It's not often that the conductor kisses the performers at the end of a concert but the energetic Jean-Christophe Spinosi kissed all seven soloists -- men included -- during the storm of applause that erupted after this revealing performance of one of Vivaldi's many operas.
Spinosi turned from the soloists to kiss the nearest lady in the chorus and seemed on the point of adding the leader of the orchestra to the list.
Spinosi, the most athletic conductor seen on the Usher Hall podium for a considerable time, benefitted from having as soloists some of the performers in his much-lauded recent recording of the work and his masterful control drew exactitude from the SCO.
The audience response was enthusiastic but for some there was lingering doubt whether the effort put into the musical excellence was misplaced.
Vivaldi claimed to have written more than 90 operas, though there is surviving evidence of only around 50. Orlando is one of the survivors but actual performances are difficult to trace, despite the sheer quality of most of the music.
The problem is the convoluted baroque plot involving missing lovers, magically entrapped suitors and, of course, a harmonious ending.
Concert performances of opera are usually regarded as inferior to fully staged versions. It is difficult to conceive how Orlando could be staged now, with effects such as one character -- Ruggiero -- entering atop a winged monster, a cave with no exit, Merlin's ashes, a fountain of love potions, and a magic ring.
Add a voracious amorous sorceress -- Alcina -- as a leading character and it seems Spinosi's decision to disregard any continuity of plot, giving instead a coruscating series of vocal showpieces, was apt.
Sonia Prina was outstanding in the title role. Her rich contralto fitted her masculine "trouser"role; her actions and facial expressions added ferocity at times and her extensive mad scene -- one of the longest solo arias in the opera -- was a triumph. Not a note out of place and nuances fully conveyed, especially in the finale where Orlando, ardent pursuer of Angelica (Veronica Cangemi) at the start of the opera, nobly approves of her marriage to Medoro (Daniela Pini) and himself renounces love.
Jennifer Larmore as Alcina was an admirable mellifluous counter to Orlando -- at times alluring, at others devious or threatening, and at the end destroyed and enraged.
One delight of the evening was counter tenor Philippe Jaroussky in the relatively minor role of Ruggiero.
The clarity and beauty of his voice diverted attention from one big defect -- to the modern ear -- of operas of this early period. Arias that were excellent and attractive ab initio lost much of their appeal when sections (and often the whole piece) were emboidered and recapitulated time after time.
Eliminating these relics of ritornelli from an earlier age would have shortened the three hours plus length considerably and might have made it easier to understand the plot.
© Iain Gilmour August 17, 2007 First published on EdinburghGuide.com