
December 2003 - February 2004
Paris - 8 December 2003 Berlioz: Benvenuto
Cellini |
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- Performances of
Berlioz's first opera are rare, and this concert performance of Benvenuto
Cellini was a musical treasure trove, going back to the version delivered
by the composer to the Paris Opéra. Until now, most companies have
usually gone to the final version, prepared in part by Franz Liszt and Hans von
Bülow with the acquiescence of the composer himself for performances in
Weimar, 14 years after the Parisian performances. The Weimar version creates
more problems than it resolves with its omissions and rearrangements. The
earlier versions are now referred to as Paris 1 and 2, the former being what
was heard at this concert and the second the version as finally performed
during the first Paris run. Thus, we heard an aria for Balducci at the start of
the opera, the original version of Teresa's aria (later reutilised in the
Reverie et Caprice) some additional measures in the ensembles and all the music
that was reinstated for the Covent Garden revival that served as the basis for
the Philips recording more than 30 years ago as well as the recitatives that
were replaced by spoken dialogue at that time. This first of two concert
performances was taped by EMI as the basis for a new recording. Unfortunately
the reverberant acoustic of the Salle Messiaen at Radio France made it
difficult to appreciate the composer's writing, though that will be quite
different on the cds, while the singers should be easier to distinguish during
the ensembles. John Nelson, despite an
indisposition, tried his best to get a taut performance from the Orchestre
National de France but their placidity was disheartening. Gregory Kunde
replaced the originally scheduled Roberto Alagna, singing with artistry but
without the charisma that Alagna projects. Patrizia Ciofi's Teresa rang out on
the high notes but disappeared in the orchestral mass too often. Joyce di
Donato's Ascanio seemed to be missing the stage with her often deadpan delivery
of some of her music. The high baritone of Jean-François Lapointe was
ideal for Fieramosca, a welcome relief after too many performances with a buffo
singer in the role. Laurent Naouri (Balducci) and Renaud Delaigue (Pope)
offered solid bass support. In short, a wonderful evening despite occasional
shortcomings in the execution, allowing one to hope that a sympathetic director
could make this long version (three hours of music) work on stage.
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Paris - 9 December 2003 Strauss - Ariadne auf
Naxos
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- It is fortunate that
Ariadne auf Naxos is virtually indestructible, as Laurent Pelly's attack
on the work leaves one perplexed at his vacuity. The prologue (in the house of
the richest man in Vienna) is set in a concrete fortress, an Eagle's Nest if
you will. The opera itself has the same basic concrete fortress, unfinished and
inhabited by a bag lady (Ariadne) who is supplied with food by three hausfraus
wearing Pelly's favorite 1950s ugly housedresses. Gold-painted Bacchus is - I
think - a statue whose movements are limited. Zerbinetta and her companions are
beach goers, with Zerbinetta appearing in bikini and beach towel, the others in
hideous - once again 1950s - shirts and bermudas. Fortunately, the participants
all sang well, starting with Katarina Dalayman in the title role, though she
lacks the ecstasy that others have brought to the role. She also unfortunately
breathes in the middle of the impossibly long opening phrase of "Ein
Schönes war". Natalie Dessay, as one
expected, was a spirited Zerbinetta, with several new acting twists to her
impeccably sung vocalises, emphasizing the vulgarity of the character. Jon
Villars sounded like the Bacchus of one's dreams, proving that it is possible
to sing the role. Sophie Koch's Composer stole the Prologue, despite fierce
competition from Zerbinetta, the high-lying vocal line holding no terrors for
the mezzo so that she offered a far more convincing performance than in the
Barbiere di Siviglia two seasons ago. Pinchas Steinberg once again
demonstrated his professionalism, without that extra something that others have
brought to this score.
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Lausanne - 9 January 2004 Lully - Roland
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- Christophe Rousset led
an impassioned performance of Lully's Roland, unfortunately let down by
the ineptitudes of Stephan Grögler's production. Lully's next-to-last
tragédie in many ways follows the pattern of its predecessors, though
the focus here is on Roland the warrior rather than on a pair of lovers, who in
fact disappear from view at the end of Act 3. Roland himself does not appear
until Act 2, episodically in Act 3, but is given a mad scene that occupies most
of Act 4. All but one of the singers merit praise for their generally clear
enunciation of the text, the conviction they brought to their roles and the way
in which they brought to life a genre too often left to its own devices. That
is presumably to Grögler's credit as producer, but his regular
collaborator, designer Véronique Seymat, for some reason chose to plant
a dozen tv monitors on the simple set, usually with different images that
occasionally remained constant, but otherwise evolved, absolutely ideal for an
audience with a 30-second span of attention. Daniel Larrieu's choreography for
six dancers and the chorus relied on a disco shuffle and hip thrusts. Nicolas
Testé in the title role displayed a solid bass voice that could be
brought down to the softest dynamics. Annamaria Panzarella's Angélique
would have stolen the show had she not had competition from Salomé
Haller's Logistille, both singing and acting in a more involved fashion that I
have hitherto seen from either. Oliver Duamit's Médor was the blight,
his singing effortful, his deportment sketchy. Any of the other tenors
participating would have provided greater pleasure for the audience. Monique
Zanetti (Témire), Emilio Gonzalez-Toro (Tersandre), Anders J. Dahlin
(Coridon), Robert Getchell (Astolphe) not only in the named roles but smaller
chorus leaders added to our pleasure, once again slightly diminished by the
hot-potato sounds offered by Evguenyi Alexiev as both Ziliante and Demogorgon.
But it is Rousset who deserves the credit, never losing sight of the
culminating point, the immense Chaconne that ends Act 3, while at the same time
preventing Act 5 from seeming anti-climactic.
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Lyons - 22 January 2004 Levinas - Les
Nègres |
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- Michaël Levinas
chose Jean Genët's Les Nègres as the basis for his newest
opera, forming the libretto from the text of the play. While true that the play
has a ritualistic aspect, which might make it suitable for musical treatment, I
am not certain that what my ears registered as musical hodgepodge was
convincing. The overture is reminiscent of minimalist tendencies with its
eternal repetition of a short phrase, while at other times we are treated to
operetta-like interventions, something the composer freely acknowledges. The
opera closes with a vaudeville-finale, as the members of the Court each have
their final say, punctuated by Choral interventions. Les Nègres
is performed by an all-black cast, five of whom wear white masks as they
represent the ruling powers. Producer Stanislas Nordey (who is to produce St
François d'Assise at the Bastille next season) had the remainder of
the cast wearing black masks as well. A murder is announced and a trial takes
place with much of what happens described in a language that reminds this
listener of Gertrude Stein's texts set by Virgil Thomson. As in previous
encounters with Nordey's work, it remains unclear whether he appreciates the
difference between spoken and sung theatre. A mostly English-speaking cast
tackled the French text with fluency, but the spoken interventions were not
always convincing.
Herbert Perry (Archibald) is the master of
ceremonies, his bass voice commanding attention. Wendy Waller (La Reine) sings
a coloratura aria that should strike terror in the hearts and throats of any
subsequent interpreters of the role. The stage savvy of Lori Brown Mirabal
(Bobo) gave a certain focus to the work, as did the physical presence of Bonita
Hyman (Félicité), though the latter's vocal resources are not as
impressive. Countertenor Fabrice di Falco (Diouf) made the most of his
Fiordiligi-like leaps from baritone to squeak, and was among the least
comprehensible of the singers. The remainder of the cast - Maureen Braithwaite
(Vertu), Tinuke Olafimihan (Neige), Hans Voschezang (Village), Marc Coles
(Missionaire), Colenton Freeman (Valet), Brian Green (Juge), David Lee Brewer
(Gouverneur), Jean-Richard Fleurençois (Ville de Saint-Nazaire) - all
managed to make Levinas's occasional jagged writing sound natural. Bernhard
Kontarsky led the Lyon Opéra forces with conviction in this 105-minute
workout. The contribution of the IRCAM to the evening consisted of several
electronic buzzes and the four keyboards producing sounds similar to the
ondes martenot.
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Geneva - 28 January 2004 Braunfels - Die
Vögel |
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- Thanks to the
now-discontinued series Entartete Musik released by Decca, the public at
large has been able to hear Walter Braunfels's Die Vögel. After the
work's successful premiere in 1920 and rapid spread throughout the German
operatic world,. it was only in 1971 that the opera resurfaced and performances
since then - while still scarce - have been noted. Geneva spared no expense,
with Yannis Kokkos as producer-designer and an excellent cast. Kokkos's designs
reminded this spectator of his Hansel und Gretel, with its collage-like
elements. The birds were brilliantly done, each group manifesting its own
characteristics, and the chorus, superbly trained by Ching-Lien Wu, revelled in
their many moments of glory. Marlis Petersen's Nightingale handled the sinuous
vocal line with poise, perched on a swing high above the stage from which she
descended only for her long duet with Hoffegut, though her coloratura
occasionally sounded bumpy. Pår Lindskog's sweet-toned Hoffegut
occasionally strained for heroic effect, while Duccio Dalmonte, more of a bass
than baritone, gave us a Ratefreund who was perhaps more lovable than the
composer-librettist intended. Brett Polegato's Wiedhopf, perched awkwardly
between bird and human, caught the ambiguity of his role. Roman Trekel's
Prometheus, the scar left by the vulture gnawing at him clearly visible, was
not quite the heroic baritone the composer had in mind, but his incisive
delivery of the text and his authoritative stance allowed him to make his mark.
Regina Klepper's cameo of the Wren (Zaunschlüper) was a gem. Ulf Schirmer
and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande allowed the poetry of the music to shine
through, but it was Kokkos's contribution that counted. The birds were not
exaggerated, the humans only slightly caricatured, music that was certainly not
at the forefront of modernism but nonetheless displays an individuality (though
I kept being reminded of Humperdinck) and an intelligent staging made this a
satisfying evening at the opera.
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Paris - 4 February 2004 Handel - Semele |
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- Handel's oratorios are
becoming ever-increasing visitors to our operatic stages, with Semele
probably the most frequently performed in this fashion. William Congreve's
elegant text is of course a contributing factor to this popularity. The
question of whether the composer intended the work to be staged has never been
conclusively answered, the two factions centering on the one hand on the
presence of stage directions and on the other the presence of the magnificent
choruses that comment on but do not necessarily participate in the action.
Director David McVicar and his collaborators provided a simple setting (Tanya
McCallin) and sumptuous costumes (Brigitte Reiffenstuel) in which the action
was clearly presented, sometimes despite the lighting of Paule Constable. Marc
Minkowski and his Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble provided a solid foundation,
brisk where called for and with little of the exaggeratedly slow tempi that he
has sometimes affectioned in the past. Annick Massis in the title role captured
the lascivious ambition of the character, her singing easily encompassing the
languor of "O sleep, why dost thou leave me" and the fireworks of her other
arias. Richard Croft's Jupiter matched Massis every step of the way, "Wher'eer
thou walk" the highlight of his portrayal. Sarah Connolly may some day rival
such earlier Junos as Felicity Palmer or Della Jones but in the meantime offers
vocal satisfaction. Claron McFadden on this opening night sang not only her
role of Iris but took over "Endless pleasures" when Marion Harousseau (Cupid)
was unable to sing, though she did sufficiently recover for her aria in the
second act. David Pittsinger's double assumption of Cadmus and Somnus was
neatly differentiated. Less satisfactory were the nasal whine of Charlotte
Hellekant's Ino and the absent Athamas of Stephen Wallace.
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Paris - 5 February 2004 Landowski - Le Fou |
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- In homage to one of
France's more prominent composer/civil servants, the Théâtre du
Châtelet moved to the Théâtre Mogador, the temporary home of
the Orchestre de Paris, for performances of an opera written almost 50 years
ago, Le Fou. Performances a few years ago in
Montpellier were not totally convincing, but a tediously irrelevant
staging made me curious to hear this work again. Unfortunately, the work sounds
even more derivative today, and the impossible acoustics of the Mogador with
the voices unduly prominent meant that it was difficult to hear the orchestral
writing. François Le Roux once again took the role of Peter Bel, almost
persuading us. Nora Gubisch (Isadora) added yet another portrayal to her
gallery of hopelessly passionate women. Jean-Luc Chaignaud's Prince too often
confined upstage nonetheless managed to portray a leader almost as torn as the
scientist. But was it worth it?
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Monte-Carlo - 13 February 2004 Mozart - Cosi fan
tutte |
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- For this co-production
with the San Francisco Opera, director John Cox chose a pre-World War I setting
for Cosi fan tutte, presumably in one of the palaces that dot the
Côte d'Azur. For the most part it worked, though there were any number of
anomalies such as Don Alfonso being the croupier at the rise of the curtain
during the last bars of the overture, or the start of Act II in a salon de
thé, rather than the boudoir of the sisters, with a surprising twist at
the end of the opera. And of course, there was a lot of extraneous parading
during the music. Conductor Walter Weller chose careful tempi, but there was
little feeling of pulsation, however rhythmically accurate it might have been
nor did the orchestra always seem to be together. Darina Takova's Fiordiligi
was generally well sung, but lacked the presence which was supplied in
abundance by Laura Polverelli's Dorabella or Nuccia Focile's Despina.
Polverelli's rich mezzo was perhaps the best argument for casting a soprano as
Dorabella, however well she sang the role. Charles Castronovo's Ferrando seemed
to tire towards the end, the conclusion of "Tradito, schernito" posing
problems. Enrico Marrucci's Guglielmo was short on personality while Alfonso
Antoniozzi's Don Alfonso seemed to be struggling with a bad cold. Robert
Perziola's relatively simple unit set and his elegant costumes offered much
visual pleasure.
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