Programs · Episode

VERDI: Oberto

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, October 15, 2022 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

It can be fascinating to consider the first efforts by legendary artists. “Love Me Do,” perhaps the first recording by The Beatles, hints at their future — but it’s not exactly a blockbuster. Steven Spielberg’s first feature film, Duel, wasn’t even seen in theaters; it was a TV movie. Oberto was Verdi’s first-ever opera. We don’t hear it much now, but Oberto did land with a splash. With Verdi still in his twenties, its world premiere was staged at what might have been the world’s most prestigious opera house: La Scala, in Milan. AT THE OPERA presents it in recordings featuring conductor Neville Marriner, bass Samuel Ramey, soprano Maria Guleghina, and tenor Carlo Bergonzi.

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Verdi’s opera Oberto would have become an artistic landmark regardless of its eventual popularity and long-term reputation. That’s because it was the very first opera by a composer who went on to become a giant in the field. So, it’s interesting to put it in context by looking at one or two other “firsts” by artists who went on to become legendary.

One example is the tune, “Love Me Do,” often cited as the first record by The Beatles. The band may have made earlier recordings, but “Love Me Do” is often cited as the first one made by a band actually calling themselves The Beatles, and comprising the four members who later made it famous. It may not be their best song, but it does give a glimpse of the future.

Another example, from the world of cinema, is a TV movie called Duel – the first feature film by Steven Spielberg. It’s a thriller in which a hapless driver played by Dennis Weaver is set upon by a marauding tractor trailer rig that, at times, seems almost supernatural. It’s not exactly Schindler’s List, or E.T., but it does have its moments.

Giuseppe Verdi composed Oberto, his first opera, when he was still in his twenties. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t have the amazing emotional depth of so many of his later works. After all, Verdi’s career did continue for more than a half-century. Still, as with those other firsts we noted, it does hint at things to come. For one thing, the opera has some stirring music. And it features an early take on a plot element that became a hallmark of several great Verdi operas, including Rigoletto, and Simon Boccanegra: a complex, even tragic relationship between a father and his daughter. That element, in Oberto, may not be quite so moving as in those later operas. Still, it’s easy to see why that particular family relationship ran deep with Verdi. It was only a year or two before the premiere of Oberto that Verdi had, and then tragically lost, a daughter of his own.

On At the Opera, we’ll make our way through Verdi’s first opera in a pair of recordings. In one, Neville Marriner leads a cast including bass-baritone Samuel Ramey in the title role, and soprano Maria Guleghina as Oberto's daughter, Leonora. The other features baritone Rolando Panerai, soprano Ghena Dimitrova, and tenor Carol Bergonzi, with conductor Lamberto Gardelli.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Neville Marriner, conductor
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
CAST: Samuel Ramey (Oberto); Violeta Urmana (Cuniza); Stuart Neill (Riccardo); Maria Guleghina (Leonora)
(DECCA  478 4169)

Lamberto Gardelli, conductor
Munich Radio Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Chorus
CAST: Rolando Panerai (Oberto); Ruza Baldani (Cuniza); Carlo Bergonzi (Riccardo); Ghena Dimitrova (Leonora)
(Orfeo  C 105 842 H)

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