“L’Orfeo” and “Il Sant’ Alessio”

I watched the two Baroque operas, “L’Orfeo” by Monteverdi and “Il Sant’ Alessio” by Stefano Landi staring Philippe Jaroussky recently.

In “L’Orfeo”, he sang one aria wonderfully playing very graceful La Speranza/Hope. He has wonderful stage presence. The production of “L’Orfeo” was the first rate. The hair & make-up and the costumes were moderate but very beautifully done, almost every singers looked like they just came out of a fashion magazine. The only down size was that the stage setting looked more like back stage.

Musically, it was the first rate also. All singers sang so beautifully. It is only recently I started to listen to Baroque music singers and I’ve noticed they have much lighter, airy and crystal clear voices than Puccini or Mozart singers. Often they don’t shout out loud to sing and flow of their voices sound almost effortlessly coloratura. It might be because they use less number of instruments and the Baroque music tunes are much simpler, intimate and more settled. 

I learned that “L’Orfeo” is one of the oldest operas. I don’t know why I am so attracted and fascinated by Monteverdi. I love every sound of his music.  I love Philippe’s Monteverdi as much as Rolando Villazon’s. I’m generally fond of the music in Shakespearean era (which are more like folk songs) anyway but his music is very different and so standing out. His music is very ethnic, pagan and exotic which sounds almost non-European.

“Il Sant’ Alessio” is very different from “L’Orfeo”. At the first glance of this production performed by all male casts, it is obvious that they’re trying to re-create every single details of the very first production of this opera as it was played in 1635, from the lavish costumes (which must cost fortune), the stage settings and highly stylized (in another word, highly overly cheep) acting. The some of the performers’ movements remind me the medieval religious paintings.  In a way, it was very fascinating; because while I was watching this production I had illusion I was actually there back in time.

Though I confess. It took little bit of effort to overcome the bad (authentic?) make-up job done on Max Emanuel Cencic and his little over the top acting in spite of his illuminous beautiful voice (the producer said they showed some of the performances by Tamasaburo to all the performers but I don’t think it translated well).

Other than these a few minor cosmetic issues, the production itself was much more intense than I anticipated, musically and emotionally. All the singers sang so wonderfully with such passion. I don't think Stefano Landi is big as Monteverdi in its musical scale but there are genuinely really good music and story in this opera that withstand the time.

This is a peculiar story based on the true story of Saint Alexis in the 5^th century and its religious theme might be very anachronistic to the modern moral senses.

Alexis is a young beloved son, husband and friend from the noble, disappeared suddenly and mysteriously. His parents, wife and friends are all mystified and mourn his absence. They don’t know why he disappeared or where he is or what happened to him. The only things they know is he left on his will and he fled from the searching squad in Palestine which his father sent. All through the production, they lament their agony and suffering over his absence which put them into the permanent suicidal states.

From the shadow, they’ve been watched by a beggar whom the father took in with generosity to a small space underneath staircase of his house. The beggar is actually Alexis and he came back to live there without being recognized by anyone for next 30 years.

Alexis is a searching soul dismayed by war and world and became a holy beggar for the religious salvation. His longing for salvation is so intense, he’d tried to attain it by stoicism, physical hardship and psychological torture by watching his loved ones suffer. Their torments were so great, at one point, his mother and wife tried to leave the home behind for search of him to distant dangerous lands. He talked them into not to do so with great effort but it also shook his will. Like Jesus in desert, the devil came to tempt him by telling him to go back to his family to resolve their sufferings. He struggled greatly but in the end, he was rescued by an angel and finally achieves the revelation he longed for so long. And he remained silence until his death when he finally, - in a letter he was firmly holding in his hand when he died, - told them who he was. Then explaining all what he went though and told them not to be sad but rejoice for he died happy.

Philippe played Alexis. His feature matched the role really well and I’m very impressed by his acting. He walked slowly as he carries yoke of torment and moved his arms ever so slowly as to express heaviness of his longings and sufferings. When he sang his last aria, “ O morte gradita” (Oh welcome Death) right after the revelation, is the one of these operatic moments which raw and painful emotion is exposed to the very core of bone like “Vissi d’arte” in Tosca or " Tu! tu! piccolo Iddio"in Madame Butterfly.