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If the audience’s reaction to the January 6, Met Encore Telecast is to be taken as an example of how enjoyable a new opera production can be, then Bart Sher’s Contes d’Hoffmann rates as one of this year’s Telecast successes. The theater director won a Tony for his revival of South Pacific and then turned to opera with a successful Barber of Seville at the Met three years ago. New opera productions at the Met, such as Tosca and Carmen, are getting plenty of scrutiny from print and on-line media this season, and this Hoffmann was no exception. Added to the mix were a number of negative comments over Artistic Director James Levine’s choice to use an older edition of the score.

Luckily for opera lovers, who never get tired of all the feedback a new production can garner, there were lots of opinions to wrangle over. The question of what edition of the opera to present has plagued the opera world since Contes premiered at the Opéra-Comique in February,1881.

In the New York Times on December 26, 2009, Anthony Tommasini spoke about the Met’s choice of edition. “Within the opera world, however, one aspect…has come in for particular criticism. …an edition of the work considered outmoded and questionable by many informed buffs and Offenbach scholars.” At the end of the article, Tommasini comes to Levine’s defense. “As I said, I take no sides about the authenticity or appeal of any of the sources for Hoffmann. But Mr. Levine is within his rights to perform a more traditional version of the work if it suits the needs of his company.”

But David Shengold in the Gay City News in December, 2009, wasn’t having any of that; he just about dislikes everything in the production. As for Bart Sher’s work, Shengold called it, “cluttered, unilluminating.” As for Levine’s conducting it was “without much variety of phrase or a sense of belief in the piece,” and finally, on the edition, Shengold stated, “despite the accumulated research of recent years-the same old corrupt Hoffmann edition the Met has been giving since 1992…”

None of this, however, seemed to put a damper on the audience’s good time as they watched the opera unfold on the screen.

Sher’s early 20th-century look with a cabaret motif pictured an environment in which even Kafka’s angst could survive by using the somber colors many opera directors find so attractive today.

If not everyone liked Sher’s show, it didn’t obscure his ability to get his singers to perform in a continuously natural style that showed up very well for the camera. Gary Halvorson’s camera work was clear in catching everyone at the right moment until half-way through Act Two when he started to speed up many of his shots, diluting the dramatic effect of the performers’ portrayals. Fortunately in Act Three, he opted for fewer camera swings.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: Bernard Jacobson

Seattle Opera, soloists, cond. Yves Abel, dir. José Maria Condemi, set designer Allen Moyer, costume designer John Conklin, lighting designer Thomas Hase, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle, 16 and 24.1.2010 (BJ)

Music trumped drama in Seattle Opera’s new Trovatore, partly because vocal and orchestral values were so strong, but partly also on account of some idiosyncracies in the staging.

Let me first discuss those strengths. In the customary Seattle set-up of double casts, the eight singers in the four principal roles were for the most part immensely impressive. On opening night, Lisa Daltirus’s Leonora and Antonello Palombi’s Manrico made a compelling pair of lovers. Daltirus is a riveting actress, and aside from one or two moments of questionable intonation she sang superbly, with especially impressive pianissimos in the highest register. Palombi has one of the most easeful and luxuriant tenor voices I have heard lately, though above the stave it becomes a trifle pinched. It was a pity that at the end of an otherwise thrilling Di quella pira he did not heed Verdi’s comment, “If they’re going to add a C, let it be a good C.” His interpolated high note reminded me of George Bernard Shaw’s description of the famous 19th-century tenor Tamberlik as “a mere creaking wreck, whose boasted ut de poitrine [C from the chest] was an eldritch screech which might just as well have been aimed an octave higher.” In the second cast, Anthony Rawls committed the same sin, and I found his voice somewhat lacking in richness and timbral variety in comparison with Palombi’s, while Mary Elizabeth Williams displayed impressive vocal resources, without quite matching Daltirus’s vocal and dramatic intensity.

As Count di Luna in the first cast Gordon Hawkins, whose baritone I have in the past described as ‘honeyed,” was as fluent as ever, crafting an Il balen of telling nuances, with superbly controlled dynamics on the last note. His counterpart in the second cast was Todd Thomas, an equally accomplished performer: his tone is perhaps more cleanly focused, and he was even more convincing in delineating the inner torments of this basically unsavory character. It was in the role of Azucena that the biggest disparity between the two performers made itself felt. After her stunning Judith in last season’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Malgorzata Walewska’s Azucena came as something of a disappointment, fluently sung, but without the element of mezzo- or even alto-ish darkness that is surely essential to the part. Mary Phillips was much more convincing in sound, and surprisingly also in dramatic terms.

At both the performances I witnessed, Vira Slywotzky and Leodigario del Rosario offered strong portrayals of Inez and Ruiz, and Arthur Woodley’s Ferrando was exemplary both in vocal command and acting skills. What with excellent orchestral playing under Yves Abel’s baton, and the customarily powerful contribution from Beth Kirchhoff’s chorus, what we heard would have added up to a totally convincing Trovatore had it not been for some oddities in what we were given to look at.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun

On my way to Valencia I was wondering how I would handle the transition from the Barcelona Tristan to Lucia in just three days. The jump from one opera to the other is not an easy one, unless you see in the Donizetti two protagonists as exceptional as those in Tristan, rather a scarcity in the world of opera today. In Valencia we were offred a number of positive elements that should have been able to give us a good performance of Lucia di Lammermoor, but there were not enough to make my leap successful.

I don’t know if the current economic crisis is the reason for shaking the dust out of old and successful productions, but the fact is that, following a 23 years old production of Tristan at Liceu on Saturday, in Valencia we had a production of Lucia which was premiered in 1996. It is this production that we saw at Teatro Real in November 2001, as vehicle for Edita Gruberova (alternating with Maria José Moreno) as the protagonist. The production is quite attractive to the eye but is not too brilliant in terms of direction, which is quite amazing considering that the production has the signature of Graham Vick on it. A floor covered with flowers and herbs and with looming dead trees is a constant in Act I, the mad scene, and the supposed cemetery of Ravenswood and all that changes is the cyclorama at the back of the stage, showing dark clouds. Interior scenes are shown by means of the movement of two dark panels that run through the middle of the stage. The costumes are attractive and place the action at the end of 18th century, while only some tartan bands give us the idea of Scotland and not Versailles. An attractive production, but not among Graham Vick’s finest.

Karel Mark Chichon was in charge of the musical direction and he was rather uneven. It is not easy to conduct a belcanto opera unless one is a consummate specialist in this repertoire, because there should be a good balance between purely musical direction and the support to the singers, who are the real protagonists of this kind of opera. Mr. Chichon’s reading was truly dramatic from the prelude onwards, which is not very surprising, when you have at your command an outstanding orchestra like Valencia’s. But there were also many moments where the voices were drowned by the sound coming from the pit. Tempi were somewhat erratic, moving easily from too slow to too fast, although his work was very careful and meticulous and he controlled perfectly both stage and pit. It should be noted that he offered the most complete version of the opera, including the anti-climactic recitative that puts an end to the Mad Scene which is, in my opinion, better cut.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun

After the brilliant performance of Ariodante last December, Oviedo finished its opera season with a greyish kind of tone from a Simon Boccanegra that left much to be desired.

Coming from the Santa Fe Festival with stage direction by Stefano Vizioli, discovering what the interest in this production is supposed to be, was a mystery to me. It was premiered in the summer of 2004 and has never again been revived -a fact which, now that I have seen it, seems distinctly less than a surprising. This is really a very poor production, unworthy of an opera house as important as Oviedo.

The staging consists of side walls, with one added at the back which opens to give a view of the sea, and also serves as an entrance for the Council Scene. A revolving section in the middle of the stage is where the supposed action takes place. The costumes are as poor as the sets and the lighting is also unexceptional. With all this disappointment, only really exceptional stage direction could catch the interest of the audience, but Stefano Vizioli did not achieve that either. The chorus and extras were static and the major roles were all directed with similar lack of stimulus. It is hard to imagine that the fight at the beginning of the last act could have been any worse. In short, this was an unacceptably poor production altogether.

Daniele Callegari was a safe and effective conductor and of the three aspects that form an opera – scenic, musical and vocal – it was the music which came out best in this performance. I don’t know if the Orchestra has improved much during the last year, under the baton of its musical director Friedrich Haider, or if the hand of Callegari deserves the credit, but I found the orchestra better than ever before and it was one the best performances I have attended from the always reliable Maestro Callegari.

Some people may think that the cancellation of Carlos Álvarez as the protagonist of the opera must have had serious consequences for the development of the performance, but this was not the case, since the new Simon Boccanegra was the very acceptable Marco Di Felice, a good baritone, although his voice has not quite the amplitude that the Doge needs. His interpretation of the role was fairly routine, but that was also partly due to the director.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: James L. Zychowicz; Picture © Dan Rest

Lyric Opera of Chicago continues its 2009-2010 season with a masterful staging of Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore or The Elixir of Love, as it is billed. The revival of this venerable production is enhanced by an excellent cast, led by Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center alumna Nicole Cabell. The deft conducting of Bruno Campanella makes the familiar comedy flow beautifully on stage so that the opening night on 23 January was an exciting event, with Lyric’s audience enthusiastically responsive to the production.

The situation at the beginning of the opera is typical of many librettos, with the object of a young man’s desire hardly noticing him. In loving the much sought after Adina, Nemorino seems to aspire to a love beyond possibility. Much more the rustic than his rival, the polished soldier Belcore, Nemorino is too determined to be dissuaded and his single-mindedness leads him to be duped by the quack-doctor Dulcamara whose ‘infallible’ love potion is nothing more than Chianti wine. While the potion only causes Nemorino to become inebriated, Adina notes his absence when she is just about to wed Belcore, and ultimately realises that Nemorino is the devoted husband she actually desires. It is a simple plot which works convincingly simply because of its fine music.

To that end, the cast is admirable in giving the well-known numbers fresh and ardent readings. Tenor Giuseppe Filianotti made the opening number “Quanto è bella” vibrant ; and if his delivery seemed somewhat aggressive in this piece compared with some other singers, it still served the text well. Moreover, his sensitive and moving performance of “Una furtive lagrima” contained all the nuances many performers strive to bring off, but rarely achieve as admirably. Filianotti worked well with Nicole Cabell throughout their on-off-on again romance and was particularly effective in the duet “Chiedi all’aura lusinghiera.”

Nicole Cabell also gave a first rate performance as Adina. She displayed all her character’s necessary self-confidence – she’s rich and the most beautiful girl in the village after all – and made a particularly strong impression in the opening aria “Della crudele Isotta,” in which she recounts the story of Tristan and Isolde to her audience. Her vocal confidence was also very evident in “Chiede all’aura lusinghiera,” her duet with Filianotti and was even more notable in the later duet “Eulsti pur la Barbara.” Her ensemble work with the other principals was also solid, with her concluding aria “Il mio rigor dimentica” as fresh and emotionally resolved as anyone could hope. At times however, it was difficult to hear some of her lines, perhaps because of the sets which leave much of the large stage space vacant, but this also happened to Filianotti on occasions when he moved stage left.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun; Picture © Javier del Real
Soloists, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid. Coro Intermezzo. Conductor: Jesús López Cobos. Teatro Real de Madrid. 19 and 20.1.2010 (JMI)

Anja Kampe as Senta.

The new year starts in Madrid with these performances of Wagner’s Dutchman, a work that
has not been performed at the Teatro Real since the end of 19th century, except for a visit by Berlin Staatsoper a few years back. The current performances of this opera have been good rather than brilliant, although clearly better than those seen lately in Barcelona and Seville.

This co-production between Barcelona’s Liceu and Madrid’s Teatro Real has stage direction by Àlex Rigola and was premiered at the Liceu some three years ago. The production moves the action to modern times, which is acceptable, bearing in mind this is a legend which can fit any era. Rigola is a man of the theatre but this time he concentrated mostly on the aesthetics, rather than the stage action, almost as if it was not greatly important. Act I takes place on two levels: the berthing quay and the bridge of the Norwegian boat, each stage perfectly adequately, particularly at the arrival of the Dutch ship. In Act II, Daland’s home becomes the dining room of Daland and Co. since Daland is shown as an industrialist. The room has a soft drinks machine and large windows at the back, through which we can see the ocean. The last act takes place in the breakwater next to Daland’s factory with spectacular projections of waves hitting the breakwater stones. The weakest parts of the production are the actual stage direction and an inability to draw decent standards from the large chorus: a few stage management details, achieved more or less well enough with extras are not sufficient to ensure the production’s success.

Musical direction was the responsibility of Jesús López Cobos, who produced a performance much in line with others he has conducted in recent years – an effective and clean reading, always under control but with a certain imbalance between the brass section and the strings, particularly in the Overture. López Cobos delivered his best work in the final act and overall I would say that his performance was rather better than some he has given recently although still rather short of romantic atmosphere. The orchestra played very well though, certainly much better than anything heard in Barcelona three years ago, and some fine chorus work was a very nice surprise.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun; photo © E. Moreno Esquibel.

Soloists, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa. Coro de Ópera de Bilbao. Conductor: Sir Mark Elder, Palacio Euskalduna de Bilbao. 16.1.2010 (JMI)

Ernani is one of the best Verdi operas from the so-called ‘years in the galleys’ so far as I am concerned, although it is a long time since it lost the favour of the big opera houses. Certainly its irregular libretto and its need of four truly great singers – no less than Trovatore – can explain some of this hardly justified oblivion but in the last 10 years the opportunities to enjoy this opera in decent conditions have been very few. I dare say in fact that only the United States has staged the work with more or less with great singers, the last of them this season in Chicago with Sondra Radvanovsky (to me the best Elvira today). Three years ago it was given at the Metropolitan with Radvanovsky again, accompanied by Giordani, Hampson and Furlanetto and before that at Carnegie Hall some 12 years ago – it appeared in a concert version with a surprising June Anderson as Elvira. Appearances of the title in Europe have also been very scarce, mostly in Italy and for the most part with rather mediocre casts, with the exception of Trieste some three years back. Sadly, this ABAO performance was closer to Italian mediocrity than to American splendour.

ABAO’s new production was directed by Michal Znaniecki from Poland. On paper, the selection couldn’t have been more fortunate, judging by his other operatic works in recent years, all characterized by good taste and respect for the music and singers. Unfortunately, this did not happen this time. The staging was dominated by a large gothic rose window partially raised, creating a stage with a slope of about 40 degrees. In these circumstances the movements by soloists, chorus and extras showed their worries about falling over all to clearly and adversely projected lots of extraneous noise into the theatre. The singers had to share their focus on singing wth concerns for physical security and to this I should add the fact that often Znaniecki made them sing from the top of the rose window, damaging projection of the voices – which otherwise only came into its own when the performers sang from the front of the stage. In these circumstances the direction of actors was fairly well impossible, not to mention the lack of mass direction, which was little better than a concert version. The drama of big scene of act III, with the company in the rose window and the Emperor placed behind them, was completely missed.
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Since the January 16th, HD Telecast of Carmen was sold out here in Tucson, (livingattheopera.com will attend the Encore performance) it afforded the opportunity to listen to and tape the radio broadcast and to compare it to the upcoming telecast on February 3rd. .

The standout event in the broadcast was not a happy one. It sounded quite uncomfortable to hear how Roberto Alagna botched the ending of Don Jose’s aria La fleur que tu m’avais jetée in Act Two. From the beginning of the opera, Alagna used only a mezzo-forte to forte dynamic level. Unfortunately, there were no vocal shadings of the text that would have allowed listeners to appreciate the tenor’s native French. So when the aria arrived, which he delivered in the same fashion, he opted to sing the final B flat piano instead of forte as it is written. The tenor not only failed to hit the note, but caused the dramatic intensity to flatten out for the remainder of the act.

The role, however, is a great emotional match for Alagna’s personality, so the Act Four duet with Elina Garanca’s Carmen proved to be a searing vocal and dramatic experience for the listener. Their passion and talent vividly captured the duo’s last tragic moments.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Escamillo was a last minute replacement for Mariusz Kwiecien. With only the vocals to consider, the baritone sounded as if he used all his vocal resources to get through the performance. The bull fighter’s nonchalant personality masks the role’s demands for a voice with a more solid frame.

Garanca’s Carmen sounded full-voiced and committed, even if some Gallic flavor in the voice was missing. Barbara Frittoli’s Micaela came across with a steady pleasing tone. .

There has been talk about the fast tempi in Vannick Nézet-Séguin’s conducting style. It carried over into an intermission feature where the conductor gave his reasons why he used them. The speed of his opening bars in Act One sounded as if he wanted to make everyone remember his name.

After the second act, Rene Fleming met up with Garanca and Alagna as they came off stage. On the radio, all three sounded somewhat nervous and anxious about having to do one of these “required” intermission chats after Alagna’s vocal mishap. It will be interesting to match the voices with the body language at the Encore performance on February 3rd.

From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun; Picture © Antoni Bofill
Soloists, Orquestra Simfònica y Coro del Gran Teatre del Liceu.Conductor: Marco Armiliato. Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona. 13.14 & 15. 12. 2009 (JMI)

Verdi’s Trovatore had not been performed at Barcelona’s Liceu since the1992–93 season, which is extremely strange, taking into account the enormous popularity of this opera. It is not surprising, then, that the public filled the house for the 19 performances given during the month of December.

The Belgian Gilbert Deflo was responsible for this new, minimalist production of the opera. I have nothing against this style, which is so frequent nowadays, provided they have outstanding stage direction and excellent lighting. Sadly, this production is quite weak in both aspects. Characters enter the stage, sing with little intent and then leave, and this is disastrous. The lack of expression in some of the performers would make a newcomer to this opera unable to decide whether Manrico or the Count was the hero.

The sets consist of a few painted fabric curtains at the back of the stage. The costumes are timeless but the lighting is particularly poor. I can assure you that I have seen much better stage direction in some concert versions.

Marco Armiliato was in charge of the musical direction and his reading was bland and routine for the first cast, improving for the other two. Rather unusually for this conductor I found some of his tempi rather slow, although the orchestra gave a good performance in general. Regarding the chorus, I found the female section stunningly good during the convent scene. From a purely musical point of view the best performance of the three I saw was the second.

These Trovatore performances had three different vocal casts. It is difficult enough these days to put together one acceptable cast, so you can imagine the difficulties involved in assembling three.

The Italian Marco Berti was a disappointing Manrico in the first cast. He has the voice for the character, but he was unable to transmit the slightest emotion to the auditorium. He was emotionally flat in “Ah si ben mio” and in the following Pira he maintained the top note longer than he did at the premiere, which was televised. Manrico needs better singing. In the second cast we had the Korean Alfred Kim, whose voice is more lyrical than the character demands, but he gave some meaning to his singing, something which had not happened the previous day with Marco Berti. Kim’s voice is pleasant and consistent through the whole range, and he is quite courageous and believable on stage. His performance was more than acceptable, although he had some problems in his aria, while his voice was quite vivid for the Pira. The Albanian Giuseppe Gipali has a beautiful voice, but he is rather inexpressive in his singing. His biggest handicap is that his instrument is quite small and this cannot work in a heroic role like Manrico.
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Opera research tells us that, at first, Giuseppe Verdi was considering “Azucena” as the name for his 1853 opera, Il Trovatore. If the composer were still alive and had attended the opera’s December 22nd performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, he very well might have. There was no doubt while watching the telecast at the Loft Cinema on the same date, that mezzo-soprano Luciana D’Intino captured one of the most intriguing and vocally-effulgent interpretations of Verdi’s gypsy outcast this opera lover has ever heard. D’intino’s vocal ease and textual command of the role was in the tradition of two of Italy’s best interpreters from the past, Giulietta Simionato and Fiorenza Cossotto. And the audience was very fortunate to hear and see her, for what remained was one of the dullest performances of Verdi’s magnificent musical masterpiece.

For once, the physical side of the production was not the culprit in the show. The sets, costumes, and lighting by William Orlandi were in vogue with many of the opera productions of today. They combined a style reminiscent of older times with the sleek lines of today. Orlandi’s unit set was composed of white side walls and back scrims that changed from the orange sun of daylight to the dusky blue of nighttime. Orlandi’s work followed Director’s Gilbert Deflo’s concept of chiaroscuro in Salvatore’s Cammarano’s text. (By the way, one remarkable thing about the libretto is how the librettist was able to wheedle down the verbosity in Antonio García Gutiérrez’s long romantic drama typical of early 19th Century Spain.) The set designer also carried the day/night theme over to his costumes. They had a hint of 15th Century soldiers’ uniforms united with the clean lines of modern-day dress. This was most apparent in the plastic sheen of the blue and red helmets of the opposing armies with both clad in black soft-shelled armor. He dressed the heroine Leonora in one costume only: a long white, tailored tunic. Beautiful though it was, it got a little boring to look at by opera’s end. As a matter of fact, ennui was something that plagued the whole production, even making Marco Armiliato’s conducting seem routine.
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