Rossini: Guillaume Tell

The story

The hero of this admirably complete August 2013 Guillaume Tell from Pesaro is homegrown maestro Michele Mariotti. The inimitable overture is (mercifully) unstaged and terrifically played, with splendid cello and flute solos: the fine standard never flags. Rossini’s extraordinary 1829 score audibly presages Meyerbeer, Berlioz, Glinka, Verdi and Wagner, among many others. Graham Vick’s direction privileges class conflict, with a clenched fist on the red-and-white forecurtain. The Edwardian costumes place Austrians in white evening garb; the black-clad Swiss polish the floor while the rulers savor a filming (much of that to follow) — the fisherman Ruodi, in a boat with a blonde and fake scenery, with Tell and his family providing tech support. Vick deploys geographical and historical kitsch liberally but not (always) pointlessly. Ron Howell’s pretentious, mannered choreography, however, beggars belief.

Cast & crew

Nicola AlaimoGuillaume Tell

Simone AlberghiniMelcthal

Juan Diego FlórezArnold

Amanda ForsytheJemmy

Simón Orfila

Simón OrfilaWalter Furst

Marina Rebeka

Marina RebekaMathilde

Luca Tittoto

Luca TittotoGessler