Jonas Kaufmann impresses with his finely judged
phrasing, psychological acuity and seductive swagger
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Limelight, August 15, 2020 |
by Justine Nguyen |
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VERDI: OTELLO |
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Kaufmann is a vital, virile Otello but perhaps the biggest star is the orchestra under Antonio Pappano. |
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Those who doubted whether Jonas Kaufmann truly had the goods for
Otello when he made his debut in 2017 at the Royal Opera House
will find much to appreciate here. The recording studio is
mercifully more congenial to the tenor’s moderate-sized voice,
which means he’s able to focus more on characterisation rather
than just pumping out the notes. Recorded last summer in Rome
with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
under Antonio Pappano, it’s very much worth a listen.
Kaufmann is a vital, virile Otello, and many aspects of his
portrayal are terrific. What his voice lacks in power, he makes
up for in dramatic intensity, and you come to understand the
character’s deep-seated neuroses well. The burnished,
trumpet-like sound he brings to certain phrases is thrilling,
and he manages to genuinely send a shiver up the spine when he
begins to suspect that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him. As
on stage, his portrayal emphasises Otello’s nobility, making his
fall from grace all the more violent. Most special of all is the
way he registers Iago’s deception in the opera’s final moments –
the stunned tone he deploys suggests total psychological
collapse, while the dagger thrust of the last bacio is rendered
almost like a death rattle.
Italian soprano Federica
Lombardi is new to the role of Desdemona, and her inexperience
does reveal itself in some less imaginative phrasing and
timidity of characterisation. One also wants crisper consonants.
However, she ably rises to the dramatic challenges of the final
act, splendidly passionate and wracked with fear and confusion.
Her rich, dark soprano makes for an especially womanly
Desdemona, and her Willow Song is appropriately haunting,
settling like a cold weight in the stomach. She sounds simply
gorgeous opposite Kaufmann in their act one love duet.
As
Iago, Carlos Álvarez invests his portrayal with a wealth of
subtle detail, such as the curl of the lip as he fabricates
Cassio’s incriminating dream, and the insinuating pianissimo as
he warns Otello of the dangers of jealousy. He delivers the
Credo powerfully, and gives an intentionally
dead-behind-the-eyes quality to some of Iago’s faked exuberance
that’s really quite chilling. He’s an excellent foil for
Kaufmann.
The supporting roles are well-cast, especially
Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan as a sweet-toned Cassio and
French mezzo Virginie Verrez as a sympathetic Emilia.
But
perhaps the biggest star is the orchestra under Pappano, who
more or less steal the show. He conducts with his customary
passion and scrupulous musical detail, but you sense that his
interpretation of the opera has sharpened too. His reading is
grittier, strings almost slashing in places, and there’s a drive
to certain passages that are exhilarating. The Orchestra e Coro
dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia are also brilliant,
supernaturally cohesive and dramatically alert.
We all
bemoan the lack of full opera recordings nowadays – here’s a
great one.
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