This is an extremely odd one, I must say. On paper, it is the world's most normal opera seria: the Roman emperor, Lucio Vero, has defeated the Parthians, and the Armenian queen, Berenice, has been taken prisoner. She's in love with the Parthian king, Vologeso, but he's dead, only it turns out he's not dead, duh. But Lucio is also in love with her now in spite of having a fiancée, who he eventually goes back to and Vologeso is forgiven and he gets Berenice, hurrah. I feel that I have seen this is the seventy-seventh opera seria I've seen with this exact plot.
And yet, it's...weirder than that would make you think. The characters relationships are oddly tentative; it's not clear whether Vologeso and Berenice are really much of a couple. She seems to be appreciative of Lucio's efforts at fliration. And you wonder: is this actually going to end in the normal way?
Of course, it does, but the sincerity seems in doubt. At the end of an opera like this, there will be a chorus in praise of the emperor's mercifulness and generosity. This is known. And there is a thing sort of like that here, only then it doesn't quite end. The music meanders on for another few minutes before just petering to a halt. It's impossible for me to imagine that a composer at the time would have been trying to deconstruct the opera seria as a genre, but damned if that's what it doesn't look like. This production is as off-kilter as the opera itself. You can, if you like, object to the very end where the singers are just sort of wandering around the stage, looking dispirited, changing back into their street clothes...but if so, I'd like to know what you think a more satisfying denouement would be, given the text and music that any producer has to work with.
The music is fine. More classical than baroque, I thought. I can't say I thought it was an all-time great, or anything; sure, I'd see more Jommelli if if were on offer, but I'm not gonna sit here and say that I'm exactly desperate for it.
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