Don Giovanni: Lifeless Even Before Going to Hell

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April 15, 2013

From Seen and Heard International By: José Mª. Irurzun

W. A. Mozart: Don Giovanni, Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus, Alejo Pérez (conductor), Madrid Teatro Real, 12.4.2013 (JMI)
New Production Teatro Real in coproduction with Festival Aix en Provence, Moscow Bolshoi Theater and Toronto Canadian Opera.

These performances of Don Giovanni will surely enter into the history of the Teatro Real, with one of the biggest scandals in the long history of the theater. In the previous performances – this one is is the fourth of the run – there was widespread booing, which led Gerard Mortier to declare that this was mostly organized and orchestrated by his detractors.
I make no more comment.
My overall assessment of this Don Giovanni is not positive. I found the stage production pretentious and boring, it had a lifeless musical reading and a mostly inadequate cast.
As far as I’m concerned, I have to admit that I do not share the admiration that some theaters seem to have for Dmitri Tcherniakov, who directs this production. It had its premiere at the Aix en Provence Festival in 2010, and was then poorly received both by critics and audience. This is the fourth Tcherniakov production I have seen in the last few years and I must say that again I don’t like his work. As happened in Onegin, Trovatore and Macbeth, he gives his own freely interpreted version of the opera.
The action all takes place in the same set (as also happened in Onegin and Trovatore) which is an elegant library in the house of Il Comendatore. All the characters live together and belong to the same family. Donna Anna is the nymphomaniac daughter of the Comendatore, and she has a relationship with Don Ottavio; Zerlina is her teenage daughter from a previous marriage. Donna Elvira is Donna Anna’s cousin and she is married to an alcoholic and decrepit Don Giovanni. Leporello is a relative who lives in the house and accompanies Don Giovanni on his adventures. Finally, Masetto is the boyfriend of the whimsical Zerlina.
Tcherniakov tries, and almost manages, to destroy the myth of Don Juan, showing a character without any appeal, and it is rather difficult to believe that he could have had as many lovers as Leporello recounts in his famous catalog aria. It is the rest of the family who put an end to Don Giovanni, hiring an actor to play the Comendatore in the final scene.
The stage production works rather well during the first act, but it is impossible to escape boredom during the entire second half, in which the stage is like a stone. Worst of all is the idea of presenting the opera as separate scenes with no less than 8 breaks, which interrupts the musical flow in order to gain nothing.
In favor of the production I must say that no there are no provocative moments or any bad taste, as has happened in other modern productions (among which it is not easy to forget the work of Calixto Bieito). The problem is that Tcherniakov’s ideas and the libreto don’t follow the same line. A few examples will serve to get an idea. The Comendatore dies accidentally; the exchange of characters between Don Giovanni and Leporello in the second act could not be believed even by those who are blind; Zerlina sings “Vedrai carino” not to Masetto, but to Don Giovanni’s coat; Don Ottavio adresses Il Mio Tesoro to Leporello. And what I can say of the scene at the window or of the whole scene in the cemetery? They could only be hallucinations by Leporello and his master. All in all, it was a boring production.
The slow pace of the recitatives has to be due to Mr Tcherniakov, who seems to be far more interested in them than in arias, and this makes the musical reading feel very heavy. It is probably unfair to condemn Alejo Perez for his handling of this Don Giovanni, because he was surely also a victim of the production. A more experienced conductor does not accept these impositions. We have seen him conducting on other occasions and the result was very different.
The cast was mostly disappointing. It seems that what counted was that singers played their roles as Mr Tcherniakov conceived the characters, and this worked against the interests of the audience.
Particularly objectionable is the presence of Canadian baritone Russell Braun in the character of Don Giovanni. No wonder he was booed in the first performances, because his voice is small and too light, and is inaudible at the bottom of the range.
Gerard Mortier said in an interview that it was inconceivable that Kyle Ketelsen could be booed, as he is the best Leporello in the world. This seems to me to be a joke. The last Leporellos I’ve seen on stage (Luca Pisaroni, Erwin Schrott and Alex Esposito) are light years ahead of Kyle Ketelsen, who is just a good actor, with not a very natural voice – ‘ingolata’ as italians say.
Christine Schäfer offered a pleasant voice as Donna Anna and sang well, but her vocal characteristics are more suitable for Zerlina than for Donna Anna. I did not like her Or sai che l’onore, and found the best of her singing at Non mi dir.
Paul Groves has been a remarkable Mozart tenor, but he is not at his best any more. He was acceptable with Dalla sua pace, but showed his limits and problems in a poor interpretation of Il mio tesoro.
It was very easy for Ainhoa Arteta to succeed in this mediocre cast. Hers was the only important voice on stage, offering an excellent Donna Elvira. Apparently she was the only one not to get boos at the premiere.
Mojca Erdmann was a delightful Zerlina onstage, but she is nothing more than a soubrette as a soprano. She was not convincing in any of her arias, being best at La ci darem la mano.
Both veteran Anatoli Kotscherga and David Bizic were serviceable as the Comendatore and Masetto.
Teatro Real was sold out. The audience responded coolly during the performance, but with the final bows we got a fresh surprise. To avoid the boos of the previous days, there were no individual bows, which did not prevent disapproving voices from being heard. It seems that the idea of this collective bowing came from Ainhoa Arteta, which was a genuine gesture of friendship towards her colleagues. Two minutes after the final bar we were already out of the theater.

Cast:
Don Giovanni: Russel Braun
Leporello: Kyle Ketelsen
Donna Anna: Christine Schäfer
Donna Elvira: Ainhoa Arteta
Don Ottavio: Paul Groves
Zerlina: Mojca Erdmann
Masetto: David Bizic
Comendatore: Anatoli Kotscherga
Production:
Direction: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Sets and Costumes: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Lighting: Gleb Filshtinsky

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The Bolshoi’s Sleeping Beauty at the Loft-Acts Two and Three

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Ballet fans who gathered at the Loft’s five o’clock showing of Sleeping Beauty on March 16th were in for a unwelcome surprise when they arrived. We were told by Jeff Yank, the Loft’s program director, we were only to see Acts Two and Three. The reason for the exclusion of Act One was that the principal male dancer David Hallberg, who was to be interviewed after the showing, had suggested, because of the ballet’s length, we diehard ballet lovers would grow weary if we had to sit through the entire work.

I suspect the real reason was that Hallberg didn’t want to wait around to be interviewed till after the entire ballet was shown and so, for his convenience, he and Yank proffered this excuse. To be fair, I’m sure there were a number of adoring fans who felt meeting Hallberg in person was compensation for the Act One exclusion.

On a positive note, there were many reasons to love this film. Hallberg, who is currently a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater in New York City, was invited to join the Bolshoi and become a permanent member of the company. This is the first time that an American was given that honor and this film was of his debut.

The style of dance the Bolshoi features is detailed, with steps timed to perfection and excitingly executed. The company is known for its devotion to full-line body extension in the jumps and its crisp, light touches of its foot work. As Hallberg noted in the discussion, it took him many hours of intense practice to achieve this level of execution, and his natural body line which extends from the tips of his fingers to the ends of his toes really showed off the Bolshoi’s technique.

Hallberg and his partner Svetlana Zakharova, as the Princess Aurora, made a beautiful couple, and their duets were superbly matched and delicately executed. Their solo variations stood out not only for their technical proficiency, but both dancers maintained the same exquisite lines as in their duets.

When one’s eye is drawn to watching the corps de ballet as if it were a featured player, it shows how the Bolshoi’s ballet training gives the dancers the opportunity to be presented at their artistic best. Their body movements expressed the same performance intensity and sterling technique as any of the featured dancers.

By still using the 1973 choreographic version of Yuri Grigorovich, who headed the company for more that three decades, the Bolshoi confirms its belief that Grigorovich’s choreography shows up as the same bright, polished jewel it was when originally performed. While many ballet companies are struggling to find reason to keep their traditions, the Bolshoi eschews any doubts and embraces theirs.

There were many beautiful interpreters among the featured roles that Sleeping Beauty calls for. Yulia Lunkina and Igor Tsvirko brought real glee to their White Pussycat and Puss in Boots. The Little Red Riding Hood and the Grey Wolf of Anastasia Stashkevich and Alexei Koryagin were coy and devilish in their variation. Karim Abdullin’s Prince Fortune was every inch the elegant partner for Daria Khokhlova’s Cinderella. And the four Faries of Jewels, Anna Leonova, Yanina Parienko, Maria Vinogradova and Anna Tikhomirova danced with aplomb and skill. They could easily fit into a principal role if called on.

Under the baton of Vassily Sinaisky, the Bolshoi orchestra, which has P. Tchaikovsky’s score in its DNA, rang out with passionate musicality giving testimony to why the orchestra is held in such high esteem. There was a bit of irony in Hallberg’s reminiscing of how well the orchestra’s exciting rendition of the composer’s dynamic overture sounded in the house. What a shame we didn’t get to hear it.

Italian set designer Ezio Frigerio and Costume Designer Franca Squarciapino fielded designs and colors that brought out the royal  historical background that is so abundant in Sleeping Beauty. Squarciapino’s costumes, with their  delicate pastels and refined patterns, brought us a welcome relief from the relentless black and white outfits that many of today’s opera and theater directors are demanding from their staffs.

If the Loft’s decision to cut Act One was not to everyone’s satisfaction, what we did get was a truly remarkable and artistic demonstration of Russia’s love affair with ballet.

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Compelling Concert Tristan Torso

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March 7, 2013
From Seen and Heard International By: James L. Zychowicz

To commemorate the bicentenary of Richard Wagner’s birth, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra devoted a concert to portions of Tristan und Isolde, the well-known Prelude to Act I and the entirety of Act II. Infrequently heard in concert, the second act is well-suited to Symphony Center, and offers the chance to hear details that sometimes blur when the opera is staged and the orchestra is relegated to the pit. The second act’s love duet alone deserves the attention.
Esa-Pekka Salonen approached the first-act prelude with intensity, as evidenced by his control of tempo and dynamics, building the opening incrementally to the initial forte. From the start, the drama was present, with the rich, full sound of the cellos setting the tone. As familiar as this piece may be, this performance had the precision of a studio recording. The fullness of sound never flagged, thanks to Salonen’s precise and clear direction.
Moments after the prelude ended, Salonen began the second act so that the intensity was not lost. The orchestra started brilliantly, with the opening measures clearly articulated, and vibrant woodwind timbres given the clarity heard on recordings, but not always in the opera house. The singers did not begin seated, but entered as they would in a staged production. Watson and DeYoung entered discreetly, just before their vocal lines, across the stage from each other, and sang louder than when blocking places them more closely together. Watson is certainly an experienced Isolde, with the range and flexibility needed. At times the entrances in the upper part of her range seemed somewhat strained, perhaps due to her placement in the hall. Later, when Watson and Stefan Vinke stood next to each other on the side of the stage, there were no such issues with volume and tone quality. Watson was most impressive in her duet with Vinke, in the part of the second scene that begins “O eitler Tagesknecht!” The intensity of her delivery was paired with appropriate tone.
Stefan Vinke gave a laudable performance as Tristan, but his somewhat open sound seemed out of place in the more intimate space of Symphony Center—as if he were singing in a larger hall—and sometimes overbalanced the orchestra. Yet the last part of the second scene was moving, starting with “O ew’ge Nacht,” in which Tristan declares his love for Isolde. While pitch was sometimes a problem, the overall effect was strong.
As Brangäne, Michelle DeYoung was impressive throughout—especially her sensitivity to line and the text’s inflections. This was a Brangäne who cared enough not to let Isolde suffer the death potion, a Brangäne who also warned her about some of those in the court around her. DeYoung’s urgency was as dignified as her musicality. Her exchanges with Watson in the first scene were consistently outstanding, with notable intensity to her final “Habet acht!” just before the closing of the second scene.
In the other roles, Sean Panikkar was particularly effective as Melot, with incisive, precise delivery, and John Relyea’s portrayal of King Mark had just the right weight and inflection—all anchored by Salonen’s contributions.

United States Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Prelude to Act I, Act II (concert version): Linda Watson, soprano (Isolde); Michelle DeYoung, mezzo soprano (Brangäne); Stefan Vinke, tenor (Tristan); Sean Panikkar, tenor (Melot); John Relyea, bass-baritone (König Marke); Daniel Eifert, baritone (Kurwenal); Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor). Symphony Center, Chicago, 22.2.2013 (JLZ)
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, Prelude to Act I, Act II

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