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| Siân Dicker (Mirandolina) & Samuel Pantcheff (Fabrizio) © Bampton Classical Opera |
Jeremy Gray (Director/Designer)
Harriet Cameron (Assistant Director)
Karen Halliday (Movement Director)
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| Osian Wyn Bowen (Baron Ripafratta) & Siân Dicker (Mirandolina) © Bampton Classical Opera |
In the 200th anniversary year of Salieri’s death, it is a good point to be reassessing a composer who was remarkably successful and popular in his lifetime, yet pretty universally neglected thereafter. Pushkin’s play Mozart and Salieri and of course, Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus and its film version, did a great deal to embed the myth of Salieri’s jealousy and even murderous conspiracy to bring down his young rival, despite there being no real evidence for this. And despite Salieri’s subsequent reputation for being more pedestrian than the younger ‘genius’, it’s interesting to note that in La locandiera, Salieri is exploring the somewhat revolutionary territory of servants getting one over on the noblemen that Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro is credited with, some thirteen years earlier than his rival.
So in La locandiera, we have the strong female lead, landlady Mirandolina, getting one over on not just one but three noblemen. The Count and the Marquis are straightforward suitors, whilst the Baron claims to eschew all women, immediately riling Mirandolina with his misogynistic behaviour and demands. Mirandolina resolves to trick him by winning him over, before ultimately unmasking him as a fool. Understandably this confuses her servant Fabrizio, who is in love with her, and he becomes enraged as she turns her charms on the Baron. After three acts of shenanigans, all is resolved, and Mirandolina chooses Fabrizio over the three supposedly ‘better prospects’. Now of course the behaviour of the male characters is made fun of, and ultimately they are defeated – but there still a sense that their unwanted approaches, bordering on harassment, are just a bit of fun. And despite her strength and rejection of their misogyny, Mirandolina still ends up with Fabrizio, who has exhibited several outbursts of red-flag jealousy. But putting these twenty-first century qualms to one side, it is still the women that come out clearly on top at the end, with even the maidservant Lena getting a final opportunity to take charge of her fate.
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| David Horton (Count) & Aidan Edwards (Marquis) © Bampton Classical Opera |
Siân Dicker excelled as the feisty Mirandolina, her powerful voice suiting the larger-than-life character, filling the small space. Yet Mirandolina isn’t one dimensional, and in her Act 2 aria, when she repeats that phrase ‘I’m a woman and women are tough’, Dicker shifted between angry confidence and moments of self-doubt, as Salieri’s music also shifts into darker harmonies. Samuel Pantcheff’s Fabrizio was also multi-dimensional, portraying well confusion and jealousy at Mirandolina’s actions, as well as genuine warmth and affection, and Pantcheff & Dicker’s final love duet was touchingly beautiful. Pantcheff also had great fun with the sight gag of delivering ever more ridiculous eggs for the Baron in Act 1.
Osian Wyn Bowen’s Baron was suitably uptight and pernickety, and his clear-toned tenor gave us a range from initial arrogance, through to softening warmth as he succumbed to Mirandolina’s charms (with a particularly lyrical aria in Act 2), then finally to angry frustration and humiliation. Aidan Edwards’ Marquis and David Horton’s Count formed a great double act, Horton’s wiry tenor and wily confidence contrasting well with Edwards’ warm baritone and comic buffoonery. Their non-sensical sporting costume changes (tennis/table tennis, to golf, to croquet?) added a fun counterpoint to the Baron’s natty formal dress. Rosalind Dobson’s Lena was lightly playful, her bright soprano and her mischievous asides providing dashes of additional humour, particularly in the final moments. Ensemble pieces had great energy and fine-tuned balance, and the sextets at the end of Acts 2 and 3 were highly impressive.
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| Rosalind Dobson (Lena) © Bampton Classical Opera |
Andrew Griffiths conducted the 11 piece band with energy and elegance, and the balance was mostly assured, with the horns off to one side avoiding overly dominating the light strings. Alex Norton on harpsichord gave delicate support in the recitatives, and Griffiths kept everything moving along at a jolly pace throughout.
BCO have talked about focussing on semi-staged and concert performances in coming years. Here’s hoping that these lightly staged yet joyful performances at The Barn continue to be a part of their offering in the future.
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| Bampton Classical Opera © Nick Boston |
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| The Barn at Old Walland © Nick Boston |
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