La Gioconda

I wouldn't go as far to say that La Gioconda is one of the all-time great operas, its story is rather convoluted- even after seeing and hearing the opera a number of times I'm still not 100% about what goes on, even Il Trovatore isn't this confusing and that's not necessarily an easy story to follow either- but the music, especially Suicido, Cielo E Mar and Dance of the Hours, is wonderful.

This is a very good production on the whole. It is not as good as the 1979 television film or the 2005 Liceu performance but it is on similar level with the 1988 Bumbry/Cossotto and the 1986 Vienna performances and far superior over the 2005 Arena Di Verona production with Andrea Gruber. And strictly speaking there isn't really much that is wrong either, apart from the disappointingly compressed sound which doesn't make the music as powerful as it should be.

Visually it is very colourful and traditional while having some atmosphere as well. Of the productions on DVD it is for me the best-looking. The stage direction is generally compelling, with the highlights being the vividly danced and choreographed Dance of the Hours and the chillingly intense final scene. The video directing and picture quality are excellent. As is Donato Renzetti's sympathetic and dynamic conducting and the beautifully balanced and ravishing-in-tone orchestral playing and chorus singing.

All of the performances are fine, apart from Marcello Giordani and Alberto Mastromarino they are unknown to me, and while nobody is definitive- to be expected considering how strong the competition in all the roles(ie. Pavarotti for Enzo, Callas for Gioconda, Manuguerra and Milnes for Barnaba) is- nobody is a complete disgrace either. Giordani has a tendency to push slightly and is not the best of actors(hardly a phoned-in one though), but his tone does generally have a nice ring to it and the high notes are fine. Mastromarino though is superb, don't let his stature/figure put you off because he is every bit the menacing sadist Barnaba should be and sings very firmly and expressively.

Lucia Mazzaria sings strongly, while not one of the biggest voices for the role of Gioconda it doesn't sound too much like a voice pushed to the limits, and is appropriately dignified. Michail Ryssov is solid and makes a nobly powerful impact without being definitive as Alvise and has nice vocal expression. Julia Gertseva has occasional moments of shrillness but her chest tone is firm and well-projected and she's a good actress. Lidia Tirani's La Cieca and her rendition of Voice Di Donna is very moving.

Overall, a very good performance on the whole. While not the very best La Gioconda around it is more than worthy. 8/10 Bethany Cox