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The cast is led by Francesco Meli who has performed extensively at the worlds biggest opera houses. He is supported by Kristin Lewis and Elisabetta Fiorillo. The next instalment in C Majors Tutto Verdi project is the Teatro Regio di Parma production of Un ballo in maschera.



CAST:
Riccardo – Francesco Meli
Renato – Vladimir Stoyanov
Amelia – Kristin Lewis
Ulrica – Elisabetta Fiorillo
Oscar – Serena Gamberoni
Silvano – Filippo Polinelli
Samuel – Antonio Barbagallo
Tom – Enrico Rinaldo
Un giudice – Cosimo Vassallo
Un servo d’Amelia – Enrico Paolillo

REVIEW:
MARK MANDEL, operanews.com

From the opening pizzicato violins and woodwind figures, Gianluigi Gelmetti sets quick tempos for this Ballo, and he and his musicians command the score's light/dark contrasts and romantic sweep. Pristine but unbalanced sound that favors voices over orchestra helps us hear the precision of Verdi's writing when, after curtain rise, Sam, Tom and fellow conspirators sing staccato against the legato of the rest of the men's chorus.

Enter Francesco Meli as Riccardo, whose first note above the staff flies way sharp. Settled into the role, Meli sports handsome, generous tone that well fits the playful, giving character. In "È scherzo od è follia," he suggests laughter without inserting little laughs. He might have sung softly more often, but he's the most dominant and appealing of the principals. Vladimir Stoyanov finds Renato a bit large for him and sounds at his limits in "Eri tu," after which he breaks character to acknowledge applause.

Serena Gamberoni's Oscar is (refreshingly, some would say) not boyish or perky or pert; against Verdi's music at Gelmetti's speed, her movements seem downright sluggish. Not so her coloratura singing, which keeps pace and is accurate, if hardly sparkling. Elisabetta Fiorillo's intensely played Ulrica is afflicted by a wide vibrato, wayward pitch and a hooty upper register, especially in the "È lui! è lui!" passage. As for the Amelia of Kristin Lewis, the arching "Consentimi, o Signore" shows how her tone broadens in the middle and narrows high and low. Her voice can be beautiful when the line doesn't run too high, but her pinched, squally top and often-blank demeanor are problems.

Of the supporting roles, only Filippo Polinelli's firm Silvano is impressive. The sardonic Act II finale and the Act III conspirators' trio lose impact because the Sam and Tom sing with little bite.

Sets and costumes designed in the 1980s by Pier Luigi Samaritani ostensibly present a Boston setting, credibly so in Act I. Massimo Gasparon's standard stage direction seems acceptable until the ball, at which dancers cavort aimlessly, Renato's stabbing of Riccardo looks phony, and no one acts well enough to make the death moving. Tiziano Mancini's antsy video direction doesn't help by cutting from the Renato–Oscar and Riccardo–Amelia encounters to close-ups of dancers, guests and a violinist.

Works on This Recording
Un ballo in maschera by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer: Elisabetta Fiorillo (Mezzo Soprano), Vladimir Stoyanov (Baritone), Kristin Lewis (Soprano), Francesco Meli (Tenor)
Conductor: Gianluigi Gelmetti
Orchestra/Ensemble: Parma Teatro Regio Orchestra, Parma Teatro Regio Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1859; Italy