Hi all: Last week a friend of mine had to relocate to Florence, and wasn't able to attend some concerts here in New York City, and offered me his ticket to see Landi's opera "Il Sant'Alessio," performed by Les Arts Florisants at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater. I must confess, as much as I love early music, I was a tad worried three hours of early opera would consist of never ending secco recitatives, requiring me to reach for a razor, and slash my wrists by Act III.
I couldn't have been more wrong! This was one of the most captivating pieces of music I've ever seen performed. The three hours flew by! The performance was a "slightly staged" one (i.e. light costuming, no sets) with NINE counter-tenors, which mirrored the original performance in Rome. The male choristers of Les Arts Florissants and the boys' choir La Maîtrise de Caen performed several choruses/chorales to great effect (especially during a dance of demons). Hearing 40 voices split up into two choirs across a hundred foot stage was gorgeous. So much of the music from this period relies on echo effects; and spatial separation just brings the best elements in that style. The continuo section large and included a harp, two harpsichords, archlute, lute and guitar, organ, and regal. The opera is a drama/comedy, with the two bad boys stealing the show at the end of Act I, dancing their way into the orchestra and flirting with performers and being very silly. Satan's role, sang by a bass, is highly unusual, the original singer must have had an extraordinary range, I've never heard any arias requiring such a low range. The final act was so heart breaking: an angel (sang by a boy soprano) is sent to console the dying Alessio. This aria had me (and quite a few in the audience) in tears. I don't know if it's the norm, but the applause at the end of the opera lasted about ten minutes, with many bravos being shouted. The performance was well attended. Sant'Alessio is going to be fully staged in Europe in several cities, so if you have a chance, make every effort to see it! The New York Times Review is available online: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/arts/music/31ales.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Thanks much Kim Patrick Clow _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
