Sunday 28 April 2013

The Magic of Mozart - Die Zauberflote, ROH 27 April 2013

Before I review this performance I thought I'd better give you a little insight into my operatic adventures to date. I suppose I grew up listening to operatic music in the home on a fairly regular basis.  My late Mum loved the opera and listened to singers ranging from Mario Lanza to Placido Domingo and Pavarotti and most singers in between - but she never really had the opportunity to see live opera on a regular basis - due to geographical location and lack of funds.  So for me the music was there in the background and something that over time I came to love myself.  However, again due to geography and funds, I let my live performance going slide and contented myself with DVD's and recordings....until a couple of years ago I found my enthusiasm renewed - and lo and behold I was in the right place (just outside of London) and with just enough disposable income to indulge my love for all things operatic.

I write this as quite a lot of my reviews will undoubtedly start with the words 'this is my first performance of....etc etc'.  So let's just say that I'm making up for lost time when it comes to live operatic performance.


So, taking the above into consideration let me start by saying that this was my first experience of Zauberflote (Magic Flute) in the theatre and it was with a little trepidation that I settled myself into my seat and waited for the music to start. Don't get me wrong, I love Mozart although mainly his orchestral works it has to be said.  For me, as with Wagner, there are some unacceptable dramatic longueurs in Mozart opera even though the music is sublime. Luckily my slight misgivings evaporated almost as soon as the overture sprang into life in the capable hands of Julia Jones, our conductor for the evening. Sometimes you can just tell from the overture when the performance is going to be a good one and that was the case here.


It's almost impossible for me to single out any of the performers as they were pretty much all equally good.  Charles Castronovo as Tamino brought a rich lyric Italianate tone to the role and some pretty convincing acting to what could be a stock 'romantic fairy tale prince' sort of role.  Tenors are not on the whole the most interesting roles in Mozart opera - he had most fun with sopranos and baritones, but Castronovo almost convinced me that Mozart tenors aren't such a bad lot really.  I now look forward to seeing him in Puccini's La Rondine in July.

But as I said, all of the cast were equally good - Ekaterina Siurina in gorgeously lyrical voice as Pamina, Brindley Sherratt noble and persuasive as Sarastro and a special mention to Albina Shagimuratova as the glacial Queen of the Night who threw off the stratospheric high notes and coloratura with ease. I've never encountered Christopher Maltman before (my loss) but as Papageno the delightfully dumb bird catcher, he gave us a funny but still touching portrayal of a man looking for love in all the wrong places and his bewilderment in being caught up in events beyond his control was evident.




David McVicar's production is colourful and magical with some now iconic images of the Queen of Night, the serpent and the Three Boys who fly over the stage in a wooden go-kart.  I was pleased to see a fair scattering of children in the audience as this is an opera entirely suitable for younger opera lovers as well as older one's.

However, there is one thing about the production that does does give me pause for thought.  The character of Monostatos, portrayed here as a rather silly pantomime-ish villain who lusts after Pamina has been subjected to the politically correct whitewash treatment - for in the original libretto Monostatos is in fact a Moor and there are references to this scattered throughout the libretto - all of which have been removed for this production.  I find this rather bizarre although alas not surprising.  For while it seems we can deal with the sexism prevalent in the text of the opera - the audience (including the women) laughing ironically at such old fashioned ideas, it seems that we can't yet deal with the implied racism portrayed and have to quite literally whitewash it out of existence - easily done as I presume the majority of the audience like me, can't speak German and therefore rely on the super-titles above the stage for the translation.  How easy then just to brush the racism out as if it never existed.  But why do it just because you can?  Would you make Shakespeare's Othello a white man? Or Shylock a Gentile   Of course not.  It would make a mockery of the whole play.  So why brush racism under the carpet?  Why not find a way to deal with it in the opera?

Rant over.

This is still  an opera that can be seen and enjoyed on many levels - for the music obviously.  But also it is an opera about fairy tales and rituals, right and wrong, it is an opera about magic, theatre and music - and that's without acknowledging the undoubted Masonic influences liberally scattered throughout.

This was a highly enjoyable and uplifting night at the opera.  Mozart really is magic.





Sunday 7 April 2013

50 Shades of Grey.....The Opera

Nabucco, Royal Opera House 6th April 2013

For those of you who might have found your way to this blog via searching the title of this post, I apologise if you were expecting something a little more...exciting shall we say.  No, this is about a performance of Verdi's Nabucco staged by the Royal Opera in a production by Daniele Abbado.

Let me lay my cards on the table here - I love Verdi.  He is by far my favourite opera composer and although I may flirt with Puccini, Mozart, Strauss and even Wagner I always return to Verdi.  Why?  I have no logical or well thought out explanation, but simply say that his his music has the ability to move me in ways other composers rarely do.  His music encapsulates the drama and in a good stage performance can stir the emotions in myriad ways.  Which is why last night's performance was so disappointing.

Let's get the bad out of the way first along with a little story background.  Nabucco is a classic biblical tale of conflict between the Hebrews and Babylonians, the title name being an Italianisation of the Old Testament king Nebuchadnezzar.  The opera was also Verdi's first big stage success, full of patriotic rousing choruses (Va pensiero) and a fantastic role for a dramatic soprano (Abigaille) and great acting opportunities for the leading baritone role of Nabucco.

As is the norm these days, the production was updated, this time to an unspecified time and location, although it had a vaguely 40's/50's look about it.  Now, I don't object to random updating, in fact a good modern production can cast a new light on old works and make you think about them in a different way.  What I do object to is random updating with no particular rhyme or reason - as in this case.  The set consisted of what looked like a giant sandpit with concrete obelisks, around which the large chorus wandered around seemingly at random. Distracting projections on the back screen only added to the confusion.


More disastrously costumes worn by chorus and principles made no attempt to differentiate between the Hebrews and their oppressors - a vast study in grey. There also seemed to have been little attempt by the director to tell the actual story and for the majority of the time chorus and principles shuffled about or stood facing the audience to sing of their anguish.  In fact, if you 'd binned the set, dressed the singers in evening dress and done a concert performance I'm convinced that the evening would have been much better.  As I say, I have no objection to updating when there is a particular point to be made, but what was the point here? And when things did get a bit more exciting (in comparison with what had gone before) there was still no dramatic reasoning behind it.


Now while a ring of fire is very pretty and certainly warmed things up on a chilly evening, what was the reasoning behind it?  Certainly the soprano Liudmyla Monastryrska gave no hint in her demeanour.  There was also some nonsense where various Hebrew prisoners were dragged around the sandpit seemingly with the sole intention of making pretty patterns in the sand!  If Daniele Abaddo were trying to say something with this production it was lost in translation.

Now onto the good.  The musicianship and singing on display ranged from good to excellent.  The conductor Nicola Luisotti led a spirited overture which boded well for the rest of the evening and sure enough the music making was first class.  Leo Nucci is a veteran in the title role, both in terms of experience and age.  At 71 years old his voice is a miracle, showing very few signs of wear and tear, and bringing with him a real Verdian style and appreciation.  I can't imagine the title role being sung better - even by the erstwhile baritenor Placido Domingo who takes over the role on the 15th April.  Dramatically too, Nucci always convinced starting with arrogant monarch (in a grey suit) challenging God, to a convincing and sympathetic portrayal of madness when he is struck down for his arrogance.

One of the main attractions for many of the audience was the chance to hear soprano Liudmyla Monastryska as Abigaille, Nabucco's daughter.  She has a huge dramatic voice in the middle range, although I felt that her lower notes were not well supported (that's me getting technical) and sometimes her top notes were slightly disconnected from the main body of her voice.  No, her glory is in the strong and secure middle of the voice, the chest register impressive and dominant and the audience clearly loved it.  However for me I was more than pleasantly surprised when she sang softly and lyrically - she has a beautiful mezza-voce which she doesn't use often enough, although maybe this is not the sort of role that calls for it.  However, what she doesn't have is dramatic impetus - at least not in this production.

Another pleasant discovery for me was the tenor Andrea Care who gave a good account in the relatively small role of Ismaele - this is not a tenor dominant opera.  But his voice is secure and he has a handsome presence and was probably one of the most dramatically engaged of the singers on stage.  I'd like to see him in a leading role to see if he has all the goods.  A special mention also goes to the Zaccaria of Vitalij Kowaljow, possessor of a deeply sonorous bass voice and some convincing acting - I'd like to see him in a production where he can fully show off his dramatic instincts.


 But above all the expanded chorus of the Royal Opera House deserve special mention.  Their singing throughout the opera was simply stunning - especially in the famous Va pensiero (pictured above) where the final held note was breathtaking and worth the price of admission alone - if only the rest of the production had been up to their exacting standards.

So to conclude, a dramatically disappointing evening but musically it was way above average.


Wednesday 3 April 2013

Die Walkure...or how I learned to love the Ring Cycle. A little.

Before I start to review my latest DVD purchase I just need to make a little confession.  "My name is Karen and I don't enjoy Wagner."  I feel like I should be standing up in some sort of therapy group and making that admission, such is the look of amazement you get when you admit this in most operatic circles.  But my view is that that I can't enjoy every composer with the same level of enthusiasm and I just don't 'get' Wagner.  Not entirely sure why.  

Maybe because I wasn't brought up listening to his music in the way I was with Italian and French opera.  Or maybe its the extreme length of some of his opera - I  mean, almost 6 hours (including intervals) for Parsifal? Really?  But most of all I think that I've been put off in the past by the type of singing I've encountered in Wagner - the 'park and bark' style that hopefully is now going out of fashion. For me, Wagner is the sort of opera that is so easy to  mock and unfortunately is shorthand for the stereotypical image that opera is subject to.  You know the one I mean,  a rather large lady dressed in breastplate and horns singing her heart out not very tunefully.

See what I mean.  This is what I imagine when I think Wagner.  And especially the Ring Cycle.  I mean , why tell a story in one opera when you can do it soooo much better in four - Wagner gives the word 'epic' a bad name. And then there's the plot which involves dwarves, gold, dragons and Nordic gods and goddesses.  Think Lord of the Rings with better music. Not really my thing.  I prefer real people, whether they are Kings and Queens or Parisian bohemians, direct human emotion is what I'm looking for and I expect my opera to give me that in bucket loads.  So I don't get Wagner.

Which is not to say that I don't like his music - I do.  I've got the requisite CD with the 'best bits' and can hum along to the Ride of the Valkyries with the best of them.  I just don't want to watch or listen to a whole opera.  Until now.


Yes, its that tenor again.  Jonas Kaufmann.  Even so I approached Die Walkure with trepidation rather than outright enthusiasm and my heart sank when I ripped through the cellophane to discover 2, yes 2 dvd's.  Of course there would be - this is Wagner.  Still, there was nothing on the tv and I'm on leave from work so no rushing off for that early night - I could watch this to the bitter end if necessary.  But I must admit that I found myself thinking I could always whizz through the non-Jonas bits if necessary.

So, on to the review.

Another reason for my slight apprehension is that this is a DVD from the Met Opera, showcasing their latest production of the Ring Cycle by Robert Lepage, featuring what has come to be know as 'The Machine'.  To say that there have been mixed reviews is putting it politely. There's no way to adequately describe this contraption so you're going to need a visual.


That's the Ride of the Valkyries by the way.  No horses as you might have noticed.  That picture doesn't really do it justice though.  This is a fully articulated platform that serves as stage, occasionally as horse, but mostly it seems, as a surface for the many projections throughout the opera.  It looks clumsy and dangerous and I for one wouldn't like to be clambering around its many facets and I can only imagine the technical jiggery-pokery needed to ensure everything was alright on the night.  Anyway, let's just say it was effective in parts and didn't overly detract from the opera itself.  However I did get the feeling that so much attention had been paid to The Machine, that not enough was spent with the singers and the story they were trying to tell.  A little more time spent there would have reaped benefits.

Luckily a world class cast was assembled in most of the roles and if its top class singing you're after then look no further than Jonas Kaufmann and Eva-Marie Westbroek playing the incestuous twins Siegmund and Sieglinde, separated when young and now joyfully reunited here.  Even in Wagner (and some might say especially in Wagner) Kaufmann's singing is a joy and never descends into stereotypical Bayreuth Bark territory, strong, dark and luscious tone that even I could listen to, Wagner sceptic that I am.  Ms Westbroek matched him with some sublime singing and a touching characterisation of the downtrodden wife she has become when Siegmund finds her.  However, they were both hampered in Act 1 by The Machine taking up half the stage necessitating all the action taking place downstage.   No matter, I was hooked by the love story (yes I'm a romantic) and couldn't wait for the rest of the opera.

Act 2 brought the second reason why I ventured into the Ring Cycle.  Bryn Tefel, Welsh bass-baritone playing the King of the Gods, Wotan.  He has an enormous presence, both physical and vocal, but uses both aspects with taste and always with focused intent.  This is the first time I've encountered his Wotan and I was not disappointed.  In fact I was pleasantly surprised at the sheer emotion he managed to convey in his portrayal of this mighty god.  He might be a god, but he has the same problems as many human beings, a nagging wife, an errant daughter and a son who he loves but cannot now protect.

And so onto the Die Walkure herself, Brunhilde, here sung by the American soprano Deborah Voight making her debut in the part.  Since I have nothing to compare it to and not being a musician I can only say that I found her singing good without being outstanding - especially in comparison with her colleagues. She also acted the part adequately again without being outstanding.  Supporting roles were taken well with special mention going to the rest of the the Valkyries who sang and capered around the machine without betraying too much nervousness.  

All in all, and much to my surprise  I did actually enjoy the whole opera and didn't fast forward through anything.  In fact at one point I was reduced to tears when Siegmund dies in his father Wotan's arms.


Nicely played by both singers and gave me exactly what I was looking for - direct human emotion that I could understand.. I was equally impressed by the complexity of the father/daughter relationship between Wotan and Brunhilde.  A lot has been written about Verdi's various depictions of fathers and daughters but I really think Wagner hit the nail on the head here, and all the more touching for being totally unexpected.  By me at least.

So, am I a Wagner convert?  I wouldn't go that far.  But at least I think I've come to appreciate the music a little more.  And if Kaufmann and Terfel ever bring their Wagner partnership to the Garden - I'll be right in the queue for a ticket.  And I think that's definitely progress.

My next review will definitely be of a live performance - Nabucco at Royal Opera this weekend.