Magnificent opera evening to inaugurate the Perelada Festival anniversary

First great opera night of the summer in Empordà. The Perelada Festival has inaugurated the 40th anniversary edition with an excellent recital, starring two great stars of the international lyric scene: soprano Ermonela Jaho and tenor Benjamin Bernheim, who, accompanied by pianist Marco Madrigal, have offered a brilliant journey through arias and songs by Italian and French composers of Romanticism and Verismo from the late 19th century.

The French tenor, who is experiencing a moment of absolute vocal fullness, has undoubtedly been the great triumph of the night. A guarantor of an enameled and luminous timbre, he shapes his singing with an elegant line, of exquisite musicality, added to a profound stylistic sense and impeccable diction. His projection in emission, truly powerful, filled the walls of the Church of Carmen at the precise moment of each intervention, without ever falling into crude showmanship or excessive vehemence.

Beside him, Jaho did not shine as much as on other occasions. Her pianissimi are excellent and deeply expressive, but when the voice opens up and needs more sound expansion, the color becomes slightly rough and loses roundness. However, the Albanian soprano compensates for any symptom of vocal decline with an undeniable stage presence, capable of giving meaning and dramatic intensity to every word.

The two soloists performed most of the pieces alone, entering and leaving the church's presbytery, with only two scarce duets shared throughout the repertoire. From the first part, dedicated to Cilea, Puccini, Verdi, and Leoncavallo, Jaho's most successful moment was lo son l'umile ancella, from Adriana Lecouvreur, where she was able to display her refinement in sustained singing and registers. Bernheim, for his part, captivated (and even surprised) from the first moment with the spectacular farewell of E lucevan le stelle, from Tosca.

The second part, centered on two great operas by Massenet and Gounod, crowned the tenor, a great specialist in the French repertoire. He amazed with a spectacular Pourquoi me réveiller, from Werther, transitioning with finesse from heroism to the character's melancholy, just after the luminous Ah! lève-toi, soleil!, from Roméo et Juliette, resolved with gallantry and naturalness. In the final stretch, Jaho gave a heartfelt performance of the nostalgic aria Allons! Il le faut... Adieu, notre petite table from Manon, to give way to the culmination of the lovers' reunion scene in Saint-Sulpice from the same opera. The two soloists ended up absolutely in sync, with fantastic chemistry, creating captivating musical and theatrical tension. At the end, the audience stood up and no encores. No other piece would have improved this ending.