✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper


Sign up by Email or Facebook.

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we sent newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Turning tips into memories

Get started Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Kids
  • Benefits
  • Membership
  • Get Started
  • Membership
  • Benefits
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Opera

Simon Boccanegra review ★★★★★, Royal Opera House

15 Nov 18 – 10 Dec 18, Times vary; 7 performances, running time about 3 hours

The welcome return to Covent Garden of a moving Verdi grand opera staged in the grandest style, wonderfully sung

By Claudia Pritchard on 16/11/2018

1 CW reader is interested
Renaissance Genoa is richly re-created in 'Simon Boccanegra'. Photo: Clive Barda
Renaissance Genoa is richly re-created in 'Simon Boccanegra'. Photo: Clive Barda
Simon Boccanegra review , Royal Opera House 4 Simon Boccanegra review , Royal Opera House Claudia Pritchard
Imagine a great Renaissance fresco or painting come to life: one of those scenes packed with sumptuously dressed citizens and travellers with high hats and flowing robes, enclosed in soaring architecture and backed by a view to the hills or coast beyond this ideal city. This is the Genoa of Elijah Moshinsky's magnificent production of Verdi's tragic opera Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House.


TRY CULTURE WHISPER
Receive free tickets & insider tips to unlock the best of London — direct to your inbox
Moshinsky himself was greeted with a roar of affection and approval at the first night calls – his relationship with the Royal Opera goes back 45 years, during which his many fine productions have raised the bar for successors. Putting the music, and not his own vision, first and foremost – a lesson some other directors have yet to learn – he first staged this production in 1991 and, as with the best works of art, it takes on new relevance today.


At the heart of the opera is the tender relationship between the ruler of the title, the Doge of Genoa, and his illegitimate daughter Amelia, with whom he is reunited after many years. But she is in love with Gabriele Adorno, one of the men who is plotting the downfall of the Doge, a man of the people elevated by the popular vote.



Armenian soprano Hrachuhi Bassenz sings the role of Amelia Grimaldi. Photo: Clive Barda


The fickle nature of the populace is heightened when the 1991 production is framed by the fractious and reactionary world in 2018. As the action unfolds, the mob relish a skirmish with their neighbours, but the dignity of the elders finally wins through with an anthem to peace and harmony.


Words are persuasive and powerful, as illustrated by the contrast between the hateful graffiti of the crowd compared with the solemn gilded pledges of the elders. Michael Yeargan's set designs, Peter J Hall's costumes and John Harrison's strong lighting all point up the meaning of the piece.


The radiant Armenian soprano Hrachuhi Bassenz sings Amelia with a frankness that reflects the young woman's simple upbringing. The Spanish baritone Carlos Alvararez in the title role is every inch, and every note, the leader who has grown in wisdom as well as power.



Mark Rucker as scheming Paolo and Carlos Alvarez in the title role of Simon Boccanegra. Photo: Clive Barda


Italian tenor Francesco Meli is the hot-headed Adorno and the Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto is the spiteful Fiesco, who kept Amelia's mother, his daughter, a prisoner. This is a great voice that occasionally veers off-course.


Piloting the whole vessel from the pit is the young Hungarian Henrik Nánási. His vision of Verdi is more angular and less lyrical than some, but the muscular playing by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera included bass clarinet work to chill the bone, and the Chorus unfurls its power like a billowing sail.


Written after La Traviata (you can see this in a fine ROH production from January), and much revised over the years, Simon Boccanegra is the work of a fast-maturing composer engaged in real life in both the drama of family and politics. Impossible to hear Boccanegra and Maria's reunion, 'Orfanella, il tetto umile...', and his final blessing 'Gran Dio, li benedici' and not be moved to tears.


'Simon Boccanegra' is sung in Italian with English surtitles. Remaining performances are on 19, 24 and 27 Nov; 1, 5, and 10 Dec.
by Claudia Pritchard

What Simon Boccanegra review , Royal Opera House
Where Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD | MAP
Nearest tube Covent Garden (underground)
When 15 Nov 18 – 10 Dec 18, Times vary; 7 performances, running time about 3 hours
Price £8-£175
Website Click here for more information and booking



Most popular

Things to do this weekend. Picture: NYCB's Prodigal Son
Things to do in London this weekend: 26 - 28 February
James Nesbitt and Charlene McKenna in Bloodlands, BBC One (Photo: BBC)
Bloodlands, BBC One review
Andra Day in The United States vs Billie Holliday, Sky Cinema (Photo: Sky)
What to watch on TV this week

Editor's Picks

Mozart's comedy Così Fan Tutte boasts a young and lively cast. Photo: ROH
The Best Winter Dance and Opera at the Royal Opera House 2018/19
Music and physics are in alignment at Kings Place
Bach, the Universe and Everything, Kings Place
Vladimir Jurowski conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra
The Best Classical Music this Autumn
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • Dominique Ansel Treehouse
    Read more...
    Map
  • Parsons

    Parsons is a thoroughly old-fashioned spot, with a maroon-tiled facade, a white tiled interior and antique mirrors on which are written their daily changing selection of fresh whole fish which make up most of the mains. We love it.

    Book Map
  • Mamie's

    Make everyday pancake day. Serving exquisite savoury and sweet crêpes, from childhood favourites like lemon and sugar to more sophisticated combinations, Mamie's may well be the home of the best pancakes and galettes in London.

    Read more...
    Book Map
1

Royal Opera House

Verdi

You might like

  • Sarah Tynan is sacrificed to male ambition in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at English National Opera. Photo: John Snelling

    Lucia di Lammermoor review ★★★★★, English National Opera

  • Violetta entertains in Act One of Verdi's La Traviata at the Royal Opera House. Photo: Catherine Ashmore

    La Traviata, Royal Opera House review ★★★★★

  • A spectacular Queen of Spades at Covent Garden. Photo: Catherine Ashmore

    The Queen of Spades review ★★★★★, Royal Opera House

  • The Paris of ENO's 'La Bohème' has a filmic quality. Photo: Robert Workman

    La Bohème review ★★★★★, English National Opera

  • Kát'a (Amanda Majeski) tries to stop Tichon (Andrew Staples) leaving town. Photo: Clive Barda

    Kát'a Kabanova review ★★★★★, Royal Opera House

  • Tamino (Rupert Charlesworth) and Pamina (Lucy Crowe) go on a magical journey in The Magic Flute. Photo: Donald Cooper

    The Magic Flute review ★★★★★, English National Opera



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • What is Culture Whisper membership
  • Corporate membership
  • Give a gift membership
  • Retrieve a gift membership
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×