Brazilian premiere of the opera Vanessa is an absolute success
On the last day of last month, the opera Vanessa by Samuel Barber premieres at the Adamastor Theater in Guarulhos. The opera had never been assembled on Brazilian soil and had Helene in the title role.
Even before the debut, the national press already commented eagerly for this debut.
Leiaja.com with interview with Tati Helene talking about the character and the preparation for the role, read some excerpts:
The plot will have a twist: the young Anatol ends up preferring the relationship with Erika (Luisa Francesconi), Vanessa's niece. But the young woman does not feel safe to stay with Anatol.
Presented a few times since its composition, “Vanessa” is a piece unknown to the general public. For Tati, the fact of interpreting little staged plays is challenging. "It is more difficult because we have to have a new look, but interesting because we have a chance to put new things in relation to this score," she says. "
The opera also had a virtual program thus avoiding the consumption of paper (access here).
In addition to the undeniable success of the public, the queues before each recital made clear the interest of the population despite being a new title in the country and of a more modern language, the specialized critic was also present and filled with praise both the production of OJMG and the performance of the soprano.
“You can't expect much from Vanessa without a cast at the height of the work, and there was, in Guarulhos, a great cast (…)
Despite the good performance of the male cast, it was Vanessa's women who shone. (…)
Finally, it would be unfair to dissociate Erika from mezzosoprano Luisa Francesconi from Vanessa from soprano Tati Helene, because, as Lauro Machado Coelho noted in the excerpt from her book mentioned at the beginning of this review, the characters are complementary. The way the two performers crossed the ascending and descending trajectories of aunt and niece demonstrated that, in addition to great singers, both are also great actresses. Vocalically impeccable, scenically brilliant, Francesconi and Helene had a great opera night.
As can be seen from the notes in this review, Vanessa's production in Guarulhos is among the highlights of the national opera season of 2019. ” Leonardo Marques - Movimento.com website (To read the review in full, click here.)
“In a Brazilian premiere, opera gained intelligent editing and featured good soloists (…)
The most recent success of the undertaking was the editing of the opera Vanessa, by Samuel Barber, presented in two recitations last weekend (I watched on August 31). (…)
Vanessa was played by soprano Tati Helene, with a clear and sonorous voice, with a great presence on the scene. ”Nelson Rubens Kunze - site concerto.com (To read the review in full, click here.)
Photos: Gal Oppido and Luciano Milano Filho