That Verdi already had a great facility for writing memorable tunes from an early age ought to come as no surprise: it is a natural consequence of his rigorous formal training and his lifelong empathy with Classical period music. Instead, the surprising aspect of his first opera, Oberto, conte di san Bonifacio, is the composer's instinct for drama, which was already well developed. One might not find constructions of the musical and psychological complexity of the Violetta-Germont père duet from Act Two of La traviata or the darkness of much of Don Carlos, but these are products of Verdi's artistic maturity that he only achieved after many years of work. The point is that no apology needs to be made for Oberto. It stands up well to many contemporaneous works by Donizetti and Mercadante and indeed owes much to their developments in Italian opera.
This new DVD of the opera from Opus Arte captures a performance that brings out the best from the opera and suggests conviction in its quality. The production comes from the Palacio Euskalduna de Bilbao, where a new fifteen-year project called 'Tutto Verdi' has been inaugurated with the aim of performing all Verdi's operas, including alternate versions. A high-profile international committee including names such as Abbado and Bergonzi is supporting the venture, and the forthcoming season includes very decently-cast productions of Aida and La battaglia di Legnano. One can only hope, on the strength of this excellent DVD, that the project has a happier fate than the Royal Opera's aborted Verdi Festival and that all the productions are filmed.
Ignacio García's production shows how opera can be presented in both a symbolic and a literal setting at the same time. With designer Domenico Franchi, García gives the characters a credible world in which to move and act, such as a Gothic backdrop with archways and flaming torches. But at the same time, the stage is dominated in several scenes by a large, sombre tree that withers and dies over the course of the performance - a metaphor for the fate of the title character, who himself suffers and reaches his demise by the end. The staging is never less than atmospheric; it also picks up strongly on the father-daughter relationship (which would become a motif over the course of Verdi's output) and the vision of an oppressed people (an early engagement with the Italian Risorgimento). At times it would have been nice to see the singers act with a little more abandon and purpose, but on the whole this is an engaging experience.
The cast may not be of the highest international standing, but one could not hope for more commitment and style. Ildar Abdrazakov is nothing short of outstanding as Oberto, in fact, drawing huge applause after his flamboyantly executed cabaletta in the second act. Evelyn Herlitzius has a slight wobble in her voice initially, but she turns Leonora into a figure of great pathos; her performance of the Finale Rondo in Act Two is truly moving.
Having been less than impressed with Marianne Cornetti's Azucena in Opus Arte's recent release of Il trovatore from the outdoor festival at Bregenz, I was apprehensive about how she might perform in this Oberto. The lakeside conditions in Bregenz were evidently against her, because here she sings sensitively as Cuniza, focussing her voice very successfully in the taxing high-lying lines of her virtuoso aria at the start of Act Two and using portamento more sparingly (and fruitfully) than she did in the Trovatore. Carlo Ventre's powerful tenor is perfect for the score but lacks nuance, as does his acting. Nonetheless, he completes an involving group of soloists who are at their best when performing together, such as the wonderful quartet 'Vili all'armi, a donne eroi' in Act Two, an early indications of things to come in the Verdi canon.
Yves Abel draws raw and earthy sounds from the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias and the Bilbao chorus is surprisingly capable.
Although the ideal way to listen to this piece remains Sir Neville Marriner's lively and luxuriously-cast recording on Philips, this new DVD of Oberto is a very welcome addition to the catalogue.