Finally a Met Revival of "Francesca da Rimini!"

It took the Metropolitan Opera barely two years to produce Riccardo Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini in 1916 after its premiere in Turin in 1914. But then it was retired until 1984—1986, and now it has taken 27 years before we were presented with the current repeat of that handsome production. The Westchester audiences, (along with others in over 1900 theaters in 64 countries,) were finally able to catch it in brilliant HD at our usual local movie venues. 

The Met is by no means the only house that has neglected the work of Zandonai (1883-1944.) The reason seems to be that he failed “ueber-expectations.” When the composer first arrived on the scene, he was heralded as the new Puccini. Francesca da Rimini in particular was to be the unchallenged apex of “Love,” even outdoing Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.

Francesca da Rimini is based on the d’Annunzio play written in 1901 for his paramour, the world-famous actress Elinore Duse. The play in turn, is based on a smallish section of Dante’s Inferno and describes the tragic life of Francesca do Polenta (1255-1285.) She was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, Lord of Ravenna, who was an actual contemporary of Dante’s. Lots of interesting connections all around… For instance the libretto of the opera was the work of Tito Ricordi, who was the grandson of the founder of the illustrious publishing House of Ricordi, to which we owe gratitude for the very existence and preservation of much of Italian opera.

Francesca’s story evidently inspired many obscure, and not-so-obscure composers in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Even powerhouses like Tschaikovsky and Rachmaninoff chose it as a subject. There are paintings by Rosetti and Ingres, and Rodin’s famed 1988 sculpture, “The Kiss,” was originally named “Francesca da Rimini.”

So Zandonai was tackling a well-tested subject and the erstwhile Mascagni student was expected to deliver an outstanding result. I believe in a number of ways he did. Although the score includes arias, duets, and even a quartet, much of the impact of both action and feeling is imparted via lusciously colored orchestral delivery. There are shades of impressionism, Verdi-and-Wagnerisms, and for me decidedly, similarity to the opera and movie-score composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Indeed, it all feels like movie music lifted to the highest level. 

(Korngold did achieve this in movies like “Robin Hood” and especially “The Sea Hawk.” I really advise listening carefully -- and fully enjoying it -- when the latter appears on TCM.)

The plot of Francesca da Rimini offers us highly romantic love, adultery, loyalty, treachery, and lots of action and gore – the ingredients of grand opera for sure. For political reasons, Francesca is tricked into marrying the deformed Gianciotto Malatesta while she believes to be betrothed to his handsome brother, Paolo. She falls in love with the bello Paolo, at definitely one of the most distinctive “first sights” ever. (Instead of bursting into an ardent duet, Zandonai allows a solo cello to describe the lovers’ instantaneous passion.)

Life at Rimini is rough. We witness an ingeniously staged bloody siege during which the lovers’ ardor is quite apparent. But an honorable wife, Francesca succumbs to sexual entanglement with Paolo only after a prolonged ethical struggle. Finally betrayed by the evil third Malatesta brother, Malatestino, whom Francesca has rejected, the lovers are surprised and stabbed to death by Gianciotto.

So fun it’s not, but engaging entertainment it certainly is, in this vocally and visually often enchanting production. The first act, for instance, has Francesca’s handmaidens sing and dance delightfully, offering a gossamer tableaux in exquisite costumes. During an intermission feature hosted by Sondra Radvanovsky, we were made aware that the gorgeously embroidered gowns darkened in shading throughout the acts, as the storyline darkened.

Eva-Maria Westbroeck, the soprano from the Netherlands was a vocally very reliable Francesca. Her acting was a bit over the top for the HD transmissions, but probably helpful for the Family Circle patrons at the house. (You may remember her giving us a wonderful Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walkuere 2 seasons ago.)

The Italian tenor, Marcello Giordani, (well-known indeed with his history of over 200 Met performances in something like 25 roles,) though always on key, seemed to struggle here at times.

Mark Delavan, the baritone from Princeton NJ, made a mighty scary, vocally powerful Gianciotto. He made it clear that this was not a character to fool with. And even his uniquely designed battle-dress was persuasively ferocious!

Malastestino was sung by the tenor Robert Brubaker who comes from Pennsylvania. His fame for portraying evil characters includes a well-remembered witch in Hansel and Gretel, and Mime in Wagner’s Ring. During his entertaining intermission interview, he said the evil parts pick him, not vice versa. They fit the voice and dramatic talents of this singing/actor.

It was the enthusiastic Italian conductor Marco Armiliato, with over 300 Met performances to his credit, who, as usual, drew the best from the rich, luscious sound of the Met’s great orchestra.

OK, let’s admit Puccini it’s not. But it can compete with a lot of lesser composers’ works that are still performed. It was only the second time I was exposed to this opera, so I certainly could not hum any of it on the proverbial way out. But more exposure might cure that, if that phenomenon is considered an acid test. Who knows, maybe one day the other six of Zandonai’s operas will be “discovered” and accepted as eminently worthwhile.

The encore of this “rediscovery” will take place at 6:30 PM, on April 3rd, at WP’s City Center Cinema 15 and NewRoc’s Regal City 18.

Here are some reactions of members of this opera’s audience:

Joanne Hersh of Ossining, picked this up as “a sort of fairytale.” She praised the production; thought the casting was good, but “would not rush back to see it again.”

Bela Mecs of Yorktown found it “very enjoyable in general.” He especially appreciated the “love-at-first-sight” cello interlude that captured “the pure enchantment of love and predicted its continuation and growth.” He attributed the beauty of the opera to the Met’s great orchestra.

But he had a very definite complaint that is not limited to this performance. “I am very disappointed in the HiFi equipment in the movie theater. It obviously is an obsolete audio system that often distorts. When I listen to the repeats of the operas on PBS, on my HiFi- connected-TV at home, the sound is far better.” Never the less he and his wife Sandra attend as many HD performances as they can.

Joanne Zammit of Stamford, who finds it easier to come to Westchester than to catch the HDs in Connecticut, thought the opera was a bit long, but “found it quite melodic.” She enjoys seeing an unfamiliar work every now and then. Not against modernization, she decided liking the result depended on the particular opera. “I thought Rigoletto was wonderful,” she said. She has gone to about 6 or 7 of the HD’s each season but definitely intends to get to the actual house again. She feels especially lucky to have attended occasional dress rehearsals there.