Opera for everyone: a few virtues and a mystery
On Monday night, La 1 premiered Aria, crazy about opera,one Operation Triumph but adapted to lyric poetry. talent show It has a more modest structure in terms of its machinery, but this gives it a more refined and exclusive feel. In fact, this is a determining factor for the format: it conveys to the viewer the idea that they are accessing a higher level of entertainment than what is usually found on television. They justify this with musical education. There is a constant effort to explain to the audience that opera, despite seeming like a genre for connoisseursIt's accessible and can move everyone. Furthermore, commentator Mario Marzo points out the red flags of certain plots and characters that represent the most egregious machismo in opera. To the relational dynamics, one must add the overdoses of emotional sugar and confection that these shows require. Since the world of opera already has a certain tendency towards affectation, it all feels very much its own. The three members of the jury display a delicacy and sensitivity in their approach that transforms the final verdict of sending heads rolling into a magnanimous and somewhat contrived art.
The set is majestic, with the blue and gold tones of a stately stage. The layout is reminiscent of an elegant auditorium. The presence of the Franz Schubert Philharmonic, conducted by Maestro Tomàs Grau, adds to the ambiance. Singer-songwriter Ruth Lorenzo presents the event with ease and skill.
The first five contestants amateurs (two tenors, a soprano, a mezzo-soprano and a contralto) performed very popular arias with great goodwill: theHabanera of Carmen by Bizet, La donna è mobile of the Rigoletto Verdi's Musetta Waltz When I go of La Bohème, the very famous lament Lascia ch'io pianga of the Rinaldo by Handel and, of course, the final flourish of the Nessun duerme by Puccini, with a "vincieroBetter intended than powerful. The staging was as understated as it was symbolic, with some excessive pedagogical license that raised eyebrows: having Musetta sing while hugging a bar... stripper It's one of those proposals that might make the Liceu's subscribers boo. The final elimination system is as austere as it is cruel. The two nominees must sing their aria again without musical accompaniment. a cappellaLuckily, it was only thirty seconds.
Aria, crazy about opera It hides a mystery that, in reality, is a botched job. There's a fourth, secret, and invisible jury member. A voice intervenes from above through a beam of light, as if it were God, and delivers the final verdicts. The program claims this voice is a world authority on opera. The strategy is very strange: it undermines the authority of the present jury, and, moreover, its mysterious interventions seem scripted by ChatGPT. It's obvious that this is a charade to disguise scheduling conflicts and create suspense, but the idea is unsettling: why would a prestigious international figure in opera need to hide behind a curtain?