Past Production Reviews
8So geht Opern-Komödie heute, und auch musikalisch ist das sensationell. Vor allem zu vermerken ist das epochale Rollendebüt der jungen rumänischen Sopranistin Luiza Fatyol. Ihre Adina blüht nicht nur stimmlich (und darstellerisch), sie führt auch die Dimensionen dieses Charakters vor, die Entwicklung von der kapriziösen Intrigantin zur wahrhaft Liebenden.
The opera Madama Butterfly will boast a giant sun, 20 metres in diameter, rising out of Sydney Harbour, as well as a large moon for a night of passion.
Le chœur d’adultes et d’enfants de l’English National Opera se réunit, soudé, entraînant et solidaire sur scène. Le résultat vocal est joyeux et rassurant. Enfin, l’orchestre symphonique, dirigé par la cheffe italienne Valentina Peleggi, dynamise et propulse dans la musique de Bizet dès l'ouverture brillante, à travers ce sombre et cruel road-tripe espagnol.
Driving the drama is ENO Mackerras Fellow Valentina Peleggi. Her conducting is dynamic yet detailed; rarely if ever at ENO have the lines of the orchestral contribution been so finely honed, and the orchestra clearly loves her, on top form throughout. Chiselled rhythms, a full realisation of the colourful orchestration, a deep grasp of the ongoing dramatic thrust were all in evidence, as was a willingness to relax into the lyricism where appropriate (as in the José/Micaëla passages in the first act around what in French would have been ‘Parle-moi de ma mère’); and now the run has settled in, ensemble problems were minimal. The wonderfully reedy bassoon at the beginning of the second act particularly merits mention.
Von wegen Tod und Totschlag nur hinter der Szene, wie es die barocke Dramenpoetik forderte! Idoménée, König von Kreta, stürzt sich erhitzt durch die Rachegöttin Nemesis auf seinen Sohn Idamante und bringt ihn um. Aus seiner Raserei erwachend muss er weiterleben. „Mein ist der Tod!“ stellt die junge wie schöne Witwe Ilion richtig und geht langsam von dannen. So endet die grandiose Tragédie en musique von André Campra auf das Textbuch von Antoine Danchet. Sie erlebte bei den Barocktagen der Staatsoper unter den Linden Berlin einen Höhepunkt ihrer noch kurzen Wiederentdeckungsgeschichte. Nach einer CD unter William Christie mit Les Arts Florissants 1991, Aufführungen unter Marc Minkowski und im Schlosstheater Schönbrunn geriet die Berliner Koproduktion mit der Opéra de Lille zu einem Triumph. Die Aufführung widerlegte alle Vorurteile gegen die als langweilig und blutleer verschrienen französischen Musiktragödien des Barock.
The opera two of its best vocal performances, from Štefan Kocán, grave and urgent as the watchman who tries to dissuade Oedipus from his quest, and from Marie-Nicole Lemieux, who takes on the Sphinx’s ferociously difficult lines with aplomb, swooping up and down through the extremes of the range, and creates a real flesh-and-blood character out of the agent of fate. The title role makes extraordinary demands on the baritone, who is the centre of attention almost continually for two and a half hours. Johan Reuter gave a compelling rendering, with plenty of steel in the voice. At his best in the big emotional highs, he couldn’t keep up the highest standard for the whole time – I’m not sure I can think of a singer who could, which might explain why Oedipe isn’t performed more often – so some details were lost in the quieter moments. But this was a performance that reached deep into the heart of the drama and dug out enormous amounts of characterisation. There are no other lead roles. I could mention half a dozen others in an exceptionally strong supporting cast, but I’ll limit myself to one: the blind prophet Tiresias gets two interventions where his pronouncements alter the course of the whole drama. Sir John Tomlinson proved himself still capable of making a dramatic entrance and making us quail in our seats. My one cavil is that Peter van Praet’s lighting will have been too dark for anyone up in the amphitheatre, while blinding anyone in the stalls in the scene of Oedipus’ killing of his father, presented as a road rage incident. But my last word goes to conductor Leo Hussain, starting his Royal Opera career the hard way with a score of exceptional complexity, making it instantly accessible to first-time listeners and delivering colour and power throughout. Oedipe is opera at its most potent – visually, musically, vocally, dramatically. Go see it!
“Well, I think my Norma is something in between Maria Callas and Cecilia Bartoli.” Sonya Yoncheva, stepping into the title role at Covent Garden when Anna Netrebko decided Norma wasn't for her after all, was giving herself plenty of wriggle room when interviewed last month in The Sunday Times. Perhaps it was good she raised the spectre of Callas herself, because plenty of others would have been ready to do so. In the end, Yoncheva's Norma is a good deal closer to the legendary Greek soprano on the vocal spectrum than many would have wagered.Joseph Calleja's warm vibrato and liquid golden tone is a throwback to the age of Björling, Gigli and Tagliavini – a far cry from the clarion tenors often associated with the role of the Roman proconsul Pollione. He suffered a few intonation issues at the start, but quickly settled to deliver a performance which almost made Pollione sympathetic, despite being the love-rat in the nest.Act II opens on an unsettling domestic scene – Norma's children blithely playing with Scalextric and a Spacehopper while Watership Down is aired on the flatscreen television (Richard Adams' timid rabbit Fiver referencing the Druid's clairvoyant powers?). Ever the practical priestess, Norma lays down plastic sheeting to minimise the mess as she prepares to commit infanticide. Revealing that she has betrayed her vows, Norma condemns herself to the sacrificial pyre. Crucifixes begin to glow as a giant cross flickers animated flames to which Norma and Pollione seem destined, before a cruel twist at the end denies her that Brünnhilde-like immolation. Pay attention, or you'll miss it! A striking production and a terrifically enjoyable evening, especially for Yoncheva's superb assumption of the title role.
…y muy acertada la incorporación como Schaunard de un muy activo Josep-Ramon Olivé, uno de los mejores elementos de este segundo reparto junto a la Musetta de Katerina Tretyakova.
