#Castle Doctrine you son of a bitch

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Traversing the Verdi Canon #11: I masnadieri

Production: Milan 2019.

Watching I masnadieri is like two things: it is like eating a charcuterie board and even more like watching a trainwreck.

“But Savannah,” you say, “that comparison is kinda stupid.” In response, I will first point out that it is less stupid than any of this opera’s principal characters and then that the opera fits this simile because the music is all over the place but it (mostly) works and is great [thus the charcuterie board] and the story of this opera is an absolute fucking trainwreck.

STORYTIME: Count Massimiliano Moor (bass) has two sons, Carlo (tenor) and Francesco (baritone), both of whom are in love with their cousin (what is it with people falling for semi-close relatives in Verdi?) Amalia (soprano). Carlo was on break from his studies and for whatever reason decided to become the leader of a band of robbers. However he feels bad about it and has written to ask his father’s forgiveness. Francesco has intercepted said letter and written back quite harshly so Carlo sees this and basically says “well fuck all that let’s keep robbing”. Meanwhile, Francesco gets one of his buddies to tell Amalia and Massimiliano that a) Carlo is dead and b) he wrote a message on his sword with his own blood that says that Francesco should marry Amalia. Because they are absolute idiots, they both immediately believe this and Massimiliano faints. Francesco tells everyone he’s dead and attempts to bury him alive, although he’s rescued and cared for by some servants.

Francesco’s Buddy From Earlier tells Amalia that Carlo and Massimiliano are actually both still alive. Francesco tries to take Amalia for himself but in the one badass moment she gets Amalia takes a sword, defends herself, and runs off into the forest. Meanwhile, Carlo and buddies have rescued one of their own from execution in Prague on account of Much Robbery, but have *checks notes* accidentally set fire to half of Prague in the process. I don’t know either. At any rate they end up in the same forest as Amalia, so Carlo and Amalia reunite but he leaves for...plot reasons, by which I mean “he has to find his dad, who doesn’t recognize him for whatever reason, and then summon his buddies to Storm The Castle”.

Meanwhile, Francesco has been having nightmares and basically loses his mind because now he’s realizing that he has Majorly Fucked Up TM. Carlo and Buddies begin to Storm The Castle so Francesco summons a local priest and asks for absolution, to which the priest basically says “uhhhhhhhhh can’t do that one for you bitch” [which @carlodivarga-s I looked it up and it seems that while the libretto only specifies Franconia as the main setting, due to other context clues it seems the opera is likely mostly set in Upper Franconia, which was split between Protestants and Catholics, so Francesco could be well within his doctrinal right to ask] and so he runs off. Or kills himself. Or (as in this production) gets stabbed. Anyway Carlo and Massimiliano are still in the forest when the robbers come back and say they were unable to find Francesco but they DO have a woman with them. It’s Amalia! Carlo, now also realizing he has Majorly Fucked Up TM, confesses everything to Amalia and Massimiliano. Amalia says she still loves him anyway but Carlo realizes that he cannot break his vow to his Buddies nor can he let Amalia disgrace herself by joining him, decides that the logical thing to do in this situation, instead of something like, I don’t know, gently reject her or better yet grow a pair and break things off with his buddies, is to kill Amalia. Which he does. And then he runs off in despair. The end.

Yeah, the plot is so fucking stupid, but you can’t look away. And Verdi takes full advantage of this.

Experience: I first experienced this opera in 2018 after @akechijubeimitsuhide highly recommended it. I thought three things: 1. everyone is stupid, 2. it was alright but just alright, and 3. Artur Rucinski is absolutely glorious. As such, his take on Francesco’s mad scene was the only thing I really hung onto afterwards.

The music is great! I wouldn’t say it hits the ideal tone mood-wise until Act IV for what really is an exceptionally dark and brutal opera through and through or that it’s as strong as a score overall as The Scottish Opera, but Verdi here is all over the place, from the rousing “all’armi!”-type stuff we hear a lot of with Carlo and his Merrie Band to Amalia’s perpetually-sparkly writing to the aforementioned Dark Thundering Doom, and it’s all wonderful. The man knew how to write thrillingly and to keep an audience’s attention span!

The production I watched, from La Scala just a couple years ago (linked above) is excellent. @akechijubeimitsuhide told me that the silent figure writing throughout, expressing bafflement/horror at the characters’ actions, and very occasionally intervening (most notably stabbing Francesco in Act IV) was Schiller, which...yeah, okay, I can see that. I still think he’s a perfect representation about what the audience must be thinking. The production is by Sir David McVicar, which means it is Pretty and there is a Lot Going On (including quite realistic fire effects). There’s a unit set which is used quite skillfully. The chorus and orchestra are excellent. And the principal quartet is nothing short of magnificent: Fabio Sartori sings very well and acts decently as Carlo, Massimo Cavaletti is an excellent Francesco, Michele Pertusi brings his usual high standards to Massimiliano, and Lisette Oropesa is Lisette Oropesa and I do not believe that I need to explain myself further.

Anyway, like Ernani, this is a shamelessly ridiculous and rollicking good time, and of course, happy (possible) 208th birthday, Verdi. <3