Cavalleria rusticana

This Cavalleria Rusticana is not a terrible one, it is at least a little better than the 2010 Zurich performance with Morroccu and Cura. It's just that it is also not a really great or memorable one. It has its plus points, the orchestra play beautifully and with great immediacy, the chorus are excellent in the Easter Hymn and in Turridu's Brindisi and the conducting is energetic yet with some nuances as well especially at the start and in the Intermezzo. The staging of the Easter Hymn with the raised platform against the lit ruins is very effective, and of the singing(not the acting) Barbara Di Castri is appropriately sonorous and Ildiko Komlosi sings with steady tone, a wide amount of vocal colour and an impressive range with her Voi Lo Sapete reflective of Santuzza's increasing agonies.

Sadly, the rest of the singing and most of the acting didn't work for me. Sung Kyu Park sounds strained, Carlo De Felice is monochromatic and Cinzia De Mola has moments where she is unsteady. In terms of acting, only Di Castri and De Mola make any positive impression, Di Castri is kitten-like and foxxy and De Mola plays Mamma Lucia with great poignancy. For all her fine singing, Komlosi isn't impassioned or moving enough, her acting is often too simple and statuesque so she comes across as unmotivated. De Felice is rather dull and doesn't convey much of Alfio's vengeful side later, so his duet with Komlosi has little impact. He's good in his entrance, but this is perhaps the first time that Alfio didn't interest me. Park fares worst, aside from his physique, his Turridu is unromantic and lacking in any kind of intensity.

Visually, I wouldn't say it's bad, it's at least not garish or sordid like in the 2010 Zurich or 2011 La Scala performances. The Easter Hymn and the evocative Renaissance frescoes as the setting gradually reveals itself were the most successful touches. But overall it does lack colour and life, I didn't get enough of the sense of spring like I did with the 1982 Zeffirelli or 1970 Karajan versions. The ambiance is also a big problem, mainly because of the open air space and also to do with the platforms. The worst case was with Turridu's Serenade to Lola, often sung back-stage anyway but the voice sounded too distant and got lost unfortunately, the first time that has been the case for me actually. The stage direction is a very mixed bag, at its best with the chorus but rather unmotivated with almost all the principals, therefore none of the characters have any real distinction.

Overall, a disappointing Cavalleria. Has some fine moments like the musical values, one or two bits of staging and Komlosi's singing. But the uneven vocal and dramatic elements, mostly dull staging and ambiance present much of a problem. 4/10 Bethany Cox