Garsington Opera readily demonstrates that Rossini's La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) should be remembered for far more than its popular overture. The piece is an oddity. It starts as the frothiest of comedies, with a party celebrating the return from the wars of Giannetto, son and heir to the prosperous farmer, Fabrizio, and his difficult wife, Lucia. Yet when Giannetto's beloved, the servant girl Ninetta, cannot explain the disappearance of a silver spoon and fork, with the result that she is convicted and condemned to death, it becomes very dark.
The thief, of course, is the magpie of the title. Needless to say, it is tracked down by Ninetta's friends just in time to save her from the gallows, prompting an eruption of joy in the big finale of act two. Staged by Daniel Slater, with neat 18th-century designs and costumes by Angela Davies, the production strikes home clearly and powerfully. The sets are simple but effective, with painted flats of farmhouse and landscape that roll up out of the way for interior scenes. The prison scene in act two, with bars across the central triple arch of the Garsington stable-block, is particularly effective, and heavy wooden frames with stairways add to the multi level versatility of the staging.
David Parry conducts with fizzing urgency, helped by the lively chorus and the Garsington Opera Orchestra. In the central role of Ninetta, the Irish soprano Majella Cullagh sings with sustained power and precision. She is matched by the bass-baritone, Christopher Purves, who sings the role of the predatory Mayor. Purves has a magnificent voice that dominates with its firm cutting edge. The elaborate trio that ends the long first scene of act one becomes a high spot, with Ninetta and the Mayor joined by her father, Fernando, beautifully sung by Russell Smythe.
How to present the magpie on stage is a problem solved here with vocal contributions by a raucous male voice from the orchestra pit, and stage appearances by a young girl in black tail coat and breeches, fluttering about the stage. The rest of the cast makes a fine team, with Simon Edwards as the hero, Giannetto, coping well with the formidable demands Rossini makes on tenors. Brindley Sherratt is excellent in the buffo bass role of the farmer, Fabrizio, and Carole Wilson is equally characterful as his fruitily domineering wife. Nerys Jones, as the young servant, Pippo, confidently launches the drinking song of welcome, as well as finally unmasking the culprit magpie.
