Wexford Festival Opera review: A most enjoyable revival of La Tempesta
La Tempesta: Giorgi Manoshvili, Hila Baggio, and Nikolay Zemlianskikh. Picture: Clive Barda/ArenaPAL
★★★★☆
The festival atmosphere was back on the streets of Wexford as families gathered in the mild October evening to enjoy fireworks marking the opening of the town's 71st opera festival. ‘Magic & Music’ is the theme for this year’s event.
Fairies and stilt walkers patrolled the High Street outside the entrance of the National Opera House.
A work by French composer Halevy, based on Shakespeare’s play was the choice for the opening production. Written in 1850, La Tempesta premiered in London under MW Balfe and was a success in Paris before it slipped from the schedules, a perfect profile for a Wexford revival.
Director Roberto Catalano places the action in an indeterminate time and place. The concept behind the production was baffling and obscured the storyline. There was nary a sense of the sea or a storm in the opening prologue which created the impression of a nightmare prison scene, as the ensemble in black overcoats grappled on iron-frame beds and black plastic sheets billowed.
The music is attractive in a bel canto style. The Festival Orchestra under Francesco Cilluffo did justice to the colourful orchestration. The wind in particular shine, and Kieran Moynihan delivered the intricate piccolo lines with aplomb.
Among the young cast, Georgian bass Giorgi Manoshvili was the stand-out performer, with a powerful voice projecting a real sense of menace in the role of Calibano. Jade Phoenix, a soprano from Co Wicklow hit the high notes and sparkled in her portrayal of the magician Ariel.
There was warm applause for the Russian baritone, Nikolay Zemlianskikh in the role of Prospero. The chorus was excellent, and the Act 3 drinking song was a highlight. Much to enjoy.
Meanwhile, there was a full house in Hynes Theatre on Saturday morning for the first of the ‘Pocket Operas’. It was hard to see what attracted composer Alberto Caruso to Colm Tóibín’s story of the writer Henry James. There is little in the libretto abridged from his novel, The Master, to create any sense of tension.
At almost two hours, I found the production running, long, tedious, and dull. Thankfully, there are numerous more-promising events on this year's festival bill.
