February 6, 2005: Il Corsaro in Barcelona

2005-02-06 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona

Corrado = José Cura
Medora = Marina Mescheryakova
Gulnara = Susan Neves
Seid = Carlo Guelfi
Giovanni = Josep Ribot
Selimo / Un Eunuco Negro / Schiavo
= José Manuel Zapata

Marco Guidarini, conductor



Il corsaro (versión concierto)

Musical Director
Marco Guidarini

Orquestra Simfònica
del Gran Teatre del Liceu

Cor del Gran Teatre del Liceu

06/02-2005

2005-02-06 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Barcelona

another wonderful concert performance with Jose Cura as Corrado,
Susan Neves as Gulnara, Marina Mescheryakova as Medora, & Carlo
Guelfi as Seid.

Some madrileño had come to Barcelona just to disrupt this
performance. But the Catalan audience hushed him.

OD Travel + Photos

February 3, 2005: Il Corsaro in Barcelona

2005-02-03 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona

Corrado = José Cura
Medora = Marina Mescheryakova
Gulnara = Susan Neves
Seid = Carlo Guelfi
Giovanni = Josep Ribot
Selimo / Un Eunuco Negro / Schiavo
= José Manuel Zapata

Marco Guidarini, conductor






First I took the night bus to Oslo as usual. Luckily my bus was not affected by the bad weather, real snowy conditions that had closed som montain roads. So I came in Oslo in good time for my flight. And then I was in Barcelona after almost 3 hours on the plane. All one had to look forward to was untasty plane food. So bad
that only the cola light and Pringles tasted good. At last, Barcelona airport and my first encounter with the Catalan way of queuing. Very polite and nice queu for taxi. And there were many taxis and many people, and it was quick and polite. So then I was at my hotel. Nice hotel but my room was very cold. Then I went to Placa
Catalunya to get used to going to the centre and to have some nice food (and get my tickets). Then soon it was time to get to the Liceu for a concert version of Verdi´s Corsaro.

The orchestra was onstage. It was chairs and note-stative for the singers. I was on front row. It was a wonderful sung and "acted" Corsaro, Medora was wonderful, Gulnara even more wonderful, & Corrado, the Corsair, Jose Cura was splendid. After a long wait Jose Cura came out at the stage door. He was photographed, and after signing and talking to his fans, at proximo midnight it was truely
over.

Today, Friday 4th, I have been suffering headaches, after my first try out, I had to stop before I came to Placa Catalunya, I stopped at Provinca and sat down at a small cafe, unfortunately It was heavily music'ed. So I had to get to Muntaner and my hotel. After more tablets and eating, and laying in my bed. I was ready to go out again. Placa Catalunya and down la Ramblas to Liceu and down to the harbour (almost) and the up again. At Placa Catalunya I visited Fnac, at Liceu I visited the Shop and then Placido Domingo came, he is singing Parsifal day, and I got one good photo of him, when I came up from the harbour, I was hijacked into a restaurant, ate great ensalada and had a bite of pollo, then back to Muntaner, and
my hotel.

OD Travel + Photos

June 10, 2011: Il Corsaro in Dortmund

2011-06-10 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Konzerthaus Dortmund

Medora = Elena Mosuc
Gulnara = Maria Guleghina
Corrado = Zvetan Michailov
Seid = Sebastian Catana
Giovanni = Adrian Sampetrean
Selimo / Un Eunuco Negro / Schiavo = Florian Simson

Carlo Montanaro, conductor

Chor der staatlichen Musikakademie Minsk, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln

Il corsaro

Maria Guleghina (Gulnara), Elena Mosuc (Medora), Giuseppe Varano (Corrado), Sebastian Catana (Seid), Adrian Sampetrean (Giovanni), Chor der staatlichen Musikakademie Minsk, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, Carlo Montanaro (Dirigent)



WDR Köln



Maria Guleghina and Elena Mosuc impressed in Dortmund. Zvetan Michailov substituted for Giuseppe Varano.


The conductor Carlo Montanaro made the WDR radio orchestra play with love this vigorous music of Young Verdi. One could see how the orchestra members really enjoyed themselves. The smaller roles Seid (Sebastian Catana), Giovanni (Adrian Sampetrean), Selimo / Un Eunuco Negro / Schiavo (Florian Simson) was sung and acted brilliantly.

The older Bulgarian tenor Zvetan Michailov sang, not the younger Italian tenor Giuseppe Varano. To see Michailov sing was like you were in a recording studio. He looked at the notes and used his arms to force music out in the right moments. His voice was always a bit special, a dry voice and also a voice that you not easily would believe another tenor to be master of. His acting was more a singer struggling for perfection than acting as Corrado. I have a DVD with Michailov as Corrado from Parma opera. He was older now, but still a good Corrado.

Then it was Elena Mosuc. Elena Mosuc was a super delicate Medora. This was another mannerism than Zvetanov. Where Zvetanov went deep to find voice and a perfect attack to the notes, Elena Mosuc went deep into herself to find the intepretetative depth for Medora.

Finally it was Maria Guleghina as Gulnara. The dramatic powerhouse of a diva. She played two roles: one as Maria Guleghina DIVA, another as Gulnara, the favorite slave of Pascha Seid. In an newspaper it was commented that this duality was a little bit ironic but I believe that Maria Guleghina was completely aware of this and played that game also. A powerhouse as Gulnara, yes, that is the right approach. Gulnara is maybe a slave but she is still not subdued. She can stand on her own feet against the powerful pascha. She is fierce, just like Maria Guleghina's voice and appearance. No helpless heroine like Medora but as powerful as Corrado. In a way she got more guts and intelligence than Corrado. She takes her oppurtunities. No need to fear that Gulnara will choose death and not life after the death of Medora and Corrado.

It was Maria Guleghina and Elena Mosuc who won. BRAVA, Maria! BRAVA, Elena! So different and both so perfect in each of their roles.


After 2 speeches Verdi's opera Corsaro was played. Zwetan Michailow was singing Corrado in stead of the original tenor who was sick, I guess. He did a fine job. But it was the women that ruled. Elena Mosuc was sensational and so was Maria Guleghina. Then men was fine but Elena Mosuc and Maria Guleghina was in another stratosphere. The conductor was also great. He made the orchestra play with a singular clarity and put forward all the wonders that lays in this score. The orchestra members seemed to love playing this music, one could almost look at then to see that to they had taken the music to their heart. The chorus was young and clear.

Now if only this had been staged too.

Brava, Maria! Brava, Elena!

OD Travel + Photos
First impression from Dortmund and IL CORSARO (Original blog post)

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com If you want to see more photos from my OperaDuets Travels, go to www.operaduetsphotos.com

May 15, 2005: Il Corsaro in Genova

2005-05-15 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova

Medora = Serena Farnocchia
Gulnara = Doina Dimitriu
Corrado = Giuseppe Gipali
Seid = Roberto Servile
Giovanni = Antonio De Gobbi

Bruno Bartoletti, conductor



Il corsaro
Opera in tre atti di Francesco Maria Piave
Musica di Giuseppe Verdi

Teatro Carlo Felice


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Conductor
Bruno Bartoletti

Regie
Lamberto Puggelli

Music
Giuseppe Verdi

Scene
Marco Capuana

Costumes
Vera Marzot




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Maestro d'armi: Renzo Musumeci Greco

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Date
Sunday 15 May, 15.30 (R)


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Medora Serena Farnocchia
Gulnara Doina Dimitriu
Corrado Giuseppe Gipali
Seid Roberto Servile
Giovanni Antonio De Gobbi


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Nuovo allestimento del Teatro Carlo Felice
in coproduzione con il Teatro Regio di Parma

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I wonder if this production would have been exactly like this if Bush had not decided that the Geneva convention did not apply to all. Without Abu Graib and such would one chosen to show torture on the stage. For it is torture to hold someone's head in the opening and try to close it while head held fix is there to get the trap door repeatedly on the head. Not only did Seid do that to his prisoners but the corsairs did that too, don't know what prisoner they had on their ship, but violence was shown. In the setting of Corsairs against the Moslems where the Corsairs is sort of heroes (in real life they were never true heroes, only pirates). Without Bush and Iraq, would this Corrado been staged like this. Good or evil they are all doing it, torture... USA has OK' ed it. Or just the president of USA, and his government and the Republicans.

I don't know it this was a kind of hidden critics to the US, or what, but I think the director should have refrained from showing it onstage. And of course the sword fight was spectacular but why not keep it offstage.

Both Medora's were wonderful. Doina Dimitriu was a much better Gulnara than Paola Romano. But Dimitrius voice sometimes seem to go into too thin air. Giuseppe Cipali was a sympathetic Corrado, wonderful in the duets with Medora and Gulnara. But Rubens Pellizzaro was younger and more agile both in voice and acting and climbing. Marco Di Felice was a better Seid than Roberto Servile. More elegant, refined and better voice.

OD Travel + Photos

May 14, 2005: Il Corsaro in Genova

2005-05-14 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova

Medora = Angela Marambio
Gulnara = Paola Romanò
Corrado = Rubens Pelizzari
Seid = Marco Di Felice
Giovanni = Antonio De Gobbi

Bruno Bartoletti, conductor



Il corsaro
Opera in tre atti di Francesco Maria Piave
Musica di Giuseppe Verdi

Teatro Carlo Felice

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Gulnara = Paola Romanò
Corrado = Rubens Pelizzari

Conductor
Bruno Bartoletti

Regie
Lamberto Puggelli

Music
Giuseppe Verdi

Scene
Marco Capuana

Costumes
Vera Marzot




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Maestro d'armi: Renzo Musumeci Greco

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Date
Satuday 14 May, 15.30 (F)
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Nuovo allestimento del Teatro Carlo Felice
in coproduzione con il Teatro Regio di Parma

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After the concert version of Corsaro in Barcelona in February 3rd & 6th, 2005 with Jose Cura as Corrado & Susan Neves as Gulnara I wanted to see it as a fully staged stage and that led me to Genova, Italy. The production in Teatro Carlo Felice of Genova was of the traditional sort but this of course this is 2005.

During the prelude we see Medora searching for Corrado as it seems. All scene shifts happens before our eyes as it is more usual nowadays. Scene 1 of act 1 as it is staged here happens on th ship. With ropes to climb even as he sings Corrado and later also the chorus. (Act 1 Scene 4). The change to Medora's room is done with dividing the stage in half with a stage curtain, behind is the the ship and in the front is Medora. When Corrado comes he lifts the carpet away slightly.

Act 2. In Seid's harem. Beautiful setting, Gulnara is being dressed as a bath. Chorus singing, and then Gulnara sings too. What a disappointment!! After Susan Neves wonderful singing in Barcelona, the Italian soprano Paola Romano is painful to listen too, her vibrati, her voice sounds old. But Genoa's Seid Marco Di Felice is better than Carlo Guelfi, Salve Allah is wonderfully sung and acted, very realistic. The Dervish, no other than Corrado himself (Rubens Pelizzari), what a duet!! Later he corsairs comes into the stage, and there is many sword duels on stage. Clever us of red colored curtains made the illusion of fire real. Gulnara and her odalisks cries for rescue and Corrado orders his corsairs to save them. Seid, the egocentric man is not happy that his "wife" Gulnara and his odalisks is saved from death, nope, he is just jealous instead. Stupid and violent man thanks the gallant Corsair with terrible death from torture.

PAUSE

Act 3. Seid is just thinking about jealousy and revenge. Feeling like all tyrant pity for himself. Gulnara is trying to be clever asking Seid to think of ransom money instead of death/torture for Corrado. Unfortunately Seid is just about rage. Lucky for us in the audience the vibrato of Paola Romano is not so strong here, the duet is beautifully sung. And the stage changes for the dungeon where Corrado is resting after much torture, trying to sleep as sleep is the only solace for him. This is one of the most beautiful tenor arias, Eccomi prigioniero, naturally act 1 aria is also one of the great Verdi tenor arias (Tutto parea sorridere). And lucky for us Paola Romano's voice is not too disturbing, but still not "good". Usually the Gulnara/Corrado duet is a very beautiful duet. Gulnara saved the not so willing to be saved Corrado.

Meanwhile at home Medora thinks Corrado is already dead so she takes a deadly potion of poison. And guess what ships comes in not long after. "It's him, CORRADO!". Medora dies naturally, and Corrado decides he is to die too. he climbs up and jumps!! The music is unbelievable beautiful in this scene, but unfortunately, the height voice of Gulnara full is vibrato is scorching mine ears when her voice soars over the ensemble.

Seid Marco Di Felice wonderful
Medora Angela Marambio wonderful
Corrado Rubens Pelizzari wonderful (Jose Cura is better)
Gulnara Paola Romanò not quite bottom, but not wonderful

OD Travel + Photos