Simon Boccanegra
His early success had less to do with his music than with the patriotic, nationalistic sentiments he expressed: mournful dirges to oppressed homelands (disguised as Israel or Scotland) and stirring hymns to the patria. Early Verdi is easily eclipsed in sheer beauty of vocal line by Bellini and in orchestral grandeur by Wagner.
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Like Verdi’s Macbeth, this is a great vehicle for a starring baritone like the late Tito Gobbi–and pretty much a waste of time without such a voice. Lyric is fortunate to have Alexandru Agache, with his exciting baritone, as the linchpin of these performances; he performed flawlessly in the title role. The only quibble one might have is that he could do with a bit more dramatic stage presence. Kiri Te Kanawa gave an impeccable vocal performance as Amelia. She brings little soul to dramatic aspects of the performance, but that isn’t a serious problem in this role. Michael Sylvester was a vocally dashing Adorno, and the cadaverously made-up Robert Lloyd was a dark and imposing Fiesco. Richard Cowan also sang well as the almost Nietzschean Paolo.
