NABUCCO

Opera in Four Parts by
Giuseppe Verdi
Sung in Italian with English titles

Nabucco………….........Lado Ataneli
Ismaele……………........Jose Luis Duval
Zaccaria…………..........Arutjun Kotchinian
Abigaille………….........Maria Guleghina
Fenena…………............Kate Aldrich
High Priest……..............James Creswell
Abdallo…………...........Luis Contreras
Anna.................….... .....Jessica Rivera

Lawrence Foster, conductor
Elijah Moshinsky, producer
Michael Yeargan, set designer
William Vendice, chorus master

Performance of Sunday, September 8, 2002 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

All photos by ROBERT MILLARD, courtesy of Los Angeles Opera

LOS ANGELES, CALIF – If standing ovations in our opera houses, like tips in restaurants, seem more obligatory than meritorious these days, it’s often attributed to less discerning audiences. But, last night, when the cheering audience jumped to its feet at the end of Nabucco, it wasn’t to cheer the eponymous hero or Moshinsky’s production (both were snoozers), but rather the truly superb Abigaille of soprano Maria Guleghina. The Tinsel Town may not be the most sophisticated opera town, but it sure recognizes a star when it sees one.

Nabucco was Verdi’s third opera and opened to an ecstatic audience (not unlike that at the Dorothy Chandler last night) at La Scala in 1842. The impresario Bartolomeo Merelli promptly scheduled a revival for the following season, in which the opera was given another sixty-seven performances – a record at the time. Set in ancient Babylon, the opera tells the story of the Hebrew nation under siege by Babylonian King Nabucco. However, Nabucco’s daughter Abigaille loves the Hebrew warrior Ismaele and holds all Jerusalem (and Ismaele’s lover Fenena) hostage in ransom for his love. The remarkable score is filled with dramatic war cries, poignant arias and ensembles, not to mention the monumental chorus ‘Va, pensiero’.

The garish, dull production design by the Moshinsky-Yeargan team, with its ugly pillars and block sets that open up in the middle, looks like recycled material from last season’s Turandot. The Babylonian soldiers are costumed in bright monochrome red or black, while the Hebrew slaves are outfitted in chic designer colors, oh so Hollywood. Perhaps it’s just as well, the world premiere La Scala production also featured recycled sets and costumes (from ballet!)

As Nabucco, baritone Lado Ataneli commands a pleasant, mellifluous voice but remains aloof emotionally. He made nothing of the King’s maniacal outbursts before snatching the crown, or the pitiful penitence in “Dio di Giuda”. Bass Arutjun Kotchinian gave a powerfully authoritative account of Zaccaria. Tenor Jose Luis Duval’s Ismaele was more than adequate, while mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich’s loud-voiced Fenena was less than adequate. The remaining cast consisted of Los Angeles Opera's fine resident artists: James Creswell as High Priest, Luis Contreras as guard Abdallo, and Jessica Rivera as Anna.

The murderously high tessitura of Abigaille holds no terror for soprano Maria Guleghina, who has sung this role all over the world and, I suspect, is vocally more accomplished than even Giuseppina Strepponi (Verdi’s soon-to-be mistress) from the original cast. Ms. Guleghina’s powerful voice projects like a razor-sharp laser beam with a warm glow in the center. It is a voice capable of the most blood-curdling cries as well as the softest, most poignant tones. (Abigaille’s final aria “Su me, morente” brought tears to these eyes). Ms. Guleghina belongs to that rare breed of singers nowadays – the true Verdi soprano.

Kudos must also go to conductor Lawrence Foster and chorus master William Vendice for a musically and dramatically compelling reading of Verdi’s great score. A good thing is worth repeating. Indeed, the encore of ‘Va, pensiero’ sounded just as grand the second time around.

Truman C. Wang is editor of Classical Voice.

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