We left at the interval...

La Monnaie, Brussels, Sunday February 10 2019 Conductor: Paolo Carignani. Production: Olivier Py. Sets & Costumes: Pierre-André Weitz. Lighting: Bertrand Killy. La Gioconda: Hui He. Laura Adorno: Szilvia Vörös. Enzo Grimaldo: Stefano La Colla. Barnaba: Scott Hendricks. La Cieca: Ning Liang. Alvise Badoero: Jean Teitgen. Isèpo: Roberto Covatta. Zuàne /Un pilota: Bertrand Dunby. Un Barnabotto/Una voce: Bernard Giovani. Un cantore: René Laryea. Una voce: Alejandro Fonté. La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. MM Academy & La Monnaie's Children's and Youth Chorus. As the suave ‘cello solo turns into a quartet and the oboe then joins in, you think to yourself “Wow, I don't recall  La Gioconda being so good.” Shortly afterwards, and for the next three hours or so, you realise why you’d forgotten. People sometimes say it’s a singers’ opera and that you need an outstanding cast to make it worthwhile. But I’m pretty certain that if you did have an outstanding cast...

ONP Bastille, Monday May 20 2013 Conductor: Daniel Oren. Production, sets and costumes: Pier Luigi Pizzi. Lighting: Sergio Rossi. La Gioconda: Violeta Urmana. Laura Adorno: Elena Bocharova. Alvise Badoero: Orlin Anastassov. La Cieca: María José Montiel. Enzo Grimaldo: Marcelo Alvarez. Barnaba: Claudio Sgura. Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Hauts-de-Seine and Paris Opera Children's Choruses. Ponchielli Lesser works benefit from greater effort. I think the Paris opera was right, once it had decided to schedule La Gioconda , to “throw voices” at it. Fortunately it found some up to the task – not a foregone conclusion. Right, also, to seek a conductor capable of persuading the orchestra to take the work seriously – not a foregone conclusion, either. And probably right, as well, to go for a fairly traditional production, rather than a rethink, without opting for a Zeffirelli-style, everything-including-the-kitchen-sink orgy of neo-Venetian ghastliness. The result was an ...