Magnificent opera evening to inaugurate the Peralada Festival anniversary

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

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

Beside him, Jaho did not shine as much as on other occasions. Her pianissimi are excellent and profoundly expressive, but when her voice opens up and needs more sonic expansion, the color becomes a bit 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 regulators. 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 tackled a heartfelt rendition of the nostalgic aria Allons! Il le faut... Adieu, notre petite table from Manon, to make way for 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 a captivating musical and theatrical tension. Afterwards, the audience stood up and no encores. No other piece would have improved this ending.