Verdi’s Attila: another masterpiece – reviewed by Victor Grynberg
Giuseppe Verdi, in the judgement of many, was the greatest ever composer of operas.
Starting with Oberto in 1839 and finishing in 1891 at the ripe old age of 82 with one of his mega hits Falstaff.
Attila (1846) was the 9th of his 27 works.
A hit when first performed it has been lying on the sideboard basically for nearly 150 years until La Scala put on a major production in 2018.
It surely is a credit to the global reputation of Opera Australia that this staging by design genius Davide Livermore was licensed to OA.
We saw this production in March 2020, when only one performance was staged before OA went into Covid lockdown.
Diego Torre as Foresto and Natalie Aroyan as Odabella in Opera Australia’s 2022 production of Attila at the Sydney Opera House. Photo Credit: Prudence Upton
The story of Attila was based on a book by German author Zacharias Werner “Attila, King of Huns”, about the evil conqueror who captured Italy in the 5th century. Under Verdi’s direction, the two lyricists told the story about Italian attempts to free the country from Attila, but actually, the underlying theme was a rallying call for the disparate Italian states to free themselves of the yoke of Austria and unite. The unification did finally happen in 1871. Verdi was always a fierce nationalist.
This new staging is set in fascist Italy of the 1930s and therefore is far more dramatic and sinister.
The score is not famous but should be as the arias, duets and choruses all have that unmistakable Verdi sound and are wonderful.
How pleased was I that local soprano Natalie Aroyan was cast once again for this 2022 season. Playing the role of Odabella, engaged to Foresto (Diego Torre) but playing around with Attila in order to get near him to kill him as revenge for the murder of her father.
As with so many OA recent successes, the role calls for great singing and excellent dramatic work, and Aroyan excels in both.
Australia’s favourite Mexican, tenor Diego Torre has a voice that is world-class and it was clear at the end by the special applause he received that the enthusiastic first-night audience really loves him.
In an exceptional cast, Michael Honeyman was a late replacement for Mario Cassi as the Roman general Ezio. By his outstanding performance, one would never have suspected the little time Honeyman had to prepare for this role.
Ukrainian baritone Taras Berezhansky as Attila sang with a magnificent vocal splendour and combined it with full dramatic effect.
When he came on stage at the conclusion, carrying a Ukrainian flag, the huge round of applause from the audience was very pleasing. With his family sleeping in Ukraine in a car park for safety, these are very trying times. Bravo Taras. We hope your family will be OK and we’ll see you here performing in the future, with your family in the theatre.
This production requires a large chorus, and the OA group, under the direction of under-acknowledged chorus master Paul Fitzsimon, absolutely excelled. They sang to perfection, and their stage movements were always impeccable.
Kate Gaul as Revival Director has done an excellent job here.
The La Scala 2018 staging had an orchestra conducted by world conducting superstar Riccardo Chailly. Not yet as famous is young conductor Italian Andrea Battistoni, who led the first-class orchestra with great enthusiasm.
It’s important to note that productions of this depth, with every part so well done, don’t come out of thin air. This was the final offering by now-retired Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini after 13 years at the helm.
I’ve attended operatic performances in London, New York and all major European houses. We may not attract some of the biggest names, but overall under Lyndon’s guidance, OA’s productions are as good as I’ve seen anywhere. Of course, it wasn’t always so. No wonder, therefore that here in Sydney there are more performances by the local opera company than in any city in the world. Additionally, OA receives a higher percentage of its revenue from the box office than any of the famous opera companies. An amazing achievement. Bravo Lyndon. As a devotee of opera, thank you for the countless hours of pleasure you’ve given our audiences and the global pride we have in OA.
Highly recommended.
5 Stars
ATTILA by Giuseppe Verdi
Joan Sutherland Theatre
Sydney Opera House
October 29, 2022
