La Fenice Theatre. Venice. 30 November 2013.
This L’Africaine representations have been with double cast, being the second of the scheduled, which, logically, has had less result than the first, although there have been singers of interest in some cases.
I have nothing to add to what has been written yesterday about the production of Leo Muscato. Only, I would point out that, having had a better view of the stage on this occasion, I have found interesting also what was presented in scene in the first two acts, especially in the Prison Act.
I liked again the conduction of Emmanuel Villaume, perhaps abusing of volume sometimes.
The new Selika was Patrizia Biccirè, who has been correct, though somewhat modest performer. Happens to be a purely lyric soprano, which is insufficient for the character. Her singing is adequate, though fairly drab due to shortage of colors in her voice. Its biggest problem lies in the bass notes, which are very short.
Long enough time that I not heard tenor Antonello Palombi live, whose career has been developing in recent years in the United States. I found him very changed. He has two very different voices. A wide baritone in the center and with outstanding volume which is not very common, while from step voice narrows, although it has some appeal, being compromised on the high notes. He is not precisely full of taste in his singing, with abuse of decibels on many occasions.
Very good impression left by the young Czech soprano (26) Zuzana Markova in the part of Agnes. She is a light soprano, with a darker voice than what is usual in this type of singers. The voice is appealing, sings with expressivity, is easy in agility and has no problems in the highest notes, although the ring becomes somewhat metallic. She is young attractive and very tall, that it will not be easy to complement it with a tenor of the same type.
The baritone Luca Grassi was a more appropriate than Angelo Veccia Nelusko the previous day. The voice has quality and some width, although he also has a tendency to seek volume. For people from Madrid who believe that don’t know him, I will say he was the baritone who saved the Fishermen of Pearls at the Royal Theatre, when Mariusz Kwicien withdrew at the end of the first act.
In the secondary characters repeated performance the same performers of the previous day.
La Fenice Theatre was practically full. The audience was warm in the final applause, not missing bravos for the main protagonists, especially for Luca Grassi.
The representation began promptly and had a total time of 4 hours and 1 minute, including two intermissions. Musical duration of 2 hours and 55 minutes, two minutes less than the previous day. Six minutes of applause.
The price of the most expensive ticket was 205 euros, having seats in an auditorium at the price of € 180. In the upper floors prices ranged between 159 and 110 euros. The cheapest ticket cost 77 euros. Striking that prices are noticeably higher than for the first deal. The explanation is none other than the match weekend, which seems that it encourages tourists to attend the theatre, although I didn’t see Japanese at La Fenice and yes on the Shelves.
José M. Irurzun
Traducción: Mª. García-Rosado
