Content reserved for subscribers
At the Equilibre theater, as part of the Klanggg festival, the NOF offered a reading of Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade on Friday and Saturday.
The best operatic production staged on the Friborg stage in recent years. © Irish National Opera
Published on 02.06.2024
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
This Olympic year was the ideal excuse to program The Olympiad by Antonio Vivaldi at the Equilibre theater. The Nouvel Opéra Fribourg, in co-production with the Royal Opera House and the Irish National Opera, is taking advantage of its Klanggg festival, dedicated to the composer of Four Seasons, to present a work that had until then remained in disgrace. The patriarchal tenor and twisting plot of The Olympiad have often put off directors. It is clear that Daisy Evans gives the work perfect readability.
The temptation would be great to use the succession of virtuoso arias of baroque opera to make this “sport opera” a vocal competition between singers. Far from falling into the trap of a flashy update, the director uses a few discreet anachronistic touches to weave a link between Antiquity and the era of Coubertin. But above all, this production reminds us of the undeniable dramatic qualities of Pietro Metastasio’s libretto.
The distribution does not suffer from any weak points
By reducing his poetry to hackneyed and stereotypical plots, we often forget that Metastasius was the most renowned Italian playwright of the 18th century.e century. He will find in Vivaldi the ideal receptacle for his pen. This becomes evident in the duet of Megacle and Aristea, performed brilliantly by Gemma Ni Bhriain and Alexandra Urquiola. The fusion of mezzo-soprano voices confuses the pain of two characters incapable of understanding each other. The finesse of the singers goes as far as the perfect harmony of a subtle vibrato.
THE Let’s cook the tortorella reveals all the psychological force of the opera: Argene and Aristea mourn the loss of their lover without being able to admit it to themselves. This tune shared by the two characters reveals the contrasting vocal temperaments of a moving Sarah Richmond and a herculean Urquiola. In line with this keen reading of the drama, Meili Li en Licida disturbs us in its air of sleep. In concert with the orchestra, the countertenor holds his line with absolute gentleness. From the initial evanescence the air shifts into the dire omen that Vivaldi suggests in his music.
Fireworks
Remarkably, the cast does not suffer from any weak points. In addition to the accuracy of the four main roles, the secondary roles are impeccable. Rachel Redmond’s Aminta oscillates easily between lightness and pathos. His air Siam navi all’onde agenti is a vocal fireworks display of disconcerting agility. If Aminta plays the role of comic relief, Sean Boylan’s Alcandro serves the tragic scope of the work. The homogeneity and power of his timbre in a chiselled vocalization impose his authority. The variegated interpretation of Chuma Sijeqa’s Clistene manages to erase the eminently misogynistic content of the libretto. The baritone turns a retrograde king into a jester straight out of the commedia dell’arte. This permanent grin in his tunes depicts much more of a Tartuffe than a Theseus. The set thus manages to highlight the comic tone of a work overflowing with misunderstandings.
This stage subtlety dialogues with the intelligence of Peter Whelan’s direction. The Irish Baroque Orchestra’s performance is a masterpiece in itself. In line with modern baroque aesthetics, this chamber ensemble crosses the work with permanent energy, flexibility of tempo and a limitless palette of nuances. We will notice the accuracy of Whelan’s articulation when it comes to giving substance to the metaphorical language of the Metastasius libretto. The NOF thus signed with The Olympiad a flawless score which must be considered the best operatic production staged on the Friborg stage in recent years.
