Many of Victor Hugo’s stories have had a vibrant new life in a different form. For example, “Les Miserables” is extremely popular as a musical. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” has been made into a movie several times. Hugo’s play Hernani also comes to life in another form. It is the basis for the early Verdi opera Ernani.
The Lyric Opera of Chicago kicked off its 68th season with a tremor of outstanding principal singers. He brought heavy and compelling singing to this oversized drama. This oversized drama competes for love and honor, leaving viewers disappointed when a final act of violence ends tragedy.
Ernani is a nobleman stripped of his title and wealth after the previous King of Spain murdered his father. Ernani lives under the disguise of an outlaw, but he manages to meet and fall in love with Elvira, who returns her love. She is also wooed by her elderly guardian Silva, who wants to force her to marry him. (In Hugo’s original, this situation is even creepier because the groom-to-be is her uncle.
Ernani and Silva join forces against the king at some point in a temporary truce convenient for both parties, by promising Ernani to leave his life in Silva’s hands. Only possible. I was.
This opera is full of passionate music and a boiling cauldron of emotions. Tenor Russell Thomas brings a heroic sound to the title his character and fills Ernani with laser power focused on achieving revenge for his father’s murder. On opening night, Thomas was pretty taciturn in the first act, but warmed up considerably in the next three. He has a stellar high note that seems to float upstream on stage. Soprano Tamara Wilson brings a rich, gorgeous voice to Elvira and she does a great job of creating a dignified woman who only wants to marry the man of her choice.
But what really stands out in this piece are the two low voices that represent Ernani’s enemies. As Carlo, baritone Quinn Kelsey plays a multifaceted king with both swagger and self-doubt. The production marks Kelsey’s 18th role on Lyric, and Kelsey dates back to her days as a member of her Ryan Center for Young Singers on Lyric. He was a standout during his Ryan Center tenure and has only gotten better since his 2003–04 season when he made his Lyric debut. There is warmth and flexibility in his voice, clearly establishing both his regal confidence and inner conflict. His inner surprise as to whether he could become an effective Holy Roman Emperor made Act III incredibly powerful.
Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn is also a graduate of the Ryan Center and has given a wonderful performance. Like Kelsey, this is his 18th role in his Lyric and for me the best role yet. His lower register has gone from strength to strength over the years and he delivered great singing even in the most dangerous lower registers.
Scott Ma has created an evocative setting for the opera, including a dramatic backdrop for a dark and rugged mountain scene. At one point, over 30 lanterns descend from the ceiling, creating points of light over the singer. The walls are long, tall and sturdy not only to establish a prison-like environment in Elvira, but also to represent power and economic power against Ernani.
From a visual point of view, the opera has the feel of a great painting singing to you. there is Director Luisa Muller can’t seem to create a romantic spark between Ernani and Elvira, so the music has to do all the heavy lifting. She also added Ernani’s dad, a silent character who is killed during the overture in a cloud of liquid nitrogen. To do.
The program contains highly informative and interesting ideas about opera provided by directors, conductors and musicologists, and is easy to read before the performance (the program is available online). But even these experts cannot get around the fact that this opera has some ridiculous aspects that make it far from entirely satisfying. And did you give up on Elvira? Can you believe that he would do that for a man who harbors hatred for him? Ernani making a suicide pact with Silva is truly an honor. Is it an obligation to honor such agreements? In “Les Miz”, the distorted sense of justice of the antagonist is powerful. But it is the supposed good person in “Ernani” who has the warped honor, at least in my modern sense. It’s hard to believe and hard to swallow.
But in the end it’s the music that wins. It’s energetic, exhilarating, and imaginative. This can be felt from the first strain from the pit. Lyric’s musical director, Enrique Mazzola, presides over the Lyric Opera Orchestra with certainty and ease. From the orchestra to the wonderful Lyric Opera Chorus (prepared by Michael Black), the music is vibrant, engrossing, and all supporting the Principal in a wonderful way.
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