Tales of a Culture Hedonist

Fluid movements by Rambert Dance Company at Sadler's Wells

The triple bill opened with Tread Softly set to Gustav Mahler's arrangement of Schubert's String Quartet in D minor. The choreography was wonderfully fluid yet structured. The movements also had a acrobatic quality to it that was breathtaking. Sadly the final 3 minutes was interrupted by a power cut which the company had to re-start at a climatic point.

The second item was the much loved Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns). Rather than recreating the "animals", the dancers expressed animal movements in a fun and human way. The cuckoo was particularly cute. The penultimate number, The Swan, was done with much elegance and grace yet without pretending to be a swan. The kids must have loved it in the afternoon matinee.

Julian Anderson wrote the music for the last item in the programme - titled The Comedy of Change. The work opened with silence as the larvae were hatching (the dancers were encased in cocoons), followed by a primordial sound world. The whole dance was a lot of fun to watch - lots of randomness. All in all a fun (hence the title) work to experience.

A promising Isolde at the Royal Opera

It must be the first time that I had to miss the first act of an opera. A long meeting meant I couldn't make it to the first act of this new production of Tristan und Isolde at the Royal Opera last night. 

The second act got off to a promising start: Nina Stemme proved to be a promising Isolde with stage presence and a voice to match. Unfortunately she sang opposite a somewhat erratic Ben Heppner. While the love duet was well matched, Heppner became increasingly wayward with his chromatic passages in the lower register - there were, to my ears at least, some excruciating moments. Luckily, Pappano and the Royal Opera House Orchestra kept it all going with intensity and line - thus alleviating the pain of poor tonal quality from Heppner.

As a late replacement, John Tomlinson gave a strong performance of King Marke. The Liebestod at the end was memorable as Stemme rose to the challenge and her voice came soaring above the think orchestration.

As it was the first night, the audience was decisive in its verdict: Stemme, Tomlinson and Pappano received rapturous applause;  the clapping dampened and quite a few in the audience booed when the Christof Loy (director) and Johannes Leiacker (designs) appeared on stage; the applause resumed for the orchestra. Why? The stage was bland with chipboards painted in a non-descript grey. The entire cast wore either dinner suits / evening dress or black shirts. It felt more like a concert performance than a staged opera. Let's hope most of the budget went to the singers and musicians.

An ethereal Tristan und Isolde at Glyndebourne

It is not easy to stage Tristan und Isolde: if it's too realistic, the story becomes unbelievable, if it's too conceptual, the story gets lost. So what to do?

Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s production and Roland Aeschlimann's set design (of 2003 revived this year) seem to have pulled it off. There was enough shapes on the set where one can project ones imagination (inside the ship's cabin, the Cornish coast, Tristan's home, etc.) The lighting (hues of blue and grey) gave it a somewhat ethereal feel. The costumes were medivial with a twist. All in all, it kind of worked.

Of course, the most important thing was the music. It's Vladimir Jurowski's first time conducting a full length Wagner opera. One dreads to think how many rehearsals the LPO must have had. The result came across as  poised and controlled, punctuated by contrasting orchestral colours. The orchestral passages can sometimes come across as symphonic, but that goes away when the singing takes over. Anja Kampe was a fantastic and penetrative Isolde, with a big voice to fill the auditorium: one could hear shades of Brünhilde. Tristan was sung by Torsten Kerl who frankly didn't match that of Kampe - his voice was focused but lacked "meat" and was often lost in thick passages.  Libestod was sensational at the end - Kampe vocal line rose above the orchestra as she glowed magically and other-worldly.

A memorable Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera

The Barber were to be the last work I saw at the Royal Opera this season - and it was a memorable one for all the right reasons. Joyce DiDonato, who sang the role of Rosina, broke her leg earlier in the run but carried on with the rest of the performances by singing from a wheel chair. Well, one doesn't see a wheel chair on stage often, but for a lead character to sing, act and dance in a wheel chair was simply phenomenal. She didn't lose any of her vocal agility nor acting prowess - and managed to deliver a first rate performance on the night.

Of course, DiDonato was paired with Juan Diego Flórez who delivered one vocal pyrotechnic after another with bounteous youthfulness. Figaro was played by Pietro Spagnoli who gave the role flair and humour. Ferruccio Furlanetto as Dottore Bartolo was a joy to watch. With Antonio Pappano at the helm of the orchestra, sounderous sound came from the pit. All in all, this production brought a memorable finale to this season at the Royal Opera.

A hot-blooded Tosca at the Royal Opera

I went to tonight's performance of Tosca at the Royal Opera with trepidation. First we were told (a few weeks ago) Deborah Voigt pulled out due to illness and Angela Gheorghiu replaced her. Then Marcello Giordani got ill and was replaced by Massimo Giordano a few days ago. So, will Bryn Terfel put in an appearance tonight?   Thank goodness there were no more cast changes. The orchestra played the opening chords with unusual umph. Massimo Giordano was a gallant Cavaradossi. Bryn Terfel was his usual fantastic self where a lot of care went into his portrayal of Scarpia - less on the voice and more on the drama. The real transformation was Angela Gheorghiu. When I saw her in the premiere of this production (design Paul Brown, director Jonathan Kent) a few years ago I thought her Tosca as an attention seeking school-girl which looked ridiculous across from the very deep and grown up Scarpia (Bryn Terfel). In tonight's performance she was full of fire with a greater breadth of emotions and tone, where a few of her top notes rang throughout the auditorium. My guess is the revival director Stephen Barlow made the school girl grow up. So tonight's Tosca turned out to be exceptional.

Rusalka coming to life at Glyndebourne

Operatic fairytales are not easy to stage - they will have to retain that magical quality while meeting the expectations of the grownup audience. The opening act of Rusalka at Glynedebourne met both of those - the lighting had that ethereal quality, the nymphs frolicked, and the first big aria of Rusalka (sung by the fantastic Ana María Martínez) was sensational. Her voice had a pure yet urgent quality - perfectly suited to the role, which was well matched by Brandon Jovanovich who sang the Prince. Mischa Schelomianski as Vodnik was in an inflated body suit that was both comical and scary!

Rae Smith's design for this production took on a dark turquise / blue tone for the opening act, the castle scene in the second act was decorated by singers in stylised yet glamorous 30's costumes. Rick Nodine, who directed the movements, brought about the suspended nymphs, rolling Vadnik and free-spirited doe.
Needless to say, the LPO played Dvorák's rich score wonderfully to the direction of Jirí Belohlávek.

A very imaginative L'Amour de loin at the English National Opera

It was my first time encountering the music of Kaija Saariaho last night at the English National Opera's new production of L'Amour de loin. I went with a very open mind - this being a contemporary opera. I was pleasantly surprised by the production. The cast was strong - Roderick Williams as Jaufré Rudel,  Joan Rodgers as Clémence and Faith Sherman as the Pilgrim - delivered seemingly impossible vocal lines. The music was a sound world that was rich in texture, though some of the emotions escaped my attentive ears. With xylophones and glockenspiel galore in the pit, Edward Gardner kept a tight reign at the helm of a much enlarged orchestra.

Credit must go to Daniele Finzi Pasca for the circus / acrobatic "theatrical landscape" that made the whole production stunning. The lighting, the mime theatre, the dancers and acrobats all added a lot of magic and colours to a work that only had three soloists. The final scene with Jaufré and his alter egos suspended in mid air whilst the chorus held up mirros to reflect narrow light beams across the auditorium was a fitting end to a dreamy and imaginative evening.

A fine Un Ballo in Maschera at the Royal Opera

It seems the mundane but essential announcement of "Please switch your mobile phones off" has been replaced by the "Tonight's XXX role will be sung by YYY" kind with alarming frequency at the Royal Opera lately (Deborah Voight to be replaced by Angela Gheorghiu in Tosca). Sometimes we are in for a surprise: other times a nasty one. Robert Aronica who replaced Ramón Vargas as Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera was not half bad.

This is a full-blooded opera with lots of powerful duets. Roberto Aronica's strength was well matched by Angela Marambio (as Amelia): though a bit more tenderness would not go amiss. Dalibor Jenis also gave a find performance of Renato. The chorus sang magnificently throughout.  Those who have not seen this production (designed by Sergio Tramonti) were awed by the ball scene in the last act (well, they clapped!) This was a fine Verdi night out.

Renée Fleming was fabulous in La Traviata at the Royal Opera

When I first saw this production of La Traviata, it was Angela Gheorghiu as Violetta and Sir Georg Solti in the pit. There had been a few more notable performances since, but none so more than the current run with Renée Fleming as Violetta. Last night she was absolutely sensational - the amazing thing was that she was able to portray such a complex character - from the frivolous and introspective in Act I, to vulnerable and stoic in Act II, through to the hopeless dying Violetta in Act III. That it was all very believable on stage.

Joseph Calleja and Thomas Hampson as Alfredo and Giorgio recpectively added fizz to the drama. Pappano was milking every moment of this Verdi score - without wallowing or sentimentality. This La Traviata will stick in my mind for years to come.

A powerful experience of Lulu at the Royal Opera

I have never seen Alban Berg's Lulu until tonight. It turned out to be very engaging. The storyline is thoroughly modern. The music / sound world is typical of that Viennese period (some of it reminiscent of very late Mahler and Strauss - though who am I to say). But the whole experience was very powerful indeed.

Agneta Eichenholz as Lulu was the true star of the evening, singing this very demanding part. Jennifer Larmore (the countess) and Klaus Florian Vogt (Alwa) were both superb at supporting the title role. Gwynne Howell's Schigolch was equally convincing. The orchestra of the Royal Opera played sonorously tonight - no doubt rising to the challenge of this thick and complex score. As one would expect, Pappano kept everything going throughout.