Av Henning H?holt
Litauens Nationale Opera presenterte som sesongens f?rste operaforestilling, Bizets opera Carmen, med et glitrende duett par i de to ledende rollene, Carmen og Don Jose.
Den unge flotte tenoren Audrius Rubezius briljerte som Don Jose, jeg erindrer ikke om jeg noen gang har h?rt en s? god tenor i denne rollen, som samtidig s? ung og stilig ut, og ikke var redd for ? gi rollen den stemmemessige kraften og utstr?ling som rollen trenger for ? skulle lykkes. Dette er et kjempel?ft for en ung sanger, og med glede kunne jeg konstaterer at han til bravur sto l?pet helt ut. Her var der ikke kuttet i partiene, s? vidt jeg kunne konstatere, hvilket gjorde at forestillingen nesten varte i 4 timer. Imidlertid kunne Rubezius ha f?tt lidt mer regijelp i f?rste akten, videre er hans f?rste akt kostyme ikke kledelig tilpasset til hans slanke kropp. Det hadde hjulpet blott ? stramme beltet lidt inn.
Laima Jonutyt? var str?lende og meget vakker som Carmen, hun har alt det der skal til, og forst?r ? utnytte at hun b?de ser flott ut, kan bevege seg og synger praktfullt.
Sandra Janusaite var spesielt vellykket i f?rste akten som Micaela, ikke minst i duetten med Don Jos? som var str?lende vakker. N?r hun kommer til sin lange krevende arie i tredje akten, var det godt gjennomf?rt, men der manglet liksom det lille ekstra, for ? v?re helt vellykket. Denne arie er utakknemlig fordi sangeren har ventet et par timer siden sist hun var p? scenen, og derfor lett blir sliten av ? holde stemmen varm. Hennes tekkelige kostyme er ikke spesielt kledelig.
Eugenijus Vasilevskis kom godt og rutinert fra rollen som Escamillio, denne bassbarytonen har mye vakker gjennomslagskraft og klang i stemmen, og har sikkert en gang v?rt den idelle Escamilio, n? mangler han h?yden, og sammen med en ung besettning for ?vrig, virker han rett og slett for voksen og satt. Det burde ledelsen ha sett og i stedet plassert en annen sanger inn i dette unge solist ensemble. Vi gleder oss imidlertid til aa h se ham som Scarpia, hvor vi tror at han vil vaere perfekt.
De to unge rolledebutanter Rasa Juzukonyte som Frasquita og Raimonda Tallat-Kelpsaite som Mercedes kom begge godt fra sine oppgaver, de sang flott og s? begge str?lende ut. Kvintetten i andre akten sammen med Carmen, Zuniga suget av Egidijus Dauskurdis og Morales, sunget av Arunas Malikenas, samt deres kortensemble i tredje akt med Carmen var bra.
Regien ved Lech Majewski fungerer bra, der er en gjennomg?ende historie presentasjon som henger sammen, der er ikke mye du lurer p?, unntatt at jeg ikke forsto hvor for engelen hele tiden var til stede. For meg var den malplassert.
Guttekoret i f?rste akt var bra, og deres gjennomf?ring av koreografien viste at der hadde man jobbet og jobbet. De to sm? jentene som hinket i andre akten likte jeg ogs?. Videre de 9 kvinnelige flamencodanserinner. Koreograf Janina Niesobskas. Videre var der mange flotte detaljer som gjorde scenebildet til en opplevelse, og at man hadde kostet p? seg to heste i siste akten, var overd?dig, og helt rett.
Kostymerne av Maria K. Szarlat var meget vakre, og vel matcende hennes manns Janusz Kapustas scenografi, som med sin dypde og enkelhet var meget vellykket. Jeg likte godt vimpelen som blafret lystig i vinden, og ga dypde i scenebildet.
Dirigenten Liutauras Balciunas holdt godt styr p? det hele. Jeg f?lte at hans tempi i f?rste akten i blant var for trege, det sprudlet lite, og er det noe som Bizets musikk vanligvis kan er det ? sprudle. Tempiene ble bedret fra og med andre akten, hvor det noen ganger var s?rdeles virtuost. Orkestret spiller godt, med en iblant frapperend virtuositet.
English summary:
Superb Don Jos? and Carmen
By Henning H?holt, hoeholthus@c2i.net
The Lithuanian National Operas first opera performance this season was a superb Carmen production. In the leading roles we experienced a wonderful singing, good looking handsome young tenor, Audrius Rubezius. I can?t remember that I have ever experiensed that such a young handsome, slim tenor could be so succesfull in the Don Jos? role, with all its dynamic, power and difficult high tunes. It was a big experience. I do hope that he will take good care of his wonderful voice, so he keep its power and softnes, glittering tunes and timbre. In the first act he could have been helped by a regi there would have maked him easelier moving. His first act costume i heping to make him look a little stiff. Even strengten inn the belt would have been helping. But that is only ment as positiv detailes, in that way, that his presentation of the role was so good that I only want to help to make it even more perfect.
Laima Jonutyt? is singing and looking beautiful as Carmen, she has all what she need for teh role, and she is playing wonderful up to all the others in the cast. I would have loved that she has been playing castaniettes.
Sandra Janusaite was good as Micaela, especially in the first act, where hers duet with Don Jos? was very beautiful. However it is not easely to keep the voice warm in the nearly two hours until she has her long aria in the third act. There she did not have the little extra, even it was beautiful and powerfull, I was missing that little extra.
The bassbaryton Audrius Rubezius did a good role as Escamilio, he has voice, routine and everything for the role, except that he didn?t have the power in the high tunes. In this young easy moving cast, my feeling is, that the casting management should have been chozen a younger baryton, that would have done a more perfect cast. We are looking forward to see him as Scarpia, where I do believe that he is perfect.
The costumes and scenografi by Maria K. Szarlat and Janusz Kapusta, was beautiful and well coordinated, and gave the right atmosphere to the performance. The regissoeur Lech Majewski haas been sukces full in his telling the history so that it was eay to understand, just I didn?t understand what the angel had to do there.
The boys choire in the first act did a good job, and was performing also the choreographer Janina Niesobskas choreography well. I also enjoyed the 9 female Flamenco dancers, and the two small playing girls in the second act. The choir is singing and acting well, there are a lot of very beutiful voices. The conductor Liutauras Balciunas did a good job. I just should have wannted that he have been giving frisher and faster tempies in the first act. However from the second act that was being better, and some times was very good. Some times i had the feeling that he was concentrating too much on that all the smaller details should be clear, and then was loosing the flooting in the tempo.
I dont understand why this performance not was completely sold out. With all the internationally tourists in Vilnius, the national tourist board could do a god job in taking care of that. That is a matter of national interest/ The quality of the national opera and the national ballett, is of so good a quality that this is a tourist attraction in it self.
Henning H?holt, 13. September 2002. Vilnius. hoeholthus@c2i.net
performance:
Red Giselle
Lithuanian National opera and ballet, Vilnius
