Giovanna d’Arco

Peter Greenaway and his wife Saskia Boddeke bring their penchant for flamboyance to this 2016 production at Parma’s baroque Teatro Farnese of Verdi’s early opera about Joan of Arc—a fanciful rewriting of history in which Joan is in love with the French king and is exculpated from charges of witchcraft at the last moment in order to lead his army in victory over the English, although she is fatally wounded in battle. Due to space limitations, the directors situate the chamber orchestra—I Virtuosi Italiani, which is nimbly but unimaginatively conducted by Ramón Tebar—onstage, and they relegate the chorus, for the most part, to back bleachers, oratorio-style. But they also compensate with spectacular, cinematically influenced effects. The twin banks of arches behind the bleachers are filled with video projections—some effective, such as paintings of the Madonna and child, others simply puzzling, like winking cartoon girls and fields of scissors. They also add dazzling light shows and holographic images hovering above and behind the action—a bloodied crown, a butterfly, images of contemporary refugees from war. And they have Giovanna, nicely sung by Vittoria Yeo, constantly accompanied by two women whose gestures and occasional dancing are meant to reflect her emotional state—an unnecessary duplication of what is already felt in the music. (Happily this device is not extended to Luciano Ganci’s King Charles or to Giovanna’s father Giacomo, sung by Vittorio Vitelli—both in fine voice.) The result, oddly enough, is at once static and overly busy, although musically the performance of this rarity is good enough to be welcome. Presented in DTS 5.0 and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, this is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)