You should have hoped us

Posted on March 18, 2012 by operaramblings

I’ve watched John Adams’ Doctor Atomic three times now. The first time; a MetHD broadcast, I wasn’t impressed at all. The second time; an AVI rip of the Dutch television broadcast, I started to come around. Having now watched the Opus Arte DVD based on the Dutch TV broadcasts I’m converted. This piece is every bit as good as Nixon in China and probably surpasses it in emotional impact due to the more visceral nature of the material. The orchestral writing is classic Adams. The musical argument is swept along on a strong rhythmic pulse and overlapping waves of colour. In contrast the vocal line often seems duller though there are passages of great lyricism, notably Oppenheimer’s big Act 1 aria Batter my heart, three personed God. Kitty Oppenheimer and the native woman, Pasqualita, also get some good singing. I also found myself warming to the libretto. Some rather self conscious passages of Donne and Baudelaire aside, it lacks the poetry of Goodman’s libretti for Adams but Peter Sellars’ selection of words taken from the documentary record is, in its way, quite compelling; reflecting the mix of high and banal concerns that people under great tension express. It’s particularly interesting to see the relatively high level of respect for and confidence in the moral judgement of politicians displayed by the scientists. One doubts whether that would be the case today. In total, it’s a strong additiion to the repertoire of 21st century operas.

Gerald Finley (Oppenheimer) and Richard Fink (Teller) do physics

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Misfortune?

Posted on March 14, 2012 by operaramblings

I admit to some surprise that a new work can make it to the stage at Covent Garden and be received with near universally dismal reviews. I’ve never been involved in creating an opera but I have been involved in any number of large complex projects and I’ve also studied the processes by which projects with a creative component can best be accomplished (I’ve done this for both R&D and advertising). Creating an opera is a project and one would think it would make sense to adopt the same sort of project management principles one would use for bringing a fighter jet to production or developing a piece of software. It’s not like there isn’t a wealth of (really boring) literature on project management. The PMBOK or PRINCE-2 manuals make great bed time reading for insomniacs. Obviously, good project management isn’t enough and I know only too well the pressures that are applied to keep projects going that should have been killed off, especially in the public sector, and I’m prepared to believe that they apply to opera; unwilingness to admit the project was ill conceived, not wanting to be the bad guy, not wanting to take bad news upstairs etc. I’ve seen project teams and their leadership flayed alive by senior management for suggesting a project was doomed (and seen the project continued at many times the estimated cost for a fraction of the benefit). That doesn’t mean one ought not to try.

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Fidelio at Glyndebourne 1979

Posted on March 13, 2012 by operaramblings

Southern Television’s 1979 Glyndebourne broadcast was Beethoven’s Fidelio. The production by Peter Hall with designs by John Bury is conventional enough though tendencies to exaggerate are clearly creeping in. The chorus of prisoners is almost zombie like and Florestan looks disconcertingly like the legless sea captain from Blackadder II. Apart from that it’s a conventional 1800ish setting where the prison’s a prison, the dungeon’s a dungeon etc. It’s also very literal in that the dungeon is so dark it’s almost impossible to see anything. Continue reading →

Hockney’s Rake

Posted on March 12, 2012 by operaramblings

Having watched quite a few opera recordings from the 70s and 80s recently I can well see why David Hockney’s designs for Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at Glyndebourne were such a big deal back in the day. They look they were designed by an artist rather than being lifted from an expensive department store furniture catalogue. And, of course, they are still in use. Beyond the design issues, this has a kind of transitional feel as a production. Occasionally some acting breaks out and quite imaginative use is made of the chorus but there is a lot of “park and bark”; perhaps somewhat inevitable on the old, small Glyndebourne stage but very noticeable. It’s hard not to feel that director John Cox could have done a lot more with a neat staging and a talented cast. Continue reading →

Normal service will be resumed shortly

Posted on March 11, 2012 by operaramblings

On a bit of a hiatus here caused in part by bad luck with some library DVDs; a couple of which turned out to be pretty much unwatchable and certainly not worth a full blown review. For the record:

Shannon Mercer - Extremely Silly

Le Nozze di Figaro; Glyndebourne 1973. Dates from the era before acting or stage direction made it into opera. eg: Susanna “this is the hat that I made”. Stops, grins, points to hat…

Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy); RAH 2009. I was searching the library catalogue for Claus Guth’s staged Messiah. Not a chance of course but I did find this. How bad could a Monty Python oratorio be I thought? That bad! How did the lovely Shannon Mercer and a trouper like Rosalind Plowright get mixed up with this pile of dreck?

Hopefully the “to watch” pile will turn up something better soon.

The booing controversy

Posted on March 7, 2012 by operaramblings

Everybody’s a critic nowadays

The London papers seem to be falling over themselves to report booing and shouts of “rubbish” at the opera and classical concerts. Is it such a big deal? I’m much less bothered about how people express their opinion than when they do. I find intrusive applause far more annoying than displeasure at the end of a piece. I know there’s a tradition of applauding individual arias in certain kinds of opera and I can live with it without actually liking it much but applauding scenery is strictly for rubes and applauding the triumphal march in Aida should be a hanging offence, especially if it’s a totally lame version like the Met’s. Similarly, shouting “rubbish” during the action is inconsiderate to others and should be eschewed as should conversation, rustling sweet papers, coughing and, as experienced at one Met in HD broadcast, fortissimo intestinal eructations. Shouting “rubbish” at the end is, as far as I am concerned, as legitimate as shouting “brava” though not perhaps to be indulged in lightly. Certainly it shows more engagement with the performers than the usual band of people scurrying to be the first to the parking lot the second the curtain comes down. Overt disapproval might even stimulate open debate about some of the more controversial productions though reviving traditions such as breaking the furniture over those one disagrees with might perhaps be too robust for today’s, typically elderly, audiences.

Canadian Art Song Project recital

Posted on March 6, 2012 by operaramblings

Photo by Danilo Ursini http://www.ursiniphotography.com

The Canadian Art Song project is an initiative of Lawrence Wiliford and Steven Philcox to encourage the composition, performance and recording of Canadian Art Song (surprise!). Part of the program is an annual commission for a Canadian composer and poet for such a work. This year’s commission formed part of today’s recital in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre.

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Robert Carsen’s Eugene Onegin

Posted on March 5, 2012 by operaramblings

One of the early Metropolitan Opera Live in HD broadcasts was a 2007 showing of Robert Carsen’s 1997 production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Renée Fleming. It was subsequently released on DVD and Blu-ray by Decca and remains one of the most successful disk releases spawned by the broadcasts.

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Thoughts on the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series 2012/13

Posted on March 5, 2012 by operaramblings

The Metropolitan Opera has announced the HD broadcast line up for next season. Here it is with my entirely objective and unbiased comments.

Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore New Production – October 13, 2012
Cond – Maurizio Benini, Dir – Bartlett Sher, Cast – Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecien, Ambrogio Maestri

Bartlett Sher? Again? Clearly Gelb’s “Broadway show of the year” (one of them, anyway). Probably worth seeing for the cast who are capable of being funny in the drabbest production.

Verdi’s Otello – October 27, 2012
Cond – Semyon Bychkov, Dir – Elijah Moshinsky, Cast – Johan Botha, Renée Fleming

Well we are not going to see much acting here. Probably one to stay home and listen to on the radio,

Adès’s The Tempest Met Premiere – November 10, 2012
Cond – Thomas Adès, Dir – Robert Lepage, Cast – Simon Keenlyside

Probably the highlight of the season. A must see.

Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito – December 1, 2012
Cond – Harry Bicket, Dir – Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Cast – Elīna Garanča, Giuseppe Filianoti, Barbara Frittoli

Is this production any good? I’ll probably go but I’m not as excited about this as I am about seeing Michael Schade in Christopher Alden’s production in February.

Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera New Production – December 8, 2012
Cond – Fabio Luisi, Dir – David Alden, Cast – Marcelo Álvarez, Karita Mattila, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Kathleen Kim, Stephanie Blythe

This looks promising. On the list.

Verdi’s Aida – December 15, 2012
Cond – Fabio Luisi, Dir – Sonja Frisell, Cast – Liudmyla Monastyrska, Roberto Alagna, Olga Borodina

I’d quite like to see Monastyrka but I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a spork then watch this dreadful old production again. Thank you CBC Radio.

Berlioz’s Les Troyens – January 5, 2013
Cond – Fabio Luisi, Dir – Francesca Zambello, Cast – Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, Dwayne Croft

I have my doubts about Debbie as Cassandra but this is definitely worth a look.

Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda Met Premiere – January 19, 2013
Cond – Maurizio Benini, Dir – David McVicar, Cast – Joyce DiDonato, Elza van den Heever

Can McVicar raise his game to a higher level than his rather dismal Anna Bolena? Worth going to see probably.

Verdi’s Rigoletto New Production – February 16, 2013
Cond – Michele Mariotti, Dir – Michael Mayer, Cast – Piotr Beczala, Željko Lucic, Diana Damrau

Another of Gelb’s Broadway buddies takes a crack at opera. It’s been such a successful strategy after all. The bland leading the bland?

Wagner’s Parsifal New Production – March 2, 2013
Cond – Daniele Gatti, Dir – François Girard, Cast – Jonas Kaufmann, Katarina Dalayman, Peter Mattei, Evgeny Nikitin, René Pape

Fabulous cast! This is a co-pro with Opéra de Lyon and the COC so (a) the reviews from Lyon will be in before we have to decide and (b) I’ll eventually get to see it in Toronto. Still, that cast…

Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini – March 16, 2013
Cond – Marco Armiliato, Dir – Piero Faggioni, Cast – Eva-Maria Westbroek, Marcello Giordani are the doomed lovers.

This is a new piece for me. Curiosity calls.

Handel’s Giulio Cesare New Production – April 27, 2013
Cond – Harry Bicket, Dir – David McVicar, Cast – David Daniels, Natalie Dessay

New production? This is the Glyndebourne production set in 19th century British occupied Egypt complete with red coats, kilts etc. It’s available on Blu-ray and DVD with a stronger cast (Connolly/de Niese) and period instruments. The Blu-ray has better production values than any MetHD broadcast I’ve ever seen so go buy that instead.

Bottom LIne

Yes: The Tempest, Un Ballo in Maschera, Les Troyens, Maria Stuarda, Parsifal, Francesca da Rimini

Maybe: L’Elisir d’Amore, La Clemenza di Tito

Not a chance: Otello, Aida, Rigoletto (is there a pattern here?), Giulio Cesare

L’Amour de Loin on DVD

Posted on March 3, 2012 by operaramblings

I put off watching Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin on DVD until after the run at the Canadian Opera Company because I didn’t want to prejudge the piece. Now, having seen it live twice and listened to Kent Nagano’s Berlin CD recording it seemed like time to look at the DVD. The DVD is of the original Salzburg production directed by Peter Sellars but it was recorded at Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. It features the original cast of Gerald Finley (Jaufré Rudel), Dawn Upshaw (Clémence) and Monica Groop (Pilgrim). Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts with the Orchestra and Chorus of Finnish National Opera. If you are unfamiliar with the piece you might want to check out my review of the COC production which gives a plot summary etc.

The production concept is simple enough. At each side of the stage is a spiral tower representing Jaufré’s castle in Blaye and the Citadel in Tripoli. The towers stand in a lake which the Pilgrim traverses in a sort of crystal boat. It’s simple and effective but much less spectacular than Daniele Finzi Pasca’s production seen at COC. Colour is used to symbolise the two sides and the journey; blues and greens for Blaye, reds and oranges for Tripoli and black and white for the journey. In typical Sellars style there is a fair amount of stylized and elaborate gesturing. It all seems to work pretty well.

The performances are excellent. All three singers have complete mastery of their parts and can act vocally as well as sing. Some of the acting is a bit overwrought but I think that’s Sellars. At key moments, and especially in the beautiful final scene, this very intense approach works much less well than the more understated approach taken in Toronto which seems more at one with what the music is doing. The Orchestra and, off-stage, chorus are just fine. Salonen has worked a lot with Saariaho and knows what’s required.

Where I have serious reservations with this recording is the video direction. Sellars directs this himself and like his Nixon in China Met HD broadcast it’s really quite bizarre. All video directors use close ups. Most use too many of them. Sellars takes this to extremes with bizarre partial face shots or body extremities filling the whole screen. Coupled with the exaggerated acting style, which might just be OK at a distance, this makes for a very overwrought effect that is at serious odds with the music. I’ve included four entirely typical screen caps at the end of the post to show what I mean.

Technically the disk is OK. The picture is European TV quality 16:9. One might have expected a little better for a 2004 disk. The sound is decent DTS 5.1 (Dolby 5.1 and PCM stereo alternatives). It’s quite vivid though I think the voices are balanced artificially forward. Documentation is pretty decent and the subtitle options are English, French, German and Spanish. There are very informative interviews with Sellars, Saariaho and Salonen that are all well worth watching. This is the only DVD of the piece and it’s pretty adequate. I wish someone would film Daniele Finzi Pasca’s production though.