‘The telephone’ de G. C. Menotti
★★★
Performers: Ruth González, Jan Antem, Galdós Ensemble Direction: Iván Martín
Place and date: Peralada (04/VIII/2023)
Audience satisfied and surprised with the original night, showered with proposals far from the most hackneyed repertoire thanks to the presentation of Menotti's mini-opera, The telephone (1947). Never seen in the 37 ed. of the Perelada Festival, it may seem like a minor work. But with his audacity, Menotti, a continuator of the Italian operatic tradition who, emigrated to the US, approached the Broadway musical from the lyric side, would build a refreshing work.
Due to the camera characteristics of this edition of the Festival, pending the construction of the new auditorium, this title presented in the production of the Musika-Música Jaialdia Festival in Bilbao seemed ideal.
Performed with effusive grace from the piano by conductor Iván Martín, with a dynamic and jovial Galdós Ensemble, stage director Maria Goiricelaya moved the opera to a gym, recreated with simplicity in the multipurpose space of El Mirador.
With a group of extras, pending the relationship of two lovers while exercising on treadmills or bicycles, the voice of the Catalan baritone Jan Antem stood out. An instrument with a noble sound, a smooth timbre, a warm setting and a natural mastery of phrasing and expression, Antem shone with an optimal vocal performance, as well as being a remarkable actor.
Next to her, Lucy by soprano Ruth González suffered more from the consequences of a mini-amplification of the sound –was it necessary?– which highlighted an irregular placement with punctual out-of-temperate notes.
All in all, an intelligent departure from the repertoire for music, that of Menotti, which deserves more presence in the lyric programmes.
The original program was completed in the form of a diptych with a proposal by the ever-alternative GIO Symphonia orchestra, conducted by Francesc Prat. The light singer, Elena Tarrats, interpreted with unequal luck a curious program made up of songs by the Beatles in arrangements by Luciano Berio, and by David Bowie, in arrangements by Lucas and Tomás Peire.
