This, Donizetti’s last completed opera, is a rather gloomy affair despite its pomp. Premiered at the Paris Opera in 1843, it is the most gigantic he ever composed, with scenes set on a Moroccan desert oasis, a battlefield, the royal palace and a public square in Lisbon (the latter with a funeral procession in which more than 600 people took part at the premiere), an underground court and torture chamber of the Inquisition, and a tower from which hero and heroine attempt to escape via a rope ladder, not unlike a 1930s Hollywood swashbuckler. Still, it was referred to as “a funeral procession in five acts” by one critic of the period, and some argue that it was the onset of the composer’s syphilis that drove him to dementia and death within three years that played a part in both the work’s occasional lapses of inspiration and dark hue.
It concerns the young King of Portugal who almost dies in battle in Morocco. Sebastien loves Zaida, an Arab princess; trouble ensues and he winds up falling victim to conspiracies between fundamentalist Christian and Muslim leaders, with Spain’s King Philip II eventually taking over. This is not the Donizetti of flowery showpieces; rather it is at once somewhat imitative of Meyerbeer and forward-looking to Verdi.
In the midst of the politics and passion, librettist and composer decided to place Portugal’s national poet, a real figure named Camoens, who not only adds sentiment but almost saves the King as well. Donizetti gave him the aria “O Lisbonne”, long a favorite with baritones and the second-best-known set-piece in the opera, after the beautiful “Seul, sur le terre”, with which the tenor-king ends the second act in a daring coup de theatre. (It is better known as “Deserto in terra” and always has been a favorite with tenors who can handle the three high-Cs and single D-flat with élan; Pavarotti included it on his first recorded album.)
There is no denying that the ballet music is uninteresting and too long and that for periods the work is somber to a point of being dour; that Zaida’s music has little of the appeal of most of Donizetti’s other heroines (including the similarly mezzo Leonore in La favorite); that the music for Abayaldos and the Arabs tends toward the undistinguished and rote; and that the final scene of the opera, less than two minutes long, is one of opera’s great anti-climaxes–Donizetti himself was so bothered by its brevity that he wrote to a friend that “music can do nothing” for it. On the other hand, there are the two arias mentioned above, some terrific duets, a superb septet in the fourth act, and a fine ensemble or two. So the opera is a mixed bag, and a three-hour mixed bag at that.
This performance is very fine indeed. Tenor Giuseppe Filanoti is a real find as Sebastien–a lyric voice with real ping, an easy top, and passionate delivery without ever resorting to forcing or mannerisms. Matching him is Simon Keenlyside as the Muslim chieftain Abayaldos, singing with power and great expression; indeed, as good as baritone Carmelo Corrado Caruso is as Camoens, it would have been good to hear Keenlyside sing “O Lisbonne”. Mezzo Vesselina Kasarova’s remarkably smoky voice, in excellent form, pleases as Zaida, although she has developed the odd characteristic of varying pianissimo with forte tones so suddenly that it draws attention to itself and does not serve the music or text. Alastair Miles sings the role of Don Juan, the Christian Inquisitor, with emotional power but oddly unfocused tone. The chorus, with plenty to do, is marvelous.
Mark Elder leads as exciting a performance as possible, playing up the gravity of the dark moments (the prelude to the fourth act features massed brass choirs) and lending great forward movement to the more propulsive sections. His tempos for both “O Lisbonne” and “Seul sur le terre” might have been more yielding, allowing the beautiful, Italianate melodies to unfold (this is Donizetti at his most Bellinian), but he leads without overt sentiment. This recording is highly recommended. [7/12/2007]
