William Tell

I was privileged to see the first production in Australia of Rossini’s last opera, William Tell, since 1876. This was a night I will long remember. I recently encountered Semiramide, another of Rossini’s dramatic operas, so I shouldn’t have been surprised at the power of this work.

There are many reasons for its neglect. The orchestra is huge, the male chorus is large, there are many principal parts and the tenor has to sing a fiendish tessitura. It was also originally written as a five hour opera with substantial ballet sequences. Fortunately these weren’t included.

The title character was played by experienced Argentinian baritone Armando Noguera, who dominated the stage with his powerful voice and strong stage presence. Resident Colombian tenor Carlos Barcenas tackled the fiercesome role of Arnold without missing a beat. He sang beautifully and lightened his voice to ensure that the top notes were secure.

As Mathilde, his love interest, Danish soprano Gisela Stille sang with a rich, warm voice and commanding presence. Their duet was a highlight and the very physical contact made us believe they were in love without embarrassing the audience. I didn’t immediately recognise Teddy Tahu Rhodes, as his voice was more relaxed than usual in the bass role of Melchal.

Palo Pecchioli, so impressive in La Sonnambula last year, didn’t fare as well in the more dramatic role of Gesler. He played the role as a cartoon villain. With more restraint I felt he would have appeared more dangerous. Liane Keegan sang beautifully as William’s wife, while Jeremy Kleeman and Alexandra Flood made strong impressions.

The set comprised a couple of steep grassy hills and fortunately no one came to grief on the potentially awkward levels. There were a mixture of weapons from various centuries employed and the occupying forces looked like Nazi Stormtroopers. This was incongruous for this fourteenth century tale, but added an extra level of menace.

The large orchestra earned their applause at the end of the overture, while the chorus were working hard all night and sounded magnificent.

There are only two performances left. Do not miss this!

Graham Ford

Photographer: Jeff Busby