Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur Blu-ray Review
Rather incredibly, this little known opera now has its second Blu-ray release.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, August 7, 2012
There's a lot of chitchat on internet forums about lesser known catalog titles from mainstream studios finally getting
released on Blu-ray, some of which never
even saw the light of day on DVD. Labels like Twilight Time and Olive Films are both praised and lambasted for their
efforts, marketing strategies, and a host of other ancillary issues tied to any given release. Sometimes lost in all of the
furor is one simple, unanswered question: wouldn't you at least like to have the
option of buying a little known
or largely forgotten title, especially if you have a special interest in it for whatever reason? This same sort of issue
doesn't really crop up that much in the much smaller marketplaces of classical music in general and opera in particular,
but it sprang to mind when I received a review copy of an opera that even many in the professional operatic world
know very little about. What's perhaps even more remarkable is that this is the
second release of this little
known piece that I've personally reviewed. Though
Adriana Lecouvreur provides its titular soprano with a
showcase role, both in terms of vocal power and perhaps just as importantly for the typical diva temperament,
melodramatic acting opportunities, the opera just has never become a part of the standard repertoire of most major
companies. As a matter of fact, Covent Garden had only done
Adriana Lecouvreur once prior to the performance
captured on this new Blu-ray, and that particular performance was a bit before modern video or audio recording
techniques had been refined: 1906, in fact. It's notable, if understandable, that even star Angela Gheorghiu seems a
bit confused or misinformed about the opera's history, as she indicates in the supplemental featurette included on this
Blu-ray that she seems to think that this performance is actually the Covent Garden premiere. Several other cast and
crew members, while better informed about the opera's history at Covent Garden, similarly confess to not really
knowing that much about it or even being very familiar with its music. And yet here is
Adriana Lecouvreur's
second Blu-ray release!
Though it's really little remembered and even less performed today,
Adriana Lecouvreur actually had a rather
celebrated premiere, with none other than Enrico Caruso essaying the role of Mauricio, the Count of Saxony who is
engaged in a doomed love affair with Adriana, a famous actress at Paris' Comédie-Française. But though the opera is
performed with a certain regularity, few of its tunes have entered the public lexicon in the way that, say, those of
Puccini
or Verdi have. Even the opera's famously showy arias seem to be more a case of technical prowess than being
memorable in and of themselves.
Adriana Lecouvreur's composer was one Francisco Cilea, a relative
contemporary
of Puccini (though he outlived him by a couple of decades) who never really seemed to capture the operatic brass ring
despite having had several successful productions in his day. But let's face it: when offered the choice between a
Puccini
piece and a Cilea piece, few are probably going to opt for the latter.
As was discussed in the review of the
Teatro Regio Torino Blu-ray of
Adriana Lecouvreur (starring Micaela Carosi and
Marcelo Alvarez), initially at least it seemed that Cilea's best known work was indeed going to be a long-lived
achievement, especially since the basic source material for the opera had already been musicalized three times before,
with Cilea's version being by far the most admired and popular. But time has not been especially kind to this story of
star-crossed lovers, set in a backstage world of intrigue and star temperaments, part of which can be attributed to an
overly confusing and complex libretto.
Adriana Lecouvreur might have gone on to greater fame and glory had it
been more streamlined and perhaps at least a bit less hyperbolic as it moves toward its tragic conclusion.
This Royal Opera House production from November and December 2010 is unquestionably the better of the two
versions out on Blu-ray, which is not to say that it can completely overcome some of the problems inherent in both
Cilea's music and the famously convoluted libretto by Arturo Colautti. Adriana is performed by Angela Gheorghiu, and
her somewhat "heavy" sounding voice is perfectly suited for the low tessitura of the role. Maurizio is essayed by the
virile and dramatically convincing Maurizio. The physical production here is incredibly sumptuous, capturing all sorts of
little nooks and crannies in the backstage world of the Comédie-Française, and the sets an costumes add immeasurably
to the visual allure of the piece.
Director David McVicar admits to not having been overly familiar with this material before he came on board this
production, but he invests this
Adriana Lecouvreur with his typically brisk and even cinematic staging, with
scenes seguing effortlessly into each other and a grand sweep in both the physical production and the general
performance style that helps to establish the mood quite effectively. Conductor Mark Elder actually gives a rather
passionate reading of this problematic score, squeezing out every last drop of emotion from the stellar playing of the
Royal Opera House Orchestra. This may not in fact be A-list material, but with these performers, players and
technicians, it seems like it a surprising amount of the time.
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation
It's some measure of the maturity of the Blu-ray format that we're getting the more mainstream catalog releases from
labels like Twilight Time and Olive Films, but there are also copious clues about Blu-ray's market share when classical labels
devote their resources to release lesser known pieces right alongside the latest version of some oft-performed warhorse.
There's no denying
Adriana Lecouvreur isn't a forgotten masterpiece, but it probably is a good deal better than its
somewhat sullied reputation should suggest. This Royal Opera House production plays it for all its worth, and the results
elevate the material, especially with regard to a truly sumptuous physical production and the impeccable playing of the
Royal Opera House orchestra. Gheorghiu is sometimes taken to task for her vocal
gravitas (for want of a better
term), but it works decidedly to her benefit in the kind of husky range of this role. If you've never seen
Adriana
Lecouvreur, this is certainly the version to start with.
Recommended.
