March 11, 2007: Le Villi in Genova

2007-03-11 Le Villi (Puccini), Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova

Roberto = José Cura
Anna = Fiorenza Cedolins
Guglielmo Wulf = Gabriele Viviani

Riccardo Frizza, conductor



Le Villi
Opera-ballo in due atti di Ferdinando Fontana,
musica di Giacomo Puccini.
In forma semiscenica

Teatro Carlo Felice

Spettacoli correlati:

L'opera è preceduta dalla Sinfonia n. 1 in re minore op. 75 di Martucci


Direttore Riccardo Frizza

Prima: mercoledì 7 marzo 2007, 20.30 (A)
Repliche: venerdì 9 marzo, 20.30 (B)
domenica 11 marzo, 15.30 (C)

This was a strange day, check-out from hotel, and having to get a train after the opera. But this was the best performance, I doubt the 2007-03-07 performance was better (I was not there, but Rai Radio was there and it was transmitted on radio).

What was the difference: No glasses for Jose Cura this time. He was FREE and could really ACT out as Roberto which also meant that Fiorenza Cedolins would be able to react as the fine actress she is. Gabriele Viviani was still a bit wooden but as the old Babbo Guglielmo it was easily forgiven, his voice was all that matters, but there is only so much to do when it is a concert and your part is really small.

Teatro Carlo Felice is really a fine theater but all the same I was sitting too close to people who do not understand that chatting is not permitted during an opera or concert. It did not completely destroy my opera evenings, but it did not make me happy. And these was not young people who did not no better... Inexcusable.

Anyway, Fiorenza Cedolins was not lucky when she sang a wonderful "Se come voi" because the orchestra glitched, and that was the only fault in this performance, think, during her big aria. But she had the luck of Jose Cura completely in his role as Roberto. How he touched her face when he said he wanted a smile, touching. The duet was really wonderful. And the prayer in the end of act 1 was also wonderfully executed. The aria of Guglielmo Wolf in act 2 is not easy to get, I guess you really need a stage for that one. Jose Cura was incredible in Roberto's long aria in act 2. And the final duet Cedolins/Cura was great.

Not strange that the applause lasted a bit over 10 minutes.


March 2007: Le Villi in Genova (2007-03-11)

OD Travel + Photos

March 9, 2007: Le Villi in Genova

2007-03-09 Le Villi (Puccini), Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova

Roberto = José Cura
Anna = Fiorenza Cedolins
Guglielmo Wulf = Gabriele Viviani

Riccardo Frizza, conductor



Le Villi
Opera-ballo in due atti di Ferdinando Fontana,
musica di Giacomo Puccini.
In forma semiscenica

Teatro Carlo Felice

Spettacoli correlati:

L'opera è preceduta dalla
Sinfonia n. 1 in re minore op. 75 di Martucci


Direttore Riccardo Frizza

Prima: mercoledì 7 marzo 2007, 20.30 (A)
Repliche: venerdì 9 marzo, 20.30 (B)
domenica 11 marzo, 15.30 (C)

Before the opera, there was a concert piece: Sinfonia n. 1 in re minore op. 75 di Martucci. It was not a bad piece. I found it quite operatic. After the interval: LE VILLI. The disappoint was that the opera was just really a concert of a whole opera. So I don't really see this as In forma semiscenica, really. it was just a backdrop showing a film, dark and with showing up some white lines in all its blackness was that Semiscenica.... No, it was simply a concert nothing more. The conductor was energetic with his arms almost in the faces of the artists, specially in the face of soprano Fiorenza Cedolins. Fiorenza Cedolins who was almost the perfect Tosca in Verona 2006 with Salvatore Licitra as her Cavaradossi was not up to the role of Anna, I felt. She was inhibited in her approach.Much better was she on Sunday's Le Villi. Her big voice in Verona seemed to big a little voice in Genova on this Friday. But in the 2nd act she was more like a true Anna.

Jose Cura had his glasses when he sang, on this Friday. His acting was limited, this was more of pure singing than acting out the complete Roberto feeling. But on this Friday it was quite obvious that Cura's main interest lay in the Symphonic structures of the opera. As a conductor LA STREGENDA from Le Villi is sort of his specialty, so he was very much there living the music. Also Fiorenza Cedolins was very there in reading the singers partiture all the time.

Gabriele Viviani as father Guglielmo was too young to be Fiorenza Cedolins father. But in his voice he was Babbo Guglielmo, an imposing man. But his beautiful voice could not really have the bite in it that is needed in act 2.

Even if this had been my only Le Villi in Genova I would not have regretted coming to Italy. But I am really happy that I chose to stay and get the better LE VILLI performance, or should I say the near perfect one.

March 2007: Le Villi in Genova (2007-03-09)

OD Travel + Photos

November 6, 2005: Le Villi in Vienna

2005-11-06 Le Villi (Puccini), Wiener Staatsoper

Roberto = José Cura
Anna = Krassimira Stoyanova
Guglielmo Wulf = Franz Grundheber

Simone Young, conductor

Le villi
(6. Aufführung in dieser Inszenierung)

Dirigentin: Simone Young
Inszenierung: Karoline Gruber
Ausstattung: Johan Engels
Licht: Patrick Woodroffe
Bewegungsregie: Beate Vollack
Choreinstudierung: Ernst Dunshirn



Karoline Gruber makes this opera into a kitchy Tirolean story. Very much about women doing the housework and men drinking beer. Luckily it is not totally ruined thanks to Cura, Stoyanova and Grundheber. One good idea the use of the Villis is very effective. Puccini's music is much better than this so-called inszenierung makes it.

OD Travel + Photos

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

August 28, 2011: Le Villi in Bergen, Norway

2011-08-28 Le Villi (Puccini), Opera Bergen

Anna = Elena Zelenskaya
Roberto = Eduardo Villa
Guglielmo Wulf = Anooshah Golesorkhi

Anne Randine Øverby, conductor
Stage director - Rocc
Light design - Jens Lange

As I saw Anooshah Golesorckhi dancing to the stage at the notes of Puccini's Le Villi I thought I would also be disappointed by Regie. But this time the opera let itself willingly into Rocc's Regie.

The first part of Le Villi was played as an old play with big gestures and with all having masks. The chorus started out as audience to the play with Guglielmo Wulf  as their favorite actor. Then as Anna came onstage, the "audience" fell asleep. Luckily we, the real audience got Anna's wonderful aria "Se come voi piccina io fossi", and then Roberto came and it was a wonderful duet. Suddenly "the audience" woke up at the sound clocks and Roberto was sung off. White cloths for this part by the principals.

As Roberto is off, the chorus is transformed from "audience" to acting Villis. Just as Anna dies of sorrow since it takes so long for Roberto to come back (I know this because I knew the opera from before, for others good luck it getting it from just seeing this production),  the audience dies to become Villis. The unhappy father curses Roberto and then asks God of forgiving for invoking the Villis. But they are already ready for Roberto. Gran Scena and Aria for Eduardo Villa. BRAVO!!! Then Anna, the undead, new Villi and the other Villis "dance" Roberto to his death. LOVED IT!!!

OD Travel + Photos
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