She was the most applauded and acclaimed singer of this 45th Rof. Anastasia Bartoli, in her second year in Pesaro, has already rightfully entered the hearts of the Rossinian people. This evening we will hear her again (8 pm) at the Vitrifrigo Arena, in the second of four performances of Ermione in the title role.
Anastasia Bartoli was a triumph last year at her first Rof, this year also with Ermione. How did she find the serious Rossini?
“It electrifies me! The vocal and physical strength, the character and acting grit that this serious Rossini requires of the interpreter are a real challenge, a triumph of emotions.”
What are the difficulties from a strictly vocal point of view?
“It is a role written for Isabella Colbran, a woman with whom Rossini had fallen madly in love and who would become his wife and for whom he wrote about 10 different operas. It presents what must have been the formidable vocal peculiarities of this interpreter. It requires first of all a powerful area of the first octave and also below, therefore with leaps in the high notes and possible additions of variations, an extension of 2 and a half octaves and more. Dramatic agility, frequent chromatic scales in leaps of 2 octaves, use of the declaimed word and also moments of extreme sweetness, are some of the vocal peculiarities that this marvelous part requires”.
What is the character’s personality instead?
“Hermione, in this wonderful production by Johannes Erath, is a dark but real woman. The palette of moods and feelings that she experiences throughout the story is colorful, many dark colors, very dark. Even if negative, all the feelings of this woman will be real, tangible and will be shown without fear by a desperate woman obsessed with love and – despite being the instigator of a murder – I think she will be a character with whom we can empathize.”
A role full of contrasts, from a tiger to a woman with all her fragilities.
“The chiaroscuro is part of Ermione. Rossini creates an incredible character with Tottola, a tiger that scratches but at the same time a defenseless cub that gets lost and will never find its way again.”
Maestro Mariotti wanted to work a lot on the colors, on the pronunciation and in one of his arias the text of the libretto is almost recited.
“With Maestro Mariotti we did an exceptional job, meticulously searching for every little nuance of possible colors; an almost exaggerated use of pronunciation at certain moments, precisely to render the declamation desired by Rossini and the mental confusion of Hermione. It was a truly intense and beautiful period of rehearsals. Thanks to Maestro Mariotti I found an even deeper and more unique way of digging into the character, into the vocality written by Rossini and putting my voice at the service of Hermione, bending it to her incredible characteristics”.
How do you find Pesaro for the second time?
“I have had an emotional bond with Pesaro since I was very young, I spent years and years at the Rof when my mother sang there. Returning to Pesaro and being part of the incredible world of Rossini and the Festival is a source of immense joy and honor for me.”
Do you still cultivate your passion for metal music?
“Metal will always be one of my great loves and it will remain an integral part of my life. In fact, I hope that one day it will be an even more important part of it!”
