Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset - Manuel Garcia - Il Califfo di Bagdad (2009)

The Granada Festival of Music 2007 had the happy idea of reviving this opera by the Sevillian Manuel García (1775-1832) who was almost a Renaissance man, judging by his many artistic occupations - musician, singer, impresario and father of an exceptional series of singers and musicians (Maria Malibran, Pauline Viardot and Manuel García Jr.) in addition to some others who were inventors.

Reading the program book, one finds that Manuel García wrote 50 operas, many of which never even had premieres and this Califfo di Bagdad was first performed in 1813 in Naples, some three years before Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. This comment is relevant because Manuel García was the first Conte di Almaviva in the Barber and because both operas belong to the genero buffo tradition. Furthermore, there are many moments when García's music reminds one of the genius from Pesaro.

This is a significant revival, since the work is very well constructed musically, with many unusual passages, especially both of its finales, with the end of Act I offering a concertante of more than 10 minutes duration -a strange thing for the time of composition - and with the Act II finale presenting music that evokes Mozart’s Seraglio. Those who decided to offer this opera and helped to make it possible are to be congratulated. Their example seems to be spreading too, since Seville has programmed another Manuel García opera for next season: the Mort du Tasse.

The version offered at the Teatro de la Zarzuela is semi- staged with only some stairs, crowned by a footbridge as scenery. Olivier Simonnet uses very simple direction, not going much further than making sure that the singers realize that this is an opera buffa. Costumes (Jose Enrique Oña Selfa) are a mixture of styles that are difficult to define, although it seems that they are trying to revive the time of the opera's premiere. Lighting (Alexis Kavyrchine) is no more than efficient and it is obvious that the performance's main interest was not the production.

Musical Direction was entrusted to the French conductor Christophe Rousset and his Talens Lyriques. It is worth noting that in the last ten days, I have seen Madrid performances of two opera buffas both from the same period (Vicente Martin y Soler's Il Tutore Burlato (1775) and Il Califfo di Bagdad) but with very different results. Rousset understands what García's work is about and has taken his reading with a lightness that does full justice to the score, although the sound of his baroque orchestra is not particularly appropriate - or at least it isn't the sound to which we are used in this type of music. In their performances of the Martin y Soler work however, both Rousset and Les Talens have certainly proved their quality, though I do prefer them in the baroque repertoire. El Coro de la Orquesta Ciudad de Granada was unfortunately a deficient vocal group.

Isauun, Il Califfo di Bagdad, was the Granadino Jose Manuel Zapata, an outstanding Rossinian tenor perfectly suited to the demands of the role. Zapata's voice has widened remarkably in the past few years and is very different to the high Rossinian tenorino so frequently required nowadays. He sings easily, with a good line and some elegance, although his very highest notes might have lost some of their former quality. I suspect that he could be leaving these very light parts soon, even though they are obviously still one of the best options in the Rossini repertoire with an assured future. He will make his debut this coming season at the Metropolitan in Barbiere and he will also sing Puritani’s Arturo in Spain. It will be interesting to see the outcome.

The very first Zetulbé ,the object of the Caliph's love, was none other than the celebrated Isabella Colbran whose voice was undoubtedly more important than that of Ana Chierichetti, who took the role in this performance. She was a very reliable performer however and alhough it is already more than four years since her success in Alcina in Bilbao, her international career has somehow not taken off as yet. Her voice has some quality without being outstanding, and she sings with taste, although her top notes can sometimes lack brightness.

Mezzo Milena Storti passed largely unnoticed through the part of Lamède, the mother of Zetulbé. In the absence of great singing, a more lively stage animal is needed for the character, which is an important buffo part. Manuela Custer (announced as Kuster), was more than adequate as Kesia, Zetulbé’s servant. Comfortable in the mezzo tessitura, easy on stage and with a sonorous and rich voice, it is strange that with almost 20 years experience to career, she has not become a bigger name. Sometimes singers' careers are indeed a mystery.