This year, the Rossini Opera Festival returns to one of its iconic original venues: the Palafestival, located in the heart of the city, a sports hall turned theatre in 1988. The building was condemned in 2005, prompting the festival to relocate to the Vitifrigo Arena, another sports hall situated outside of town which never resonated with opera enthusiasts. Now, after nearly 20 years of renovation, a new theatre, named Auditorio Scavolini, opens within the Palafestival. While two operas will still be performed at the Vitifrigo Arena this year, the festival will fully return to the city centre in 2025.
The opera chosen to inaugurate the new theatre is Bianca e Falliero, one of Rossini's overlooked masterpieces, rediscovered by the ROF in 1986. Conventional wisdom suggests that if an opera falls out of the repertoire, there is usually a reason. However, in this case, it seems that history has neglected a true gem. The quality of Rossini's music in this work is extraordinary, with minimal reliance on self-plagiarism and a strong sense of cohesion.
The story is set in 17th-century Venice, a somewhat clichéd drama against a backdrop of political intrigue: Falliero and Bianca love each other, but her father, Contareno, a powerful aristocrat, opposes their union and instead favours her suitor, Capellio. Contareno resorts to extreme measures, bullying and emotionally blackmailing Bianca. His actions culminate in condemning Falliero to death for treason despite knowing he is innocent. Contareno's only apparent motive is greed: Falliero is poor, while Capellio is wealthy, making Contareno one of the most despicable villains in any opera (and the competition is rough). Rossini and librettist Felice Romani opted for a happy ending, where Contareno relents and the two young lovers are allowed to live happily ever after.
Director Jean-Louis Grinda shifts the action to the 1950s, as indicated by Rudy Sabounghi's costumes, although this choice serves no clear purpose. Throughout the performance, an old, blind woman accompanies Bianca, and occasionally her father, though her role is unclear – possibly her mother? The sets, also designed by Sabounghi, are very simple, and the few scene changes are made in full view, which helps maintain the flow of the action. Overall, it is a straightforward production: unremarkable but inoffensive.
Roberto Abbado, a specialist in this repertoire, led the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in a precise and thoughtful interpretation of Rossini's score. The performance maintained a relentless rhythm, with crescendos executed at the correct pace and without excess. Abbado managed to convey a sense of continuous movement, even when he slowed down the tempo for the most lyrical arias. All the singers introduced subtle variations in their arias, not only in the repetitions of the cabaletta, which resulted in a varied and engaging performance.
Jessica Pratt delivered a triumphant performance as Bianca. Her brilliant soprano sparkled like a diamond in the upper register, with sustained and secure super-high notes and effortless, fast coloratura rolling out like a flow of little pearls. In the final rondo – taken from La donna del lago – her interpretation was both liberating and powerful, offering a collective sigh of relief after hours of Bianca’s harassment by her father. Her final super-high E flat was like a steel blade cutting across the theatre, lasting seemingly forever... perhaps a bit too long, as it slightly lost focus at the very end.
Aya Wakizono performed the role of Falliero, a role en travesti. Her mezzo has a distinct soprano quality, with a light timbre and a high centre, her lower register not as strong as her upper range. Nonetheless, her high register is impressive, with secure and beautiful top notes. She displayed a fast, confident coloratura, and her Rossini style was impeccable. Wakizono showed great commitment to the character, convincingly portraying a young warrior in love. The two love duets with Pratt were the highlights of the evening. In the middle sections, both singers relied on their remarkable breath control to handle the slow tempo wisely chosen by Abbado, with the melody unfolding like a whisper; an Apollonian, ethereal declaration of love that was utterly un-Romantic and splendid.
Dmitry Korchak was perfectly cast as the villain Contareno, with a violent demeanour and an aggressive vocal approach. His tenor had some timbral issues, especially in the recitatives, but his technique was solid, featuring fast coloratura and secure high notes (with perhaps one exception) as well as a remarkable mezza-voce. The character of Contareno is very one-dimensionally evil, and Korchak embraced this, striding across the stage and roaring like a lion, terrorising everyone.
Giorgi Manoshvili portrayed Capellio with an elegant and smooth bass that was a pleasant surprise. Although the role is not large and lacks solo arias, he was remarkable in the various ensembles, providing strong support for the complexities above. The evening was a resounding success.
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