“La finta giardiniera”, a cheerful to serious opera by the young Mozart, in the refurbished Salzburg State Theater.
Salzburg – The city of Salzburg draws on the full – with three star-studded festival rounds a year in just as many fairly large venues under the roof of the Festspielhaus.
On the other side of the Salzach, away from the festival district, there is another temple of culture, much smaller, but with a much longer history: the Salzburg State Theater. Less respected internationally today, Mozart’s own operas were already being performed here during his lifetime.
So also currently. With “La finta giardiniera” an early work of the famous son and posthumous advertising medium of the city is on the program. Mozart was only 18 when it premiered.
Salzburg’s Landestheater has dressed up (not just for Mozart). In 2022, the doors and gates remained closed for half a year: the theater was completely renovated for almost 14 million euros.
The stage technology now plays all the pieces, the appearance of the auditorium has been brought up to that of the time of origin. The visitors in the total of 707 seats sit on new seats, no mistake if things get a little tough on the stage. The dense, almost homely atmosphere of the house, with close proximity to the stage, was retained. The TT was recently able to convince itself of this. Best acoustics and view from almost all seats.
“La finta giardiniera”, in German the second title “Die Gärtnerin aus Liebe” has become common, is by definition a “dramma giocoso”, a mixed goodwill of a lot of cheerfulness, interspersed with occasional seriousness. Burgtheater actress Dörte Lyssewski, as guest director, also gives free rein to the ensemble’s play instinct.
There are seven characters in the three-act act, which according to conventional relationship arithmetic is one person too many. After surviving scenes of jealousy and nasty intrigues, three couples finally find themselves. One remains. Bad luck.
The Mozarteum Orchestra lives up to its namesake. The music is pure Mozart, dazzling, warm, rich in colors and nuances (Tobias Meichsner was on the podium when he visited the TT).
A clever trick is the text of this opera. While the arias are in Italian, the original libretto was translated into spoken German dialogue, possibly with the collaboration of father and son Mozart. Fine for today’s audience: It doesn’t have to endure lengthy recitatives. The singers are of course more challenged. Spoken language also requires greater acting skill.
Vocally, the sopranos Laura Incko (in the title role) and Victoria Leshkevich (as her rival Arminda) make the strongest impression. Countertenor Dennis Orellana sings the role of Ramiro exceptionally well, truly dramatically lovesick. After all, the man can still be helped.
