Germany Verdi, Nabucco: Soloists, Chorus and Extras of Festspieloper Prag. Prager Festspielorchester / Martin Doubravský (conductor). Seebühne Bremen, 22.7.2024. (DM-D)
Production
Director – Oldrich Kríž
Cast:
Abigaille – Liana Sass
Fenena – Hana Dobešová
Ismaele – Josef Moravec
Nabucco – Martin Bárta
Zaccaria – Jurij Kruglov
High Priest of Baal – Oldrich Kríž
This production of Verdi’s opera, originating in Prague, has been touring open-air venues for a number of years already, over the summer months with varying casts. A selling point in the advertising is the spectacular nature of the event, both in terms of the opera’s popular appeal, especially because of its famous chorus, and in terms of the opulence of the staging in stunning outdoor locations not usually associated with performance.
The Seebühne in Bremen is located on the shores of the river Weser, in the industrial area of the city, adjacent to a massive, relatively recently built shopping centre. It has been used for a few weeks over the summer predominantly for pop and rock music and stand-up comedy. The stage is makeshift, not permanent, and does not provide much depth. For the performance of Nabucco, the metal construction of the stage was only in part covered by makeshift black cloth fabric. The small orchestra was placed at the back of the stage in front of the see-through plastic sheet offering a view of the river. The set consisted of a few rectangular plastic boulders representing rocks, which were placed in different ways to signal different locales. On each side, a triangular raised platform with a column provided the frame. A wooden throne on a palette-sized wooden platform was moved on and off the stage as needed. The costumes were rich and colourful (especially as represented filmed and projected live on to the big screens to the left and right of the stage). The set was thus cleverly constructed to fit the numerous different stage environments the company will encounter on its tour, easy to shift and transport, functional rather than spectacular. The blocking was similarly functional, with straightforward entrances and exits from and into the wings stage left and right. Martin Doubravský coaxed enthusiastic playing from his orchestra, with swift tempi and a good sense of rhythm. The size of the orchestra also meant that there was never any danger of drowning out the singers’ voices, also because both orchestra and singers were amplified by the venue’s sound system and mixed well. Liana Sass made much of the extremely difficult role of Abigaille. Her voice was strong and firm, her intonation secure from the start. She was able to modulate her volume as needed, her breath control was solid, her lower register very strong for a soprano, and there were only occasional shrill moments in the coloratura.
Jurij Kruglov as Zaccaria was the audience’s favourite, and rightly so, thanks to his voluminous, melodic bass and excellent breath control that allowed him to sing particularly long-held arcs. Martin Bárta as Nabucco was impressive in his vocal journey through madness, capturing hubris and humility in equal measure.
Hana Dobešová overcame an initial problem with intonation to sing Fenena movingly with a particularly warm and rich lower range of the voice. Josef Moravec progressed from forcing his voice to allowing it to swing with the music, producing some very beautiful sounds in the course of the evening. The production’s director, Oldrich Kríž, contributed a reliable High Priest.
The chorus numbered about 30, and the stage was rather crowded when they were all on it. Particularly in ‘Va, pensiero’ their singing came across as very gentle and thoughtful, rather than rousing. It was given as an encore during the final applause. The audience clearly enjoyed the event.
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe