Roberto Alagna

Roberto Alagna

CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA/PAGLIACCI - ARENA DI VERONA

 

OPERA

PAGLIACCI

Opera in a prologue and two acts
music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo.
It is the composer's only opera that is still widely performed.
Opera companies have frequently staged Pagliacci with Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, a double bill known colloquially as "Cav and Pag".
 
Pagliacci premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on 21 May 1892,
conducted by Arturo Toscanini
 
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
Opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a  short story of the same name in 1880
Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. 
Since 1893, it has often been performed in a so-called Cav/Pag double-bill with Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo
 
 

PERFORMANCES

 

ARENA DI VERONA

 

Saturday the 31st of July 2021 *

Saturday the 14st of August 2021

 

(*) First time at the Arena di Verona

 

 

 

CAST

 

CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA 

Roberto Alagna - Turiddu

Aleksandra Kurzak - Santuzza *

Maria José Siri - Santuzza (14st of August)

Ambrogio Maestri - Alfio

Elena Zilio - Lola

 

PAGLIACCI

Roberto Alagna - Canio

Aleksandra Kurzak - Nedda

Maria José siri (14st of August)

Ambrogio Maestri - Tonio

Mario Cassi - Silvio

 

Orchestre et choeurs Arena di Verona

 

Direction musicale - Marco Armiliato 

 

 

 

PRESS REVIEW

Ieri Oggi Domani Opera - Francesco Lodola

 
 
❝THE LAST DIVO, TRIUMPHANT DEBUT of Roberto Alagna at the Arena di Verona. Today, no other tenor in the world gives off his charisma. Not only for his voice - still the most beautiful in the world - but also for his moving naturalness and innate instinct that makes him naturally a divo, without artifice nor affected postures. A temperamental Turiddu who wins the hearts from the Sicilian song. An intense complex Canio, embodied to perfection, both in gesture and vocal accent❞.
 
(translated from Italian): « The last Divo! ": This is just one of the acclamations that welcomed Roberto Alagna's triumphant Arena debut. Let's clear the field immediately: it is a thought we share. Today, no other tenor in the world gives off the charisma of Alagna. It is not only his voice, which is still the most beautiful in the world, but it is the naturalness with which he moves on stage, his innate instinct that makes him naturally a divo, without artifice nor affected postures. His temperamental Turiddu wins the hearts from the Sicilian song (launched with a lot of Sicilian linguistic sounds), highlighting the machismo of the relationship with Santuzza and the fragility in the last greeting to his mother. In the same way Canio is embodied with profound intensity, constructing to perfection - both in the gesture and in the vocal accent- all the smallest neuroses of a character so complex in his dualism of man and actor. The last divo? Yes sure. »
 
 

Toute la Culture - Paul Fourier 

 
❝MIRACLE OF GRAND EVENINGS, ENCHANTMENT at theArena di Verona. With the flamboyant cast of this night, we hit the top. Splendid performance, one of these great ones that hold very high the quintessence of Italian dramatic opera. Purist TURIDDU, vocally, the clarity of pronunciation is perfect. The duet with Santuzza - almost disturbing so much the couple is in fusion and the ambivalent feelings of love and hate are so clearly shown - is of anthology. Topmost PAGLIACCIO, Alagna recalls his connection with the great Canios of the past, Caruso ahead. His magnified 'Vesti la giubba' is a condensate of raw art leaving a lasting impression. Aware of experiencing an outstanding moment, the audience will try in vain to get an encore from him. With a thrilling "No, Pagliaccio no son", the tenor goes crescendo, consuming himself on stage. We touch here with the sublime.❞
 
(translated from French): « With the flamboyant cast gathered tonight and Marco Armiliato conducting, we hit the top. [...] In CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA, Roberto Alagna, purist, opens the performance from behind the scenes, with the cantata "O Lola c'hai di milatti la cammisa" in Sicilian dialect. When he reappears afterwards, he is a man in a hurry, hotheaded, paying very little interest to this Santuzza who stands in his path. Vocally, once again, the clarity of pronunciation is perfect and should be especially appreciated by the Italians in the audience. The duet between Turiddu and Santuzza is almost disturbing so much the couple is in fusion and the ambivalent feelings of love and hate are so clearly shown. Kurzak’s premonitory "A te la male pasqua" to Alagna is the magnificent culmination of this duo of anthology that strikes the whole audience. Especially as their acting is on the same page, particularly when the tenor is turning around from the top of the stairs, as struck by her threat ... moment of reflection of the character who perceives the swing that will be fatal to him. [...] His "Mamma, quel vino" is extremely moving [...] The tenor once again makes an extraordinary demonstration of this blend of strength, fragility and humanity that he knows how to lead to the highest level. A blend that is exclusively his, as a master of this repertoire that he holds dear, because he knows how to bring out its essence and magnify it. [...]
Topmost PAGLIACCIO - After the intermission, [...] we find Alagna trumpeting in his entrance aria (“Une grande espectolo”). And the miracle is repeated… Roberto Alagna recalls here his connection with the great Canios of the past, Caruso ahead, magnifying the “Vesti la giubba” in a subtle dosage of sad declamation and emotion-controlled vibrato. This condensate of raw art leaves a lasting impression and the audience, aware of experiencing an outstanding moment, will try in vain to get an encore from him. [...] The orchestra responds to Nedda / Kurzak's desperate attempts and Canio's lavishly dramatic outbursts with a thrilling "No, Pagliaccio no son". The tenor goes crescendo, consuming himself on stage. We touch here with the sublime. Playing a feigned detachment first, Aleksandra Kurzak then finds the accents of desperation and lets loose in a striking cry of defiance, bringing tension to its climax when Alagna, Nedda's murderer, concludes with "La commedia e finita" in a sob.
That is how ends one of those great evenings that hold very high the quintessence of Italian dramatic opera, in a place made to receive all the excesses, even the most beautiful ones. Like street artists in their little caravan, these entertainers — so useful, so necessary, so talented — arrived and gave us there more than a splendid performance. In our disconcerting time, they offered us the miracle of a moment of rapture or even of enchantment. »

 

 

ForumOpera - Yannick Boussart

 
❝THUNDEROUS DEBUT for Roberto Alagna at the Arena di Verona. In Cavalleria Rusticana, impeccable Sicilian cantilena. His timbre and vocal commitment embrace the character's virility. A vocal ardor that culminates in a solar and resounding Brindisi. So natural and heartbreaking accents. Pagliacci’s “Vesti la giubba” sung with great crescendo. Tone and phrasing combine to serve the lyrics. Long, well-deserved ovation, punctuated by encore requests❞.
 
(translated from French): « As strange as it may sound, Roberto Alagna had never performed at the Arena di Verona. Thanks to the willingness of director Cécilia Gasdia, this has now been done since Saturday July 31. Debut, and what a debut! Alongside his partner in life, the French tenor takes on the roles of Turiddu and Canio consecutively, while Aleksandra Kurzak acts opposite him as Santuzza and Nedda. […] In the "Sicilian" song, the festival-goers discover him singing from off-stage. The cantilena is impeccable, the timbre and vocal commitment embrace the character's virility. The portrait of the seducer comes to life in a vocal ardor that culminates in a solar and resounding Brindisi. In the last scene with Mamma Lucia, Roberto Alagna chinks in Turridu’s armour and lets through all the cracks and existential fear of the character with accents so natural that they are heartbreaking. […] In Pagliacci, we find again our three main singers and their qualities. […] Roberto Alagna delivers a “vesti la giubba” with great crescendo. Tone and phrasing combine to serve the text. He will receive a long, well-deserved ovation, punctuated by encore requests.»
 
 

La Verdad - Joaquim Gomez Gomez

 
❝THE OUTSTANDING BRILLIANCE OF ROBERTO ALAGNA. ‘Il grande tenore' brought the Arena di Verona audience to its feet. He sang both Cavalleria and Pagliacci. In both his singing was exemplary and his interpretation was thrilling. A monumental Cavalleria. A masterful Pagliacci, overwhelming by the power of his humanity❞ .
 
(translated from Spanish): « In 'Cavalleria', his opening serenade (Siciliana) exuded the scent of passion, like Etna erupting near Catania at its foothills, with almost magical accent on all the vowels including ‚u‘, which Kraus said was the most difficult to adjust on the facial resonators. His duet with Santuzza, performed by his beloved wife Aleksandra Kurzak with great emphasis and wonderful vocal expression, had a controlled overflow.
The highlight was his toast ('Viva il vino spumeggiante'). He climbed on the table at the Easter Sunday celebration and his voice echoed aloud from above, reaching every corner of the vast coliseum. The brightness of the vowels ‚i‘ and ‚e‘ reached the lineage of Corelli, the phrasing with incorporated legato reminded me of Bergonzi. It was so exciting and brimming with great fantasy, as if it were an act of love; so much that even my heart sped up in crescendo and I had to take Sumial 40 mg in prevention of tachyarrhythmias, which I sometimes have. Then his finale, the famous 'Addio a la Mamma', had the required brilliance and also chiselled each phrase, with a vocal expression of a son saying goodbye to his mother, because he knows he is going to die. A monumental 'Cavalleria'.
What to say about „Pagliacci“: His 'ventrite ore' was anthological, placing a ‚B‘ note on the vowel ‚e', pure, bright, full, prolonged, showing a homogeneous, uniform and harmonious register in his vocal range, in a Pertile-like style, as Alagna‘s vocal teacher was the pupil of the excellent tenor Aureliano Pertile, much admired by Kraus for his great singing technique. Alagna‘s 'Vesti la giubba' began with great lyricism in piano to grow then in intensity, setting the audience on fire.
Such was the enthusiasm that the viewers shouted "encore, encore". Alagna, humbly and with his personal modesty, persisted and continued the scene. Nedda was wonderfully interpreted by Kurzak and her singing offered a real masterclass in her part, reminiscent in some aspects of the famous Monserrat Caballé. Finally Roberto, in his 'No! Pagliaccio non son', put all his marvelous technique and the passion of a free man into play with an overwhelming power. The power of his humanity. (…)
Roberto Alagna - a great master in the history of operatic singing, a man, an artist for eternity. »
 
 
 

GALLERY 

 



07/01/2022