Past Production Reviews
4“Die Szene in Philipps Schlafgemach mit seinem Monolog „Sie hat mich nie geliebt“ gerät im ausdrucksstarken Vortrag des Basses Timo Riihonen so intensiv, dass man an dieser Stelle meinen könnte, die Oper müsse eigentlich „Filippo“ heißen. Jedenfalls führt der Finne, der in seiner hünenhaften Gestalt die offizielle Seite des Regenten mit staatstragender Verkündungsstimme verkörpert, im Sinne Verdis einen interessanten Perspektivwechsel herbei. Der finstere Herrscher, der Elisabeth, die Geliebte seines Sohnes, aus Machtkalkül zur Frau genommen hat, handelt unter den Zwängen seines Amts leidend.” ”Aluda Todua wirkt als Post wie sein besonnener Gegenpart und bietet der großen Stimme von Riihonens Philipp doch kraftvoll Paroli” ”The scene in Philipp's bedchamber with his monologue "She never loved me" becomes so intense in the expressive performance of the bass Timo Riihonen that one could think at this point that the opera should actually be called "Filippo". In any case, the Finn, who in his gigantic figure embodies the official side of the regent with a state-carrying proclamation voice, brings about an interesting change of perspective in the sense of Verdi. The sinister ruler, who has taken Elisabeth, his son's lover, as his wife out of a calculus of power, acts suffering under the constraints of his office.” ”Aluda Todua acts as Posa like his level-headed counterpart and powerfully stands up to the big voice of Riihonen's Philipp.”
”Ohnehin ist die akustische Nachtseite in den tiefen Männerstimmen auch mit Seungwon Choi und Timo Riihonen als König Philipp II hervorragend aufgestellt. Die nächtliche Einsamkeit des Königs (”Ella giammai m’amo”) wird im 3. Akt zum Höhepunkt des Premierenabends.”
An elusive and dreamy Don Giovanni seen in Wiesbaden for the last premiere of this season at the Hessische Staatstheater. Nicolas Brieger brings the action from Seville to a non-place made of walls, environments and stairs that vaguely recall certain metaphysical landscapes in shapes and colors. In the almost dreamlike scenario built by Raimund Bauer, where lemon yellow predominates, the whole catalog of the drives that move the playful drama of the award-winning Mozart / Da Ponte company unfolds. Libido and desire, but also tenderness and dedication. Against this aseptic and rotating background, even the feelings of the protagonists are not embossed in the round and let us glimpse ambiguities and unexplored areas. Donna Anna would like and would not like. Zerlina, mischievous and well performed by Katharina Konradi, combines the freshness of youth with almost sadistic moments, as in the duet " For these your little hands ", a rarity almost never performed nowadays. The Wiesbaden show is in fact a "hybrid" between the version of Don Giovanni which premiered in Prague and its first Viennese performance. In the six months that elapsed between the two performances, Da Ponte and Mozart reworked the libretto and score. Three arias were added, two of which (" Dalla pace di lui " by Don Ottavio and " Mi betita quel alma ingrat " by Donna Elvira) have firmly entered the performance practice, while that duet is rarely heard. Andrea Schmidt-Futterer's beautiful baroque costumes, which at times refer to the fleeting duplicity of carnivals in the Lagoon, add other shades of indeterminacy. To be honest, sometimes the meaning of this Don Giovanni played between real and surreal escapes, which he also had of the objections to the first and that somehow trivializes the Promethean tension of the drama. Certainly you won't get bored, thanks also to some risqué ideas and some gags like the catalog of conquests tattooed on Leporello's skin. And in the finale, the German director opens a new perspective: Don Giovanni is not sucked into the bowels of the Earth but interned in a hospice. As if to say that the serial seducer not only fights against the overcoming of the banal human condition, but above all against the relentless passing of time. Losing the battle. A pity that the New York baritone Christopher Bolduc has to suffer this fate. Supported by a cover and manly physique interpretative energy, it returns well the passions of Don Giovanni with a warm and always confident voice. Ribald and captivating, the worthy appears Leporello brought to the stage by Shavleg Armasi. Solid voice, in the air of the Catalog he must proceed to a strip to show the astonished Elvira the names of the conquests that she bears stamped on her skin. Netta Or appropriates the painful role and dramatic colorature of Donna Anna and exhibits a broad and colorful voice. Heather Engebretson intensely plays the role of Donna Elvira, the most complex female character in the work; crystal clear voice and fiery acting recreate all the anger, but also the vulnerability, of her character. Don Ottavio by Ioan Hotea who, finished " From his peace " (moved by Brieger in the final, after the refusal by Donna Anna), a shot is fired. Daniel Carison was also very good for his voice and expressiveness, called at the last moment to impersonate Masetto. Powerful the Commander of Young Doo Park. The unhurried times imposed by Konrad Junghänel at the Hessisches Staatsorchester make all the charm of Mozart's score shine. At the end warm applause for all the protagonists of the evening.
