It is something of a paradox that in Rome, the cradle of Baroque art, Baroque music should still fit the label of “niche taste” and should rarely be performed compared to other European capitals. And so it is that a concert version of Handel’s opera Rodelinda promoted by the prestigious Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, could record a tepid attendance with the hall little more than half full.
Baroque ensemble La Lira di Orfeo did justice to the wonderful score, with period instruments – including a theorbo – and with the assured hand of concertmaster Elisa Citterio. But in the concert version of an opera, the pressure is even more on the singers, who face the challenge of conveying meaning and emotion without the props of a full staging. In this respect the results were mixed, with moments of complete rapture alternating with distraction due to occasional slips in the singing or simply to not fully convincing acting.
Raffaele Pe, the founder of La Lira di Orfeo, sang the usurped king Bertrarido. Baroque music lovers in Rome will still have vivid memories of the countertenor in the title role of a spectacular Giulio Cesare in Egitto last year at the Teatro dell’Opera. Pe is ever the consummate performer, perfectly at ease on stage, but on this occasion was perhaps more self-consciously theatrical than intimately immersed in the part. His lower notes were round and exciting, sharply contrasting with the falsetto of the upper register. As Rodelinda, Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin, after an unsteady start with the coloratura of the arduous second aria “L’empio rigor del Fato”, gave a very strong performance throughout the evening. A highlight was her duet with Pe “Io t’abbraccio, e più che morte” at the end of Act 2.
Mezzo-soprano Giuseppina Bridelli was a confident Eduige. The impressive baritenor voice of the young Luigi Morassi showed some uncertainty at the beginning of the evening, later gaining more solidity in “Tirannia gli diede il regno”. Countertenor Rafal Tomkiewicz displayed a soft, natural singing as Unulfo, with no sign of falsetto. Bass Mirco Palazzi (Garibaldo) was the star of the evening with a full, dark voice and consistently good intonation, showing off his strong low notes.
Even with a very good performance by the music ensemble, the evening failed to create the subtle magic of opera, falling somewhat short in emotion and authenticity on the singing side. Notwithstanding this, any of Handel’s operas on the Santa Cecilia stage deserve to have a full hall. Certainly including in the programme more Baroque gems will, at the same time, feed and boost the appetite of the Italian audience.
