Opera no 116
Ponchielli: La Gioconda
Soloists
Munich Radio Orchestra
Marcello Viotti
La Gioconda is famous for the Dance of the Hours, not least because of its use in the Disney film Fantasia. Judged by that ballet alone you could be forgiven for thinking that the opera would be a light-hearted confection. It is in fact a a piece of raw ‘blood and thunder’ melodrama. It’s not exactly subtle - in fact in places if is remarkably crude - but the dramatic music has a real impact - none more so that the ensemble at the end of Act Three which really pins you to the back of your seat. It must really be quite something to experience live in the theatre. La Gioconda was the most successful Italian opera to be composed in the interregnum between Aida and Otello and while its star has somewhat faded it is still a force to be reckoned with. Ponchielli never had the same success again and died relatively young in his mid fifties. Other than Puccini most of the important post-Verdi Italian composers seemed to be able to manage only one bit ‘hit’ and struggled to build a body of work that remains in the repertoire. We will explore some of this in this part of the project.
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