La battaglia di Legnano

Until just a couple of days ago, I had never heard of La Battaglia Di Legnano, and if I weren't a Verdi fan I'd probably never would have. Being introduced to it via the Carreras/Ricciarelli I'm glad I was exposed to it, because while it is far from Verdi's best opera it is still highly pleasurable. This production mayn't be the makings of a truly great production, and perhaps it would be a good idea to be somewhat familiar with the opera or its story before watching, but for anybody going on a Verdi quest it is still decent enough. I'd say it is worth a look, because it is very good musically.

The orchestral playing sounds beautiful with some good style and rousing power, and the chorus are vibrant and good observers of the action. Nello Santi even after being active for 30+ years beforehand, shows that he still has it in a reading that is authoritative and sympathetic. The cast are fine on the whole, though Giorgio Cebrian is rather unsteady-sounding which is always going to be an acquired taste(I think vibrato helps to colour the voice but it can feel excessive when used too much). He does show some dignity though I give you that. Elisabete Matos fares best with a voice that gleams beautifully, and her performance is very affecting. Cesar Hernandez vocally has a great ring and youthfulness, and he succeeds in being both ardent and loyal. The staging does have moments, the idea to have the men on giant horses was quite striking, and Act 4 is quite moving also. The historical detail for the main roles and in the sets is very evocative. The productions is well filmed, and the sound generally is good.

Not everything works though. The platforms disallowed us to have as much intimacy with the characters as we would have liked and the sound doesn't always carry. Some of the movement is on the static side, not doing much to make the story more interesting, and while I mayn't know the opera as well as other Verdis I personally didn't see the need to have the chorus present the entire time. The production values also had somewhat of a mixed reception, I've already mentioned how much I liked the historical detail but the modern day clothes for the chorus just jarred with everything else and made me wonder what was the point in having two different styles when it would just confuse everybody. And while I am not one to throw a tantrum when there are cuts, considering that the opera is one of Verdi's shortest generally I saw no real problem for the performance not to be complete. The second verse Lina cabaletta cut I don't mind so much(it's hardly the first time that a second verse cabaletta has been cut) but I am not so forgiving regarding the cut in the soprano-tenor duet, you don't want a piece to feel or sound incomplete and that was the effect this cut had.

In conclusion, decent but falls short of greatness. 6/10 Bethany Cox