Madama Butterfly – Puccini – Puccini Festival Torre del Lago
Image taken from the Puccini Festival website
Covid-19 had ravaged this part of Italy, including the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, but with typical Italian character and guile a reduced Festival starting in August has been possible, albeit at less than 40% capacity with constant Covid testing of artists and all involved. By using a more local fully Italian cast the Festival made it work and put on a real show. It is of course easier to downsize audience when you have nearly 3,500 seats to play with and a beautiful outdoor arena on the lake! Nevertheless there was a large number of medical staff available, temperatures were taken when you entered the grounds and masks were worn. Perhaps this was the first real Corona-Puccini Festival!
Madama Butterfly was the Opera and Renzo Giacchieri directed proceedings, scenery and costumes, working with the garden designers, Mati Gardens. The scenery was in fact the creation of green areas onstage that could be defined as a symphony of garden colours and natural designs born from a skilful combination of various garden green-leafed species with appropriate lighting design by both Luke Ramacciotti and Valerio Alfieri. The Japanese garden scenery was absolutely stunning for this 66th Puccini Festival.
As the mask-wearing Conductor, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, who is also the Festival’s Music Director, arrived on the podium it was clear that everyone was excited at the opportunity to listen to opera again……….and the evening did not disappoint. The large outdoor auditorium used some enhanced sound and there were noble vocals in the first Act from the Goro of Nicola Pamio, the Yamadori of Pedro Carrillo and the Bonzo of Angelo Nardinocchi. There was an elegant and focused Sharpless from Alberto Mastromarino and an all-round attractive Suzuki of Laura Brioli with great deep chest notes in her mezzo sound, albeit quite a substantial vibrato in her upper register.
The Pinkerton of Leonardo Caimi started slowly with small vocals, but warmed up to the role in the love duet at the end of Act 1 and was solid thereafter. The Butterfly of Silvana Froli sang fearlessly throughout the evening. Hers was a voice with some sharpness of tone, but of real substance during her arias and duets and only the lower register was somewhat difficult for her. Both lovers had to social distance in their duets, which in certain respects was rather amusing.
The Conductor gave a pacey account of the score, at times fully in tune with the singers, at other times with his head down into the score. There were, however, a few occasions when the pace slowed alarmingly!
The Puccini Festival Orchestra and Chorus were both on fine form, although the direction of the humming chorus at the end of Act 2 and Oh eh! Oh eh! at the beginning of Act 3 left the singers gyrating madly on stage in a style that was somewhat embarrassing for all concerned!
However, it is congratulations to the Puccini Festival for allowing the audience a grand form of opera entertainment to be enjoyed at last.
