotic feelings.
The future composer of the majestic Rigoletto is unmistakably here foreshadowed here. With Igo Morosow, Bruno Ribeiro, Simon Yang, Gabriella Morigi and other soloists, this is the best in the set. An edge of mystery is added to the sonorous slaves chorus by being performed more or less in darkness.
All in all, this is a bargain box and you get a lot for your money. But one problem has yet satisfactorily to be solved: how to disguise the singers’ microphones. Soloists in close up here all seem to have wounded foreheads, generously sealed with a strip of sticking plaster.
