Leyla Gencer Archive

ELISABETTA, REGINA D'INGHILTERRA

Giacchino Rossini (1792 - 1868)

Opera in two acts in Italian

Libretto: Lorenzo de Ponte

Premièr at National Theatre, Prague – 29 October 1787

04, 07, 09† September 1972

King's Theater, Edinburgh

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Massimo, Palermo

Conductor: Nino Sanzogno

Giacomo Zani (09.09)

Chorus master: Mario Tagini

Stage director: Mauro Bolognini

Scene and costumes: Gaetano Pompa

Elizabeth I Queen of England LEYLA GENCER soprano

The Earl of Leicester Commander of the army UMBERTO GRILLI tenor
Matilda his secret wife MARGHERITA GUGLIELMI soprano
The Duke of Norfolk PIETRO BOTTAZZO tenor
Enrico (Henry) Matilda’s brother GIOVANNI VIGHI mezzo-soprano
Guglielmo (Fitzwilliam) Captain of the Royal Guard GIANPAOLO CORRADI tenor

Place: London

Time: Late Sixteenth Century

† Recording date

Photos © D. G. KINGSTON, Edinburgh

With Magda Olivero (soprano) and Margherita Guglielmi (soprano)

A LETTER TO LEYLA GENCER FROM OPERA MAGAZINE

1972.05.04

A TELEGRAM FROM PASQUALE DI COSTANZO, INTENDANT OF TEATRO SAN CARLO DI NAPOLI TO LEYLA GENCER

1972.08.31

A TELEGRAM FROM PAOLO GRASSI, INTENANT OF TEATRO ALLA SCALA DI MILANI TO LEYLA GENCER

1972.09.01

OPERA SCOTLAND

1972

The Festival's guest company in 1972 was the Teatro Massimo from Palermo. The quality of the productions and performances was mixed, and the reception by the critics was on the whole cool. While orchestra and chorus were not of the first rank, there was still lots to enjoy from the singers, several of the leading Italian performers of the day. It was unfortunate that the Verdi, in particular, was hampered by ill-health on the part of some of some of the stars. Three rarities from the Italian ottocento repertoire were presented. The Rossini was the first of his important Naples commissions, Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra. The Verdi was Attila. It was also essential that this company should feature a work by a Sicilian composer. The obvious candidate, Bellini, was represented by La straniera.

The Rossini had a memorable production, sadly for all the wrong reasons. The bizarre elements of the plot cause this opera enough of a problem for British audiences. This production had such a strangely misconceived design concept that it struggled from the second the familiar Barber of Seville overture ended and the curtain rose. The audiences progressed from stunned shock to fits of giggles as the strange visual interpretation of British history unrolled before them.

The backcloths owed something to Tuscan landscape - those odd-looking hills in old master paintings that seem completely outlandish until you discover that Tuscan hills really do look like that. The costumes were only vaguely period, and some very odd – bright red, almost air stewardess uniforms (with pork pie hats) for Matilda and Enrico.

The musical side of the performance was distinctly mixed. The conductor originally announced, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, had conducted the Palermo revival, which had been well received. However, he withdrew, and Nino Sanzogno, a familiar visitor to Edinburgh, who was already coming to conduct La straniera, must have learned this extra score in a hurry. The playing was all a bit scrappy. Sadly, the star soprano in the title role was in very edgy voice and she struggled throughout the evening. The role did lie low for Leyla Gencer in any case, and her chest register seemed distinctly rough. Her opening aria, later remodelled for The Barber of Seville, required a coloratura mezzo, which Gencer never was. The famously glorious upper reaches of her voice were hardly required.

Otherwise things sounded better. The two principal tenor voices were cleverly differentiated in tone - extremely bright for the villainous Norfolk, a mellower sound for the more sympathetic Leicester - both fiendishly difficult parts, convincingly delivered, given that the modern revival of Neapolitan Rossini was still in its infancy. The lighter soprano and the mezzo 'trouser role' were both well sung, but suffered most from the difficulties of a plot that required us to believe that they were the children of Mary Queen of Scots.

In those days we knew very little about the ground-breaking experiments of Rossini in Naples, and this did little to advance the cause. Two studio recordings made available since this time actually show the strengths of the work, at least in terms of music. And other examples of the genre have since been given very successfully at the Festival, even if only in concert.

http://www.operascotland.org/tour/448/Elisabetta%2C-Regina-d%27-Inghilterra-1972

L'UNITA

1972.01.29