Simon Boccanegra in Madrid/22.07, my impressions & photos

It was the first evening with the all star cast. Placido Domingo as Simon Boccanegra, Angela Gheorghiu as Amelia Grimaldi, Ferruccio Furlanetto as Fiesco and Marcelo Giordani as Gabriele Adorno. It was a great event for opera lovers in Madrid as Domingo returned in his home town. And he’s much loved here. He’s treated like a hero. This was also Angela’s debut in Teatro Real.

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It was my first time in Teatro Real. And the first time I see Boccanegra live on stage. Teatro Real is beautiful, both inside and outside. The location is excellent, right in front of the Royal Palace and a beautiful park. Inside you feel like being in a museum. The red room, the green room, a restaurant, a large terrace facing the Palace, marble staircases.
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The production was signed by Giancarlo del Monaco. It was not “heavy” as the Met one. Some marble columns, stairs, a statue in the Prologue, a big chair for Il Dodge, a table in the second act and that’s about all. The columns remain on stage throughout the opera. Only the background changes. There is a huge screen and some waves are projected on it. The effect is great when seen from the parterre. The costumes come in great contrast with the whiteness of the sets. Purple robes for the chorus, red robe for Boccanegra, black outfit for Fiesco, a dark blue dress for Amelia in the first act. Only Amelia’s dress changes entirely in the next acts. In the second one she has a white.. sort of night robe. In the third act the wedding dress is also white, with some golden embroidery on the edges.
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Impressive orchestra and chorus. Mr Jesus Lopez Cobos handled everything perfectly. The chorus part at the end of act 1 when they say “sia maledetto, sia maledetto” was so full of wrath that for a moment I felt sorry for Paolo.
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There were a lot of nervousness during the first part of the opera. Maybe it was the pressure of the evening. I couldn’t hear the voices too well. Two possible reasons. Either I was too close to the orchestra and the sound was not very well balanced or it was the place on stage they were singing from. Angela’s voice during her aria in the first act seemed like coming from far, far away. Soft, round, touching, but not powerful enough to overpass the orchestra. The director placed her on top of the stairs, towards the back of the stage. For the duet with Domingo (the father/daughter reunion) they both came in front. So things started to change. The voices already warmed up and they were closer to the audience. It was a very touching moment. The way they looked to each other, the acting and not to mention the voices. They looked exactly like father and daughter. It was one of those moments when you feel your blood pressure raising.
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This is the third time I see Ferruccio Furlanetto live on stage, after the Barber and La Fille at ROH. I can’t get enough of his voice. My ears say this is the perfect bas voice, from the first to the last sound.
And last but not least, Mr Giordani. Maybe this was not one of his best evenings. He sounded more like a brave warrior than a lover. His has a big, strong, Met-like voice that sometimes didn’t match the other voices singing at the same time.
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There were some other moments during the opera worth mentioning. The trio Boccanegra/Amelia/Adorno in the second act, the duet Boccanegra/Fiesco, then Fiesco’s aria before the duet with Simon, the entire scene in the Council Room at the end of act 1 (and here Domingo put everything in those words… E vo gridando: pace! E vo gridando: amore) and the ending of the opera, the death of Simon Boccanegra. This one was twice impressive. I told you before that Domingo is a great actor. He was sooo into this dying scene. First he blesses Adorno and Amelia and falls down for the first time, close to the edge of the pit. The other two help him get up, he tells everybody that Adorno is the next Dodge, he goes up the stairs and here he takes the big fall (and a worried “ahhhhh” was heard from the audience). He dies in the arms of Amelia. The people waited for the orchestra to finish and then there was an explosion of applauses. Bravos for everybody. During the performance they were not too generous with applauses. But now I see why. They waited for the right moment. Which came at the end. The press said there were 16 minutes of applauses. I think there were more. And very well deserved.
All my respect for everybody. Thanks for shearing your feelings and voices with us. You made me so happy.
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And as ending, it was great to meet again some of my friends. You know who you are. See you all again soon! Maybe we should all think of performance date of Adriana in London and set up a meeting. With all the risks involved. As you saw at the backstage door, the more, the merrier 🙂