Well...here it is. My four hundredth opera. The big four-oh-oh. As you can see, I made absolutely no effort to choose something that would be particularly big-name or otherwise significant. I dunno...there are shedloads of operas I haven't seen, and many of them are doubtless great, but I'm not sure how I'd find one that seemed "significant," whatever that means. Still! Good number! When I started getting into opera, I would have been skeptical that there even were that many available to see, but now I realize that I've only just scratched the surface. Well, maybe more than "just scratched." But I ain't running out anytime soon!
So this is this. The title character is Margaret of Anjou, wife--and, here, widow--of Henry VI. You might think that the plot would be Donizetti-esque, but it's not, really. It's an odd attempt to mix historical drama with opera buffa tropes. Not the Donizetti didn't take liberties, but here more than ever, do not expect the history to be particularly...historical.
So Henry VI (Enrico, I guess we'd call him here) was killed in the War of the Roses. Margherita had fled to France, but now she's back to try to reclaim the throne for her son. Various French people are with her, notably Gamautte, a Figaro-like barber and surgeon, and Lavarenne, who has left his wife because he's in love with her. Said wife, Isaura, is there also, disguised as a man. There's a general named Carlo who was banished by the queen, but then rejoins her with his troops. The Duke of Gloucester captures Margherita's son but is defeated. Lavarenne is convinced that he should go back to being in love with Isaura (not exactly psychologically realistic, but very typical in this sort of opera). So, everyone's happy. Although it should be noted that her son--Edward, Prince of Wales--is going to die in battle at the age of seventeen.
Considering how much I liked the other early Italian Meyerbeer I've seen, Il crociato in Egitto, I had high hopes for this one. They were not fulfilled, however. I think this is a pretty bad opera. Sure, the story's goofy, but that could easily forgiven if it were more interesting musically. But while it certainly has a moment or two (really good overture, fwiw), I was largely unmoved by this. And...well, while the story could be forgiven if it had a better story, the fact remains, it doesn't, and that fact doesn't do the music any favors either. The two are complementary.
However, we do have to talk about the production here, which is, unsurprisingly, the only way you're going to see this. The review are all frothing-at-the-mouth about how much they hate it, but I just wave my hand dismissively at that: we'll see. People are too touchy sometimes. But...well, as much as I hate to agree with anyone ever, particularly people who probably also hate plenty of perfectly fine productions, I have to admit: it's really pretty dire. The king of thing that gives Eurotrash a bad name. The first act takes place, seemingly, at some sort of fashion show, with a catwalk running across the stage where various extras parade in bizarre mixtures of medieval and modern-day dress. The chorus--in theory, Margherita's soldiers--consists of the audience at this show. There are cameramen all over the place. Gamautte is presented as this flamboyant gay hairdresser. The second act is mostly at some kind of spa/health club, with everyone dressed in robes. Lavarenne delivers his angst aria about how much he love Margherita and how bad he feels about leaving his wife on a shrink's couch. okay, that last bit is kind of clever. But the fact remains: all of this is just totally bizarre and unconnected in any discernible way with the plot of the opera. The fun of Eurotrash is seeing whether you can make a story feel natural in a completely different setting. This doesn't even try. It makes the action way more hard to follow that it should be, and it drains whatever drama there might have been out of it. I hate it. Would I go so far as the guy who wrote "if you are sightless, you may enjoy this opera. But, if you are a somewhat normal opera goer and someone who enjoys the French Grand Opera, look elsewhere," sounding like he's about to start ranting about degenerate art? Not quite. But it IS extremely awful. The most famous person here is actually the conductor, Fabio Luisi, who often works at the Met. Surely he deserved better. I might be more forgiving if there were other choices, but given that this is your only option...yeesh. The little blurb claims that it's an "exemplary production: the ironical setting of the director Talevi- the War of the Roses takes place at the London Fashion Week." It's "ironic" because...participants in the War of the Roses were famous for being slovenly dressers? I'm not convinced you know what words mean.
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