Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (EFE).- The soprano María José Siri and the tenor Francesco Pio Galasso will sing “La Gioconda” for the first time on April 18, 20 and 22 at the Pérez Galdós Theater in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria , like the rest of the voices that interpret the main characters in this work by Ponchielli.
“La Gioconda” will be the third title of the 56 seasons of Ópera de Las Palmas and it will also be the third time that it has been programmed due to the difficulty of gathering six soloists who can do it, a challenge that has been managed to be overcome with a “ magnificent” cast for the occasion, as explained by its general and artistic director, Ulises Jaén.
In a press conference, both Jaén and the organizers of the opera season, the singers and the musical and stage director Roberto Brizzi and Carlo Antonio de Lucia, respectively, have agreed to highlight that it is a complicated work due to the demands that it requires and that, for this reason, is rarely performed, but that the public will like because its arias are very recognizable, as well as “The Dance of the Hours”, which will be performed by the Odessa Ballet.
The cast is completed by the baritone Roman Burdenko, the bass Simón Orfila and the mezzo-sopranos Annalisa Stroppa and Yulia Mennibaeva, who, like María José Siri and Francesco Pio Gallaso, are delighted to debut in their roles and to do so with a classic production of Canarian Friends of the Opera, as Jaén has pointed out.
Burdenko, specifically, has stated that he is “fed up with making nonsense and crazy productions that do not respond at all to what is said in the works”, for which he believes that “it is almost an exception” to faithfully represent the author.
Not only the singers make their debut in this Gioconda, it is also the first for Carlo Antonio de Lucia and the rest of the cast, except for the musical director, who has directed it on many occasions.
Brizzi has pointed out that it is “interesting” to work with so much “virgin material”, as well as difficult because the roles must mature.
He has commented that it is a work that contains “well-known melodic moments”, that 80% is “pure theatre” and that its arias are also particular due to the highly cultivated language of this libretto by Arrigo Boito, who took years to complete it. , because there were several modifications that it underwent.
Based on the drama “Angelo, Tyrant of Padua” by Victor Hugo, the libretto recreates the oppressive Venice of the 17th century.
The soprano María José Siri, who plays the role of Gioconda, has stated that her character is “very human, with incredible values and great generosity”, and that for her this work is the “saddest opera” she has performed and not Rule out, given his emotionality, that a tear escapes him.
The rest of the singers have also expressed the difficulty involved in interpreting their roles, which in the case of Yulia Mennibaeva, has recounted that she played La Cieca, Gioconda’s mother, when she was a student and never imagined that she would make her debut, much less in the Pérez Galdós Theater.
It is a difficult role because she plays an old blind woman, the mezzo-soprano has indicated, who has also revealed that it has made her reflect on the special sensitivity that people who cannot see have.
In this four-act play, which will have a break, after the first two, the Choir of Canarian Friends of the Opera and the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra will once again feature. EFE