Falstaff at Glyndebourne

24/05/13

all photos (c) Tristram Kenton

This revival of Glyndebourne's 2009 production of Falstaff I found to be a mixed bag. The opera is updated to wartime Britain (or 1946 as we are informed in the director's note), everyone having a jolly old time, the horrors of the worst war in the history of mankind having left no mark whatsoever on the rambunctious inhabitants of Windsor (though they are now growing their own veg). The sets by Ultz (just Ultz...) posess a boxy artificiality - a self consciously set-like tudorbethan backdrop for the contrived antics. The direction by Richard Jones (revival direction Sarah Fahie) mirrors this artificiality, and the movement is very choreographed throughout. Sadly it doesn't at all avoid the obvious dangers of this approach and the character's motions very rarely seem to come out of palpable intention. It's worst for the women who don't seem to be able to do anything on their own, always moving as a pack (though of course Nannetta keeps breaking away for her love scenes). There are a few smirks to be had, but most of it felt so overly staged and lacking in spontaneity that titters rather than belly laughs laughter were the order of the day.

Still there's much to enjoy, not least Laurent Naouri's rather personal take on Falstaff which included certain stylistic things that are unusual for Verdi singing. The extremity of the dynamic contrasts within the phrase and the concern for text over the long line worked for me here, as did his energetic and quite charming stage manner. Unfortunately the one serious moment of reflection in the opera, the beginning of Act II, where Falstaff laments the state of society and realises that he is ageing, is played completely for laughs - he strips off, revealing his flabby (but disappointingly normally proportioned) body to huge laughs from the audience (there would definitely have been several members at least as amply proportioned though) and so the one place where the wartime theme might have enriched the poignancy of a scene, passes as for nothing. I have to say also that the trick playing was strangely joyless and Alice comes off rather badly as a cruel rouser of large scale bullying: we are mainly party to the infliction of humiliation and fear on an individual for the entertainment of the crowd. Part of the problem might be that the upper class Falstaff has lost most of his status and power by the 1940's and so the punishment for his his self delusion and desperate but not altogether very threatening lechery seems completely at odds with the crime - I mainly felt sorry for him and the end left a bitter taste.

After hearing many good things about her from various sources, Ailyn Pérez disappointed as Alice Ford. She is an extremely beautiful woman with a very smiley demeanour, but the voice has very little presence in the theatre and failed to create the character in sound. The top, while covered, is her best range and at least projects. But Alice sits quite low as soprano roles go, and Pérez's middle voice and chest voice severely lack colour, bloom and volume. There's no trill and the small amount of flexibility that this role calls for seemed hard fought for. I was greatly looking forward to her ROH Manon next season, but now I'm quite wary: despite the fact that it's seen as a coloratura role, it requires tremendous support in the lower registers, and sits there for long periods of time. Curious, as there's a lot of buzz around her at the moment, so perhaps she was having an off night?

Susanne Resmark is a very decent Mistress Quickly, nicely acted and vocally assured, though just short of ideal. There's something awe inspiring about the true contralto voice that creates a special excitement and there are certain contralto roles that when sung well augment the appeal of an opera immeasurably - Mistress Quickly, Erda, Gaia, Ulrica all fall into this camp. Resmark has some of the elements and certainly has a very nice voice, but the very lowest notes lack body - this is a talented dramatic mezzo managing an alto role.

The young lovers both impressed, with Antonio Poli an appealing Fenton, but it was Elena Tsallagova's Nannetta that was the vocal highlight for me - this is a role sung near the beginning of many a light lyric's career, and Tsallagova nailed it on all accounts - those endless piano high notes were totally bewitching, and the timbre and colour of the voice is simply ideal. More please.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment are a mixed blessing in the pit. In what is by far Verdi's most refined and beguilingly subtle score, the attention to detail and colour that these superb musicians bring should be fully welcome, but strangely it feels undernourished in the score's quieter portions, while the grander moments of the score blaze with delightful colour. In the best bits, Mark Elder imbues it all with a soft hued beauty - it's the more baroque elements, the bustling detail, that ironically elude the orchestra, mostly played with a lot of attack but not enough body in the sound.

DVD Review: Les Boréades 2003 Opus Arte

Alphise: Barbara Bonney
Abaris: Paul Agnew
Calisis: Toby Spence
Borilée: Stéphane Degout
Borée: Laurent Naouri
Adamas, Apollon: Nicolas Rivenq
Sémire: Anna-Maria Panzarella
Une nymphe: Jael Azzaretti

Opéra National de Paris
Les Arts Florissents

Conductor: William Christie
Choreography: Édouard Lock (feat. La La La Human Steps)
Director: Robert Carsen
Sets and Costume Design: Michael Levine


Written when the composer was 80, Les Boréades is Rameau's final opera. Even at this age Rameau was exploring, and though it's not the most compelling of his operas, there is still much to admire. The exceptionally inventive, unusual and beautiful ballet music in Acts 3, 4 and 5 form the core of the work's musical appeal, but there are lovely moments for the solo voices and choir too, one particular highlight being the final brief duet for the lovers.

This opera does not have the richest libretto, and Robert Carsen has done a very admirable job in fleshing it out, creating a coherent and simple concept that binds the piece together, is visually strong, and is entirely respectful to the piece - absolutely no ironic quotations marks here. Carsen depicts a dour northern civilisation which the queen Alphise is from, and from which also come the two sons of Borée (Les Boréades), one of whom she is meant to choose as a suitor. They are affected, artificial, controlled and authoritarian. But her true love Abaris comes from a much warmer culture which is subjugated by the colder, officious civilisation. Overprinted on this is the play of seasons, and the very large dance element of this opera. It seems to be quite rare that dance sequences are well served in operas, at least in the UK, so it's a pleasure to see such accomplished dancers and interesting choreography. In fact, a large part of the character of the northern civilisation is communicated through the skittish, efficient, and alarmingly fast dances that this culture favours.

Barbara Bonney is the premier youthful lyric soprano of her generation, but has made a career primarily out of the German repertoire and she does not seem entirely in her element here. It's not just the language though - the role of Alphise requires dramatic declamation and weighty, angular coloratura which seem to really challenge her (disconcerting for us admirers that are used to everything seeming effortless for this singer). That said, she still does well as she is a superb actress and a captivating stage presence, and the basic timbre of the voice itself is quite lovely of course. Dramatically she's the complete opposite of Paul Agnew who plays her lover Abaris with superb delicacy and beauty of voice - with Agnew the acting and drama is all internal, and he seems surprised when he finds himself interacting with other people. Bonney is radiantly outward focused, reacting to and truly interacting with everyone and everything, especially touching and real in the final act when it is revealed that she is allowed to marry her lover.

The rest of the cast is good. Laurent Naouri is a bit hyperactive and small voiced to be really scary as Borée though he sings idiomatically and well. Toby Spence makes a horribly affected prince and a nicely sung one too. Stéphane Degout as his brother Borilée is a less accomplished singer and doesn't register so clearly as a character. Nicolas Rivenq makes a good Apollon and Adamas.

One can only be thankful for living in an age where William Christie conducts Rameau with Les Arts Florissents. All I can say is that this is music making of the first order* - exciting, characterful, sensitive, intelligent, beautiful. Truly beyond praise.

One really irritating aspect of this DVD is the terrible English subtitles - all theeing and thouing, often with very awkward word order. This makes them difficult to follow and while watching I spent far too much time trying to translate them into real English.

This video shows some of my favourite dance music in the opera - the first piece is the gorgeous Entree from Act IV, and then that charming and wonderful Gavotte for flute and bassoon, and then the final number with its rhythmic dislocations. You see also quite how brilliant the playing is in this production.

*At the moment we are actually lucky enough to have another Rameau conductor of the very highest level: Marc Minkowski