Umberto Giordano’s Siberia was premiered at La Scala in December, 1903 with an impressive cast: Rosina Storchio, Giovanni Zenatello, and Giuseppe de Luca. His two great hits–Andrea Chenier and Fedora–had appeared in 1896 and 1898 respectively, and he never was to achieve anything like the fame they brought him. The dark-plotted Siberia, filled with exclamatory vocal passages galore and only the occasional melodic moment (one of which is “The song of the Volga Boatmen” quoted during the second act!), was relatively well-received but never took hold. It has been virtually forgotten, save for some old recordings of bits of it by “golden age” singers. Now comes this new recording, which was taped live at the Martina Franca Festival in August, 2003, and it is a good performance of a mediocre piece of verismo that’s nevertheless worth hearing.
In the first act, the nice-guy tenor Vassili wounds Prince Alexis in a duel; Vassili has fallen in love with Alexis’ mistress, Stephana, thinking her “an embroideress”. Baritone Gleby also is on hand–he was Stephana’s first lover and now is her pimp. Vassili is exiled to Siberia for his part in the duel. The second act, which takes place on the way to Siberia, finds Stephana swathed in furs but having sold her villa and belongings and given the proceeds to the poor, showing up to live out her days with Vassili, whom she realizes is the true love of her life and her road to salvation. In the third act, on Holy Saturday, all the prisoners are at their work in Siberia, and Gleby arrives–he has been exiled for forgery and usury. He invites Stephana to escape with him through a dried-up well he has discovered. She refuses because she has discovered true love, and as revenge, Gleby tells everyone that she was a hooker. Humiliated, she convinces Vassili to try the escape route with her, but when they do, Gleby sounds the alarm. The guards shoot Stephana, and she dies in Vassili’s arms.
There is certainly nothing subtle here, but Giordano adds a balalaika solo to the third act for color, the scoring in general is arresting, the overall tone is fascinatingly grim, and the whole opera lasts for slightly more than 90 minutes. The brief second act reaches an exciting, handsome climax in a love duet for the tenor and soprano against a soft chorus (the “Volga Boatmen” again), and there are a few thrilling high-Cs along the way. What the opera really needs is a pair of leather-voiced lovers and a baritone who can hold his own as well, and we more-or-less get just that. Francesca Scaini is a good verismo soprano–fearless, expressive, and secure at the top of her range (sort of a young Magda Olivero who doesn’t sound crazy). She gives us Stephana’s softness as well as her determination. Tenor Jeong-Won Lee’s Vassili at times is crudely sung, but he is a big-toned, thoroughly committed singer, and he shakes the heavens when he has to.
As the mustache-twirling Gleby, Vittorio Vitelli’s voice is a bit dry, but he gets his nasty points across. The other soloists, with little to do, are good. The Bratislava Chamber Choir is superb in its hard work during the second and third acts, and the orchestra plays well under Maestro Benzi. Siberia is remarkably effective when you’re listening to it; even more remarkable is how quickly it fades from memory. Who says everything has to be a masterpiece? Throughout we get good sound and a very well-behaved audience, with applause at the end of acts.
