Giuseppe Verdi was the most popular opera composer of his time, and perhaps beyond, responsible for enshrining the dramatic “grand” in Italian grand opera. His fans don’t have to look far to find live performances or hear recordings of what is widely regarded as his greatest music, including “Rigoletto,” “Otello,” “Macbeth,” “La Traviata” and “Aida.”
But the prolific composer also wrote what are thought to be minor works, particularly early in his career, and those operas are rarely if ever brought to the stage. So when West Bay Opera announced the staging of “I due Foscari,” which premiered in Rome in 1844 and preceded almost all of his most famous works, Verdi lovers had reason to be gleeful.
West Bay opened its production of the rarely performed three-act opera on Feb. 15, and though the opera itself can comfortably remain in the “minor work” category, this staging — with all its glorious singing, its forceful orchestration, and its revelations of the early steps the composer took on the path toward his major works — is truly a gift to opera and classical music lovers.
The “minor” categorization has little if anything to do with the quality of the music heard in this opera, but rather with the plot: Unlike Verdi’s later works depicting grandiose human tragedies in all their twisting and turning complexities — some literally Shakespearean at their core — “Foscari” is a simple story. Father is the doge; son is accused of murder and treason. The Venetian Council of 10 vote to exile son. Wife of son rages and weeps and prays and rages some more. Son is put on a slow boat for a land beyond. And dies. The doge dies of grief. End of story.
But if the plot is uninspired, this production is anything but. West Bay’s general manager and conductor Jose Luis Moscovich noted before the opening that he was “pulling all the stops to present this work” within the small company’s modest means, and he meant it. In addition to bravura singing that kept listeners at the edge of their seats throughout the night, the dazzling sets depicting Venice of the 1450s and the expanded chorus of strong-voiced singers amplified the excitement of the dynamic live performance in Palo Alto’s Lucie Stern Theatre.
A ballet duo — Hien Huynh and Nathaniel Moore — also added to the dynamism of the performance, nimbly and with great comedic skill portraying in acrobatic dance two rivals about to compete in a gondola race, their movements fluid like the water they will launch their boats on.
But the biggest thrills of all are the lead singers’ stunning performances.
The dramatic coloratura soprano Christina Major has the voice and depth of expression to rage, weep and rage again with the best. As West Bay’s lead singer in “Norma” in 2017, she demonstrated the range, clarity and forcefulness of the bel canto form. In the current opera, which is early enough in Verdi’s career to represent a straddling between bel canto and the dramatic form of his later work, she demonstrates impeccable vocal control, and world-class talent.
As Lucrezia Contarini, the doge’s daughter-in-law whose husband is facing exile, she also displays an acting range that convincingly flows from tenderness to fury, to near-derangement to dignity.
Tenor Nathan Granner is a magnificent and heart-breaking Jacopo Foscari, the doge’s son. In his first appearance on stage, he is already shackled and awaiting a hearing before the Council of 10. When he first sings, it is a love song to Venice, which he delivers movingly and with pure vocal clarity. This was a relatively serene moment for the hapless Jacopo, whose next solo scene is in a dungeon, where he has been tortured and is now in the throws of momentary madness, seeing ghosts.
Granner was heard earlier this season as Rodolfo in “La Boheme,” and it’s no mystery why he was brought back to help pillar “Foscari.” His is an expressive voice that easily navigates passages moving from forcefulness to lyricism.
Baritone Benjamin Brady delivers a compelling Loredano, Jacopo’s sworn enemy and a member of the Council of 10 that condemns the doge’s son. His performance is authoritative, both in his singing and his stage presence.
The opening night performance was marked by an unusual event that could have proven to be a blow of operatic proportion to the audience and to the performers ready to enchant us. It was obvious early in lead baritone Jason Duika’s first scene as the doge, Francesco Foscari, that something was wrong. He appeared ill and feeble, and I probably wasn’t the only one feeling relieved that he wasn’t flat out on the stage floor by the end of the scene, which drew the curtain on Act I.
Just before Act II began, Moscovich appeared from behind the curtain to speak to the audience. A forceful advocate for live performance because of the magic it can deliver, not in small part because of possible unexpected moments enlivening things, Moscovich announced that Duika, a fine singer, had suffered a severe allergy attack, and was unable to sing up to his ability. In this instance, the unexpected did not deliver the magic he had in mind, he suggested.
But magic comes in different forms, and it was felt nonetheless that night. Because of West Bay’s limited resources, there was no understudy to take Duika’s place. But the suffering baritone, who has demonstrated his singing talent in opera productions across the country and at West Bay — as Marcello in last fall’s “La Boheme” — agreed to continue in diminished capacity, and the show went on, with the orchestra and his fellow singers accommodating his inability to project his voice as his role called for. It was a development of grand opera proportion.
Under Moscovich’s baton, the orchestra offers solid support for the singers and actors on stage in this production. “I due Foscari” presents to listeners familiar with Verdi’s later works a chance to experience a point of his development at which he was exploring the possibilities of harmonic expression and dramatic force in his orchestration. And Moscovich and the pros in the pit were effective guides for that endeavor.
The mighty behind-the-scenes talent in this production includes stage director Richard Harrell, set designer Peter Crompton, costume designer Callie Floor, lighting designer Steve Mannshardt, projections designer Frederic O. Boulay, chorus master Bruce Olstad, and choreographer Daiane Lopes da Silva.
If you go
There are two more performances of “I due Foscari”: Saturday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto.
Tickets are $35 to $85, with group, senior and student discounts available. They can be reserved at 650-424-9999 (preferred) or at WBOpera.org. More information at WBOpera.org.
Email Renee Batti at rbatti@almanacnews.com
