WELSH NATIONAL OPERA’S LES VÊPRES SICILIENNES
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay
Sat 8 Feb
***
Based on a real historical event which occurred in Sicily in 1282, Verdi’s rarely staged Les Vêpres Siciliennes [The Sicilian Vespers] (first performed in Paris in 1855) is a tale of retribution and rebellion with a father-and-son feud at its heart, set against a sublime score. With this production, David Pountney – who ended his tenure as WNO’s Artistic Director in 2019 – has returned to complete his Verdi trilogy. The previous two parts (La Forza Del Destino and Un Ballo in Maschera) were opulent theatrical affairs with lashings of sex and death, using similar visual palettes of blood, masks and smoke. Though Pountney reunites with the creative team behind those previous instalments, this final part has an altogether more sombre tone.
The WNO Orchestra and Chorus are on their very finest form here, masterfully conducted by Carlo Rizzi (who is a thrill to watch in himself, especially during the opera’s blazing overture). His expert handling of Verdi is a joy to witness, and also trickles into some of the stand-out performances. This is particularly true for Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan as a feisty Hélène and for South Korean tenor Jung Soo Yun, whose voice oozes with passion as Sicilian freedom-fighter Henri.
But the performances are elbowed aside by Raimund Bauer’s ostentatious set design – also known as the ‘Verdi Machine’, a series of huge interlocking panels heaved about by the poor ensemble. Though the sheer spectacle and starkness of these panels lend the production an austere atmosphere, they only serve to distract and detach us from the drama, rather than enhance it. There are accidents waiting to happen, as characters of high status are wheeled around the stage on giant stepladders. Luckily, Fabrice Kebour’s stunning lighting design is on hand to create the most striking visual tableaux, experimenting with colour and silhouette.
To ensure the authentic grand opéra experience, Pountney and Rizzi have also decided to include the third act ballet. Performed by National Dance Company Wales, their intepretation describes the sub-plot of Henri’s mother and her rape at the hands of the Frenchman Guy de Monfort a little too literally, employing a contemporary style of dance that chafes against the music as well as the production’s overall aesthetic.
The much-anticipated massacre (which concludes the opera) is a bit of an anti-climax, ending on a strangely comedic, cartoonish note rather than a mournful one. Ultimately, it’s the music that really shines through in this well-performed but unevenly realised production.
words SAM PRYCE photos JOHAN PERSSON
Les vêpres siciliennes is at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay until Sat 22 Feb, before touring the UK. You can find tickets and info here.