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by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Ian Judge

Canadian Opera Company, Four Seasons Centre, Toronto

April 11-May 7, 2009

Simon Boccanegra is one of Verdi’s greatest operas although in popularity it lags far behind such warhorses as La Traviata or Il Trovatore.  Part of the reason is that the work is primarily about politics not romantic love.  Part is that in its 1881 revision, now the standard version, arias do not stand alone as much as in Verdi’s earlier operas but tend to blend into fabric of the orchestral writing.  That the COC last staged Boccanegra in 1979 is reason enough to see it for fear of another 30-year wait.  More than that, the COC’s new production is musically outstanding with a stupendous performance by Paolo Gavanelli in the title role.

Verdi’s Boccanegra is based on the life of a corsair, who, supported by the lower and middle classes, was elected the first Doge of Genoa in 1339 in hopes that he could quell the strife between these classes and the aristocrats.  To do this Boccanegra must also calm his own anger that his beloved Maria, mother of his long-lost daughter, died while held captive by the aristocrat Fiesco (Phillip Ens).  Where many of Verdi’s blood and thunder operas focus on revenge, Boccanegra focusses on the timely theme of the new Doge’s attempts at forgiveness and reconciliation in a fatally divided world.  

The gorgeous production from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, updates the action from the 14th to the 19th century and through the tilt of doors and murals literally shows world of Genoa askew.  Gavanelli has a honeyed baritone and a deep understanding of the character’s dramatic arc.  Ens, with his seemingly bottomless bass, is chilling as his haughty adversary.  Daniel Sutin gives an finely delineated portrait of Paolo, tortured by his conscience for turning against his former ally Boccanegra, who still believes in him.  The love story between Boccanegra’s daughter (Tamara Wilson) and her father’s enemy, the aristocratic Gabriele (Mikhail Agafonov), would be more effective if the singers’ acting skills were less generic and on par with the rest of the cast.  Both command unusually strong voices, though it takes a while to get used to Wilson’s rapid vibrato.  Ian Judge is a masterful director with the marvellous ability to allow one scene to flow into the next.  The famous Council Chamber scene and the finale are as dramatically stunning as they are musically stirring.  Under conductor Marco Guidarini, the COC Orchestra produces a rich consistently beautiful sound, revelling in the dark sonorities that make the work so mysterious and so powerful.

©Christopher Hoile

Note: A version of this review appeared in Eye Weekly 2009-04-16.

Photo: Paolo Gavanelli as Simon and Phillip Ens as Fiesco. ©Michael Cooper.