Opernfestspiele Heidenheim
Congress Centre, Heidenheim, 18 July 2024
Giuseppe Verdi: Alzira
The Opernfestspiele Heidenheim is a prestigious summer opera festival held in Heidenheim, a city in the German region of Baden-Württemberg. Founded in 1964, the festival has become a major cultural event in the region, attracting both local and international opera enthusiasts. The festival takes place both indoors and outdoors. Visitors can take a seat under the stars in the wildly romantic Knights’ Hall at Hellenstein Castle, experience “Young Opera” in a tent or marvel at the excellent acoustics of the modern Festival Theatre in the Congress Centre.
The Heidenheim-born conductor Marcus Bosch has been shaping the profile of the Heidenheim Opera Festival since August 2009. A milestone in the history of the traditional opera festival was the founding of the Cappella Aquileia (2011). Since 2016, all of Verdi’s early, rarely performed operas have been presented at the Heidenheim Opera Festival – the performances of Oberto, Un giorno di regno, I Lombardi and I due Foscari have also been recorded.
This summer it was time for Alzira, the opera based on Voltaire’s tragedy Alzire, ou Les Américains (1736), which received a lukewarm reception at its premiere in Naples in 1845 and has remained one of Verdi’s lesser-known operas. Critics at the time often pointed out the weaknesses of the libretto and the relatively undeveloped characters compared to Verdi’s later works. However, the opera contains moments of beautiful music and offers insights into Verdi’s early development as a composer.
Andreas Baesler’s production in Heidenheim focuses on the conflict between two political opponents over the same alpha female. Political and private issues were presented in a simple and understandable way. Well, the conference centre was obviously not designed for technically demanding theatre pieces, but I have to admit that the Heidenheim Opera Festival makes the best of it.
Verdi’s earlier works should never be underestimated, they are far more complicated than a series of tuneful melodies and a convincing performance requires 100% effort from all involved, and that was the case here. Most notable is soprano Ania Jeruc in the title role, who has an ideal voice for Verdi’s early heroines – an expansive and powerful soprano with assured coloratura. Sung Kyu Park presents Zamoro with a powerful, penetrating spinto-tenor voice. In the lower voice parts, baritone Marian Pop and bass Marcell Bakonyi do excellent work as Gusmano and Alvaro respectively, as do the rest of the cast.
Last but not least, Marcus Bosch shows what a master of Verdi’s music he is, keeping the chorus and orchestra very close together and delivering a fervent and passionate interpretation of the music. If you love Verdi and don’t want to miss any of his works, Heidenheim is definitely the place to be – just book your ticket for next summer’s Attila!
