(Photo credit: Photos: Clemens Manser/Falk von Traubenber)

As an opera composer Nicola Antonio Porpora gained advantage over his rivals by tailoring his works to the singers’ voices, and he gained popularity among singers because he was a well-known voice teacher. Even today, when experiencing Porpora’s opera “Ifigenia in Aulide” at Bayreuth’s Baroque Opera Festival, one cannot ignore the skill with which Porpora illuminated every singer’s voice, making them the highlight of every single moment. However, the nuances of Porpora’s work may reflect the times in which he wrote as much as they indicate his individual skill as a composer. This was especially true for the castrati of Porpora’s operas – those male singers whose soprano voices were the result of castration.

In the 17th and 18th centuries castrating young male singers as an “act of combating poverty” fostered hopes that one day they would become the next famous castrato. While there was—and still is—a great deal of appreciation for a singer’s commitment to the highest degree of their craft, one cannot overlook the severity of this practice. The 1994 biographical drama film “Farinelli,” directed by Gérard Corbiau and filmed at the Margravial Opera House (the location of the Bayreuth Festival), tells of the psychological toll that such an experience could take. Extreme measures such as castration were all too common ways to secure a young voice’s future. A voice teacher could become the “power that be” who persuaded young singers with the allure of fame into sacrificing their body to their craft. Such a professional climate created the cultural environment that first made “Ifigenia in Aulide” a success.

Porpora’s Perspective

Porpora’s first opera, “L’Agrippina,” premiered in 1708 in Naples. The beginning of his international career as a composer also catalysed his rivalry with George Frideric Handel, making Porpora even more enticing for followers of the drama of the opera world. But what put Porpora ahead of Handel, as their rivalry heightened, was Porpora’s well-known—and often feared—career as a vocal teacher. He instructed some of the most influential singers of the time. His pupils included, but were not limited to, Farinelli (the subject of the aforementioned 1994 film), Caffarelli, and Porporino. All were trained through his “tyrant-like” vocal exercises that stemmed from Porpora’s “Elementi di canto.” Such intense practices arguably set his singers up for success, as it put them in the running to become the next “greatest singer in Europe.” But in reality these successes were far and very few between. So many young male singers who trained under Porpora never made it: and of course there were those who did not even make it through the surgery to begin with.

Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival’s revival of Porpora’s “Ifigenia in Aulide,” composed in 1734 for the Opera of Nobility in London, intends to celebrate the beauty of this work, however difficult the lives were of the castrati who made the opera initially famous. Musical director Christophe Rousset illuminates a new reality for baroque singers where they are front and center stage of the Margravial Opera House.

Rousset Leads Singers Forward

Christophe Rousset is the founder of the Ensemble Les Talens Lyriques and a world-renowned harpsichordist who values rediscovering European musical heritage through “the time machine of baroque music.” OperaWire were able to visit Rousset while in Bayreuth, and discussed what rediscovering this music means to him and, most especially, what it means for the singers.

During the production it became clear that Rousset’s intuitive balance between the ensemble and the singers was his main focus, and would set the standard for this review’s focus throughout the night. The singers were fully engaged with Rousset’s careful direction and graceful leadership. There was an underlying deep respect for every artist on the stage and in the orchestra pit. This gave Rousset all the leverage he needed to bring forward the singers’ voices in even the most difficult passages. “Ifigenia in Aulide” is like the Olympics for a singer’s voice, no matter what role they may be in. Experiencing this opera live was at times overwhelmingly beautiful and even exhausting. But no matter how tumultuous the drama appeared to be, Rousset’s ability to remain consistently calm and collected steered everything in the right direction.

The Margravial Opera House Bayreuth

The Margravial Opera House Bayreuth is an exquisite surviving example of baroque theater architecture. It was inscribed by UNESCO on its World Heritage List in 2012. It was originally built between 1744 to 1748 for Margravine Wilhelmine and her husband Margrave Friedrich III of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Margravine Wilhelmine was the daughter of the Prussian king Fredrich Wilhelm I and the sister of Frederick the Great. She was a gifted librettist, composer, instrumentalist, and actor. The opera house was constructed for the wedding of her only daughter Elisabeth Friederike Sophie to Duke Carl Eugen of Württemberg in 1748. It drew attention from national courts and made Bayreuth the destination for baroque artists that it remains today.

Intense Drama & Production

“Ifigenia in Aulide” was the perfect opera for this extremely extravagant space. Artistic director, producer, and singer Max Emanuel Cencic (who also performed the role of Agamennone) made the most of Margravial Opera House’s dramatic setting in this production, in collaboration with set and costume designer Giorgina Germanou.

The opera is based on “a myth originated at a time when the Greeks were fighting the Phoenicians for supremacy – both political and moral. Baal versus Zeus, if you like,” says Cencic in the program notes. This heightened drama made the two opposing worldviews all the more radical, and the baroque musical interpretation took on another spectrum of complexity. For a beginner opera-goer, this might be the most over-the-top production one could imagine. Even the opening scene included male dancers, nude from the waist down, rotating in circles about the stage as if performing a ritual sacrifice, reminding one of the bodies that adorn Classical Greek plates, bowls, and vases. The production had a rounded aesthetic thanks to Germanou’s keen eye for balancing classical and contemporary complexities. Through her eyes the opera became a rich tapestry of opulent excess compacted into a designer’s fantasy world of mythology-meets-modern day. A taxidermied stag displayed at the opening gave one a hint as to how far-reaching, challenging, lush, and boundary-breaking the drama would become.

Lighting designer Romain De Lagarde did an excellent job illuminating every detail of this production, especially the singers. Bravo!

Stellar Cast of Singers

Soprano Jasmin Delfs as Ifigenia was brilliantly mirrored by a silent actress, Marina Diakoumakou. Delfs’s costume dress was wondrously completed by black antlers, detailed ornamentations that glittered black in the light, and an embellished mask of museum-worthy quality. Her acting was spectacular and captivated the audience the entire night. No one wanted to take their eyes off Delfs, and waited holding their breath in anticipation for what she would do and sing next. Delfs commanded the stage with her powerful presence and soaring voice of spectral range.

Male soprano Maayan Licht as Achille was profound in his portrayal of a character convinced of his faith in the goodness and rationality of the gods. Licht’s voice and vocal technique elevated this entire opera to another level of enriching vocal quality. His arias cast spells on listeners as they fell into the dreamworld his character would weave. Licht’s physical endurance was that of an Olympic athlete. His breath support was that of a body ready for action at any given moment, enjoying the act of singing the most challenging phrases with ease and pure delight. Licht made singing look and sound fun! For one of opera’s most seriously dramatic productions and in one of the world’s most intensely dramatic houses, Licht radiated freedom as a singer apart from the limiting critical/historical expectations of the past or present. I want to see and hear Licht perform again in the future.

More Cast Highlights

The duet between Achille and Riccardo Novaro as Calcante, highlighting Novaro’s baritone, was another memorable moment of this production. Novaro’s voice roared into the hall with fury and finesse. His acting was also spot on, and he looked remarkable in his red robe and makeup. He was the true villain of the night.

Mezzo-soprano Mary Ellen Nesi as Clitennestra was vocally less intense than her castmates. Her voice resonated at a sweeter and more gentle timbre. Her costume was completed with a high-coiffed wig that towered overhead.

Countertenor Nicolò Balducci as Ulisse sang with a brightness and clarity that made his vocal palette more soprano. His vocal technique was extraordinary and the amount of breath support he conjured to make his voice sound pure and effortless was unmatched. Balducci’s voice was like a breath of fresh air.

An Ensemble of Talented Musicians

The Ensemble Les Talens Lyriques absolutely made this opera what it was musically with their intelligently placed dynamics, intuitive phrasing that brought forward the singers’ voices, and their obvious joy for playing. There were many moments where my eyes fell onto the players in the pit just to look at this group of musicians that genuinely love what they do and do what they love. This was the highlight of the night for me.