Tutto Verdi

Simon Boccanegra is not of Verdi's all-time greats to me, but I do have a lot of respect for it. The story is convoluted, more in some scenes than others(I never did see why Boccanegra and Amelia decide to keep their father-daughter relationship secret), but it is still a compelling work that has emotional impact and the music is wonderful, as good as Boccanegra-Fiesco's duets and the Counsel scene are my highlight is Orfanella in Tutto Umile which I am always moved by. This is a very good production, some of the staging in scenes with big numbers of people like the Counsel scene have a tendency to be cluttered and while nobly sung and acted Il Lacerato Spirito could have done with being sung with smoother legato and a more powerful bottom, other than those it has very little wrong.

The production design and costumes are simple but still eye-catching and not misplaced. Nothing came across as ugly here. The staging apart from some cluttered moments is very effective, Orfanella in Tutto Umile is truly affecting and the prologue duet between Fiesco and Boccanegra nail-biting. The Counsel scene is wonderfully performed if in need of more stage space. The orchestra play with great power and pathos, playing with a beautiful sound throughout. And the chorus, while just lacking the wonderful attention to detail seen in 2008's Rigoletto(also in the Tutto Verdi series), are communicative and sing sensitively and vibrantly. Daniele Callegari paces the drama very well and gives a very musical and clearly phrased reading of the score.

Leo Nucci's Boccanegra has moments of vocal fatigue and forcing, but these are far outweighed by lovely phrasing, nuances and tone colour, he's nearly seventy here and still sounds great. He is an excellent actor too, always dignified and while his authority in the Counsel scene is hair-raising I found the moment where Boccanegra realises that Amelia is his daughter heart-wrenching, that moment should have that effect anyway and Nucci gives it and brilliantly too. His chemistry with Scandiuzzi and especially Iveri is very convincing throughout. Roberto Scandiuzzi is a mostly successful Fiesco. He was in better vocal shape in his earlier DVD under Solti, more focused and steadier, but while Il Lacerato Spirito was a little disappointing vocally he was fine everywhere else with him singing with firmness and a command for his music. And he has the right nobility, power and dramatic intensity for the role.

Tamar Iveri has a gleamingly beautiful lyric-spinto voice, kind of a slightly heavier(I mean vocally of course) Mirella Freni sort of sound, which she uses with intelligence and great musicality. Dramatically, she is sweet and poignant, moving me to tears in Orfanella in Tetto Umile. As Gabriele Adorno Francesco Meli contributes some of the best singing of the production. Usually I am dithery about young singers taking on relatively heavy roles but Meli is one of those cases- providing he paces himself well in the future- that he can do it and do it well. His tone is lyrical and ringing, and he sings and acts with passion, for me actually his Adorno is one of the better-acted ones on DVD. Simone Piazzola has a firm and well-produced baritone voice, and sings cleanly and incisively. The scheming, repellent character of Paolo is brought out very convincingly, for Piazzola it couldn't be more different to the loyal and sympathetic one of Rodrigo Marquis of Posa in 2012's Don Carlo, a role in which he also excelled.

In conclusion, very effective and well sung, not among the gems of the Tutto Verdi series like Rigoletto and Luisa Miller but also not among the disappointments like Ernani and Il Trovatore. 8/10 Bethany Cox