Verdi’s ‘king for a day’ at garsington | thearticle

After Verdi’s success with his first opera _Oberto_ at La Scala in Milan, he was immediately commissioned to write three more. The first of these was to be an _opera buffa _and he was given

several libretti to read. None appealed so, as Verdi wrote later, he ended up choosing the least bad, _Un giorno di regno_ (“King for a Day”). It was tough going for Verdi in his early years

as an opera composer. First his small daughter became ill and died, then just over a year later his son did too, followed less a year after that by his wife. Within two years the three

people dearest to him had all died, and here was Verdi having to write an _opera buffa_, which became his only comedy before his final opera _Falstaff_ fifty years later. Its audience

reception was a disaster, and the opera was removed from the stage at La Scala after one performance, though contemporary reviews suggest this had far more to do with the singers than

anything else. The story concerns a historical Polish king, who lost his throne after a Saxon invasion, and regained it in 1733, before being losing it again in 1736 and going into exile in

France. The opera is set in 1733 when the king returns to Poland, leaving a French officer, the Cavaliere di Belfiore (Joshua Hopkins), to impersonate him in France. The action takes place

at a castle in western France belonging to Baron Kelbar (Henry Waddington), whose main concern is to marry his daughter Giulietta (Madison Leonard) to the wealthy financier La Rocca (Grant

Doyle), though she prefers his nephew Edoardo (Oliver Sewell). Kelbar objects as Edoardo lacks money, and Belfiore as “King” offers La Rocca promotion if he will take a wealthy widow instead

of Giulietta. This is all facilitated by the Marchesa (Christine Rice), who is Kelbar’s niece and engaged to Count Ivrea (Robert Murray). Lots of people and a complicated plot, but plenty

of scope for singing and in a terrific cast at Garsington, Madison Leonard shone as Giulietta. The situation becomes horribly confused until a message arrives for Belfiore from the real king

saying he has arrived in Warsaw and Belfiore can drop the pretence. He can then declare his own love for the Marchesa, and two marriages ensue. It has often been said that the trouble with

opera is that the music can be wonderful but the plots dreadful, which is certainly the case here. But Garsington Opera have produced a gloriously lively production by Christopher Alden,

which the audience loved. Its main pretence is that the Kelbar Company are big arms manufacturers, a similar theme to the Royal Opera’s recent production of _Rosenkavalier_. Under the baton

of Tobias Ringborg, now back in harness after being indisposed, it was a musical delight. This early opera is already recognisably Verdi, but still owes a debt to Rossini and Donizetti.

Congratulations to Garsington for putting it on, and providing opera lovers with what came before his first in the regular canon, _Nabucco_. From that point until _Falstaff_ he took on very

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