Stiffelio

Guy Montavon's superb production
This opera closed the 2012 season in Parma. The dramaturgy and the musical aspects complement each other and are of a high standard. The librettist set the drama in an imaginary Protestant sect, the "assasveriani", and religious Puritanism is constantly at the foreground. Francis Calcagnini's sets and costumes create a rigid, suffocating, monastic ambiance, with tall gray walls, no windows, and few exits. The approach is minimalist but expressive, with well-integrated abstract strictness. The stage floor is covered with biblical texts in Latin. It has a lot in common with the sets Es Devlin created for the 2009 Nederlandse Opera production of I Puritani (on blu-ray), for the same dramatic reasons (the sets there were also in gloomy gray, with a rigid geometric design, covered with the Bible in Braille). Both productions also share an obsession with books. Director (and light designer) Guy Montavon placed the action in the Amish community like in the movie "The Witness" with Harrison...

Great surprise!
I just saw this Stiffelio production, part of my personal Verdi 2013 celebrations! What a great surprise! Small and pretty simple settings, but let's talk about the singing! Aronica sings the part beyond expectations with a dark voice sometimes which fits well for the troubled husband. Every now and then he sounded a little insecure but overall this was a superb performance! Guanqun Yu made the part looks easy with a very comfortable upper register! Fabulous! Roberto Frontali: amazing! I confess, it was the first time I heard the man but I'll will look for more! Great baritone tone, great upper notes! The chorus is spot on and gave me goose bumps in the final moments!
The orchestra sounds a bit crude at a times, but it was not distracting!
Great chance to watch this "lesser" work by Verdi!

Verdi not served right.
Sorry to disagree with previous reviewers. As much as I love the new TUTTO VERDI series with many magnificent performances I've seen so far, this one unfortunately misses the mark and misses badly.
As I was watching and listening I was really wondering if indeed this was written by the great Maestro. To my ears the music just did not come together, did not gel. The action on the stage felt artificial, `operatic' in the worst sense and unable to convey this gripping drama. If you don't believe me just follow the audience reaction: there was very little applause although the Parma audience is usually very enthusiastic.

The previous reviewers talk a lot about the work itself, the stage design and the director. But this obfuscates the picture. In opera the conducting is of paramount importance and young Battistoni, talented no doubt (he has given us a very enjoyable and competent Attila), but here unfortunately he hasn't got the grip of the score. He plays the notes...

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