Rodelinda, Metropolitan Opera HD Live, Dec. 3 2011

Rodelinda is the oldest opera yet presented in the Met HD series. Iphegenie in Tauride dates back to 1779, but Rodelinda, regina de’ Longobardi (to give it its full name) was premiered in 1725. Some of us noted resemblances between Rodelinda and The Messiah; the latter was composed in 1741 and first performed in 1742. Self-borrowings were not uncommon at that time.

The first act opened in a large, spare bedroom, with Rodelinda chained by one arm to her very simple bed. She was soon released by Grimoaldo, usurper of her husband’s throne. Thereafter the scenes shifted between a courtyard and a library. The most prominent feature of the courtyard was a large obelisk; to the right there was a small stable for four to six horses. The library was magnificent: two stories, with balcony, and with hundreds of large books behind glass doors. Even with Met HD close-up camera work, it was not apparent that the books had titles. My guess is that each book was actually a papier-mâché block painted with a large stripe for the title area and thinner stripes for the binding cords. Nevertheless it was very effective. For one scene the courtyard was raised out of sight so that we could see the prison in which Bertarido (the deposed king) was being incarcerated.

Our cast:
Rodelinda: Renée Fleming
Eduige: Stephanie Blythe
Bertarido: Andreas Scholl (countertenor)
Unulfo: Iestyn Davies (countertenor)
Grimoaldo: Joseph Kaiser
Garibaldo: Shenyang
Conductor: Harry Bicket
Production: Stephen Wadsworth

Renée Fleming sang well; I certainly liked her performance here better than her Lucrezia Borgia, recently seen at San Francisco Opera. But I preferred Stephanie Blythe’s singing, if not her acting—certain advantages accrue to a person of Fleming’s size rather than Blythe’s. Of the two countertenors, I much preferred the Unulfo of Iestyn Davies. (Interesting sidelight: in the intermission interview, both countertenors demonstrated their normal speaking voices; Andreas Scholl could pitch his speaking voice rather low. Neither had missed puberty.) Shenyang contributed a mellifluous bass voice in his relatively minor role.

The authenticity and detail of Stephen Wadsworth’s sets were entirely in keeping with the “authenticity” and detail of his sets for Der Ring des Nibelungen in Seattle, currently my gold standard for Ring productions. (Start making plans for the 2013 Seattle Ring!) The music was pleasant, though not particularly memorable or cathartic. A beta.