There are few things worse than an opera gala concert featuring autopilot performances that fail to convey the drama of the music's original context. Fortunately, this was not such an event: the music was well paced, full of contrasting yet equally vivid emotions, and possessed plenty of understated yet pure theatricality.
The mood of Italian grand opera was instantly established by Verdi's Overture to Vespri Siciliani, after which Mark Elder provided spoken introductions to a sequence of popular arias and ensembles. He was charismatic and erudite enough for such a personal link with his audience to be engaging.
The strong voices of tenor Julian Gavin and baritone Ashley Holland blended smoothly in Bizet's Pearlfishers duet, but the Hallé was a shade too strong for them to resound clearly in the loudest passages. It was a pity that Gavin and Holland were divided by the podium; perhaps their consonants would have been a little more unified had they stood together. A similar problem affected their duet, O Mimi Tu Piu Non Torni, from La Bohème.
Soprano Cheryl Barker was outstanding in Puccini's O Mio Babbino Caro, and in Signore, Ascolta from Turandot, her expressive tenderness was as notable as her steady intonation and technique. Un Bel Di, from Madama Butterfly, was passionate.
Gavin's highest notes were rock-steady. Elder and the Hallé were particularly poised and expressive in Gavin's O Tu Che in Seno Agli Angeli from La Forza del Destino, but the tenor's most accomplished contribution was Donna Non Vidi Mai from Manon Lescaut. Holland's rendition of Pieta, Rispetto Amore from Macbeth featured clear Italianate delivery, and an excellent characterisation invoked sympathy for the villain. Holland's masterful and emotive performance of Zurga's soliloquy from The Pearlfishers also showed the Hallé responding warmly to Bizet's portrait of a profound change of heart.
The big ensembles that concluded each half were entertaining. Elder, Barker, and Gavin proved how dramatically truthful a simple concert performance of this repertoire can be.
