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From Seen and Heard International
By:Bernard Jacobson

Soloists, Metropolitan Opera chorus and orchestra , cond. Riccardo Muti, dir. Pierre Audi, set and costume designers Miuccia Prada, Herzog & de Meuron, lighting designer Jean Kalman, Metropolitan Opera, New York, 23.2.2010 (BJ)

Under the baton of Riccardo Muti, making his long-overdue debut at the house to a reception of vociferous and richly deserved ovations, Verdi’s Attila received its premiere performance at the Metropolitan Oratorio in February. Oops! I mean the Metropolitan Opera, but you would not have thought so, given the perversely statuesque and undramatic nature of the production.

When I first heard that Pierre Audi was going to be responsible for the staging I was immediately worried. The Lebanese-born director is a man of impressive intellect. He has done invaluable work in raising the profile of the Netherlands Opera, but the actual productions of his that I have seen there have tended to place directorial “originality” well above the demands of the opera being directed. (The earliest I have ever walked out of a production was at his Così fan tutte, after an overture embellished with a naked woman reclining on a chaise longue. I am as partial as anyone to the sight of a naked woman, but there is a time and a place for everything.)

Audi’s Attila, by contrast, is blessedly free from adventitious vulgarity. On the other hand, it demolished the impact of an early but by no means negligible Verdi opera by presenting it almost in the manner of an oratorio. The set consisted, in the prologue, of an array of debris, huge blocks of broken masonry, supposedly to represent the remains of the sacked city of Aquileia. After this, there was just one set representing “the forest”: a proscenium-high depiction of lush vegetation. A couple of holes were punched in this, relatively high above the stage, to provide the characters with a locale for their arias; in one of them, someone had thoughtfully placed what looked like a piano stool so that Ezio, the Roman general, didn’t have to stand all through his big scene. Every now and then, first with the debris and then with the forest, the main set would rise, providing a featureless slot at the bottom to accommodate the chorus. Its members, roughly a hundred of them, were marshaled in three rows, just as on a concert platform, and were dressed in a variety of schmattas–Miuccia Prada schmattas admittedly, but schmattas nevertheless.

To the extent that it was possible, Muti and his forces rescued the opera with a musical performance of fantastic beauty, virtuosity, élan, and refinement. The Met orchestra can rarely have played with such stylistic aptness, ravishing tone, and pinpoint ensemble. The choral singing was as excellent as the choral acting was non-existent. There is no need to discuss the solo singers’ dramatic achievements, since they were given no opportunity to act or to interact. But this was a cast of phenomenal vocal power and artistry.
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From Seen and Heard International
By:James L. Zychowicz
Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor) Civic Opera House, Chicago, 20.2.2010 (JLZ).

The Part III Set - Photograph © Dan Rest

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s new production of Hector Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust marks the first performance of this work in the company’s repertoire. This work, which its composer called a légende dramatique and initially conceived as a concert opera, has been revived in recent years in innovative productions on the stages of various opera houses, a change from what had been its customary venue in concert halls. In fact, Lyric’s production combines conventional staging with various projections to support Berlioz’s highly connotative work. While it is possible to appreciate a reference in the text of the work and even to apprehend the tone painting in the score, the production makes some of the references come to life on stage.

Set and costume designer George Souglides presents this version of the Faust legend in a twentieth-century milieu. Faust is first shown at a computer desk in a confining cubicle raised high on the stage and framed in light, as if it were a cel in a filmed graphic novel. Yet when the scene shifts to Faust’s experience of the peasants merrymaking, his raised set comes down to the stage, were the crowd is a made up of various sets of identically costumed people having a picnic. The costumes for this scene appear to be from the 1960s, predating Faust’s cubicle in the opening scene. This picnic scene then dissolves into the advancing military, as male dancers in fatigues with red berets dominate the set. They are soon joined by blond women in sweaters, who carry flags which suggest the red-gold-black colors of Germany, but with a medieval-style emblem in the center.

When the work moves to Brander’s scene, the traditional cellar is replaced by a high-tech disco, with banks of glaring lights. The dais in the center of the disco is the setting for a public display of pole-dancing, also suggesting a crucifixion, since the vertical pole intersects with one of the horizontal rows of lights. For this scene the women entertaining at the disco are dressed as large-breasted rodents, whose tails can be fondled by the men in the on-stage audience. Brander himself is costumed as a ghoul, suggesting that he may have already sealed some diabolic pact, a drastically different view of singer Christian Van Horn to his usual appearances on this stage.

When Marguerite appears, she has a 1960s style hairdo, and the flat she shares with her aged mother is a three-room affair that opens to a balcony. The living room with television is next to Marguerite’s rather dated-looking bedroom with its patterned wallpaper, dresser photos in standing frames, and its own crucifix. It has the look of a Kubrick film, and the lack of solid walls between the staged spaces allows the supernatural character of Méphistophélès to move between the chambers seemingly by magic. Marguerite’s neighbors, when they appear, emerge from various doors under her flat, and their costumes suggest a group of middle-aged or older couples roused from sleep – or perhaps some sort of nocturnal cleaning activity, since most of are carrying or wearing blue latex gloves.
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From Seen and Heard International
By: José M Irurzun
Soloists, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid. Coro Intermezzo.Conductor: Víctor Pablo Pérez. Teatro Real de Madrid. 18/19.2.2010 (JMI)

Production Picture © Javier del Real

Among the ten operas by Umberto Giordano, Andrea Chenier is number one in the popularity stakes but it’s one of those curious things that while Chenier always had the appreciation of opera-goers, musicologists have never showed it much enthusiasm. With precious few exceptions this is something of a pattern in Verismo. The major exception is Puccini whose attachment to so-called Verismo is more than debatable.

Andrea Chenier’s following among opera-lovers has not been matched by interest from artistic directors. Take Madrid for example: Chenier has not put in an appearance in the last 25 years. In this regard it is interesting to read the Giancarlo del Monaco interview in the programme, where he talks of his experience in the 1950s at La Scala with a double cast: Mario del Monaco and Maria Callas, on the one hand, and Franco Corelli with Renata Tebaldi, on the other. “Tal dei tempi è il costume ” (Carlo Gerard dixit).

The production comes from the Opéra National de Paris, where it was premiered last December. Giancarlo del Monaco’s reading stays absolutely faithful to the libretto which specifies perfectly where and when the action takes place. The sets are spectacular in the scene in the Countess’s mansion. They show a very rich Rococo salon with a small theatre at the back of the stage. The trial scene is truly spectacular. There are excellent costumes, especially in the first scene with hosts and guests suitably bewigged. Lighting is a good complement to the production.

Everything compares favourably with what happened a few days back with Un Ballo in Maschera in Bilbao, where the production took a similar line but to lesser effect. The stage direction of Giancarlo del Monaco is quite good with an excellent sense of mass movement and very good attention to detail.

It was interesting to see the killing of Bersi by Il Incredibile on stage at the end of Act II, or the old Madelon and her grandson walking with the mob in the same act. It’s a brilliant production, and the audience was obviously pleased. Its biggest drawback is that the change of sets demands very long intermissions. Andrea Chenier has about two hours of music but the evening ran to three hours and 15 minutes. According to my information this was not the case at Paris Bastille.
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Now that interviews with the singers have become an important intermission feature of the Met’s HD Telecasts, the viewing audience gets to meet the artists as they come off stage right after their performances. At the Encore Telecast of Carmen on February 3rd, it happened to be after Act Two, which stood out not only for the heated drama mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and tenor Roberto Alagna created as the doomed lovers, but for Alagna’s botched high note taken piano instead of forte as written at the end of La fleur que tu m’avais jetée, in Don José’s rapturous love song. The interview did not go as originally planned, but since the Met’s General Manager Peter Gelb wanted the audience to have immediate contact with his “stars,” the audience listened patiently as Alagna spoke of his vocal mishap in what surely was an embarrassing moment for the tenor. It is now becoming a question of how many of these “live” interviews the viewers have to sit through during these telecasts.

But Richard Eyre’s new production of composer Georges Bizet masterpiece has turned out to be the hit of the Met opera season so far. In the January 2010 issue of Opera News, the British director described that he and set and costume designer Rob Howell wanted to give the opera a grittier feel by moving the story from 19th Century Spain up to a “period a century forward to the 1930s, the fascist Franco era.” Howell was able to deliver on Eyre’s vision by creating, “a circular architectural space on the Met’s rotating stage” with a unit set that suggested “the ruins of a city wall, perhaps after a bombing.” Also, Eyre was able to add “psychological depth and social realism” with the cast he put together.

Alagna may not have achieved all that he wanted vocally with his Don Jose, but physically and dramatically the tenor delivered an emotionally disturbed character whose possessive love for Carmen could only lead to their destruction. Even though this was a new production for Alagna and Garanca, they looked entirely comfortable in their respective roles, likely because they sang Carmen and Don José in Europe before they came to the Met.

Garanca’s physical carriage as Carmen coincided with her vocal performance on the radio. The role posed no problems vocally, and she produced an even sound throughout her vocal range, but still she lacked the piquant nasal sound that French native speakers bring to the text. But her interpretation was unique. Garanca presented Carmen as an independent woman who showed annoyance with anyone trying to claim her love without her full consent. She also took her physical attraction to men as a given; the mezzo, even with her blue eyes, presented a warm, alluring Carmen; this no-nonsense Carmencita could have any pick of the litter.

The Act Four duet between Carmen and Don José was a dramatic standout for the couple. Alagna’s José, a volatile composite of jealousy, rage and mental instability appropriately did not mix with Garanca’s determination to be rid of José as a lover and ready to take on a new amorous adventure with the toreador Escamillo. The reason for their exciting delivery in this last scene was the dramatic harmony of their vocal strengths and emotional eruptions.
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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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