VIVALDI: Ercole su’l Termodonte (complete opera)
Performers: Zachary Stains, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Laura Cherici, Lucia Dordolo, Marina Bartoli, Randall Scotting, Filippo Mineccia / Il Complesso Barocco, cond. Alan Curtis / dir. John Pascoe
Studio: Dynamic [Distr. by Qualiton]
Libretto: Giacomo Francesco Bussani
Reconstruction: Alessandro Ciccolini
Video: Enhanced for 16:9, color
Audio: Italian Dolby Digital 5.1; PCM 2.0
Subtitles: English, German, French
Regional coding: all regions
Extras: Notes and synopsis
Length: 136 minutes
Rating: ***
This appealing recording of a lost masterpiece by Vivaldi has finally become available for the first time. After its successful debut in 1723, Vivaldi’s Ercole did not find a wide audience, and at one point the score was lost. Recently, 30 arias and 2 duets were discovered in several archives, and the rest of the opera has been reconstructed by Alessandro Ciccolini into a coherent whole.
Recorded during the 49th Spoleto Festival in Italy, this performance is so childlike and modest in scale that even Hercules’ nudity has no shocking or titillating value. In fact, it seems perfectly natural that this demi-god should prance around in lions’ skins (with a paw strategically dangling in the front). And in Act 3, before he is transformed into a Greek warrior, his complete nudity seems both matter-of-fact and aesthetically pleasing. Further, the baritone who portrays him, Zachary Stains, has the best voice of this ensemble, with interesting colors and an attractive timbre. And with his blistering eyes and aggressive stance, he does a creditable job of portraying the wrathful god caught up in the maelstrom of his ninth labor. Randall Scotting, a countertenor with a powerful physique, would have looked more plausible as Hercules, notwithstanding his much higher range, but as Teseo (Theseus) he was vocally thin.
Among the Amazons, Mary-Ellen Nesi (who also doubles as Diana at the conclusion), as the imperious queen Antiope, sounds too effortful and makes exaggerated gestures and forced facial expressions. Visually speaking, she is too young to be a plausible mother. Nesi produces a better sound and a steadier tone when she stands still rather than stomp around the stage in her mid-thigh golden boots. In Act 3, though, for once she is given to self-reflection, and her remorse is touching. Here she redeems herself both vocally and in the plot. Laura Cherici as her daughter, Martesia, looks too old and hefty to portray a wide-eyed teenager just learning the ways of the world, though her movements are appropriately childlike. Marina Bartoli as Ippolita is a competent and attractive soprano.
The sets, with their olive trees, tasteful phallic symbols, and gigantic bust of Diana are spare but effective. The mythically correct costumes and the fades between different screens are pleasing. The orchestra, however, sounds tinny and unremarkable. The producer, Dynamic, has devised a production protocol that “restores a 360-degree sound around the ideal listening position.” [Uh huh…Ed.]
Designer John Pascoe gives a brief, informative introduction, in which he says that Hercules, conquering his wrathful nature, is transformed by an awareness of love, a good synopsis of this very rare opera.
– Dalia Geffen
