Profile reviews
1Frédéric Antoun overlaadt ons daarentegen met tenorale finesse. De Canadees belichaamt de jonge held Pylade zowel scenisch als vocaal volledig geloofwaardig.
Past Production Reviews
8Every opera lover knows "Carmen", but Georges Bizet's "Pearl Fishermen" are only rarely performed. The Graz Opera presents the early work in an antiquated production, the driving force of the evening is the soprano Tetiana Miyus. If you still own a video recorder and stumble across a couple of old, dusty VHS cassettes with opera recordings in the basement: What you would see on them would be amazingly similar to what the Graz Opera House is now doing with Georges Bizet's "Die Perlenfischer " indicates. Director Ben Baur and the Graz ballet director Beate Vollack bring very old-fashioned music theater to the stage, unfortunately without retro charm and almost parodically. The unbelievable events in Bizet's pseudo-Ceylon take place between fake blood, theater rocks and long-haired wigs. Baur, who had already shown two rather weak works in Graz, remained true to his method of "greasing up" the clothes box, especially towards the end, with a few visual stimuli (here a skeleton, a man on fire and the like), which did not give the impression of being unoriginal weakened, only strengthened. The appearance of Leïla in the first act indicates how attractive such an opera museum could be. Apart from such positive details, this time you have to be content with a rather banal love triangle against the background of a repressive, archaic system (strong as the high priest Nourabad: Daeho Kim). As regrettable as it is not to assign a director to a dramaturgically unsuccessful piece like “The Pearl Fishers” that authenticates the plot, the music of “Les pêcheurs des perles”, which premiered in Paris in 1863, is as astounding. Bizet's imagination did not allow itself to be domesticated by the weak libretto; it is a melodic, impressive work full of poetry, which already testifies to the talents of the great music dramatist. This poetry can be heard above all through Tetiana Miyus as Leïla, who lends lyrical brilliance and suppleness to this evening: she is not one of the coloratura automatons that one has often heard in this role, she sings with imagination, inwardness and rounded coloratura. She is not guilty of the dramatic outbursts in the third act either, in fact she creates them in a downright brilliant way. Miyus moved in her own league that evening. Her two partners in this opera, which is actually designed like a chamber play, are by no means bad: tenor Andrzej Lampert brings a radiant forte with him, but also gives the nadir a tormented, intense expression, whereby some ugly notes in the top register are certainly not intended to be creative. Baritone Dariusz Perczak is somewhat monochromatic, but very cultivated as a “forgiving” and “forgiving” Zurga in the end. In Bizet's work, the fourth main role is not taken on by the aforementioned bass Nourabad, but by the chorus, which boasts massive breadth here (rehearsal: Bernhard Schneider). Conductor Marcus Merkel creates the right mood for this work with its ominous exoticism, he lets the melodies flourish, but keeps the action in the pulse and demonstrates that this music, a sound blend of early Wagner, Grand Opéra and Offenbach, is not sentimental. Those who concentrate on the music will experience an impressive evening, those who look too much at the stage will probably think of the old VHS tapes at home.
If it's not broke, don't fix it!" Most clichés gain their status through being true, but that one is honoured in the breach as often as in its application, the desire to sell something new (even if it isn't really) as addictive to the vendor as it is to the buyer. Not always though. "25 years of Richard Eyre's La Traviata" is emblazoned (in gold, no less) on the cast list and the programme compiles a Who's Who of opera stars who have sung the roles in that quarter century - it was staged here as recently as January after all! So you've every right to expect something good, something slick, something that can fill hundreds of seats on wet Tuesday night a week before Christmas. And that's what you get.
Apart from Oropesa’s Violetta, the superb tenor Liparit Avetisyan gives a convincing performance as the passionate Alfredo, a role that is rarely achieved in operatic productions. The German baritone Christian Gerhaher in the role of Giorgio Germont, the man responsible for the break-up, also offers an impressive performance. The entire leading cast as well as the rest of the cast secured the narrative’s realism that is so brilliantly embedded in its musical fabric, which translates on stage in a manner that even those not musically trained, gain a satisfying musical and dramatic experience. The stamp of the director of this revival, Pedro Ruibeiro, is much in evidence. The dramatic performance, highlighting the conflict between father-son, the shift in Germont’s attitude towards Violetta, the ‘saintly courtesan’, is made clear in their first encounter in Act II. His hard tone and demeanour towards this fallen reveal early signs of softening and gestures of respect. The social norms layered with hypocrisy are superbly probed musically and dramatically in that first encounter between the two. The dramatic tension is given momentary relief by the colourful and beautifully performed gypsy’s singing dancing and the matadors. They lighten up the atmosphere before the mood darkens.The evening, in its entirety, can be summed up as memorable
The Exterminating Angel is an international co-production, and Tom Cairns's staging scored a hit at last summer's Salzburg Festival. It arrives at the Royal Opera House garnered with critical plaudits and was greeted by the Covent Garden audience with wild approval, so I feel duty-bound to join in. Almost. The composer's orchestrations are undeniably bold and scintillating, and he has the knack of tempering musical challenge with approachability.Christine Rice as the pianist sings with exemplary clarity and expression, whereas Amanda Echalaz as the hostess makes one grateful there are surtitles.There's some above-the-stave virtuosity from Audrey Luna as a high-flying, high-lying opera singer. In places she sounds uncannily like the Ondes Martenot , the electronic instrument of warbling soundwaves that Cynthia Millar plays from one of the side boxe.What exactly is the Exterminating Angel? Adès describes it as an 'absence', although it makes more sense to see it as the thief of free will. We, like the sheep who safely graze as the audience enters, go astray and follow each other blindly towards annihilation. As a parable for our time, that's chilling.
Vratogna is in total command, vocally and dramatically, ever alert to the sinuous subtleties of Verdi’s most flexible score, dark and menacing, and ruthless in his racist determination to destroy his man. He knows instinctively that all devious schemers can present a plausible face to the world while sowing seeds of doubt in malleable minds. Vratogna took over the role just three weeks ago (just as he stepped in as Scarpia three years ago) and it was he, not Kaufmann, who drew and deserved the greatest ovation on opening night.That storm scene introduces another character to the piece in this new production: the set itself. Designer Boris Kudlička has built a clever, shape-shifting tunnel that fragments and slides, lit starkly by Bruno Poet to emphasise Otello’s descent into jealous madness, or bathed in soft, golden hues when hidden rooms and courtyards are revealed behind attractive Moorish tracery. The set both brilliantly frames and comments on the drama, and is suitably ambiguous for a production that consciously moves away from the realism of Moshinsky’s Renaissance world towards an expressionism that more closely reflects Verdi’s most daringly fluid score.The Italian soprano Maria Agresta makes an implacable Desdemona, devastated yet dignified in the face of Otello’s false accusations of adultery and singing with a tender yet creamy intensity, never more so than in Piangea cantando nell’erma landa and her heartfelt Ave Maria, moments before her demise. The Canadian tenor Frédéric Antoun is a lithely elegant Cassio, and among the smaller roles, Estonian mezzo Kai Rüütel as Emilia and Korean bass In Sung Sim really make their mark.
You couldn’t ask for a more cultured pair of voices than our master and servant pairing of Erwin Schrott and Gerald Finley: both have burnished, smooth bass-baritone voices and effortless Mozartian phrasing which meant that, in purely musical terms, listening to them was a delight. However, Schrott’s comic timing seemed off in recitative – the little delays while he tries to remember the name of the woman he’s talking to held for slightly too long, an occasional hesitancy rather than confident gusto. In terms of comedy, Finley’s Leporello is something of a work in progress: in his role debut, the alternation of cringing and deviousness didn’t come across as natural. But these are two great singers and the chemistry between them improved through the course of this performance. Let’s hope that it keeps doing so during the run.In contrast, Adela Zaharia’s Donna Anna and Frédéric Antoun’s Don Ottavio looked completely comfortable in their roles from the moment they arrived on stage. Zaharia was the pick of the singers, with ardent delivery, clear intelligibility and a voice that made you sit up and listen. Antoun’s tenor has a slightly covered timbre but he injected plenty of emotion and played a full part in moving the action along. Nicole Chevalier (like Zaharia, a frequent star at Komische Oper Berlin) sang Donna Elvira with masses of character and total confidence throughout her range. I could have hoped for sharper comedy and some more chemistry between characters. But this is an intelligent staging, vocal performances were excellent throughout and the orchestral playing that kept us completely engaged from start to finish. Even with a half-full Covent Garden, it was good to be back.
The stage is dominated by a disorientating set of doors and panels, populated by ghostly figures, and against which are projected the names of Giovanni’s past conquests, giving an immediate sense of the appalling scale of his activities. Schrott, the only repeat singer from the previous 2019 revival, exudes the dark tone and devilish arrogance that he brought to Covent Garden as Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, yet even he can disappear, wraith-like into this disturbing, hallucinatory and slightly tawdry background. While the Don’s fortunes prosper, we see the steady disintegration of his servant Leporello, brilliantly acted, wonderfully sung by Gerald Finley, coming across like a sad clown who just cannot go on any more. All the principals are high-class, with Zaharia outstanding for impressive strength throughout her range. Her top notes, sung piano in rejecting Don Ottavio’s suit, are exquisite. Markova has an incisive but ingratiating tone, and is a splendid actress, complemented by the fine bass Michael Mofidian as Masetto. Chevalier, after a less impressive start, is in commanding form later, especially in her act 2 scena and aria Mi tradi and the sweet-voiced Frederic Antoun invests the spurned Don Ottavio with a dignity not always found in the role. The orchestra brings out the colours appropriate to the action, but conductor Constantin Trinks occasionally allows its enthusiasm to get the better of the ideal balance with the singers.
Frédéric Antoun overlaadt ons daarentegen met tenorale finesse. De Canadees belichaamt de jonge held Pylade zowel scenisch als vocaal volledig geloofwaardig.
