[an error occurred while processing this directive]ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741)
Collegium Musicum 90 · directed by Richard Hickox
Ottone in villa
Opera in three acts. Libretto by Domenico Lalli. Performing Edition (1997) by Eric Cross.Cleonilla Susan Gritton soprano
Ottone Monica Groop mezzo-soprano
Caio Silio Nancy Argenta soprano
Decio Mark Padmore tenors
Tullia Sophie Daneman soprano
performing on period instrumentsIncludes libretto in Italian, with English, German and French translations.
This review is kindly sponsored by HMV Singapore.CHANDOS Chaconne CHAN 0614(2)
2 discs [75'54"+68'47"] full-priceby Chia Han-Leon
Emperor Ottone loves Cleonilla, who can't resist handsome guys (... so obviously Ottone isn't Tom Cruise)... such as her old flame Caio Silio, and her current beau, her page Ostilio. (Yes, at the same time). Cleonilla affects false jealousy at Ottone, who beseeches Caio to cure her. Tullia (a foreign woman in love with Caio but abandoned for love of Cleonilla) enters disguised as a man named 'Ostilio' (yup, Cleonilla's new page), and asks Caio if he still cares about his betrayal of Tullia (he even wonders at the resemblance between Mr 'Ostilio' and Ms Tullia) - of course not, sheesh.
Act 1, Scene 7. Cleonilla is still teasing Ottone, but is interrupted by his advisor, Decio, who reports that Rome is displeased at his, er, being distracted. After Ottone leaves, Decio expresses his distaste for Cleonilla's lasciviousness. After he leaves, 'Ostilio' arrives and (ho hum) Cleonilla immediately goes ga-ga over him. Tulia/'Ostilio' seizes this opportunity for revenge against Caio, and gets her to swear her love for him ('Ostilio') and abandon Caio.
And Mr Caio Silio, of course, happens to be nearby just to overhear that!
Oh my good heavens. That was only Act 1. The libretto/plot of Vivaldi's Ottone in villa makes Melrose Place, Dynasty and presidential internship mishaps look like elementary maths. And by the way, the vocal roles of Ottone and Tullia/Ostilio are sung by women.
I have to admit: I've read through the detailed plot synopsis in the CD notes thrice and still can't grasp the labyrintine storyline. But not surprisingly, turn to the last page of the story and all ends with "general rejoicing". Anyway, I suggest that the listener could just ignore the plot and treat this little opera like Pacific Palisades - you just watch it for the gorgeous people, or in this case, the typically melodic Vivaldian music. (The result, though, is about as amoral and decadent as the promiscuous plot. Oh well).
Ottone in villa was written around and premièred in 1713, and scored for a cast of just five singers, zero chorus and small orchestra (here strings 4:4:2:2:1, plus 2 recorders, 2 oboes, bassoon and harpsichord). It is Vivaldi's first attempt at an opera.
I've had this set for about three months now, and it's taken me this long to review it because it doesn't really work on record. Going by the complicated plot, either you must understand Italian to follow the singing, or the opera has to be watched "live". The music does come across as being mercilessly Vivaldian. By that I mean to say that for once I found it quite routine and lacking that X-factor which makes some Baroque pieces stand out from the galaxy of music that period has left us.
In fact, there is one interesting problem, and I shall be sinfully presumptious here: Vivaldi's musical range of depicting the moods of this libretto is pretty limited (certainly much more so than Monteverdi, Purcell, Caldara or Handel - wonder how the opera would have sounded in these hands). His appreciation of the dramatic contrast within the libretto comes across as unsophisticated, monotonous, even superficial. Whether a particular character is singing of revenge, flirtation, desperation, love or confusion - all the music is essentially the same, typically lyrical and bright. Rather like nutrition-less aural candy. The music is so sunny that any darkness in the opera seems flat and muddy, even unbelievable. In other words, this is an example of poor, perhaps even blatantly undiscerning, word-painting. The inspirational genius of the composer of The Four Seasons is sadly missing. (There we go, I've just criticized a great composer).
All this is the exact opposite of Caldara's magnificent oratorio, Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo ("Magdalene at the Feet of Christ") - which I said was so musically appealing you need not bother about the philosophizing plot. And there are moods aplenty, brilliantly set to music that can be angry, lullabic, panicky, loving, etc.
Left: A caricature of Vivaldi (1723) by Pier Luigi Ghezzi. The inscription reads "The Red Priest, composer of music which the opera performed in the Capranica in 1723)".
The cast of this (first?) recording of Ottone in villa don't really help either. They are all very very fine and expert singers (in fact, they are some of the biggest names in their generation of singers), no doubt. But I found the delivery of their roles, vocally and dramatically speaking, to be too refined and colourless, mostly lacking Italianate fire, a sense of performative "risk" and a distinct sense of dramatic momentum. There is only some irritation, not anger; a mild contentedness, not bursting joy. Flat, flat, flat.
Not only that, the fact that four out of the five singers are female make distinguishing the parts very difficult, and the general homonymity of the (three) sopranos make this worse. (In fact, and it is so blastedly ironical, if you turn to page 126 of the CD notes with the photos of the cast, you'll see that two of the women have been captioned "Susan Gritton"!)
So recitative after aria, recitative after aria, I'm afraid I found this pair of discs tiring to undergo extensive and repeated listening.
Still I want to be fair to these fine performers which I have praised before either in review or to friends. I mean, Nancy Argenta, Monica Groop, Mark Padmore, Susan Gritton and Sophie Daneman - these are superb singers in their own right. Hickox's Collegium Musicum 90 orchestra play like the singers sing - refined and expert, but the music remains mostly forgettable. There are the moments of course. Try Tullia's/Daneman's deliciously coy "Sì, sì, deggio partir" ("Yes, yes, I must be off") on disc 1, track 11. Or Caio's/Argenta's warbling "Io sembro appunto quel augelletto" ("I am just like a bird") on disc 2, track 8.
If you're willing to listen to this for the musical material and nothing more, perhaps it warrants investment. But for the same amount of money, you'll be much better off with Caldara's Maddalena.
Der Fliegende Inkpot
Ring of Drama
In Singapore, this CD can be purchased (or ordered) from Sing Discs (Raffles City), HMV (The Heeren), Tower (Pacific Plaza & Suntec City) or Borders (Wheelock Place).
Between the casts of Starship Troopers and Pacific Palisades, Chia Han-Leon prefers the former's action and the latter's faces. A lot of reality bugs in both though.
Back to the Classical Index!... or read previous Baroque music reviews at the InkpotOther classical music reviews by this or any other writer can be obtained from the InkVault by doing a key word search with the writer's name.
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