Il Re Pastore at Salzburg Festival (with Rolando Villazon)

I reviewed it for Bachtrack. Here's a preview:

This opera requires three exceptionally agile sopranos, and two tenors with coloratura facility, so finding a cast with sufficiently contrasted voices is always going to be a challenge. Rolando Villazón is clearly still finding his footing after returning from a rest following a vocal crisis. The lower half of the voice is as firm and exciting as it ever was, fruity and vibrant and with an emotional surge that gives him a magnetic presence.

Read the whole thing here: http://www.bachtrack.com/review-salzburg-festival-2012-il-re-pastore

Singers are funny creatures, and it's never entirely possible to separate physical problems with mental blocks: because the brain controls the voice (even if unconsciously), a lack of confidence in being able to land a note adversely affects the ability to actually do so. It's a very, very tricky business for a singer to get back on track after suffering a vocal setback, because everything that they are is involved.

In the past, I have not been that keen on Villazón, who I thought was always pushing the voice too much, singing every phrase with a sobbing espressionismo that was often just innapropriate. But here, I saw for the first time what makes him so popular. Apart from the quality of the voice, which comes across better live than on recordings, he's just a very generous artist who clearly loves to give a lot of himself, and he has an energy and presence that is quite captivating. He was very sweet at the end too - kissing the score, and leading the whoops and bravos for his fellow singers. In his present condition he really cannot return to his old repertoire, but Handel, and Mozart should still be within limits, and as I say in the review, I was surprised at how well he did stylistically with the Mozart. Would he make an interesting Pelleas? And what about Rameau?

Astonishingly, DG have recently announced a project to record, in the studio, the last six Mozart operas, and Villazon is to sing the tenor parts in all of them. It doesn't make sense on any level, but apparently it's happening.

Salzburg's fetishization of Mozart is not just ubiquitous, but entirely nauseating too - blatant commercialising and profiteering off their most famous son, and usually to sell kitsch, tat, schlock and chocolate gonads. Everything about him is ironed out and made bland to reflect the Muzak status that he has in the mind of the general public (combined for many people paradoxically but entirely unironically with the idea that there is a "Mozart effect" that can be measured on the brain); the portraits that adorn every shop front all beautify him by making him look more handsome, more normal, than the real portraits that survive, removing his bulging eyes and lumpy nose and smirking mouth. This cosmetic cleaning up is of course also is mirrored in the cleaning up of Mozart as artist and human being. Nothing could be further from the real Mozart than all this guff - Mozart we know was not a man bound by conventions, possessing a sick sense of humour, and most importantly this is indicated in the music: endlessly inventive, radical, profound, and profoundly moving, whilst also admittedly never being anything less than elegant, beguiling and witty, and never a bar that is hard on the ear. Maybe this last point is the problem, the reason that that is exploited in this way. That he can touch the loftiest heights, and crack the most ridiculous gag in a single breath or even simultaneously almost goes without saying - both forms of expression came so naturally to him, that it is sometimes hard to decide which is which. These things are so far removed from the "Mozart brand" that the two seem (and in the end are) entirely unrelated. The most beautiful, and most grotesque of cultural phenomena posing as the same thing.

Rant over. Ahem.


There were a (perhaps not so) shocking amount of empty seats - maybe only 80% sold or so? My ticket was right up in the top balcony so I really couldn't hear very clearly in the first act, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to write anything in the review,  but I slipped down into the stalls for Act II which I saw that many other people had done too. It's entirely true that Salzburg is targeted at the very very wealthy, but this semi staged of an unknown early Mozart was too expensive even for this audience to swallow. So much for the Mozart fetish.

Rosenkavalier with Renée Fleming in Munich

28/07/2012

Nice to see one of the classic Rosenkavalier productions in the flesh, and I have to say that this is probably the best "traditional" Rosenkavalier that I have seen. No prizes for guessing which kitsch fest productions I'm referring to in the review (linked to below) when I say that it's better than them. I personally am not the biggest fan of traditional with regards to Strauss - though his music is very evocative of action, tension and drama, I just don't think it is ever truly evocative of the era that he is setting it in. For me, Rosenkavalier, Elektra, Arabella and Capriccio all suffer in some way or another if presented in entirely "traditional" stagings with no degree of abstraction. I'd like to write about this at greater length at some point, so will leave it there for the time being.

The real point of this Rosenkavalier was surely as an outing for Fleming's Marschallin. She was MUCH better here vocally than in her recent London/LSO concert - more comfortable and giving more sound. Acting wise, this was not as moving as the wonderful Baden Baden DVD, where she seems quite on the edge and gives one of the most brilliant performances of her career, but this Munich performance was also not as terribly self conscious and indulgent as the last Met outing. She responds best to very detailed direction I think, but she knows this role so well that she has many ideas of her own that she can bring - as I mention in the review, some of them were just so brilliantly done, that I really felt quite misty eyed at the end of Act I.

This production/performance was the first time that Act II and III didn't drag for me, and actually it was Act I that one felt the lull - Ochs long section between the bed scene and the entry of all the other characters - just too much stillness and posey mooning around from all of them.

I was talking to Zerbinetta about Strauss, and about what my favourite stagings were... I found it hard to give an answer - I very much like the Carsen Capriccio, and the Baden Baden (originally Paris) Rosenkavalier mentioned above, and feel the old trick of updating a piece to the time the composer wrote it is particularly apposite for Strauss as he seems to be so much a man of the zeitgeist intellectually and artistically. I do very often think Strauss operas need rescuing from certain aspects of tradition and they are extremely hard to do well because they are so dense and so complex. This shouldn't be a bad thing though! Zerbinetta said that she thought Strauss was in some ways unstagable - the music is so choreographed, so detailed, so rich, that you couldn't hope to represent it all on stage, and I think that is very interesting and probably true. Textually too, Hofmannsthal's librettos are hopelessly, wonderfully dense and complex, which is both a blessing and curse. This is another reason I prefer some level of abstraction in Strauss - it allows us to hear the music more clearly and actually focus on the glittering orchestral canvas, rather than getting lost in the fuss and trinketry that so often clouds the visual field in traditional Strauss stagings... oops, said I'd talk about this later. Anyway.


I reviewed it for Bachtrack: http://www.bachtrack.com/review-bayerische-staatsoper-rosenkavalier-schenk-fleming

Here's a taste:

Renée Fleming is probably the most sought-after Marschallin of her generation and this is a role that still fits her like a glove, both vocally and temperamentally. She is now 53, and though there is no question that she can still sing every note of this part, the peerless control and breathtaking radiance of the sound that that earned her the nickname "The Beautiful Voice" is sadly now much diminished.
...Acting-wise, this was not the most poised or regal Marschallin that I have seen from Fleming, but there were certain details in the characterisation that rang heartbreakingly true...

La Traviata at the Bayerische Staatsoper (Munchner Operfestspiele)

Anja Harteros was meant to be singing Violetta in this production but cancelled at the last minute and relative unknown Maria Agresta, who had sung the role here earlier this season. No announcement was made at the beginning of the performance, and I only found out through twitter. Strange. Quite annoying too, as she was the main point for seeing this, but Keenleyside made up for this. I met up with the always charming Zerbinetta beforehand who reminded me that Keenleyside had just been singing Wozzeck with Waltraud Meier, and that I had missed this. Damn!

I couldn't believe the average age of the audience - maybe mid forties with plenty much younger, rather than late fifties, early sixties as is the norm in London. The next day I went to see Rosenkavalier (review pending), where the audience was much older. Is this a repertoire thing? Or do older people like Fleming and younger people like Harteros? Probably the repertoire thing... (ALSO! the younger audience were MUCH better behaved)

Anyway, I reviewed it for Bachtrack: http://www.bachtrack.com/review-bayerische-staatsoper-traviata-agresta-vargas-keenlyside

Falstaff at Opera Holland Park

24/07/2012

Falstaff is the subtlest and most refined of all Verdi's operas, dazzling us with its fast paced dialogue and action, softly animated, quicksilver music and delicately observed character interactions, which lie beside the broadest imaginable comedy. Verdi's lightness of touch and total mastery of dramatic momentum make it a joy to watch and contemplate, even though it might initially seem slightly lymphatic compared to the altogether more robust tragic dramas of his middle period.

Director Annilese Miskimmon has chosen to update the action to around WW1 time in small town England, with Falstaff as a war veteran with shell shocked survivors being tended to by nurses and priests in the opening scene. Ford is the town's imperious vicar, and also the instructor of his young curate Dr. Caius. The town is depicted by small buildings that rotate to display their twee post war interiors, which sometimes perform their job very well, but just almost as often look cluttered and unfinished on the stage. Still, Miskimmon captures much of the fun of the piece, and seems to understand its pacey comedy and particular charm. There are mishaps though, two of which are quite serious - first, the climax of the first half, where Falstaff is tipped out the window, which is here very awkwardly achieved, and also in the mystical forest scene which just looks like a piece of ropey am-dram. Maybe the latter was intentional, but the music suggests that the townspeople achieve more than just a school play in their farce.

Olafur Sigurdarson was impressively athletic as Falstaff, dashing about the stage and even performing a cartwheel at one point. I liked that this production revealed his irrepressible vigour and boundless energy - there seemed to be absolutely no question at all that he would be able to pull an entire crowd of people in a tug of war, nor that he would ultimately have the last laugh. Sigurdarson can really sing the part too and is as good as can be expected for an opera company of this size. His foil, Ford, was sung by George von Bergen with impressive power and force, and mostly his straighter delivery worked very well.

Linda Richardson was a rather less glamorous Alice Ford than we are used to seeing and hearing, and instead of the character's usual elegance and wit, she was portrayed as an awkward, good humoured, slightly scrappy and fussy housewife who always wins out due to her resourcefulness and practical intelligence. Vocally, she wasn't really adequate, and though the voice somewhat fitted the characterisation, Verdi's actual notes often suffered in a blur of wide vibrato, inelegant coloratura and shrieked high notes. She's the most vocally subdued of all Verdi's heroines, but no Verdi is easy to sing well and I wasn't really convinced here. Carolyn Dobbin as Meg and Carole Wilson as Mistress Quickly were both excellent and far more stylishly sung though Rhona McKail's Nanetta was rather unsteady and lacked the requisite sweetness of timbre and effortlessly floated high notes that this role needs. Benjamin Hulett's Fenton seemed promising though his dynamics control was limited, with impressively loud climaxes arriving from nowhere.

The pit orchestra seemed better rehearsed than in the Onegin I saw last week, though is a little quiet in the frankly awful acoustics of the Holland Park tent (only acceptable in the front, middle portion). Lots of nice touches though and most importantly there was a very good connection between pit and stage which allowed the comedy to come from the music.

La Boheme at Glyndebourne

01/07/2012

I didn't feel moved to write a full review of this at the time, and nor will I now: McVicar's now decade old updating is fine but not all that interesting, and though I think this is probably Puccini's finest opera it's not one I particularly love.

The entire cast were very decent, but I'll just talk about a few singers here.

Nahuel di Pierro's Colline was absolutely incredible - the richest, chocolatyist lyric bass-baritone sound you can imagine, beautifully produced and apparently effortlessly too. I have no idea why he wasn't in a more major role in this festival but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next festival - maybe a Figaro, or a luxury Harlekin in Ariadne? Does he have the high notes?

Irina Iordachescu's Musetta was very interesting - she has the timbre of a mezzo, but seems to have an easy upper extention, and I liked the husky darkness of her voice in this role - it gives her a mildly grimy, seemy edge that contrasts wonderfully with Scherbachenko's Mimi and was entirely appropriate for this production.

Ekaterina Scherbachenko's Mimi was a mixed - in the first act, she did not sound good at all, with a rather harsh tone, and nary a phrase would pass without serious intonation issues. She improved throughout the evening though, and was already better in Act 2, and then better again in Act 3, and by Act 4 was making some really lovely sounds and her tuning was immaculate. Strange thing. She's not a natural actress and seemed a bit lost amongst all the other larger than life characters, but s

The Glyndebourne orchestra sounded absolutely fantastic under Kirill Karabits to an almost show stealing extent - the orchestral colours glowed and danced under the voices with a sweep and naturalness that carried the action along beautifully. One of the great boons of there being such a long rehearsal period at Glyndebourne, and also the runs being so long is surely the benefit to the orchestra - the ensemble, rapor, accuracy and detail is just so much better than can be expected from the working conditions necessitated by the way the ENO or ROH are organised and run. Magic stuff.

Le Nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne

08/07/2012

Quite a while ago now, but better late than never? This production (directed by Michael Grandage) was a frustrating as it seemed to have such potential as a concept, but had so many ideas that no one followed through with, and aside from the updating it didn't feel like there was enough risk taking or sense of purpose. At least it wasn't updated to the 50's.

photo by Alastair Muir

Putting Figaro in the Alhambra is cool - despite its setting being clearly set out in Da Ponte's libretto, Spanish references in productions of this opera are usually few and far between, so it's nice to bring out this element for a change. But here it changed nothing about the presentation of the action or the drama, and in the end this was as traditional a production as I have ever seen. Why bother making the Islamic reference if you're not going to follow up on it?* Just to look pretty?

Even more pointless was setting it in the early 70's - this creates problems because the whole plot centres around avoidance of the Almavida's Feudal right (and no attempt was made to address this anachronism), but added nothing in terms of casting the drama in a new light. My instant thought was that if they'd made it a commune (all the rage at that time), with Almaviva as the head honcho, he may well have had a "right" to the women in the commune, and he'd still be a figure of (abusive) power. Also, the Count cannot be a truly threatening character due only to his status in the 70's because there were of course by that time severe limitations on his power and what he could do to his servants. For there to be a real sense of dread he'd simply have to be a physically or psychologically threatening man (which he wasn't at all here) but then this would render certain character's actions inexplicable without some further serious character regie. I don't like when things are just glossed over. I've seen reviewers suggest that this weakening of the Count is a strength of the production (e.g. Rupert Christiansen of all people!) - it's not, it undermines the drama.

photo by Alastair Muir

I missed too the painful edge of this opera, the bitter tang of every trick which rebounds and causes almost as much suffering on the trick player as the victim. This idea is taken up by Da Ponte less subtly in Cosi Fan Tutte, and in fact becomes the central thrust of the drama, but in Figaro it's just one of a number of important interlocking elements. Itis of course also so beautifully encapsulated in Mozart's music that it's impossible to ignore; when it is, as here, the whole things falls flat and ends up being rather bland - nothing more than non threatening buffoonery, japes and mild humour. Of course there were roars of laughter every time people danced in a 70s style to Mozart's music. People are so very easily pleased.

As to Christopher Oram's sets - I have to say that though very detailed, I thought lots of the scenery was rather crudely rendered and far less beautiful than actual examples of Islamic architecture and ceramics of this period. One big problem was that both the window and the main door of the the Countess' bedroom were deeply recessed into the right hand wall and so key points of the action in Act 2 (Cherubino's jump, and the locking of the doors) were invisible to half the audience. So unecessary.

The cast were very young, each debuing their role as far as I can tell, and though youth is entirely appropriate in this piece, their inexperience showed. Michael Grandag 's direction, which is detailed but quite unspecific, rendered characters generic and largely uninteresting, with emotional content relegated to the background, and larger dramatic arches left undernourished. But more experienced singers can often transcend an indifferent production and at least effect something special in their own parts. Overall I found it hard to feel too much for any of the characters.

photo by Alastair Muir

Sally Matthew's Countess was vocally by some distance the most impressive cast member, but due to the production seemed short of genuine pathos, and so failed to move the heart. The costumes saw to it that she couldn't be elegant or graceful, but I'm not sure the voice is quite right either for capturing this character's poise, warmth or softness. A few months ago I wrote about her voice as it sounded close up in the Wigmore Hall, and my impression wasn't all that different here - it's superbly produced, extremely even, technically very secure, but also extremely covered which gives it a shiny, but rather dark and steely unfeminine edge. The top gleams, but it's laser like rather than crystalline. I love her Fiordiligi here and here and I think it's probably a much more interesting role for her.

Lydia Teuscher's Susanna was quite nice, but in voice types this common one can afford to be very picky, and she offerend nothing truly distinctive. I thought she was occasionally quite hoarse in the upper register too. Vito Priante's Figaro was also decently sung but overall slightly bland. Audun Iversen's Count Almaviva was more interesting vocally, but had too many comedy double takes (which the crowd ate up) to be credible. Isabel Leonard made a decent Cherubino, nicely sung, but again failed to be very memorable. All the supporting roles were adequately taken (except for Ann Murray's Marcellina who was far more than adequate - such a natural presence on stage, and still far more than acceptable vocally).

Robin Ticciati was in the pit and all eyes are surely on him at the moment since he was announced last season as Glyndebourne's next music director, succeeding Jurowski in 2014 (with a rumoured Rosenkavalier, another Glyndebourne classic). I was absolutely enthralled by his Don Giovanni last season with the OAE which was full blooded, ultra detailed and thrillingly intense. His Figaro was also very good, sensittively played and carefully thought out, but it felt a bit too much like the production: all a bit subdued and soft, lacking piquancy and bite. Still he's profoundly musical and has excellent rapor with his musicians who manage to play superbly apparently in spite of his almost obstinate lack of clear beat. He's so young too - I have no fears whatsoever about his take over (though at the moment Jurowski seems quite determined to make us regret that he's going with superlative performances every time.)

Perhaps surprisingly, this Figaro is a co production with the Met, a much larger stage, so presumably the sets will all have to be rebuilt for then. Hopefully they'll hire some experts in Islamic art, improve the look of it, and iron out some of the set's problems. Although it is an updating that will no doubt receieve some grumbles when it crosses the pond, there is nothing here at all to challenge the arch conservative Met audience intellectually, morally or emotionally.

*In fact, it gave me such a good idea for a production but I don't want to write it here for fear that the idea will be stolen!

Renée Fleming with Gergiev and the LSO

15/07/2012

A rather disheartening way to end the season for me. The two orchestral showpieces on offer, Debussy's La Mer, and Stravinsky's Petrushka were perfectly acceptably played (the LSO rarely plays truly badly) but both felt a bit by rote, and Gergiev didn't offer anything particularly personal with either of them. I must admit that I've never seen the LSO be as responsive or play with as much energy with Gergiev as I have seen with Previn or Colin Davis. I found out recently from personal anecdotes that they feel very affectionately towards both Previn and Davis, so I wonder whether there is just a fundamental personality mismatch with Gergiev. Difficult to know if I've just caught a lot of off nights, or whether there's something in this...

The main draw of the evening was surely Renée Fleming, who sang two French song cycles that she has recently also recorded. My comments on the pieces and a review of that disc can be found here. She started with Dutilleux's song cycle Le Temps L'horlage, a poignant and quirky song cycle about time and yearning (shades of the Marschallin, Rusalka?) written especially for her. This is not a cycle that allows for much vocal display until the last song, and this was a softly shaded reading aiming mostly at text. Though always just about audible, Fleming was just hardly giving out any sound, and her trade mark endless legato seemed compromised and hard fought for. The lower notes occasionally became quite unstable timbrally and occasionally also with regards to intonation, traditionally also strengths. The last song at least brought some more fortitude in the voice, but never for sustained periods. Lacking in the voice now is the extraordinary vibrancy and beauty of timbre that it used to have, and also its rock steady technical security; all the time we feel strongly that she is shepherding her resources. She fared slightly better in Ravel Shéhérezade, but again this was a very small scale reading, and it just sounds like a completely different voice from the one it used to be. Very sad. She was quite good in her Ariadne's earlier this year, but I am now worried for her Munich Rosenkavaliers that I will be attending.

It pains me to write this because I really do believe that Fleming is the greatest singer of her generation, and certainly she is the singer (along with Callas) who has given me more listening pleasure than any other. She has talked throughout her career of the mystery of the voice, how it can just leave a singer in a very short time, and about early retirement and knowing when to retire. She has been very careful and prudent with repertoire selection for this reason, to keep the voice young and avoid damage at all costs, but age catches up with everyone sooner or later. I am sure she is only too aware of her current vocal condition, but I imagine it is much harder to actually stop singing than talk about it - emotionally, psychologically and not least financially.  Farewell dates at the Royal Opera House are being mooted for the 2016-2017 season (when she'll be 58) but I wonder how much voice will be left by then and I wonder also whether these next few years of singing will damage her legacy. Leontyne Price was still singing with unbelievable beauty at 58 (see here), but every soprano is very different - it doesn't just come down to careful vocal management, but also to genetics, hormones, mental health, self confidence, luck, and innumerable other factors.

Ultimately I can only express my unending gratitude to Renée Fleming for her voice and artistry, mercifully captured for posterity on so many wonderful recordings, which have afforded me so many hours of extraordinary pleasure. Beauty is a very fragile and ephemeral thing and one must be supremely grateful for the times it touches our lives and the ability it has to lift us above the mundane and into the numinous.