Metropolitan Opera – Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. April 14, 2016.

Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat EE21, $25.)

Story.  The pirate Simon Boccanegra is elected doge of Genoa.  The daughter he has with Maria disappears when the old lady she was left with dies.  Maria’s mother (also named Maria) dies while being imprisoned by her father Fiesco who disapproves of Boccanegra.  Twenty-five years later baby Maria has grown up as Amelia, daughter of the wealthy Grimaldis, who are actually the Fiescos, who in turn isn’t aware of Maria’s true identity as their grand-daughter.  Amelia and Gabriele are in love, but Grimaldi wants her to marry Paolo. Gabriele has been plotting to overthrow the doge.  Boccanegra meets Amelia and by comparing portraits of her mother, they two recognize their father/daughter relationship.  Paolo attempt to kidnap Amelia is thwarted, and Boccanegra forces Paolo to curse himself.  By putting poison in Boccanegra’s water bottle, Paolo poisons the doge.  While Boccanegra suffers from the poison, all the relationships are sorted out.  Paolo is condemned to death, and Boccanegra pardons Gabriele and names him his successor.

Conductor – James Levine.  Paolo Albiani – Brian Mulligan, Simon Boccanegra – Placido Domingo, Jacopo Fiesco (aka Andrea Grimaldi) – Ferruccio Furlanetto, Maria (daughter of Boccanegra, aka Amelia Grimaldi) – Lianna Haroutounian, Gabriele Adorno – Joseph Calleja.

I tried but was unable to put together a story that both makes sense and describes the plot as it unveils.  While I think my summary hangs together, it skips over parts of the story that deals with the political climate at that time.  The most noticeable missing parts are how the government of a city-state worked, and the rivalry between Genoa and Venice.  There was also mention of Guelphs during the opera which I frankly didn’t understand.  (Per Wikipedia, Guelphs is a faction that supported the Holy Roman Emperor.)  To indicate how complex the plot is, the Playbill compares it to that of Il Travatore, another Verdi opera whose plot is difficult to summarize.  This opera also has the distinction of having a tragic beginning (death of Boccanegra’s love Maria) and a tragic end (his own death.)

CS mentioned to me a while ago he read a New York Times review of the performance.  Before I could stop him, he said the review wasn’t kind.  I asked if the reviewer complained about Domingo’s being a former tenor trying unsuccessfully to become a baritone, and that Levine was also past his prime; he basically said yes.  That didn’t stop us from wanting to see the opera, and we did so today, together with a couple of his friends.  Anne had too many things on her plate and couldn’t go.

Let’s start by saying of course things could have been better.  Domingo could have a stronger voice, Levine could have conducted a better performance.  But isn’t that always the case?  I am glad to have attended.  Exaggerating a bit to prove my point, instead of an A+ performance we saw only an A performance.

I haven’t seen Domingo at his prime – the first opera I remember seeing him in was Tan Dun’s “The First Emperor” in 2008 – so I don’t have any reference.  But he did a splendid job today.  His singing was rich and strong most of the time, and I didn’t notice any deficiencies in the lower registers.  Maybe a tad weak here or there, but I thought this role fitted well a singer who was at the twilight of his career (I mean “singing career,” I hope he has many good years as a conductor ahead of him.)  Similarly with Levine, while one has to sorry to see how Parkinson’s has ravaged him, he put in a great performance.  The orchestra sounded exquisite and precise.

The other principals were impressive, each fulfilling their roles brilliantly.  This was my first encounter with the Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian, she had a beautiful voice, and was a match for the others, even though it was one woman against many men.  Ferruccio Furlanetto - no spring chicken at 66 - demonstrated what a rich basso voice should sound like, and Joseph Calleja also did great as Gabriele Adorno.

The sets, first used in 1995, are quite elaborate: outside a castle for the prolog, a garden that reminds me of Tuscany for Act I Scene 1, the inside of a doge’s palace for Act I Scene 2, a room inside the palace for Act II, and a repeat of Act I Scene 2 in Act III.  Levine conducted the 1995 series, with Domingo in the role of Gabriele.  It was repeated in 2010 where Domingo played the title role.

A few years ago I caught this opera on TV, but saw it for only a few minutes.  I remember it starred a young and dashing Domingo (in hindsight he was probably playing Gabriele); I was blown away by this handsome singer.  For tonight he played the role of an old man.  Time marches on.  He could still fall impressively, though.

Curtain Call, with Domingo in the center.

The New York Times review is indeed unkind, suggesting Levine and Domingo should retire lest they tarnish their towering and colossal career, respectively.  Tonight’s auditorium was fuller than it has been for a while.  The reviewer also says Domingo has been booked as a singer far into the future.  I am glad the regular opera attendee doesn’t follow what they read in the paper.  The reviewer mentioned (grudgingly, no doubt) that the two will reunite next season in Nabucco.  Perhaps not at their prime, these two artists still hold their own, and they should do so with well-deserved pride.