June/July 2007: Nabucco in Verona (2007-06-29)

Day 1: Thursday June 28th, Oslo-Verona

First night bus to Oslo. Arriving Oslo 0530. And my flight is due to leave 1300. No problem, only hand luggage. Great airplane, Lufthansa, and food and drink for free. Change planes in Frankfurt. Air Dolomiti to Verona. Free food and drink. (with drink I mean Cola light). And in Verona Aiport just go out and take the aiport bus to the train station, and no waiting... It is just about 1800, and the weather is fine, my luggage not too heavy, so off I went to Piazza Bra, outside the arena to eat some real food, pizza with mushrooms. Then back to the station, and take the taxi to my hotel, Hotel Tryp. 2050 in my hotel


Day 2: Friday June 29th, Verona

Free curtesy bus to the arena/Piazza Bra at 1530. My head-ache is nearly gone, and now I am longing for opera. Dinner at Cafe Opera, Piazza Bra. Wow, who is sitting not too far from me... tenor Marcello Giordani. He is checking the 2009 calendar, phone calls. And then his wife and two sons arrive and my chance to talk to the great tenor is over.

Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi), Arena di Verona
ore 21.15


Direttore Daniel Oren
Regia Denis Krief
Scenografia Denis Krief
Costumi Denis Krief
Maestro del coro Marco Faelli
Lighting Designer Paolo Mazzon
Dir. Allestimenti scenici Giuseppe De Filippi Venezia
luci Denis Krief

Interpreti
Nabucco = Leo Nucci
Ismaele = Fabio Sartori
Zaccaria = Carlo Colombara
Abigaille = Maria Guleghina
Fenena = Nino Surguladze
High Priest of Belo = Carlo Striuli
Abdallo = Carlo Bosi
Anna = Patrizia Cigna

Nuovo Allestimento

Orchestra, Coro e tecnici
dell'Arena di Verona

Now Nabucco. Not the same production as two years ago. Leo Nucci was also then Nabucco and Susan Neves was Abigaille. Disappointment, two-fold; the production in 2005 was better, and my seat was better: I could hear better then, and no-one was talking during the show. Having read some review of the production with their pointing out disappointment towards Carlo Colombara and Maria Guleghina, they loved Leo Nucci, of course... so I knew something. And it was announced at the loud-speaker, that Colombara althought slightly ill he was still singing. And you could tell he was not in top form but he was steadily better. Maria Guleghina was also weak sounding, but I think that was because of my seat. Had I been sitting in Poltronissimo God section and not (just) poltronissimo then I think my feeling had been better about this production, but I would still have found the ballett thing stupid and wondering why did they put such a boring costume on the wonderful soprano, Maria Guleghina. Fenena and Anna got something beautiful to wear. White for Fenena, red for Anna, but for Abigaille, dark earth colors.

And then singers did not come out where I was standing.

Must have more Maria Guleghina live. Especially as Abigaille....