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A bit of cinema. I always
have a problem with films by Bertolucci. The visuals are always great, but the
storytelling always seems infused with some void "intellectual" attitude,
which is only an ersatz for real emotions and ideas. Somehow I like "The
Dreamers" more than... let's say... Besieged or The Sheltering Sky and, above
all, Stealing Beauty (a film I really dislike). OK, the images are great as always,
but... this time I really fell in love with the effects of light and colour. The
contrast of very strong areas of colours - just like a painting by Matisse or
even by Picasso
is just irresistible - those long labyrinthinc corridors in decaying red - that's
already a great cinematographic point - the very image of a journey to the visceral,
the sensuous and the organic. It is also interestingly cast. Probably due to his
androginous and strangely childish features, Michael Pitt has been cast in interesting
parts and does an interesting work here; Louis Garrel brings a welcome underlying
menace to Théo and Eva Green brings a complex, seductive and appealing
Isabelle. The cinematographic references are also charming, but I guess that's
all. In my opinion, the idea of "épater la bourgeosie" is entirely
outdated in the XXIst century - after 50 years of exposure, whatever may be called
"bourgeosie" is now something that does not even shock itself in reality
shows. Therefore, all that clichéed discussion on political/sexual liberation
is as decadent as what it criticizes as being decadent. Personally, I don't have
any problem with people having sex on video - but there is a very subtle limit
in which "not taking parting" only makes the viewer uncomfortable (that's
the limit between art and pornography - for example, nobody felt uncomfortable
with the sex scenes in... let's say... "The Samsara"... I'm used to
hear them called "beautiful" or sensuous"). As it is, a golden
rule would be - if the actors seems to be having more fun than the audience, then
the whole thing is not working! But I still have a positivie impression - the
idea of audience/actors is put into perspective under an interesting light in
this movie about young people who know movies more than they know life and how
they understand that 'starring their own lives" should be.
Saturday,
December 25th 2004
•
A Christmas with Bach. Friends
have showed me the DVD of Christmas Oratorio in Weimar conducted by John Eliot
Gardiner. The Monteverdi Choir is amazing as always and the performance is at
its best in the most brilliant passages, helped by virtuoso trumpet player and
perfect choral articulation. On the other hand, the sense of animation is largely
lost in the more meditative numbers due to indifferent accent (re: the solo violin).
The consequence is that everything has to be made fast in order to keep forward
movement. Just compare Richter's terzett (with Gundula Janowitz, Fritz Wunderlich
and Christa Ludwig) to see the point. Claron McFadden's bright soprano is beautifully
adapted to a more boyish sound, but she never refrains from infusing energy into
her fervourous reading of the text. Bernarda Fink is exemplary in the alto part,
creating the right emotional atmosphere even when the conductor is not helping
her. However, Dietrich Henschel deserves pride of place, through his highly expressive
and clear tone. Although Christoph Genz is a fluent Evangelist, he lacks weight
and conviction to his arias.
Friday,
December 24th 2004
•
A splash of flash-back. A
friend of mine has showed after a long while the video of the Met's silver anniversary
at the Lincoln Center. It consists of Rigoletto's act III, Otello's act III and
a Fledermaus act II plus guest performances. The Rigoletto is nothing to die for
- the sceneries are ugly, the orchestra iis noisy and neither Pavarotti nor Nucci
were at their best. Brigitta Svenden was a sensuous Maddalena and Cheryl Studer
a powerful yet touching Gilda, though. On the other hand, Otello found Levine
more congenial - and Mirella Freni was at her richest-toned. I don't know if I
like Domingo then - I found him a bit overacting (including with the voice) -
and Justino Díaz is certainly workmanlike. The Fledermaus had a bit more
to offer. The performance itself was a bit heavy-handed (the choir did not help
very much either), but the cast is quite interesting. Although Barbara Daniels'
soprano is not really flexible, it is full-toned and she deals with the difficult
tessitura with relative ease. In the end, she makes her way through the role better
than many famous rivals. Barbara Kilduff is a bit timid as Adèle, but her
voice is creamy and pleasing even in the highest reaches. Anne Sofie von Otter
is an ideal Orlofsky and looks her part. Hermann Prey does not have anymore the
seamless legato of the old days, but the velvety quality of his voice and his
irresistible charm are still there. Dwayne Croft, however, is a bit cumbersome
despite a charming voice. The gala, however, reserves some endearing surprises.
First of all, Hermann Prey's artistic generosity as his sings Papageno's second
aria. Although he is wearing a tuxedo, as soon as the glockenspiel starts to play
we see Papageno and we're in Sarastro's temple. Then Frederica von Stade proves
that there is nothing boring about perfection while singing Ah, que j'aime les
militaires. Not only her use of chest register is exemplary, perfectly connected
to her beautifully placed high mezzo, but also her French is delicious, her personality
is overwhelming, her charm is impossible to withstand, her musicianship impossible
to found - and she looks great! Thomas Hampson is a bit over the top with his
Largo al factotum, but is in wonderful vocal shape. There is June Anderson in
glittering voice and handling her divisions with instrumental precision in Je
suis Titania la blonde, while Kathleen Battle sings O luce di quest'anima with
disarming femininity and silvery tone. Mirella Freni's thrilling Io son l'umile
ancella - sung from the heart to the heart - and the unusual duet of Pavarotti
and the baritone Domingo in Mimi tu più non torni close this interesting
program - certainly not perfect, but definitely heartwarming.
Monday,
December 21st 2004
•
The last time I've been at
the Teatro alla Scala, I noticed that the building badly needed renovation and,
having seen the pictures of the newly reopened theatre, I felt happy for Milan
- and because I was able to listen to thee second act of their reopening show -
Antonio Salieri's L'Europa Riconosciuta. It certainly is the highest lying opera
ever written - poor sopranos! They were often requested to sing above high c and,
when they were not, they were actually not far from that. Salieri's writing seemed
quite conventional to me - his melodic invention is functional and he relies too
much in coloratura. There are, of course, outstanding moments, especially when
soloists and chorus interact in dramatic passages, especially the one in act II
when Europa believes her husband and son to be dead. Although the opera has been
written for La Scala, what is the theatre today could be considered too big a
venue for this kind of work. Accordingly, Riccardo Muti invested it with big orchestra
and choir. Animated as his tempi were and flexible as the orchestra is, this still
robs this opera of the right effect and makes the singers' already difficult work
even more strenuous. As Europa, Diana Damrau proved she is a truly exciting singer.
Not only she has a very long range, with impressive high notes and a serviceable
chest register, but also she uses it all in the most expressive manner - including
floating high pianissimi and trills (apparently she can produce trills everywhere
throughout her range). A voice like that naturally has its metallic moments, but
this is really irrelevant considering this singer's resources. In the part of
Semele, Desirée Rancatore has a flexible and charming voice. However, it
has acquired a nervousness, verging on rawness, which is worrisome for such a
young singer. In the soprano castrato part, Genia Kühmeier is firm and clear
toned and sings with classical poise - her straightforwardness being quite useful
in order to distinguish her from the sopranos taking female roles. Daniela Barcellona's
rich-toned mezzo soprano worked beautifully in the alto castrato part of Isseo
and she sings with knowledge of style. Finally, Giuseppe Sabbatini was miscast
- his style is too lachrymose and his higgh notes are really pinched. It must be
taken into consideration that the vocal writing in this opera is almost unrealistically
difficult and ALL these singers should be praised by their courage to deal with
it live in such an important event.
Some
reviews have been added to their proper discographies - Pinnock conducting Handel's
Tamerlano and Harnoncourt's Freischütz on DVD.
Tuesday,
December 7th 2004
•
Not much to tell - I've been
quite busy these days, but - even poorly connected to the internet - I could enjoy
Joyce diDonato's Rosina in the broadcast of Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia from
Houston. It is one of the most interesting bel canto performances this year. Not
only the voice is very nice - rich and natural in the low notes and gleaming and
easy in the top register. Her technique is admirable too, but the real thing is
her ability to "inhabit" the text and the Marilyn Horne-like sense of
humour. I would be curious to listen to a recital disc to confirm my guessing
that she would be perfectly able to distinguish the character behind every aria
in it. I also think she should avoid contralto repertoire - beautifully as she
sings in the disc of Handel duets with Patrizia Ciofi, she really sounds happier
in the mezzo repertoire.
Sunday,
November 28th 2004
•
It is very refreshing to
see that finally justice have been made to Handel as an opera composer. In the
past, seeing a staging of an opera by Handel was a rarity even to the most frequent
opera-goers. Now the great opera houses in the world are ready to stage these
exquisite masterpieces of the operatic repertoire (and not only the baroque repertoire).
The Giulio Cesare broadcast from Houston is an evidence of it. Although these
are regular big opera house orchestra and chorus, the performance was stylish
and animated enough - and the vivid response from the audience is only an evidence
of that. In the recorded sound, the clarity of the orchestral sound was even admirable.
Of course some numbers, especially Ptolemy's arias, lacked the last ounce of sparkle,
but the result was often pleasant in the ear - and the cast was charismatic enough.
As Cleopatra, Laura Claycomb displays too grainy a voice (sometimes the tone was
a bit coarse to my ears), but she is a resourceful performer, with solid technique
and imagination (her decoration was often really beautiful). The Caesar, David
Daniels was in great shape - richer toned than, say, in the San Francisco performance
with Ruth Ann Swenson - and amazingly flexible. Brian Azawa is a bit too polite
for Ptolemy, but his is a heavenly voice (isn't that miscast for this role?).
The Cornelia, Phyllis Pancella has a fruity voice, but had its untidy moments.
Some retouching has been
made in the Strauss, Puccini and Bel Canto pages thanks to the kind suggestions
and corrections made by a very special reader, a journalist from New York - thank
you very much indeed.
Saturday,
November 20th 2004
•
We live in an age when we
are always told what is bad for our health. Apparently, the world of opera has
been spared of that: with almost sadistic curiosity, we often witness singers
butchering their vocal health. In most cases, this could be seen as a healthy
mechanism through which we often get rid of some really bad singers who would
be perversely crowding operatic scenes throughout the world. However, it is terrible
to witness genuine artists give their voices' youth and good shape farewell. Although
La Fenice has been able to be born again from the ashes, singers cannot do the
same once their voices are lost. Therefore, I cannot really understand why the
Venitian theatre should celebrate the re-opening of its operatic season with such
an event. When I discovered Patrizia Ciofi as Lucia in the broadcast from Lyon,
it was a revelation - that would be a singer who could be a reference for many
years and maybe for posterity. I have had the opportunity to convince some friends
to give opera a chance through that beguiling performance. Nevertheless, I have
seldom seen a vocal decline such as that - the Susanna for Jacobs and the Blondchen
for Mehta already show a loss in tonal quality (basically a breathy sound which
may get off placement in the middle register). Then the broadcast of her Amenaide
(Rossini's Tancredi) brought about an instability in the top register new to me.
The lovely disc of Handel opera duets with Joyce diDonato still shows her in some
control (although the instability is still there), but Violetta Valéry
is definitely the coup de grâce to an exquisite voice. It is true that the
artist could still bring illuminating musicianship to some often poorly sung passages
(such as the act I duet), but the violence to her lyric voice could be felt everywhere
- in the abuse of the passaggio, in the fflapping and tear in the top register
and the instability of placement. I have read she is scheduled to record some
Vivaldi and Handel - and if the voice behaves like that this is going to be awful.
I hope she is going to think about that and give her LOVELY voice some rest! As
for Roberto Saccà, although the voice has a disturbing metallic fluttery
(which is quite ugly in the ear) quality, it is solid enough for Alfredo. It also
displays some hardness, but a lifetime in Mozart does help him to have a clean
line. Dmitri Hvorostovsky only exposes the lightness of his colleagues, but his
Italian was quite Slavic and there was no characterization going on there - he
often sounded aggressive in his phrasing, even when he should be caressing. The
edition, as far as I have understood from RAI, shows the original ideas presented
in the première in the same (?) theatre about 150 years ago. It is a bit
disturbing to see some well known and loved passages often less interesting than
the definitive ideas (the act II duet sounded less intimate and expressive than
we're used to know), but this is a valuable opportunity after all - a big theatre
investing in alternative ideas. The conductor is Lorin Maazel and seems to concentrate
in showing that he worths his fee - there is a lack of naturalness overall, some
fussing with tempo and he could be a bit more helpful to his singers.
Monday,
November 15th 2004
•
I cannot say I've really
enjoyed Pedro Almodóvar's La Mala Educación - I would dare to say
this is the film by the Spanish director I like less. Although he retains this
cool aesthetics of his last films (in contrast to the rococo/kitsch atmosphere
of the early films), La Mala Educación doesn't share with Hable con Ella
and Todo sobre mi Madre (or even Carne Trémula) qualities which have marked
his maturity as a film-maker: a complex but perfectly structured script, the humanity
of character-building (which is even more remarkable considering how unusual his
characters are) and the ability so common to Italian directors to make you laugh
and weep at the same time. The new movie certainly has an interesting performance
from Gael García Bernal, but the script is made of scraps of a story which
do not amount to anything special and the thread of the plot is irrevocably lost
in the first half of the film. Worst than that: these scraps in themselves are
not really moving or funny or interesting beside cliché-ed jokes. It looks
like a director's first movie - it seems as if he "has" potential...
And this is really not enough for someone who has more than proved his talents.
I know some of my friends reading this might think that I'm never that bitter
about Woody Allen's lesser movies, such as "Small Time Crooks". But
that is exactly the point - Small Time Crooks is by principle an UNAMBITIOUS film
the perfection of which lies in its simplicity, what makes it perfectly possible
for its uncomplicated goals to be attained. It is like a piano waltz by Chopin
- everybody knows it is not a fugue by Baach, but it reaches its purpose of amusement
with masterly purposefulness.
I've
recently bought two issues of Diapason magazine (one had R. Strauss on its cover,
the other features a compelling essay on tenors) - and the accompanying discs
had plenty of jewels - Marilyn Horne in stunning shape singing Deciso è
dunque from La Fille du Régiment (this must be a must-have disc), Alain
Vanzo singing Les Pêcheurs de Perles' Je crois entendre encore in dulcet
voice and Lisa della Casa singing Lieder by Brahms in disarming "art qui
cache l'art".
Finally,
I am in love with the voice of Silvia Tro Santafé - it is the vocal equivalent
of Nutella.
Sunday,
November 14th 2004
•
I love Weber's Freischütz
and have made in my imagination some "dream recordings", starring singers
who used to sing this opera but never came to record it. A broadcast from Vienna
(1995) helped me in the cases of Soile Isokoski's Agathe and Thomas Moser's Max.
The recorded sound is admirable and the Vienna State Opera orchestra makes some
wonderful things. It is a pity Leopold Hager's conducting is a bit arthritic.
It always takes some time to make things happen - and this is a score in which
timing is everything. As Agathe, Isokoski has some passaggio problems I had never
noticed before. Maybe she has solved this by now. Anyway, her distinctive voice,
radiating top notes, musicianly phrasing and floating high pianissimi really fit
the role. As Ännchen, Ruth Ziesak is in her element, singing affectingly
and with reserves of panache. As for Moser, the voice was not really under control
- sounding opaque and tremulous too oftenn. This is an artist who is generally
sensitive to words, but - alas - that was not a good night for him. He seems concentrated
on producing his notes. This is not the case of the overanimated Monte Pederson,
whose voice was too high for this role. I saw him sing Amfortas at the Vienna
State Opera and here he was just like the night I saw him - a penetrating voice,
but lacking body for this kind of role. The Hermit is also a singer I saw in Vienna
- Walter Fink (as the Commendatore). It iis a robust voice, but lacks the necessary
legato for this part.
Tuesday,
November 9th 2004
•
Renée Fleming's Handel
disc has been a surprise to me. To start with, she is in gorgeous voice and, above
all, shows real interest in Handelian style - far more than one would expect of
someone who sings La Traviata. Her (unusual) refusal to indulge into scooping
and her creamy tone make for welcome purity of line, what serves meditative or
expressive arias, such as Rinaldo's Ah, crudel or Rodelinda's Ritorna, o caro
(probably the best item in the disc - a sensitive piece of singing filled with
longing and affection - I can't wait for the complete recording). She is also
comfortable in the display of energy in Scipione's Scoglio d'immota fronte and
shows perfect control of registers in Ombra mai fu. Her accomplished trills and
staccati also speak favourably of her performances here recorded. The main challenge
for Fleming in this repertoire is the coloratura. I'm glad she gives pride of
place to being a tempo, but that means that lots of fioriture are made to sound
blurred. A singer of her Fach really doesn't need to sing arias such as Giulio
Cesare's Da Tempeste, when she finally has to resort to downright aspiration.
A certain Schwarzkopf-like affectations mars Samson's To fleeting pleasures and
the search of a "girly" tone makes her slightly kitsch in Semele's Endless
Pleasure. However, those are minor considerations in a charming disc, warmly and
sensitively conducted by Harry Bicket, aided by exemplary recording by Decca.
Sample the solo violin in Orlando's Quando spieghi i tuoi tormenti. It also shows
that Fleming is reaching her artistic maturity, on showing that concentrating
on the composer is what makes an artist really individual (re: Lucia Popp).
Friday,
November 6th 2004
•
Week-end in Rio - two plays
and a film. Pinter's The Lover, a play I had never seen before and which I have
enjoyed very much. It is more easily approachable than the usual "dry-dialogue"
Pinter play, but this staging had really ugly sceneries and, despite a very good
actor playing the role of the husband, the concept missed a bit the real notion
of what kind of people these couple are. The wife has been made to look rather
plain and unsophisticated, what is inconsistent with the way she is described
in the play to start with . The second play is Ibsen's Little Eyolf, a marvelous
text also new to me. Pity that the staging is really off the mark: the cast lacks
inner conviction, the approach is too demonstrative: the sceneries are pretentious
and ultimately ugly, the costumes are painful to watch and the direction relies
rather on producing "effects" than on letting the text speak by itself.
I couldn't help thinking of what a Liv Ullmann directed by a Bergman would have
done with such amazing raw material.
The
film is Zhang Yimou's House of the Flying Daggers. I have been told it would have
put Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to shame, but I really disagree. As much as
Kill Bill is the Western reading of an Eastern movie made by a Western director,
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a the Eastern reading of a Western movie made
by an Eastern director. And I say this as a Western guy. I am clueless of what
the Chinese audience expects of a movie, but I have the impression that the idea
is a parade of fantastic images given forward-motion by fighting scenes (as much
as someone watches dance sequences in a musical) loosely knit by a very basic
plot. The problem is that Western audiences expect from films with highly sophisticated
art direction a highly sophisticated plot (and I am not talking of "cult
movies" - Matrix is an example of that). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is
a film of poetic imagery and a plot of complex feelings and of ideas that make
sense for a Western guy like me. House of the Flying Daggers has some anthological
sequences of enormous visual appeal which I'll probably never forget, but the
plot is something one would expect of a soap opera from the 50's full of loose
ends and pathetic dialogues. It was really an anthropological experience, in the
sense that I saw it in a "Chinese Film Week" and there were both Chinese
and Brazilian people in the audience. The problem is that the latter were often
laughing their hearts out in passages where the former were seeing nothing to
laugh at. I know that there is no science in what I am saying, because I am no
expert in Chinese culture. I have seen some John Woo films and many films with
Gong Li, the wonderful Chinese actress, including many movies by Zhang Yimou and
I had loved all of them so far. Who can resist the sensuous/chromatic appeal of
Ju Dou, the elegance of Raise the red lanterns!, the almost neo-realistic artlessness
of The Story of Qiu Ju and above all Not one less? Those are favourites films
I really cherish, but House of the Flying Daggers is a kind of chantilly of a
film - it looks gorgeous, but one really needs something more nutritive under
that, without which it will taste just fat and pointless.
Sunday,
October 24th 2004
•
RAI has just offered a broadcast
of Mozart's Idomeneo conducted by Chung with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia. I
was clueless about what kind of Mozartian Chung would be and the cast was interesting.
If Böhm had not died and had listened to Harnoncourt's recording, maybe he
would have pulled out something similar to what Chung has done: tempi are a bit
slow in order to give the orchestra and singers time to tone-colouring, the concertante
writing works due to the conductor's good ear for clarity and clean rhythms. It
is rather unexciting, though, and the choir is a bit too grand in manner (the
orchestra too sometimes). As Ilia, Eva Mei offers a far more pleasant performance
than she has done two years ago in Ancona (with Mariella Devia and Charles Workman).
It is a lovely stylish performance, with adept ornamentation, but there is some
pecking at notes and some high notes are a bit unstable. I have always found that
Carmela Remigio should try Elettra and here she is. When it comes to giving life
to words, she has no rivals. Her recitatives are marvelously done. When it comes
to the arias, although the tone is pleasant and she knows how Mozart should sound,
her phrasing is disturbed by some hootiness, some shrillness and some akwardness.
Her D'Oreste, d'Ajacce has more punch than finish - and it seems she was more
determined to have fun than to provide the audience with fun (what is forgivable
considering how exciting it must be to sing that aria). As Idamante, Magdalena
Kozena is reliable as always, a bit in retreat next to the bright-toned sopranos,
but affecting and dramatically engaged as always. The Idomeneo is a name new to
me, Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti. If the tone is spontaneous and easy, it
is also a bit too open and coloratura is not his strongest suit. His idiomatic
Italian and sensitive manners were good points, though.
I
have decided to se Tony Scott's Man on Fire, because he said in an interview that
his inspiration has been Fernando Meirelles' City of God (he even got the director
of photography to be his advisor and two Brazilian actors, Charles Paraventi and
Gero Camillo). The green lighting and zipping camera effects and the playing with
angles were all there, interrupted by some uncreative moments of sentimentality.
All in all, it is entertaining, and the little girl playing a key role is cute
enough to make us understand why so many bullets had to be used to save her.
Monday,
October 18th 2004
•
I had written that, listening
to Patrizia Ciofi and Joyce di Donato's disc of Handel duets, I had found it unexciting.
Maybe it is not really exciting, but it is a beautiful disc and now that I've
bought it is always on my CD-player. My experience with Ciofi is problematic.
I've "met" her in Pidò's Lucia di Lammermoor, in which she offers
one of the most beautiful performances in bel canto repertoire I have ever heard,
offering a fresh sensuous feminine tone, pleasantly natural in low register and
lovely shimmering at the top. Listening to her Blondchen for Mehta, I thought
she was not in a good day and probably oversinging for funny effects - but it
was still charming. As Susanna for Jacobs, I found the tone plainly worn. Her
Amenaide in a recent broadcast sounded quite rough to my eyes. In this CD, the
voice is not at the level of her Lucie, but retains some sensuousness and the
phrasing is secure, expressive and charming. Joyce di Donato is entirely reliable,
only a bit "timid" in volume next to Ciofi's. Their partnership (also
with Alan Curtis) is the main interest of the disc - the warmth each number exhudes
is admirable. Per le porte del tormento (from Sosarme) is a must-listen
Now
that I'm back to Brasilia I'm able to listen to broadcasts again. Today I could
catch an Ariadne from the Welsh National Opera. I found Rizzi's conducting uneventful
(the prologue was arthritic and the opera overcarefully done), but the recording's
clarity was something to marvel. In the title role, Janice Watson started in the
grand manner, singing her lines with grace, expression and lovely fresh tone (her
Ein Schönes war) was sensational. However, the final duet found her voice
under too much pressure and a bit raw. It seems she was either nervous or tired.
A pity. Katazyna Dondalska's Zerbinetta was reliable. It is true that the tone
could get really shrill, but she was really at ease with her coloratura and trills
and she still had time to have fun with her character. Alice Coote's ease with
high tessitura and dynamics surprised me. The voice had its husky moments and
it seems she should mature her interpretation too. All in all, an interesting
performance. Peter Hoare's tenor is a bit operetta-ish. He was overparted, but
it is undeniable that, helped by a congenial voice, he ended offering a more pleasant
performance than some famous exponents of the part. However, he should think twice
before accepting to sing it again for his vocal health's sake.
Saturday,
October 16th 2004
•
Today I've been able to see
a film I've always wanted to see - Louis Malle's Uncle Vanya on 42nd St. It is
a perfect example of the combination of theatre and cinema. This is no filmed
theatre. We watch the actors and director André Gregory arrive to rehearse
the play with their (supposedly) own clothes and with improvised props (Vanya
drinks from a paper glass written "I love NY"). More than that - the
camera technique involved is radically different from filmed theatre. We have
angles that have nothing to do with capturing a live show. Sometimes, we also
have voice-over effects (for monologue lines). I am a great fan of Uncle Vanya
and have seen some productions of this play, but this film offers a whole new
view, eschewing the famous Chekhovian "slow tempo" and some cliché-ed
ideas about some characters. As Elena, Julianne Moore goes for a more sensuous
approach than what I'm used to see - all for the best. When the drunk Vanya tries
a more direct style of flirting, the way she depicts how her ego cannot resist
some flattery explains a lot about why all those guys have changed their routine
because of her. She has not disappointed me - she is probably the best American
actress of her generation (and no.2 is probably far less talented than her...).
However, Brooke Smith's Sonya is my favourite performance there. It is not that
she is the best member of the cast, but she offers something so different about
Sonya that she ends on being irresistible. It is a difficult part. I am used to
see it performed as an adorable girl whose good-heartedness is almost a good replacement
for natural charms and looks, who says her lines about how she is infatuated with
Dr. Astrov or how they are going to find rest in the afterlife with melting coyness.
Coyness has nothing to do with Brooke Smith - she plays a down-to-earth character,
with some tomboyness, involved who says those lines about salvation with little
conviction as if she were trying to convince herself rather than everyone else
in the cast. When Astrov says she likes her but feels nothing for her as a woman,
it made more sense here than ever. Being ungraceful herself, when she tells him
he admires his noble manners, this line works for perfect effect, especially when
she tries to flirt with him, using the "a friend or sister" excuse.
She does it in a way that, instead of looking silly, she looks particularly spirited
on striking a "oh-what-a-lame-approach" attitude. Efficient as the rest
of the cast is, they are more corresponding to what I am used to see. I just don't
know if I like Wallace Shawn's Vanya. I think he is too "soft" for the
part, which requires a man in the verge of a nervous breakdown. There must be
a repressed energy ready to explode, which has nothing to do with his amiable
ways. I don't mean he is not a good actor. He is doing a great job there, but
in a role not entirely in keeping with his nature. All in all, an admirable film
- everyone who likes Chekhov oughts to seee it.
On
the other hand, I am rather disappointed with Tarantino's Kill Bill, vol.2. Except
for an over-the-top Chinese episode with overexposed grained 70's-like photography,
the film is markedly less creative than vol. 1 from the visual point-of-view.
Also, the frantic action/humour passages have been replaced by somewhat slow dialogues
with superficial approach to the characters. When the Bride meets the daughter,
a series of emotional/psychologial/practical problems are underplayed in favour
of a rather sentimentalized and not really funny approach. It seems that a shortage
of ideas has prevailed and trap no.1 for American movies has not been avoided,
which is: trying to explain too much, the story ends on providing silly explanations
for everything. In the end, if Tarantino had made a film named Kill Oren-Ishi,
it would have been a masterpiece.
Friday,
October 8th 2003
•
It's been a while since I
have last posted here. I've been obsessed with Puccini's Manon Lescaut. I have
re-discovered a CD - a Gala for Rudolf Bing at the Met on DG. There Montserrat
Caballé and Plácido Domingo sing the act II duet under the conducting
of James Levine. I have always loved this duet, which I consider to be one of
the sexiest in the history of music. And this recording is done sounds as if you
have been plunged into a turmoil of passion. James Levine convinced the Metropolitan
Opera Orchestra to produce a richness of sound recorded in an unusual natural
perspective for that venue. I think no-one sings that role as Caballé.
She is entirely in control of the proceedings and has all the operating space
she needs to project the allure and the irresistible charm, without which the
character of Manon makes no sense. The only other soprano recorded who achieves
that is Renata Tebaldi, but I think the Spanish diva instills far more passion
into it. And Domingo is in strongest voice. Some may think he is not as refined
as usual - but I think that is great and works for that scene. He is supposed
to be in a very physican (not metaphysicial) situation. Since I have listened
to this recording last week it has never left my mind. If I let my mind wander,
the first thing which comes to it is Caballé singing Io voglio tuo perdono;
vedi: son ricca (my free translation - "If you loved me when I was poor,
you have to adore me now that I'm rich" :-). The outcome: I've decided to
get myself a Manon Lescaut (I had never made my mind of which recording to buy).
The Callas recording has too recessed an orchestra and the two leading singers
are everything but alluring in sound; the Tebaldi has uninspiring conductor and
tenor; the Chailly is too well-behaved, Kiri is too "blond" and Carreras
is stressed; the Levine features Mirella Freni too whimsical about pitch and not
really careful about the low passaggio. I have to say Miriam Gauci and Kaludi
Kaludov were interesting and Rahbari has a good ear for structure, but the whole
result was a bit cold. The decision: Sinopoli's DG. Mirella Freni is a different
singer from the Levine recording - more graceful in her phrasing, richer in tone
and negotiating the passaggio in a masterly way. There is Domingo in a role that
simply works for him. As for Sinopoli, I like his "orchestral" approach
and there are endearing details, but I miss the sheer passionate drive of Levine's
in that old gala. The Muti was risked out because of Maria Guleghina. She shouldn't
touch lirico spinto repertoire. It is a pity that Régine Crespin has never
recorded the part. I think it would work as a glove for her - with that luscious
low register and the femininity she projects. And she is French (as Manon herself)...
Today I would really really like Violeta Urmana to sing the part. It lies rather
low in the voice, but needs a powerful voice for the climaxes and mastery of dynamics
for the musing parts. And Urmana has it all. BTW, she'll be singing Leonora in
La Forza del Destino next Saturday in London (with Muti - if they solve the problems
between La Scala and Covent Garden). I am sure it is going to be unforgettable.
Thursday,
October 7th 2004
•
I had just written about
"Bellinian" movies, in which the technical perfection and expert handling
of effects are to be admired with pride of place. Paul Greengrass's The Bourne
Supremacy features a virtuoso-like handling of cinematography comparable to Edita
Gruberová's of coloratura. It has some scenes which are certainly going
to be remembered for decades. It is not only a film of visual sophistication,
but one in which the director goes to very difficult effects, handled with perfect
control. I had never seen any film by Greengrass but have been told he handled
"documentary-like" camera as few other directors. He has certainly seen
his "French Connection", for the car chase sequence in Moscow is the
most thrilling since. Also, there is a fight sequence in an apartment in Munich
which is breathtaking - it is really puzzling HOW those vertiginous "handycam"
could be handled with such precision.
Ah,
today I've received a hate-mail in German - it is a wonderful language for hate-mails!
Monday, September
27th 2004
• It
has been a while since I have bought a disc which has granted me so much pleasure
as Véronique Gens' recording of Berlioz's Les Nuits d'Eté. You may
remember that only this month I have bought Katerina Karnéus' exquisite
recital of German late Romantic Lieder, but, as much as I like the Swedish mezzo's
sensitive performance, there are some other artists who are her equal in this
repertoire. Now when it comes to the Nuits d'Eté... I know that what I
am going to say will sound perfectly rash... I do think that Véronique
Gens has the edge on almost everyone else. I don't have many recordings of these
songs - so there is no science in this. I have the Behrens and the Von Otter recordings
and individual songs with Crespin and Jessye Norman. Any serious comparison should
involve people like Danco, Baker, Von Stade and Susan Graham, but the fact is
that my favourite recital of French songs is indeed Gens' with Roger Vignoles.
Although Crespin has this most exquisite of voices and ample enough to really
interpret over an orchestra, she sounds to my ears consistently scaling down and
tiptoeing through it, and I have to confess that the Sheherazade has always been
my favourite part of that disc. As for Norman, she is more characterful while
scaling down, but the tone is also heavier than Crespin's and, especially in the
Villanelle and L'Ile Inconnue, she sounds as the Countess imitating Susanna's
voice in Figaro's act IV. Von Otter is quite closer to my mental picture of what
these songs should sound like. It is a sensitive and insightful performance (a
rich but generalised orchestra notwithstanding) and I was happy about it (although
I could still think that someone like Susan Graham could really do something more
glamourous about it) until I've listened to Gens. She has a slenderer voice than
her rivals and is recorded closer to the microphone and maybe live a larger-voiced
singer would be preferable, but - as recorded - the voice is simply delicious.
Also, her diction - as one could expect of a Frenchwoman - is crystal-clear. More
than that, her richness of tone colouring is admirable - she invests each song
with an entirely different sound perspective and sometimes even each stanza of
a song. She tackles the Villanelle with a fresh and sunny voice which makes Von
Otter's Summer look Swedish in comparison... In Le Spectre de la Rose, the sound
is more rounded and sensuous and retains the youthfulness even in the most exposed
top notes. Her dying sound in "mais ne crains rien" is something to
be heard. Sur les Lagunes, a more intimate tone and less vibrato create a whole
new atmosphere. The naturalness of her low notes is admirable for a soprano. Absence
is the most challenging of these songs to Gens - a richer larger voice is required,
but the feminity and spontaneity (Entre nos coeurs... is the work of a diseuse)
she brings to it are wonderful replacement. Au cimetière is the highlight
of this disc - her hushed and otherwordly tone is masterly and the way she and
the orchestra share their sound picture is something only a singer of baroque
music would be able to do. Finally, L'Ile Inconnue is fluid and light and beguiling.
The remaining songs in the disc are lovely sung too - my only "but"
is that La Mort de Cleopâtre does not match her voice and personality, charmingly
as she sings it.
During
the week, I could listen to a marvelous broadcast - Il Trionfo del Tempo e del
Disinganno conducted by Minkowski in Grenoble. I have recently listened to a marvelous
recording with the Giardino Armonico, which is beautiful and characterful, but
Minkowski brings extra expression and theatricality. The final song had such a
sense of worldweariness in the orchestra and in the voice of the lovely Veronica
Cangemi which would melt a heart of stone. Laura Aikin, with the Giardino Armonico,
had a richer and more sensuous voice (I mean, she was sensuousness itself), but
Cangemi hold her own in her fresh and stylish performance. Marjana Mijanovic was
also impressive as the Disinganno, but Sonia Prina for the Giardino Armonico makes
her sound a soprano in comparison... There is no competition with the singer taking
the role of Pleasure (I could not catch her name) and Véronique Gens, who
made pleasure sound the sensible option for any Beauty, and the rather ugly-toned
Krasimir Spicek and the exquisite-toned Cristoph Prégardien in the older
broadcast.
This week I
watched again on TV Louis Malle's My Dinner with André and there is a moment
in which one of the characters say that those days people were watching plays
that they would be ashamed to mention some years before and it made me think that
I have recently caught myself (even here in this blog) praising some movies that
would raise eyebrows in the past. Unvariably my praises involve beautiful cinematography,
great cast and many technicalities. There are two elements to be commented about
that. In the past superficial movies were directed by bad directors and cast with
indifferent actors. Now we watch trash directed by great directors and cast with
great actors. One will remember that a great actor like Michael Caine was infamous
for appearing in really bad movies. Today, you find people like Cate Blanchett
and Johnny Depp doing things serious actors would shun some decades ago all the
time! But that is only an aspect of a larger situation. We, the audience (I mean
- the audience that really likes the art of cinema), have become technical in
an almost preciousist manner - form is living its triumph over content. As someone
who enjoys bel canto operas, I cannot really play the snob and defend complexity
above everything, but we have been watching thorough nothingnesses calculating
how sophisticated the photography is, how clever the dialogues are, how mathematically
perfect the actors are, while the only difference that this movie has done to
our lives is that we used to be a few bucks richer before we got into the theatre.
I guess this is the Zeitgast... Anyway, cinematographers, production designers,
costume designers et al are artists as much as screenwriters, directors and artists
and it is good to see that their work has now more importance to the production
as a whole than in the past.
In
two weeks, I'll be giving a lesson on German Lieder and am really in doubt about
what recording of Schubert's Erlkönig I should use. I won't mention the ones
I am listening to right now, because I want YOUR
suggestion.
Saturday,
September 25th 2004
•
Interesting broadcasts this
Saturday. To start with, the Freischütz from Edinburgh. Charles MacKerras
cunningly opted for a security mode performance - allowing the orchestra and singers
to feel comfortable instead of offering a truly riveting performance - the forging
of the magic bullets was particularly lackaday. The cast is certainly interesting.
The lovely Hillevi Martinpelto is a superior Agathe, offering a poised accurate
and feminine Leise, leise and - with the exception of some unstable notes - a
beautiful Und ob die Wolke. Ailish Tynan is below standard as Ännchen, though.
Her voice is a bit harsh and she looses her way through passagework more often
than she should. On the other hand, Jonas Kaufmann is a most interesting Max -
a firm toned tenor who knows how to relax for the more meditative passages. Also,
John Relyea, if a little bit underpowered as Kaspar, was a compelling Kaspar.
With the leading soprano, tenor and bass-baritone, one could think of a complete
recording. In the interval between act I and II, I could sample the final scene
of Strauss's Capriccio also from Edinburgh, in which Soile Isokoski - her voice
uncannily similar to Schwarzkopf's - proves why she is the leading Straussian
these days.
Regarding movies,
I've discovered on cable TV another Gondry/Kaufmann collaboration - a film named
"Human Nature", which is outrageously funny, interesting, well cast
(Tim Robbins, Patricia Arquette, Miranda Otto and an excellent Rhys Ifans) and
defends an interesting theory - not even the animals would care a lot about natural
life if they could realise how boring it is... :-) Another interesting film is
Agustín Díaz Yanes' Don't Tempt me - which features the amazing
cast: Fanny Ardant, Victoria Abril, Penélope Cruz (the only thing she has
ever done beyond Almondóvar really good) and a hilarious Gael García
Bernal . The film has structural problems, but wonderful little imaginative details
(such as a French-speaking b&w Paris-in-the-50's heaven compared to an English-speaking
rather "Escape from New York"-like look hell).
Saturday,
September 18th 2004
•
I have just listened to the
broadcast of Wagner's Die Walküre from Washington. It features an impressive
Sieglinde from Anja Kampe, a creamy rich voice who copes with naturalness with
the demands made by the role. I cannot understand why Bayreuth preferred to cast
her as Freia, considering the shortcomings of Eva Johannsen's Sieglinde. It's
been the first time I listen to Linda Watson, a reliable dark-toned Brünnhilde.
If I had to choose between Bayreuth's Evelyn Herlitzius and Washington's Watson,
maybe the safe choice would be the latter, though the former - even in her irregular
vocalisation - seemed to my ears the most interesting artist. Elena Zaremba is
an imposing Fricka, if a bit overripe and generalised. As for Plácido Domingo,
it is amazing that my impression is similar to what I heard live at the Met in
1997 - he gets tired in the end of act I and somewhere in the middle of act II.
It is curious that the role has an effect on his already accented German - it
gets even more accented, although the lower tessitura should have produced the
opposite result. Go figure... It is curious to see Alan Held as Wotan. I've seen
him live twice - as Pizarro in Rio, when he did not seemed to be particularly
powerful or big-voiced (and I was in the first row), and at the Met as Donner
and maybe Gunther, when the voice sounded quite imposing. It certainly has a pleasant
firm sound, if a bit straight and lacking roundness.
Wednesday,
September 15th 2004
•
Katarina Karnéus'
disc of Lieder by R. Strauss, Mahler and Joseph Marx is a jewel and I strongly
recommend it. In the booklet notes, she explains she wanted to make a point in
favour of mezzo-sopranos singing Strauss Lieder. She doesn't need to make lots
of effort to prove her point - her sensuous pearly voice is the right instrument
for those songs. Her unexaggerated interpretation and utterly musicianly manners
also serve the Mahler songs beautifully. I had never listened to any work by Marx
before and his songs, late-romantic in style, are beautiful and a good vehicle
for a sensitive singer such as Karnéus. I hope to find her again in the
Lieder repertoire (and in any répertoire fit for her voice), especially
accompanied by an expert such as Roger Vignoles.
I
have been updating the discography of Il Trovatore these days.
Tuesday,
September 14th 2004
•
An interesting broadcast
from Canada: Handel's Alcina conducted by Bernard Labadie. The Canadian conductor
has a rather conservative approach to Handel - dance rhythms and musical polish
being his priorities, something in which he succeeds with the aid of the euphonious
Violons du Roy. I can guess that singers must love him - he really makes it easier
for them to deal with the intricacies of Handelian vocal writing as few other
conductors. As he has an excellent cast, the slower tempi rightly serves to boost
dramatic expression (in the way the pleasant sounding orchestra under such a disciplinarian
baton may not). In the title role, Karina Gauvin pulls out a fabulous performance.
She is not the high soprano usually associated with the role - and all the best
for that, for she brings in exchange an exquisite sexy sound, finely spun phrasing
and intense expression. As Morgana, Christine Brandes is a bit uncomfortable in
her higher range and not truly appealing as the role requires, but knows how to
produce the right effect in the key moments. Krisztina Szabo is also a real find
- a lovely flexibly velvety mezzo used wiith musicianship and sensitivity (she
certainly has no rivals in the discography - not even the lovely Susan Graham).
Marie-Nicole Lemieux is an impressive contralto (no pushed down mezzo). Her coloratura
sounds a bit bleached out and not entirely comfortable (her arias were the only
moment in which I thought the conductor should have adopted a _slower_ tempo),
but her incisive dark sound is something to be heard. In the role of Oberto, Shannon
Mercer displays a not entirely welcome feminity and grace (it is a breeches role)
which somehow eludes the singer here taking the part of Morgana. Both Benjamin
Butterfield and Nathaniel Watson are reliable Oronte and Melisso. CBC should really
consider releasing this.
I
could also take a glimpse of Yu Qiang Dai tenor aria album on EMI. I have to confess
that I've listened to his Che gelida manina blindly and for some seconds I considered
the possibility that this might be Jussi Björling, so solid, bright and focused
his voice is. Then I realised that he is a bit lachrimose and has the kind of
"artifficially inserted" verismo-like effects which do not stand for
a real interpretation, verging on distortion of his naturally beautiful tone.
I wished he should listen more to Björling than to Corelli, because his voice
is generally so cleanly produced and takes so smoothly to legato (he even displays
acceptable French in Pourquoi me réveiller?)... It would be nice to have
a musicianly elegant tenor who still can be exciting in Italian répertoire
these days. All in all, I am curious to see how his career develops. On listening
to Rolando Villazón, a hint of fragility in his vocal production in spinto
repertoire has made me concerned about his vocal health; Joseph Calleja can produce
truly amazing sensitive things, but this is a lighter voice with a charming flute-y
top register who would work beautifully for French opera - Yu Qiang Dai sounds
like someone who has the potential to deal with the big guy's repertoire.
Saturday,
September 11th 2004
•
M. Night Shyamalan's The
Village is a film worth while the visit to the theatre and more than the ticket
price. It is difficult to talk about it without spoiling the fun - and I am certainly
not going to be a spoilsport. He handles the language of "fable" in
an original and interesting way, although he never recoils from using some unfailing
"how-to-write-a-script" tricks. He also must be praised for the beautiful
direction, with sensitive use of colours and lighting, and the excellent cast,
with the likes of Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver.
This
week I could listen to one act of Marschner's Hans Heiling on RAI - a performance
from Cagliari if I am not mistaken. It is certainly an interesting work, with
curious effects, although I thought Der Vampyr is still the best work. It was
interesting to find Anna Caterina Antonnacci in the cast. The role of the young
innocent girl is not fit to her personality, but it was endearing to find her
in good control of the German text and style. I read she is going to sing Cherubini's
Medea in Paris and this is certainly video companies should not neglect.
Reviews
of Colin Davis' Zauberflötte from the Royal Opera House and of MacKerras'
Roberto Devereux have been added to the discographies.
Sunday,
September 5th 2004
•
One of my best night at the
operas - and the best Mozart I have ever seen live - was at the Vienna State Opera.
It was the Zeffirelli production of Don Giovanni with Iulia Isaev's Donna Anna,
Barbara Frittoli's Donna Elvira, Heidi Brunner's Zerlina, Rainer Trost's Don Ottavio,
Ferruccio Furlanetto's Don Giovanni and Bryn Terfel's Leporello. Moreover, the
orchestra is the dream team for Mozart. Today the Österreich International
radio station has presented a most interesting special feature with highlights
of Mozart operas in the Vienna State Opera this season - and it only served to
confirm the excellence of the Austrian ensemble in this field. It centered around
Seiji Ozawa's conducting of the Da Ponte operas for a series of performances named
Mozart Tage. His conducting is amazing - energetic and elegant and the orchestra
produces a lustrous sound, as if the strings were singing with the singers. As
Leporello and Figaro, Ildebrando d'Arcangelo was in wonderful shape, with his
dark firm spontaneous bass. Anna Netrebko was also a praiseworthy Donna Anna -
sung in her creamy soprano in mint condition. In the sextett (Sola, sola), she
displayed wonderfully clear divisions, whereas in Non mi dir, although she did
sang her coloratura a tempo, it was a tiny bit laboured. A tiny minus in a lovely
performance. Unfortunately, Ozawa had to step out from Così and Zauberflötter,
the former conducted by Bertrand de Billy and the latter by Julia Jones. Billy
has an interesting drive as a Mozart conductor, but is sometimes insensible to
moments in which singers are willing to do interesting things. This is a pity
since Soile Isokoski and Elina Garanca did amazing things as Fiordiligi and Dorabella
- and Rainer Trost and Hanno Müller--Brachmann were also excellent as their
fiancés. As for Julia Jones, I would have loved to listen to the entire
performance - she revealed a fresh approach to the score, with interesting choice
of tempi, expert rhythmic concept and a nice ear to discover hidden niceties.
Also, she had an exquisitely sung Pamina in Genia Kühlmeier.
A
review of Malgoire's Agrippina has been added to the Handel page.
Sunday,
August 29th 2004
•
Two interesting broadcasts
at the same time - as a result, I've chosen to listen to the first act of Norma
from Washington. In the title role, Hasmik Papian displays an amazing dark full-toned
spacious soprano. Although she operates in slower tempi, her flexibility is quite
praiseworthy for such a rich voice. She also sings with unfailing good taste and
musicianship - it did not seem to me she has really the dramatic genius or flashing
personality to do something historic out of the role, but this is definitely a
singer to have in mind. As Adalgisa, Irina Mishura provides an interesting contrast
- her mezzo sounds younger and brighter tthan the soprano's taking the role of
Norma. Her top notes may be a bit fluttery, but it is a lovely voice, handled
arrestingly. Richard Margison is also an interesting Polione - sometimes he sounds
a bit on the tip of his toes to sing extreme top notes, but is quite fluent with
style and, all in all, the only singer in the cast who seems to display some real
acquaintance with Italian language. The Tannhäuser from Bayreuth, act II,
features conductor Christian Thielemann's impressive ability to lend some gravitas
to the score without making it overheavy. I've listened to more brilliant Tannhäusers,
with zipping orchestral effects and faster tempi, but few other performances sounded
so beautiful to my eyes. The structural clarity, the rich orchestral sound, the
grandeur of the whole approach - I really like Thielemann's Wagner. The cast is
not up to the conductor's level, with the exception of Kwangchul Youn's noble
velvety-toned Landgraf. As Elisabeth, Ricarda Merbeth is rather sour-toned; Stephen
Gould - a replacement for Glenn Winslade - is overparted and has his white-toned
top notes; Roman Trekel's sensitive Wolfram is not truly ingratiating. It is a
pity I could not listen to Judith Nemeth's Venus. I was curious about it - her
voice did sound interesting as the third Norn in Götterdämmerung.
Woody
Allen's "Anything else" is his best movie since... maybe Celebrity.
He found the right bittersweet balance between comedy and serious matters, has
gathered an interesting cast and displays absolute mastery of cinematographic
style in an apparent artless manner. The use of soundtrack (around Billie Holiday's
recordings with Tedd Wilson's band), sound effects (the squeaking chair in the
scene in which we discover what's wrong with Christina Ricci and Jason Bigg's
relationship), framing etc make is a charming little masterpiece. Some reviewers
accuse Allen of repeating himself - I have no trouble with the repetition of wonderful
things. It is fascinating to follow the career of a director such as Woody Allen
and follow the way his dealing with his hallmark creative elements evolve - and
I really wish some directors with "original ideas" could make films
as good as Woody Allen's.
A
review of Haitink's Nozze di Figaro from Glyndenbourne has been added to the discography.
Saturday,
August 28th 2004
•
I hadn't been lucky with
broadcasts this week. When I was listening to Eva Johannsen's Sieglinde in Bayreuth
with headphones, my friend Viviane _seriously_ asked me if I was listening to
chimpanzees in a "Sounds of Nature" CD. Then the first Wagner opera
ever performed with period instruments, a Rheingold conducted by Rattle was really
frustrating. I did imagine that the Orchestra of the Age of Englightenment would
lack power in such circumstances - and it really did. Also Rattle's conducting
was boring and even the soloists sounded bored. Only the Alberich seemed to be
animated about the event. However, today Bellini's I Capuletti e i Montecchi interrupted
this bad-luck trend. I have to confess I am not familiar with the work and, therefore,
am not the best judge of what it should sound - but it seemed Ivor Bolton conducted
a really exciting performance. I have to confess I am suspicious of "marketing
products", but Anna Netrebko is really worth the fuss. The voice is not Italianate
and the Slav touch in it becomes now and then a bit coarse, but it is nonetheless
an extremely charming and warm voice - even in the highest reaches. More than
that: although her Italian could be improved, she really knows how to make her
phrasing mean what the character is saying through a wide enough tonal palette
and sense of rhythm and dynamics. As we know, this is the base of bel canto. After
a rusty start, Daniella Barcelona also offered an impressive performance, with
that formidably heroic and full-toned mezzo of hers. And Joseph Calleja's honeyed
tenor - with that velvety top register of his - is also a delight. He should avoid
heavy repertoire - it is a sweet voice - old-fashioned in the Tagliavini sense
of the word and I can't see it employed for Radamès etc.
Saturday,
August 21st 2004
•
More Bayreuth 2004: I have
to confess that I am a bit disappointed with Adam Fischer's Rheingold. Now I found
it kapellmeisterlich in the bad sense of the word. I thought it too well behaved
- the phrasing seemed detached from the ddramatic action and lacking impact. For
example, in Alberich's curse - instead of a continuous climax, we got polite pieces
of sound separated by some non-eventful pauses. It is still very clear and draped
in beautiful orchestral sound, but five minutes of Böhm (not my favourite
recording anyway) made me realize that Fischer's performance needed some life.
The cast seemed very reliable to me. Mihoko Fujimura is a young-sounding Fricka
who sings with utmost poise, without missing theatricality. Anja Kampe has the
right metallic voice for Freia and, although Simone Schröder's voice is also
too young-sounding for Erda, it is certainly beautiful and appealing. All the
tenors seemed fine to my ears too. Arnold Bezuyen's Charaktertenor is far more
pleasant than most. As a result, even when he distorted the tone a bit for effects,
it always stayed within the limits. Michael Howard displayed a healthy voice for
Mime (with the usual bizarre effects involved, of course) and Endrik Wottrich
was a strong, dark voiced Froh. As for Hartmut Welker's Alberich, I have to confess
I enjoyed his performance. The voice is ugly and excentric, but he is an excellent
actor and knows how to give life to such a bleak character as Alberich. Moreover,
although he is very characterful, he is not exaggerated. Alan Titus is an efficient
Wotan - he deals with the tessitura with relative ease and the voice is powerful
enough. It lacks some weight and charisma, but it is certainly well sung. I've
seen him twice as Barak at La Scala and really did a great job there. Only Wotan
is something a bit more complex.
Monday,
September 16th 2004
•
Not long ago Olivier, Nathalie
and I were talking about what opera recording we would like to see live. I remember
I chose Karajan's Frau ohne Schatten with Rysanek, Ludwig and Grace Hoffmann at
the Vienna State Opera - but Parsifal, second act, Bayreuth 1970 would come close.
This was the first Parsifal I have ever listened to and the result was an immediate
conversion of mine to a James King fan, a Gwyneth Jones fan, a Thomas Stewart
fan etc. Also, I think nobody has ever done the second act as Boulez, it has such
a frantic energy coupled with absolute accuracy - its vigorous sensuous quality
reminds me of tango :-) Anyway - although I felt like spending my Saturday afternoon
outdoors, I couldn't resist listening to the broadcast of Parsifal from Bayreuth
with Boulez. Would his view on the work have developed? It has - it has mellowed.
Those who don't like Boulez's "mathematical" (their word, not mine...)
Wagner will find that the French conductor has become more rubato-ish, detailed
and slower - with the expense of his Swiss-clock precision and rhythmic vitality
(not clarity, though). I guess I still prefer the Boulez from the 70's. I have
seen Michelle deYoung back in 1997 at the Met as Fricka. I remember it was a pretty
velvety voice - and it still is. The sound is kind of too gemütlich for Kundry,
but she is a capable singer with many technical resources, such as excellent use
of registers and mezza voce and she has very very clear diction. A worrisome excess
of vibrato creeps in now and then. The role is a bit on her limits too - and in
the end of act II she seemed - understandably - tired. The first time I heard
Endrik Wottrich's voice was in Harnoncourt's recording of Weber's Freischütz
- and I thought he would end singing Parssifal. A friend, however, saw him as David,
next to Peter Seiffert's Walther, in Bayreuth and told me the voice lacked some
ping (=ability to carry over the orchestra). Well, all I can say based on this
broadcast is that, although the tone is overdark and not particularly ingratiating,
he displays a very sound and reliable vocalization for this role. His registers
- none of them particularly natural - werre homogeneous and the dramatic moments
did not seem to impare the tone. Compared to Robert Gambill, for example, he sounds
quite more the real thing. However, I would need to be there to tell it (yes -
I know - even if in Bayreuth things are easier for singers...). The Amfortas is
a name entirely new to me - Alexander-Marco Burmeister. The voice lacks depth
and has its throaty moments - it seems he should wait a bit before dealing with
this kind of role. Anyway, he seems to be an engaged artist and did some interesting
things regarding interpretation. As for Robert Holl, the tone is really modest
and greyish for Gurnemanz and it takes a long while to adjust to a sound that
is not really noble or imposing or congenial in that role. However, he is an imaginative
artist and in the end it is possible to take profit of his performance. Franz
Crass, in Boulez's DG recording, for instance, has a deluxe voice, but is rather
dull there - I guess one has to have both throat and heart to sing the role...
A
review of Sawallisch's Ariadne auf Naxos released by Orfeo has been added to the
discography.
Saturday,
August 14th 2004
•
I've just listened to a broadcast
from Luzern - R. Strauss's Vier letzte Lieder with Renée Fleming, the festival
orchestra and Claudio Abbado. I find her performance on CD extremely inexpressive
and I can say that she has now solved that problem, while retaining her remarkable
vocal ease in these difficult songs (although she was curiously economical with
mezza voce). I only don't know if I am happy with that - she has again indulged
in some weird habits, such as off-pitch effects and some weird guttural sounds
when she releases the emission of sound (such as the ones a blues singer would
do) - I would write all that is infuriating, but my instinctive reaction was laughing.
It is a pity again - it is an admirable voice, misguided by bad taste, superficiality
of interpretation and ignorance about style. As for Abbado, this performance is
far superior to his DG recording. While the CD with the Berliner Philharmoniker
lacks forward movement, the new performance had crystalline orchestral sound and
proper tempi. I still prefer the performance from Salzburg with the Gustav Mahler
Jugendorchester and a marvelous Melanie Diener, unfortunately forgotten in the
archives of the ORF.
The second part of the program was the uncut second act
of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. I have seen Abbado conduct this work in Salzburg
in 1999 and my impression is very much similar. It is not really Abbado's cup
of tea. As in the Festspielhaus, the tempi tend to sag and the articulation, especially
the strings, lacks definition. Also, the recorded sound was too favourable to
singers. The orchestra was transparent and pleasant enough, though. As Isolde,
Violeta Urmana built a fabulous performance. Before the arrival of Tristan, the
singing was a bit angular, but from that moment on, it caught a more sensuous
and legato-ish sound, what is an interesting theatrical idea. Her top notes were
wonderfully round and easy and she keeps her lines as Isolde as few other Wagnerian
sopranos could do. Mihoko Fujimura was a clear-toned and urgent Brangäne
and René Pape offered a more positive King Marke than usual, with his creamy
and dark bass. Replacing Ben Heppner, John Treleaven caused me a good impression
as Tristan. The voice is a bit fluttery, but clean, pleasant and easy in the lower
reaches. He gets a bit nervous above the passaggio, what limits dinamic and tone-colouring
possibilities, it is true, but knows how to make the best of his resources, never
spoiling the show.
Friday,
August 13th 2004
•
The last chord of Wagner's
Götterdämmerung's broadcast from Bayreuth has just ended and I'm really
thrilled about this performance. I thought Adam Fischer's conducting marvelous.
He plays it as if it was Mozart - with respect for the music natural flow, never
rushing thing for effects, going for clean articulate phrasing and, ultimately,
letting the music speak for itself. Some may call it "kapellmeisterlich"
- but considering the level of beauty andd structural clarity involved, I can only
call it "musicianly - how often does the Siegfried/Brünnhilde Zu neue
Taten duet sound like a love duet as it does in this performance? It is also the
first time I ever listen to Evelyn Herlitzius. I know most people just loathe
her etc, but I have to say I enjoyed her performance. Provided you can put up
with her Renata Scotto-like sour kind-of-flapping voice, there is lots to praise
there. First, this is an artist who knows the value of tone colouring and is able
to shift it according to dramatic situations in an expert manner. Second, this
is a singer who - even kind of overparted - knows technique. She never forces
top notes and acknowledges the importance of natural brightness instead of sheer
pressure. She can also float her voice when necessary (which is something many
a famous Brünnhilde is unable to do). Third, I did not notice any tiredness
during the opera - she even produced a healthiest Immolation Scene with excellent
top and low notes (no short-blanket rule here...). I agree the voice, which is
basically youthful and bright (no pushed-up mezzo), was made to deal with this
kind of repertoire too early and the result is that the sound is often uneven
and sometimes raw - and maybe it is already the beginning of an irreversible decay,
but... really... it is been a long long while since I've listened to a Brünnhilde
as reliable as she is. As for Mihoko Fujimura, no matter how lovely her voice
is and how sensitive her performance, it is too high and light for Waltraute.
She should stick to high mezzo roles for the moment. Christian Franz seemed to
me an ad hoc Siegfried. The voice, when not stressed, is even pleasant, but the
role is too high for his voice and he cheats lots of time with parlando effects
and through shortening note values. At least, he knows where his limits are and
does not overdo at all. A good surprise was Olaf Bär's Gunther. I never thought
he could sing even a lighter Wagnerian role, but he did it beautifully - an interesting
performance. Unfortunately, the Hagen was throaty all the way, but it Hartmut
Welker in this short appearance of Alberich's in the cycle, produced an eerie-sounding
frightening Nibelung. I would probably dislike to listen to a whole Rheingold
with him, but for this short nightmarish scene, the sense of hatred in his voice
was really amazing. I will try to listen to the broadcast of Walküre this
week - I am really curious about what Herlitzius, Eva Johannsen and Adam Fischer
have done there.
Sunday,
August 8th 2004
•
Reading the cast of this year's Così Fan Tutte from Salzburg, my first
thought was - Io non so se son valacchi o si turchi son costor... Those were certainly
different names and it seems the big guys at the Festival were right in trying
new people. Some months ago, soon after listening to the Met's Don Giovanni, I
wrote that I doubted that stylish Mozart could actually be performed in large
halls. Apparently it can be done in Mozart's birthplace. My first impression of
Philippe Jordan's conducting was - it is going to be heavy Mozart, but he kept
me surprising with good ideas well translated into practice. René Jacobs
had tried a s-l-o-o-w Di scrivermi ogni giorno and I thought it a self-defeating
idea. However, Jordan made it through perfect balance between soloists and a rich
orchestral sound to support it (the Vienna Philharmonic...). Then I thought we'd
have a sentimental Soave sia il vento - and the conductor again surprised me with
true andante and well-contoured phrasing. Sometimes his extreme kindness to singers
could look as ponderousness, such as in In uomini (when in fact he was actually
helping his Despina...). Nothing surprised me more than a fastest finale for act
I in which everything was in perfect place and singers did not sound desperate
at all - something few conductors would try live. Also, the Vienna Philharmonic
seemed to get better and better (the French horns in Per pietà were particularly
exquisite) in following the conductor's imaginative ideas about phrasing and tempi.
As the Ferrarese sisters, two dark-voiced singers were invited and I took some
time to adjust to their sound - but it really proved worthwhile. These two singers,
who could be singing Elisabetta and Eboli (as they actually do elsewhere), offered
beautiful performances entirely in keeping with the stylish and vocal demands
of their roles. As Fiordiligi, Tamar Iveri's rich soprano proved not only to have
the low notes but also a full round top register capable of scaling down to floating
Caballé-like mezza voce and negotiating the fioriture. Only trills were
beyond her powers. At first, I thought she was rather straightforward in interpretation,
but in act II she did some truly expressive singing, especially in her aria and
in the duet with the tenor. The Dorabella, Elina Garranca, has a substantial contralto-like
mezzo that goes to its high register without complications and also fines down
to beautiful pianissimi. It is endearing to find Helen Donath still taking important
roles and - once we adjust to some wear in her middle register (the top notes
are actually really good) - she is a funny Despina, who interacts wonderfully
with Thomas Allen's masterly Don Alfonso - totally idiomatic and delivering his
recitatives with the skill of an experienced actor. Saimir Pirgu is a Ferrando
who has no trouble disguising as an Albanese, since he really comes from Albania.
His voice is charming, penetrating and quite flexible, but gets an edge in more
exposed passages. He was spared of Ah, lo vegg'io. Nicola Uliveri's substantial
bass works beautifully for Guglielmo.
I
could also sample a bit of Glimmergass's 2003 production of Handel's Orlando -
it seems to be worth while listening to the whole of it. Bernard Labadie's conducting
is a bit stately (I mean - it is a bit "well-behaved" compared to W.
Christie and maybe also Hogwood) - sometimes it makes me think of a good performance
of Handel in the 70's. Both Joyce Guyer and Christine Brandes' employ a richer
operatic style for Angelica and Dorinda than one is used to listen in this repertoire,
but their voices are pleasing enough to make for some slightly uneven passages.
Bejun Mehta is the best countertenor I have ever heard and that's it. He sings
the difficult part of Orlando with verve and is convincingly heroic all the time.
However, the golden medal goes to David Pittsinger, who steals the show as Zoroastro,
with his generous voice, flexibility and long range.
If
you want to spend two hours of fun and no intellectual considerations, I strongly
recommend Sam Raimi's Spiderman 2. The film has wonderful action sequences, produced
under scrumptious art direction, an excellent cast (it does happen when one chooses
actors for talent and not looks), a certain irreverence towards itself and all
the elements of good story-telling. I actually enjoyed it more than Spiderman
1 - here repressed sexuality (involving some funny side-effects for Spiderman...),
complicated family and friendship issues etc make for a more involving film with
some larger-than-life quasi-operatic passages (such as James Franco holding a
dagger to stab his foe/best friend...). I have to confess this was really a good
surprise. On the other hand - don't spend your striven-for money in the w-o-r-s-t
film ever produced with a large budget - The Stepford Wives. I've seen on tv the
old movie with Candice Bergen and it was kind of charming and had a then interesting
issue (and no happy ending to match). This one made me remember you can always
buy ice-cream with the ticket money and watch people come and go in front of the
ice-cream parlour.
Saturday,
August 7th 2004
•
I've just listened to the broadcast of R. Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier live from
Salzburg. The performance was rather puzzling. I've seen Bychkow conduct Strauss
once and the impression is quite similar, only in a dramatic work I don't know
if it really works. It seems that the main idea was to play safe - comfortable
tempi have been chose and everybody had space to phrase cleanly and carefully.
The advantage is amazing clarity - and the recorded sound is crystalline. This
has been an enormous advantage in the complex passages related to Ochs, where
the orchestral filigree might pass unnoticed. Here for example I've realized for
the first time what a marvelous scene is the one with Valzacchi, Annina and Ochs
in act I - here made to sound exquisite, as if hundreds of sparkles were flying
all over the place. In this sense, act III has sounded unusually polished and
connected beautifully to a rich final trio (the recorded sound again must be mentioned
- you could follow the three singers all the way). On the other hand, lyrical
passages seemed stagnant and quite bloodless. The main victim was act I, in which
only a genial Marschallin could have saved the whole affair - a Régine
Crespin, for instance. Alas, this is not the case tonight. The truth is - Bychkow's
unflowing lyric passages only served to expose the inexperience of the cast (curiously,
sometimes the uneaseness of the orchestra - the closing of act I, for example,
was made to sound with a formidable amount of vibrato, not exactly perfectly tuned
to my ears). Although her voice is pleasant and warm, Adrianne Pieczonka really
had to mature the part before dealing with it in a place such as Salzburg. In
the beginning of the opera, I thought she had opted for a bourgeois approach to
the Marschallin, well-behaved, direct and without fuss, but after 15 min I noticed
the voice was not really keen on tone colouring and she was a bit literal about
rhythm and phrasing. She used to be capable of floating a mezza voce, but it seems
she has lost it tonight - her sustained pianissimo g in the end of act I was quite
flat and colourless. Noted for the sweetness of her voice in the baroque repertoire,
Miah Persson seemed even less at ease as Sophie. She could produce high pianissimo,
but the sound was a bit hard and uneven (I am curious to know if the voice really
carried into the Grossesfestspielhaus, where richer-voiced singers than her sometimes
have trouble to be heard at all). It seemed she had not lots of resources to waste
with interpretation and the result was pretty but shallow. I wish she took the
decision of staying in her usual repertoire, in which she is delightful. The saving
grace in the cast, Angelika Kirchschlager, only exposed everyone else's various
degrees of uncomfort. Her mezzo soprano is exquisite, she knows how to gather
her resources for the big moments and never misses one opportunity to do lovely
things throughout. To say the truth, this was the first time I kept thinking "what
a lovely voice Octavian has" during the complete length of the delivery of
the silver rose. Franz Hawlata also proved to be a more than reliable Ochs. It
is true that the role sometimes takes him to his limits, but he keeps everything
under control and is characterful.
Friday,
August 6th 2004
•
Michael Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind is must-see for those who
like movie-making. Charlie Kaufmann's screenplay is basically a patchwork of many
interesting (if not necessarily original) ideas leading to Amor omnia vincit,
i.e., banality. Anyway, the plot makes for amazing cinematography - with sensational
scenery changing which made me think of Strindberg's Dream Play and a sense of
metalanguage - since characters were aware of the scenery and props and how they
changed and how they could influence its changing.
A
discography of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore has been added to the Bel Canto page.
Wednesday,
August 4th 2004
•
I've just listened to a broadcast of Handel's Semele from the Royal Albert Hall
with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants in 1996. While listening to his
impressive account of the overture - with its sharp accents and zipping divisions
- I thought it would be something Minkowsski-like, but the truth is that Christie
has a really peculiar way with Handel. It sounds as if each number had received
a good deal of thinking before the conductor settles to a performance. Semele's
showpieces, for example, were really really fast, but the quartett Why dost thou
thus untimely grieve? was clearly slower than in many performances, relying rather
on orchestral colour. For example, My racking thoughts had nothing of dreamy -
the abrupt pointed rhythm portraying how those thoughts were really racking Semele's
mind. Another interesting feature was Juno's Above measure is the pleasure, in
which section B was performed in a slower pace and solemn manner to portray Juno's
vision of how grand her arrival at the Olympus would be once freed from rival
and jelousy. He certainly had a great cast too. Although one might say Rosemary
Joshua's Semele sounds too much the good girl, she is just too impressive for
words. Not only is her creamy-toned soprano exquisite, but her technical confidence
is also amazing. Dealing with fast tempo in her challenging arias, she really
ventured into dazzling embellishment just to show she could do more than that.
In No, I'll take no less she really found operating space to sound nasty! Charlotte
Hellekant is certainly an expressive singer, but I do not think Ino is a good
role for her. She certainly sounds better here than in Minkowski's performance
this year, but the voice is a bit overdark and not truly flexible for the role.
On the other hand, Kathleen Kuhlmann certainly sings the best Juno I have ever
heard. Her excellence in coloratura, intelligent playing with registers and interpretative
skills made her the favourite of the audience. Although it was a concert performance,
people really had fun whenever she was performing. Michael Chance is a seasoned
Athamas - and, although there were some grey areas in his voice that evening,
it was a realiable performance. In the role of Jove, Timothy Robinson had a bad
start with Lay your doubts and fears aside, when the coloratura really felt uneasy,
but warmed to a beautiful caressing Where'er you walk and even warmed to clear
passagework in Ah, take heed! As Cadmus, Reinhard Hagen displayed a solid-rock
bass, while Willard White proved to be a sophisticated and spirited performed
in the role of Somnus.
Tuesday,
August 3rd 2004
•
Back in Rio, there is always
plenty of things to do. I've seen a semi-staged reading of Shakespeare's Measure
for Measure, which was really really funny. The idea was to show Shakespeare plays
for a wider audience, including poor communities - so the overall atmosphere was
spontaneous, relaxed and rather cheeky. Leonardo Medeiros as the Duke and Ricardo
Blat as Lucio were really wonderful. Yesterday, Lia and I, we visited some art
exhibits (I've particularly enjoyed Christine Marchall's gouache painting, who
displayed mastery in the use of colours and and broad brush-strokes to radiate
energy) and saw a play by Patrick Meyers called K2. The text itself is a bit routine,
but the sceneries were beautiful and Emílio de Mello, as always, offered
a fantastic performance.
In
my previous post, I promised to mention some CDs I had been able to listen during
my trip and I'll do it now. Thanks to the generous system of headphones in the
Parisian stores of FNAC and Virgin, I could hide from the "tropical"
weather in air conditioning and with plenty of entertainment. First of all, I
was really mesmerized by Emmanuelle Haïm's Dido and Aeneas. Many passages
were accompanied almost exclusively by plucked-string instruments and sometempi
were clearly slower than Christie's (my favourite recording so far). The result
is an intimate and exquisite atmosphere. I found Susan Graham's Dido amazing -
a major voice with interpretative and technical possibilities to cause envy in
most singers. Camila Tilling was in radiating voice as Belinda and Felicity Palmer,
who recorded a charming Belinda to Tatiana Troyanos' Dido some decades ago, offers
a powerful and unexaggerated performance as the Sorceress - her voice is in great
shape considering her status of a veteran singer. Ian Bostridge also impressed
me in the role of Aeneas and is at ease with the lower tessitura. I don't need
to tell that Lucia Popp's recital recently released in the BBC series is also
fabulous - it is on top of my "shopping list". A charming disc - I may
regret not buying it - is Annick Massis' disc of Mozart and Handel arias. It is
a live recording and there are some tiny untidy things, but the overall result
is certainly impressive - an exquisite charming voice entirely stylish and really
flexible. Véronique Gens singing Les Nuits d'Été also produced
a strong impression in me. These are songs often sung in a grand and highly expressive
style - and listening to Gens delivering them in such a natural spontaneous way
certainly has its charm. Moreover, I just LOVE her voice. It joins the apparently
incompatible qualities of naturalness and sophistication.
Something
I should mention too about the trip: it is curious how different orchestras organize
the way musicians should sit. For example, I really believe violas should be placed
closer to the audience than the cellos, considering the former have a softer sound
than the latter. And that I saw at the Semperoper. Constantijn and I have talked
about the advantages of split violins and I agree that this is the best idea 95%
of cases. It was really surprising to find that at the Gasteig with Levine and
the Munich Philharmonic. However, I found the orchestral seating really different.
We had counterbass and first violins at the left, the cellos in the middle and
violas and second violins at the right. Not to mention the soloists placed behind
the orchestra... When the BRSO played in the same hall, it was "refreshing"
to see the traditional seating and the soloist next to the conductor. I am curious
to check what Norman del Mar has to say about this issue in his dictionary.
•
The reason of my absence of the cyberworld was a trip to Europe in which many
interesting things happened. I won't try to make a travel journal, because this
is the kind of thing which is more entertaining to he who writes than to those
who read it, but keep to the areas of interest generally dealt with in this blog.
So here it is:
- I arrived
in Leipzig on July 3rd, where Constantijn and Annemarieke, my wonderful hosts
in Saxony, were waiting for me: the next morning they even offered me a private
performance of a charming sonata for viola and piano by Brunetti! Leipzig is a
charming city with the best of both worlds: it is small enough to be cozy and
big enough to offer anything a big town has. More than that: I had the impression
that the spirit of Germany, let's call it Kultur, is still alive there.
We had tickets for Carmen in the Leipzig Oper. It was a lovely production, traditional
and elegant, succeeding in showing a Spain that doesn't look like the Epcot Center-version
of a country, but the real thing. Moreover, the colours were beautiful throughout
and the actors' direction was accordingly spontaneous. In the title role, Cornelia
Helfricht displayed a powerful mezzo soprano, albeit with some passaggio problems.
Her abuse of chest voice would disturb a French opera purist, but the sound was
clean and her top notes were wonderful. She also has a strong stage presence and
portrayed Carmen as a down-to-earth character who only wants to live her life
according to her own ideas. Her virtuoso castanets playing is also admirable!
As Micaela, the beautiful Marika Schönberg filled her lines with a velvety
floating soprano. Her vowels could be clearer, but the vulnerable and warm-hearted
performance was pleasing all the way. Despite an overnasal tone, Luca Lombardo
had crystal-clear diction and really clarion-like top notes at his side. Tuomas
Pusio has a dark firm tone and phrased with admirable clarity as Escamillo. Constantijn
had been insistently telling me about the paramount excellence of the choir at
the Leipzig Oper and I have to say he has not exaggerated. Probably out of a lifetime
of singing Bach, they display an impressive clarity and balance between registers.
The thoroughness of their diction and phrasing is truly amazing. In many choral
passages, I could listen to things I have never imagined to exist in the score
of Carmen. Also, the orchestra is very good - the strings are particularly beautiful.
The conducting was a bit kapellmeisterlich, but the overall result was more than
positive.
I had a second
opportunity to visit the Leipzig Oper when they staged Martín y Soler's
Una Cosa Rara in their series of "pocket" opera performances, i.e. the
orchestral part is reduced to piano. First of all, Una Cosa Rara is a neglected
jewel, a charming libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte wrapped in Martín y Soler's
uncomplicated melodic and theatrical genius. I have to confess I didn't expect
much of the music (especially when one thinks of Mozart), but it has beguiled
me completely. The secco recitatives were translated to German, but the accompagnati
and arias were performed in Italian, with a previous summary in German read by
the director. Also, Gundula Novack's simple and witty staging was delightful -
and the soloists from the company are wonderful actors all of them. Also, they
are wonderful singers too. An opera house with such a team of young singers should
not fear to stage any work by composers such as Handel, Gluck or Mozart. In the
prima donna part of Queen Isabella, Eun Yee Yoo showed a silvery yet full-toned
voice that readily takes to floating pianissimi and fioriture. In the role of
Lila, Marika Schönberg (the Micaela some days before) again excelled in this
rare combination of dark tone and forward placement and, mamma mia, she looks
really stunning! Singing the part of Ghita, Hendrikje Wangemann is a complete
charmer, with her quicksilver pretty voice and true acting skills. Playing the
breeches role of Don Giovanni (Queen Isabella's son), Kathrin Göring has
a marvelous mezzo, entirely even throughout the range, natural low notes and firm
top register. She was also convincingly boyish in her role - and would be a lovely
Octavian. In the part of Lubino, Jürgen Kürth has a rich mellow baritone,
while Tuomas Pusio (the Escamillo) has an irresistible, healthy, firm bright and
full-toned baritone. Finally, Thomas Oertel-Gormanns has a deep round bass and
is really really funny. The night has been so good that I couldn't resist speaking
to some of them and they proved to be really nice people too.
The
other performance I saw in Leipzig was a Fledermaus at the Musikalische Komödie.
From the musical point of view, only Kathrin Göring's Orlofsky and the good
choir are worth while mentioning, but the production was really smart, beautiful
and funny.
In Leipzig
I should also mention an excellent CD store, Opus 61, and a hilarious video called
Tosca in the trampolin and other operatic catastrophes directed and starred by
Otto Schenck. Constantijn has a tape of it and I had the laugh of my life while
watching to it.
- While
in Saxony, I could also visit Dresden and I enjoyed immensely the day I spent
there. It is a beautiful city, unfortunately still recovering from the horrible
damages of the war but doing it in a most positive way. They have a great museum
in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, with important painting of artists such
as Botticelli, Rafael, Parmigianino, Vermeer and Holbein. I could also visit the
Semperoper and go to a concert with the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Daniele
Gatti. All I can say is that it was the orchestral experience of my life. The
strings have a warmest sound, perfectly balanced with the other sections, resulting
in this dream-like full, rich but clear sound. Unfortunately, as I had to take
the train back to Leipzig, I had to leave before the end of the concert, but I
have to say that Salome's Dance of the Seven Veils, conducted in a languid and
passionate manner by Gatti, is something I will never forget.
Two
days later, I spent an afternoon in Berlin with the purpose of visiting museums.
The Alte Nationalgalerie really introduced me to some wonderful paintings by the
Nazarenes, a movement of Romantic painters influenced by Italian Renaissance.
It was also the first time I have seen a painting by Caspar David Friedrich "live"
and I was impressed by the "pencil-drawing"-like aspect which does not
comes through photos. The Pergamonmuseum is also impressive - those huge dream-like
"sceneries" are images I won't ever forget. I could also re-visit the
Unter den Linden, that marvelous avenue, and Dussman, that WONDERFUL CD-store.
-
Next step in my trip was Munich. On July 12th I visited the Gasteig for a concert
performance of Wagner's Parsifal. As expected, James Levine's conducting was on
the slow side, except in some key moments such as the act II finale, but I have
to confess it was a true pleasure to listen to such rich and detailed orchestral
sound from the Munich Philharmonic creating a really supernatural atmosphere.
Also, the chorus was beautiful and the Tölzer boys were amazing. As Kundry,
Violeta Urmana is simply perfect: rich low notes, full rounded powerful top notes,
beautiful mezza voce and a Lieder-singing like approach to the text. While she
is singing, she is the only person in the world. I was amazed with the chilling
screams she could do out of the context of a staging. In the title role, Johann
Botha displayed a beautiful youthful tenor. He is also quite musicianly, but some
artifficially darkened top notes are between him and complete success. Albert
Dohmen was really impressive. I had seen him as Wolfram some years ago and the
voice has lost some of its crystalline quality. On the other hand, it has become
a true wall of sound overwhelming the big orchestral sound (I forgot to tell you
- singers were placed BEHIND the orchestrra). René Pape was Gurnemanz -
it is the beautiful creamy voice of always (I had seen him twice as König
Heinrich) but maybe he still needs to mature in the part. Richard Paul Fink could
have clearer diction as Klingsor, but he is dramatically effective.
July
13th was a sad day for me. The reason of my visit to Munich was Gruberová
singing Roberto Devereux at the Staatsoper. I had ordered tickets from the website
and, when all reservations (air tickets, hotel etc) had been made, the Staatsoper
Kartenbüro sent me an e-mail telling that, although the site announced to
have tickets, they had been actually sold out. So I was there in Munich only witnessing
my disappointment (shame on you, Staatsoper!) and decided to look for something
else to do. I ended on Staatsoper am Gärtner Platz for a Traviata sung in
German. The production was interesting, beautiful, some small problems appeared
now and then, but the actors' direction was effective, with some really great
moments, such as the truly intimate and charming De miei bollenti spirti. The
orchestra is below standard and the conductor was rather metronomic, but what
could you expect of a Traviata made with a Pamina, a Monostatos and a Papageno?
As Violetta, Nathalie Boissy has a beautiful creamy voice and her phrasing tends
to be sensitive, but the part is really larger than her voice and the result was
a strained and raw top register. Scott McAlister, the Alfredo, was usually below
pitch and had a voice eeriely similar to Gerhard Stolze. Gary L.Martin, as Germont,
père, has a beautiful voice, reminiscent of Rodney Gilfry's, albeit too
young-sounding and un-Italianate for the role.
On
July 14th, there was Dorothea Röschmann's Liederabend in the Prinzregententheater.
The voice is warm and exceptionally creamy, the low notes are easy and spacious
but could be brighter now and then. With her Meißen china doll looks and
the red and golden dress, it seemed as if she had sprung to life from the walls
of the Residenz palace. Her Schubert was absolutely perfect - she joins the talent
of a diseuse with those of a singer who really masters tone colouring. She did
make me think of Lucia Popp - and that's the highest compliment I can think of.
She sang a truly "personal" Ave Maria, more dramatic and connected to
the text than usual, but both Ellens Gesänge were my favourite moments -
she really poured her heart into them. The Mahler was also successful. Her expressive
and theatrical Irdische Leben avoided the traps of exaggeration which had befallen
people like Anne Sofie von Otter. In Wo die schöne Trompetten blasen, the
top notes lacked a bit intimacy, but her sense of story-telling was still marvelous.
Berg's Seven Early Songs highlighted her glittery top register (especially in
Die Nachtigall), her purity of intonation and clear diction. She proved to be
someone who likes to be challenged when she chose Schubert's Nacht und Träume
as an encore. The song can be a killer even for those who have floating mezza
voce, and she offered a more impassionate view of this song, wonderfully partned
by Graham Johnson's expert accompaniment. She also sang - beautifully - Liszt's
Es muß ein Wunderbares sein.
The
next day I was again at the Gasteig just to listen to the Bavarian Radio Symphonic
Orchestra. I have to confess that Berlioz's Harold in Italy and Prokofieff's 5th
are not my repertoire and the only moment where I really connected to the performance
was in third movement, where the transparent string sounds made me "recognise"
the orchestra which has done so much beautiful Strauss playing for Sawallisch.
Hermann Menninghaus's viola playing was also admirable - he played Bach in his
encore and it was marvelous, especially in such a sweet sounding instrument.
July
16th is a day to be remembered for ever: Violeta Urmana's Liederabend in the Prinzregententheater.
It is a perfect voice, big, powerful, entirely flexible in dynamics, she has lovely
mezza voce, the registers immaculately blended, one cannot feel effort anywhere
in her singing - it is the vocal equivalent of the Staatskapelle Dresden! In the
Hugo Wolf songs, she already revealed her talent for tone colouring with a formidable
Wehe wer der mir verstrickte and a warm and sensuous Bedeck mich mit Blumen. The
Wesendonck Lieder benefited from her creamy voice and she thoroughly followed
Wagner's dynamic instructions. Her ability to shift from an intimate to a house-filling
glorious sound is truly amazing. However, her voice seemed to cry for Richard
Strauss and the last part of the program was the stuff legends are made of. The
voice is velvety, sexy and exhudes light. She chose some unusual Lieder by the
composer and sung them with true poetic imagination. Wassenrosen was one of the
best examples of Straussian singing I have ever heard. She also excelled in famous
soungs, such as Befreit, sung with amazingly pure powerful rounded top notes.
Mit deiner blauen Augen was simply heavenly - her dramatic voice coped with unusual
ease with the sense of story telling. We were blessed with impressive encores.
One of my favourite songs - by Rakhmaninov - to start with - Zdes choroso, sung
with floated-toned sense of bliss. This one really worthed my (expensive) ticket
to Europe. Then she sang Strauss's Cäcilie with Flagstad-like full-voiced
lyricism. After extatic applauses from the audience, she surprised us with Sucidio!
from Ponchielli's La Gioconda, sung with Italianate gusto, but no vulgarity, and
phrased as an instrument. With her natural manners and good humour, she agreed
to sing one more song - Obrador's Coplas de Curro Dulce, where she displayed incredible
flexibility and a truly exciting final top note. I wrote some "conclusions"
in my agenda after this recital: although the voice has its similarities with
Grace Bumbry's, her top notes really sound "soprano" and maybe she has
a point in dealing with dramatic soprano repertoire. One thing is clear: this
woman not only has nature at her side, she really KNOWS technique and how her
voice works. Also, she should try Ariadne one of these days. Finally, pianist
Jan Philip Schulze partnered her to perfection, offering a truly "orchestral"
sound which is fit to these songs.
July
17th was my final visit to the Gasteig for a Mahler program. I have to say that
the Lied von der Erde was disappointing. The orchestra did not seem at ease with
the piece (and tiny mistakes now and then proved that) and the slower movements,
especially Abschied, were really sagging in poor articulation. The placement of
the soloists behind the orchestra only made things worse. One could feel that
the orchestra had to play softly to accomodate the soloists, especially Anne Sofie
von Otter, who did not seem happy to be placed far far away from the audience.
This piece is already on the heavy side for her voice, which does not have the
purity of her Mahler recording with John Eliot Gardiner anymore. Her low register
failed to project, especially in the end of the second song. We could still listen
to her in the heavier orchestral moments, but the sound lacked colour. In the
softer orchestral passages, she could relax and concentrate in interpretation.
Then, the tone was sensuous and her clear diction was also helpful all the way.
On the other hand, Johann Botha was in excellent shape. His voice sounded brighter
and more natural than in Parsifal and he could ride the orchestra with amazing
bravura and still display sensitive phrasing. The performance of Mahler's 2nd
only served to show how the orchestra was NOT at ease before. The "sound"
of the orchestra which had impressed me in the Parsifal was back, especially how
the strings really blended with brass, even when the latter were really playing
loud. All in all, it was a good performance, a bit out of the mark here and there,
and those who like Bernstein would find it a bit cold. Von Otter was also a bit
cold in Urlicht, but it was a beautiful piece of singing and Dorothea Röschmann
proved to have a nice projection in the big hall even placed behind the orchestra.
Actually, it was not really flattering to seat both soloists just behind the drums.
Von Otter had to stop her ears with her hands now and then...
My
final musical "engagement" in Munich was Gounod's Roméo et Juliette
at the Bavarian State Opera. It was an interesting performance. The orchestra
had a bad start with scrawny violins, but, despite minor problems, the rich sound
and the "German-like" serious tone, even in the lighter episodes, gave
a heroic touch - call it Fliegende Romeo if you like - to the opera and served
to prove the connection between French and German operas those days. The interesting
aspect is that the conductor was Marcello Viotti. As Juliette, Angela Maria Blasi
offered an unusual view of the role with her straight-toned approach and classical
straightforwardnesss (not to mention perfect trills). She sounded amazingly young
in the role and only "unblossoming" extreme top notes were between her
and complete success. She also had a charming way with her chest register, which
made her sound - curiously - gentle and girly. The Romeo, Marcelo Alvarez, has
a truly handsome voice and, when he avoids lachrimosity, he does some beautiful
sensitive things. The top register is sound, sometimes careful, but always effective.
Manolito Mario Franz as Tybalt showed a nasal quite fragile strained sound which
made the character pointless, while Martin Gantner, although also nasal-toned,
has a projecting baritone and was - thank God! - unexaggerated. Anna Bonitatibus
was truly charming as Stéphano, phrasing with thoroughly clear articulation.
The production has too many adapations (including some made in the German Übertiteln)
in order to make the concept fit, but the actor's direction was efficient and
the idea - per se - was not bad (Romeo and Juliet as teenagers of rival schools
in the 50's) until the Duke of Mantova appeared as a mafioso called "The
Duke". As we know, besides being complete nonsense, this belongs to the famous
adaptation of Rigoletto made in England some years ago...
In
Munich I could also pursue my "introduction" to German masters in the
fabulous museums of that town, such as the Alte and Neue Pinakotheke, the Lenbachhaus
and the Schack-Galerie. As I had plenty of time and know no-one there, I decided
to play the tourist and take lots of photos of the marvelous Neoclassical monuments
and the churches. I was staying in a hotel close to the Odeonsplatz and that square
really made me think of Florence and the Theatinerkirche was my favourite "model"
for photographies (but the fresco by Peter Cornelius at the Ludwigskirche is really
the must-see). A curious thing about Munich - the best CD-store, Ludwig Beck,
is actually a kind of German C & A. If you are not curious enough to get to
the 4th floor, you'd never guess it...
-
I have to confess Munich really drained me of my energy and I decided to have
a "relaxing" week in Paris. So I did. I went to the theatre twice -
a play by Agnès Jaoui, Un Air de Famille, performed at the Théâtre
de Nesle by Compagnie de Qêhèlet, was really worth while the visit,
while an Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at the Comédie des Champs-Elysées
was just a curiosity. Of course, I re-visited the Musée d'Orsay and the
Louvres (tried to discover new "favourite" paintings there and found
Ary Scheffer's "Les ombres de Francesa da Rimini et de Paolo Malatesta apparaissent
à Dante et Virgile" and Roussy-Trioson's Atala au tombeau").
I also made a photographic safari at the Marais and visited the most charming
hôtels particuliers one could think of (I strongly recommend a visit to
the Musée Cognac-Jay, a cozier and less ambitious Frick Collection). Of
course, Olivier and Nathalie made sure that there would be amazing gastronomic
and musical things in the trip. I am especially indebted for him to show me Gardiner's
Les Troyens with a flaming Anna Caterina Antonnacci, a sensuous Susan Graham,
a divine Monterverdi Choir and wonderful orchestral playing. I have also taken
profit of CD-stores to listen to many discs, but I'll comment on that in the next
post.
- So finally I ended
my trip in London (a first time for me!). Dave and Barry were WONDERFUL hosts
and I just loved the city. I had only two days hurrying all over the place not
trying to see everything (this would be impossible), but trying to get the atmosphere.
I did visit the National Gallery (and loved it, of course - those wonderful paintings
by Bronzino, Pontormo, the marvelous Seurat...), the Covent Garden (just the building,
no performance) and went twice to the theatre. First of all to see Tennessee Williams'
Suddenly Last Summer, in a powerful production by Michael Grandage. As Mrs. Venable,
Diana Rigg was just amazing, but I guess Victoria Hamilton (the Queen Victoria
of the BBC telefilm), excellent as she was, could be even better if she did not
try too hard for the Dixieland accent and if she could have Elizabeth Taylor's
sensuousness. But maybe that's the director fault. Now the "confession"
moment. OK, I confess I saw "When Harry met Sally" at the Royal Haymarket
Theatre. You know, I've been a teenager at the 80s and some friends have been
asking if Molly Ringwald was still alive. Well, she is - and playing Sally in
a smart but ultimately routine adapatation for the stage of the film I know _all
of you_ have seen. Also, thanks to Dave and Barry, not only can I say I have Lucia
Popp's Eva (yes, a complete broadcast...), but also I have listened to two amazing
performances - a Lohengrin in Budapest during which Klemperer just abandons the
pit because the audience insists on aplauding In fernem Land and an Aida in Naples
when Guelfi and Cerquetti bring the house down, but the conductor still goes on
- and this goes on for ever...
Tuesday,
July 27th 2004
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