Review: Teatro Nuovo Does It Again with Smashing TURCO IN ITALIA
Crutchfield’s Bel Canto Specialists Bring Loads of Fun to NJ Before Treating Deprived NYers to Rossini’s Comedy
While the US celebrates its 250th anniversary (with not much to cheer about), those bel canto specialists under Will Crutchfield at Teatro Nuovo are reveling in the 200th year since Italian opera (or at least opera in Italian) came to this country. And not a moment too soon.
Oh, I know that Rossini’s IL TURCO IN ITALIA (THE TURK IN ITALY) is not exactly an outlier in the repertoire these days, over 70 years since it was resurrected by Maria Callas at La Scala after a 130-year absence. There was already a production at the UK’s Glyndebourne Festival this summer and I saw one in Madrid not that long ago with Lisette Oropesa as Donna Fiorilla in Laurent Pelly’s nifty take on it. But New Yorkers have been deprived of the opera’s fun and games for quite a while.
I couldn’t help but thinking that the Met should put Mozart’s COSI FAN TUTTE in mothballs for a season or 10 and take on the comic book-inspired Pelly production of TURCO I saw in Spain, since the director has shown himself a favorite here with his Massenet MANON and, particularly, Donizetti’s LA FILLE DU REGIMENT.
It’s not so far-fetched, since the two operas have much in common (including some outdated sentiments about women that could be modified and a narrator driving some of the action); Maestro Crutchfield’s has proved that it’s stage-worthy and his notes in the program at Montclair State’s Kasser Theatre mentions the commonalities between the libretti by da Ponte (COSI) and Romani (TURCO).
COSI may have come first, but Rossini played second-fiddle to no one, with his great melodies and snappy patter songs. Teatro Nuovo’s pared-down but pretty production (with delightful original projections by Adam J. Thompson and lighting by Stephen Smart) showed many of the work’s charms for an American audience, with good singers and a well-versed orchestra under the right conductor, in this instance, Elisa Citterio.
TURCO is sometimes thought of as a sequel to Rossini’s L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI (THE ITALIAN GIRL IN ALGIERS), but they don’t have that much in common besides appealing scores, a great role for a star soprano/mezzo and unpalatable attitudes about the Arab/Turkish and gypsy characters. Tying the operas together might have been a good thought from a PR perspective, but otherwise doesn’t hold much weight, from my point of view, at least.
But here’s to the lively performance from Teatro Nuovo and its orchestra and chorus under Maestro Citterio!
The story in a nutshell: As a Turkish prince is arriving by ship near Naples in search of new female conquests, Donna Fiorilla, a local beauty (who already has a husband and lover) is ready to add the new arrival to her stable of male companions. Meanwhile, a local librettist (aka “the Poet”) with writer’s block decides to put these characters to work for him in an opera, giving us a look at how an example of traditional Italian buffo comes together (though one that sometimes could have used a bit of help from a dramaturg in putting the story’s pieces in place).
Most of the youthful cast was first-rate, after time to warm up, and the orchestra was in good form, led by Elisa Citterio (also concert master) and Derrick Goff on the harpsicord/continuo, with Crutchfield as chorus master.
Soprano Kresley Figueroa did some very fine work as Fiorilla, handling the typical Rossinian ornamentation and high notes with aplomb, and bringing all the character’s coquettish qualities to life. The other female character, Zaida—a former slave and once the betrothed to Selim, the Turk—was sung by mezzo Sabatina Mauro. She was wonderful in her arias and amusing in all her comic business.
Top marks among the male singers went to baritone Mattia Venni as Fiorilla’s cuckold of a husband, Don Geronio. Resonant of voice, he was also a fine actor—a good foil for Fiorilla and ready to stand up to Selim. (The only thing missing: He looked too young and virile for a character described as “an old, wealthy, weak and timid man.”)
Bass Vincent Grana had just the right swagger and vocal style for Selim, the Turk, with an eye for all the ladies in the realm. Bass-baritone Hans Tashjian was fine in explaining the flow of his story as the Poet, Prosdocimo, but seemed to be having something of an off-night in his vocalism.
There was a pair of tenors—important for Rossini, who was a champion at writing for this particular kind of voice. (His ARMIDA had a half dozen of them!) First, Max Alexander Cook impressed as Fiorilla’s lover, Don Narciso, secure in his high notes and slightly sad-sack as the lover being left behind with the arrival of the Turk. Perhaps even more notable was David Freides’ Albazar, an old confidant of Selim and, later, as a gypsy friend of Zaida. The role is wildly underwritten, but Freides didn’t let that stop him from delivering his lovely aria in style.
TURCO is clearly in bel canto territory, with its demands for “beautiful singing” and plethora of ornamentation. (There’s another performance of it tonight, July 16, at the Rose Theatre of Jazz at Lincoln Center on Columbus Circle.) But what about the other opera on this year’s program, IL DON GIOVANNI? (Yes, that's right.) As usual, Crutchfield has a few tricks up his sleeve to show us that the way we’ve been thinking may not be as open-minded as one would imagine. Stay tuned for my view of it!
Caption: Soprano Kresley Figueroa as Donna Fiorilla (center), with ensemble members Amia Langer and Amalia Crevani.
Credit: Steven Pisano
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