Decent production of a rare Bellini opera

Il Pirata doesn't have the most interesting of stories but while not among Bellini's best or most beautiful the music is well worth listening to. This production is a long way from unwatchable and it serves well for an opera that hasn't at the moment have any productions of it on DVD, but at the same time it is not a must-see. The costumes and sets are wisely kept simple and while not sumptuous and somewhat samey strictly speaking they are far from ugly. Aliberti's are quite nice actually. The camera work doesn't do anything too fancy but doesn't do anything distracting either. The orchestral playing is stylish and elegant while giving the music some emotional power and the conducting is brisk without falling into heavy-handedness. And the singing is fine from all. Lucia Aliberti's voice is not for everybody, but I like her dark tone and shimmering pianissimo singing, and her voice is flexible. There could have been more dynamic shading though, she sings beautifully if rather restrained and too-piano. Giorgio Surjan's voice is very rich and noble-sounding, and vocally it is one of his healthiest and steadiest performances personally heard from him. He has good flexibility too. Giuseppe Morino has a difficult role and his voice is bright with a nice ring and is not too forceful. In the more secondary roles coming off best is the sympathetic Adele of Adriana Molina. What isn't so good is the stage direction and the sound. The sound does sound rather constricted and very like how recordings sounded in very early days, sometimes quieter parts are not very easy to hear. The chorus sing competently but are rather poorly recorded, they do sound distant at times. The stage direction is not very interesting with the chorus singing in straight lines and with such seriousness, like they were concentrating on singing the music but forgetting to perform dramatically. And it gives the cast very little to work with, Aliberti still sings with understated passion and Surjan with dignity, but Morino's acting is very stand-there-and-sing and there are too many points where chemistry between the principals is lacking. The story doesn't give an awful lot to begin with, and the stage direction likewise doesn't do an awful lot to change that. Overall, a decent production of Il Pirata but not a great one. 6/10 Bethany Cox

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