(Photo: Zani-Casadio)

Following on from the previous day’s performance of Monteverdi’s “Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria,” Ravenna’s Teatro Alighieri continued with a production of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” coupled with “Hail, Bright Cecelia,” presented by the same cast under the musical direction of Ottavio Dantone. The fact that Pier Luigi Pizzi, who had been responsible for the lackluster staging of “Ulisse,” was also its director, did not exactly set the pulse racing.

Pizzi, whose focus is always on the aesthetics of a production, is often negligent when it comes to interpreting the narrative or promoting its dramatic qualities. Moreover, he rarely strays far from his preferred designs and coloring, giving his work an uninteresting, homogeneous flavour when viewed on more than a couple of occasions.

Pizzi’s Dramatic & Aesthetically Strong Staging

However, his handling of the Purcell pairing proved to be a little more adventurous than with “Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria.” For sure, aesthetic considerations were still to the fore, but there was far more imagination and sense of drama, which generated more interest.

Rather than presenting the two works as discrete pieces, he combined them to form a single drama, set in a music conservatory. The production began with the students performing “Hail, Bright Cecilia,” but following the aria for contralto, “The fife and all the harmony of war,” they break off and improvise “Dido and Aeneas” before returning to the conclusion of the ode. It was a device that worked successfully in connecting the two works into a single dramatic entity without undermining the integrity of either piece.

Unsurprisingly, Pizzi’s staging conformed to his usual design of white scenery with a symmetrical pattern, connected to antiquity. A couple of steps linked the front of the stage to a raised area with a semicircular frieze, with a balcony halfway up its centre that also acted as an organ loft. On either side, there were large doors with windows above. For “Hail, Bright Cecilia,” a table was situated on the raised area adorned with musical instruments, which was substituted for a black lounger for “Dido and Aeneas.” Chairs were scattered on the sides of the front of the stage and the steps, upon which the students watched each other perform the opera and pieces from the ode.

There was far more movement from the cast than expected. Obviously, Pizzi was keen to present a series of aesthetically pleasing static stage pictures, and this was the case here. However, he was also attentive to the dramatic side of the presentation. For example, as the students took their turn in singing an aria or a duet from the ode, they were given far more freedom to express themselves physically, which was encouraged and applauded by their watching colleagues. It may be going too far to say that it had a touch of vaudeville about it, but it did come across as a series of stage acts, and it was fairly entertaining, especially in the case of Federico Sacchi, who bopped freestyle around the stage as he sang the bass solo “Wonderous Machine,” for which he successfully captured the dance-like melody in the voice.

In what was a nice touch, Pizzi also added the character of Saint Cecilia, who watched over the performance of “Hail! Bright Cecilia” from the organ loft. Following the performance of “Dido and Aeneas,” she returned for the final part and took a position sitting at the front of the stage between the singers and the orchestra.

It was the performance of the opera “Dido and Aeneas,” of course, that lay at the heart of the production, and Pizzi’s presentation managed to capture the emotional and dramatic qualities of its straightforward narrative. He clearly differentiated the opera from the rest of the production by using the raised area of the stage as the performance area, initially hidden by a curtain, which was raised as the opera began. Each act was given a very different atmospheric quality, mainly through the use of lighting and costumes. The first act introduces Dido onto a brightly lit stage; the second, for the most part, was bathed in a blood-red light, conjuring up an atmosphere of malevolence and menace, while the third act was given more subdued lighting to reflect the sadness of Aeneas’ departure. The costumes were not restricted to classical attire; the sorceress and the witches had a modern look about them, while Belinda was dressed in an orange 18th century gown.

Vendittelli Leads in a Beautifully Sung Performance

Soprano Arianna Vendittelli was unsurprisingly the star of the show. Not only is she an accomplished singer with an attractive voice and fine technique, but she really knows how to use it to mine the emotional depths of her characters. As Dido, she successfully brought out the complex layers of her character, revealing her doubts, her deep love and fears, along with her stubbornness born of her principled nature. She did not simply rely on set piece arias or duets to carry the emotions; her recitatives were also expertly developed, adding ballast and coherence to her characterization.

Baritone Mauro Borgioni stamped his authority on the role of Aeneas. In Act three, his passionate pleading proved to be the perfect foil to Vendittelli’s implacable Dido, and together they produced a pained and anguished confrontation in which their conflicted feelings were beautifully crafted. His robust, secure and expressive singing gave his Aeneas a heroic quality even when he was being rejected. In “Hail! Bright Cecelia,” his voice combined beautifully with Galou’s warm contralto in a rendition of “Hark, each tree its silence breaks,” in which his sensitive phrasing impressed.

Having made such positive impressions as the young lovers, Eurimaco and Melanto, in “Il Ritorno Di Ulisse in Patria,” it was good to see tenor Žiga Čopi and soprano Charlotte Bowden given further opportunities with significant roles in both works. Čopi essayed the small role of the Spirit in the form of Mercury, producing a tidy performance. However, it was his performance in “Hail! Bright Cecilia” that really showed off the fine quality of his singing. He possesses an agile voice with a sweet, attractive timbre, which he used with sensitivity to fashion delicate and complex lines, which he topped with a secure and bright, light coloratura.

Although Bowden displayed her sensitivity to the text with a pleasing rendition of the aria for soprano and chorus, “Thou turn’st this world below,” in “Hail! Bright Cecilia,” it was in the role of Belinda that she really shone. She produced a confident portrait, sensitively developing a sympathetic and respectful relationship with Dido, in which she showed off her bright, endearing and agile voice to good effect.

Contralto Delphine Galou produced a strongly defined portrayal of the Sorceress, characterizing her as a cross between an evil entity and a vamp. Her singing was flexible and beautifully nuanced with clear intonation, coated with a veneer of danger.

She was accompanied by her two minions, the first and second witches, played by Chiara Nicastro, who showed ability with a pleasing short coloratura display, and the soprano Paola Valentina Molinari, whose vocal expressivity added to the foreboding atmosphere.

Following contralto Candida Guida’s all-too-small contribution in “Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria,” it was pleasing to hear her attractive, agile and beautifully colored voice in the role of the Second Woman.

Tenor Jorge Navarro Colorado, as the Sailor, gave a hearty and breezy rendition of the aria “Come away, fellow sailors,” which he accompanied with some lively movements.

The Chorus, Coro delle Cattedrale di Siena Guido Chigi Saracini, was in fine form and produced a lively and vibrant performance. The finale to the ode, “Hail, bright Cecelia, hail to thee,” was given a sparkling, uplifting rendition and brought the evening to a satisfying conclusion.

Ottavio Dantone directing the Accademia Bizantina elicited a sensitive, elegant and balanced reading that supported the onstage drama and complemented Pizzi’s aesthetic.

This was an unusual pairing of Purcell pieces, which, thanks in no small part to Pizzi’s imaginative staging, worked well together. Certainly, it was dramatically, musically and aesthetically more balanced than one normally expects from the seasoned director.