Intermezzo

Mariinsky do Die Walkure

Die Walküre - Mariinsky Opera - Royal Opera House, 30 July 2009

Things are looking up. Part two of the Mariinsky's Ring Cycle was a definite improvement on the previous night. Like swine flu is better than TB, that is. Still tosh, but evidently planned and rehearsed a little more than Das Rheingold. Performers looked less lost, there were fewer obvious mishaps, and the action was generally a lot more credible.

Gergiev had a patchy night. He wasn't able to maintain the febrile energy he brought to the first act prelude, but the playing did occasionally catch fire later in spite of sluggish tempos and a generally underweight sound.  

Larissa Diadkova sang much more incisively than the previous night and made a commanding Fricka.  It was the only truly world-class performance of the evening. Olga Savova was a shrill (if largely accurate) Brünnhilde, Mikhail Kit's Wotan was expressive but worn, and skipped text, Mlada Khudoley's Sieglinde was hysterically overplayed and Avgust Amonov's wildly variable Siegmund missed more notes than he hit (and his tone narrowed to a costive bleat even then). When one of the Valkyries skipped an entire line, it was par for the course.

The monumental coprolites were again in place all night as the only scenery - so why we needed over two hours of intervals is beyond me. It made a long night even longer.

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Das Rheingold - das rehearsal

Here are some photos from the dress rehearsal for the Mariinsky's Das Rheingold in Covent Garden:

Vorspiel with mooching Norns (who appear to have knitted the World Thread into wigs):

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Gergiev's defence

On Radio 3's In Tune programme last night, Valery Gergiev defended his Mariinsky Ring staging - according to him the cycle is "not rational" and "not German". Has he slowed down for long enough to actually study it, I wonder?

There's also a brief chat with the very earnest Evgeny Nikitin - who explains why singing Wagner should be like singing Mozart, and why tattoos are a smart career move.

Listen for the next few days here (ff to 1:13).

Das Russian Rheingold

Das Rheingold - Mariinsky Opera - Royal Opera House, 29 July 2009

Infantile, cartoonish, theatrically inept - unfortunately it looks as if this Ring Cycle is going to tick all the boxes that its past critics claim for it, despite a supposed 'restaging' earlier this year.

Stark lighting exposes the shortcomings of the bare set, semaphore substitutes for acting, and the 'difficult' scenes - fights and physical transformations and so on -  are bereft of imagination or credibility. (The Tarnhelm is a big hankie, and it's kind of downhill from there.) The less said about the pewpie dolls hanging from the ceiling, the better. Oh, and the stagehands chatted - loudly - during the music. Can you believe it?

On the upside (yes there is one), while it may be risible, it's not irritating and it doesn't get in the way. I'd just like to have had some sort of intellect or perspective applied, that's all.

And the casting isn't bad. Evgeny Nikitin (Wotan), Evgeny Ulanov (Donner), Zhanna Dombrovskaya (Freia) and Vadim Kravets (Fasolt) can really sing, even if the (lack of) direction means they flounder physically. Larissa Diadkova brought her inimitably starry presence and a powerful set of lungs to Fricka, and Nikolai Putilin's tremendous range of expression made it easier to overlook the shoutiness of his Alberich. Andrei Popov (Mime) proved himself the only convincing actor of the bunch and Zhanna Dombrovskaya (Woglinde) was the best of the Rhinemaidens.

The Mariinsky Orchestra played well, though Gergiev didn't seem to have any particular goal in sight other than getting through it. Das Rheingold, with all its various 'effects', is the part of the Ring you'd expect him to excel at. But the anvil chorus slipped by, and Donner's thunderstorm lacked climactic impact. All rather monochromatic. Part of the problem was an understaffed and underequipped percussion section - it's the bit of the orchestra you don't tend to notice unless it's not quite right. Doesn't bode well for the rest of the cycle.

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Royal Opera House sizzles with the Sun again

After the PR success of last year's Don Giovanni, the Royal Opera House has announced it will once again open its doors to Sun readers this autumn.

Discounted tickets, subsidised by the Helen Hamlyn Trust, will be offered for Carmen on 3 October and the ballet Mayerling on 7 October, and are intended to lure "new faces, people who may not have thought that the Royal Opera House was for them". No doubt a few old faces will wangle their way in too.

Seats will be priced between £7.50 and £30 and will be allocated by ballot, allowing each applicant up to four seats per show. Full details of how to apply will be published in the Sun "later this summer".

 

Banged up in Valhalla

Murder, rape, incest, adultery, slavery, assault, robbery – it’s all there in the Ring Cycle. And everyone gets away with it – at least until the Curse of the Ring catches up with them.

But what if they were hauled up before the bench? What would the long arm of the English law have to say about it?

Take Das Rheingold.

Alberich the Nibelung spies on the three Rhinemaidens frolicking in the water mit steigendem Wohlgefallen ('with rising pleasure'). And we all know what that means. Depending on the production costuming (or lack of it), this could constitute voyeurism which carries a maximum penalty of 2 years. But it’s not the most serious offence in the scene. Teasing Alberich for his ugliness could earn the Rhinemaidens up to 7 years for harassment, racially-aggravated.

Alberich steals their Rhinegold - an obvious one - and under the Theft Act it’s a 7 year sentence. 

Meanwhile Wotan, on Loge’s advice, has promised the goddess Freia to the giants Fasolt and Fafner in return for building him a new castle. Of course he doesn’t intend to pay up. Does he realise that obtaining services dishonestly is an offence under the Fraud Act with a sentence of up to 5 years?

But the giants demand their payment, so they make off with Freia. Trafficking is in modern day terms one of the most serious crimes committed in the opera, with a sentence of up to 14 years for all involved. The financial angle could also leave Wotan and Loge facing prostitution charges. Causing or inciting prostitution for gain and controlling prostitution for gain carry a 7 year maximum sentence.

Loge then suggests to Wotan that they steal the ring from Alberich and offer it to the giants as a substitute payment. But conspiracy to commit theft could land the pair of them another 7 years before they've even done the deed. 

Alberich meanwhile has the Tarnhelm crafted by Mime. Who needs a knife when you’ve got a magic helmet? But the penalties are similar - possessing any weapon used to threaten or cause fear and offence committed in dangerous circumstances carries up to 5 years.

Wotan and Loge trick Alberich into turning himself into a toad, allowing Wotan to trap him underfoot. Animal cruelty could land Wotan another 6 months.  

They relieve Alberich of the hoard and the ring. More theft of course, and threatening behaviour could add another 2 years to the sentence.

Alberich places a curse on the ring, bringing endless misery to all who possess or seek it. A capital offence to the Visigoths, but not prohibited under English law.

Wotan swaps the treasure for Freia, and the giants quarrel over the division of the spoils. Fafner kills Fasolt – and murder of course means a life sentence.

Where’s a Rhinecopper when you need one? 

How to meet Katherine Jenkins

"Saturday’s concert, the main event of Basildon’s 60th birthday celebrations, saw Welsh soprano Ms Jenkins belting out operatic arias, as well as movie theme tunes.

It went down a storm with concert-goers, who camped out with picnics and flags.

At one point, the diva even invited one merry reveller who had dressed up as opera giant Pavarotti, complete with convincing face mask, up on stage with her."

Cosi live from Salzburg

 

The opening night of Claus Guth's new Così fan tutte will be streamed live from the Salzburg Festival at 9pm (UK 8pm) on Thursday 30 July.

The price is € 7.90 -further details here.

Susie does French

Proms PCM 2: Susan Graham / Malcolm Martineau - Cadogan Hall, 27 July 2009

Bizet Chanson d'avril   Franck Nocturne   Chabrier Les cigales   Bachelet Chère nuit   Duparc Au pays où se fait la guerre   Ravel Histoires naturelles – Le paon   Caplet Le corbeau et le renard   Roussel Réponse d'une épouse sage   Debussy Fêtes galantes – Colloque sentimental   Honegger Trois chansons de la petite sirène   Rosenthal Chansons du monsieur Bleu – La souris d'Angleterre   Poulenc La dame de Monte-Carlo     Encore: Hahn A Chloris

French mélodie is a tricky genre to master. It must appear insouciant, unforced. Effort must be imperceptible, effect achieved by suggestion alone. Forget the intensity of lieder, the operatic grand gesture too. The poetry is often allusive, but it stands alone - the greatest songs of the genre have a jewel-like clarity that needs no further decoration.

Harder to pull off than it looks. But Susan Graham succeeded better than most. The full, gleaming tone was delicately shaded. Gesture - vocal and physical - was minimal. The air of cool abandon masked a keenly-focussed attention to text.

She programmed a number of lighter songs - Ravel's Le paon, Caplet's Le corbeau et le renard, Honegger's Trois chansons, Rosenthal's La souris d'Angleterre. They were never overplayed or undersung - she maintained her line and let the humour speak for itself without adding arch vocal 'effects' as many singers are tempted to. The aching longing of Bachelet's Chère nuit and Duparc's Au pays où se fait la guerre was conjured without affectation. Only Bizet's Chanson d'avril, hard-edged and wiry-toned, failed to convince.

Poulenc's La dame de Monte-Carlo is in a different idiom to the rest of the recital - a miniature opera almost. Here she let down her hair (not literally - it was lacquered rigid) to colour the tale of the luckless gambler in bold theatrical strokes.

Malcolm Martineau added some finely-judged French seasoning. Like Graham he understands that this music is too delicate to be pulled around.

The concert was broadcast live on Radio 3 and is available on the iPlayer for a few days here (complete with gratuitous mid-recital interviews - the BBC clearly don't believe an audience can handle a whole hour of pure music).

And medici.tv have a free recorded stream of virtually the same recital from Verbier last week, here. (HD throws up some unexpected details - beneath the shoulder pads and helmet head, check out the multiple piercings and thumb ring.)

 

the latest mews

Remember Nora the Piano Cat? Well, she's now known as Nora The Piano Cat™ after her remarkable keyboard skillz made her a massive YouTube hit with over 14 million viewers.

Now Lithuanian composer/conductor Mindaugas Piečaitis has written Catcerto for Nora The Piano Cat™ and orchestra. The furry soloist features via pre-recorded video link. Here’s how the premiere went:

Katya Kabanova in Holland Park

Kát'a Kabanová - Opera Holland Park, 24 July 2009

Something's been missing from Opera Holland Park this season. Something you don't usually associate with opera, so I only realised when I looked back at my post on their excellent 2007 Jenůfa.

No more surprise duets from screeching screaming peacocks!

Have they been tidied away to a far corner of the park? Had their beaks taped? Or have their scraggy carcases been put to more creative use? Who knows?

Many of the cast and crew from the rudely-interrupted Jenůfa were back again this year for more Janáček in this new production from Olivia Fuchs. By turns mystifying and overly bleeding obvious, it is at least clearly and confidently acted by the principals.

The set is simple, stretching over the full width of the stage. In one corner is a wire gazebo that Katya paws to escape in the prelude, later revealed to be - of course -  the 'cage' that is her home.  Paths twist over a painted river and no-one dares step outside their boundaries - until Boris leads Katya off the path. And of course 'off the path'. Surfboards are suspended behind - waves, clouds, leaves? Not a clue. The chorus hang around like flies at a picnic, giving us plenty of time to admire their gorgeous costumes (I can't imagine any other purpose for the weird mass zombie shuffle that ended the show).

The opera isn't long and the set doesn't change, so I'm not sure why there was an interval before the last act. It defused the dramatic tension, and much more importantly (now that Holland Park Cafe is closing at 8.30) there was nothing for greedy people (raises hand) to do but stuff themselves with costly designer peanuts at the fancy OHP bar. But perhaps that was the idea.

The tiny Anne Sophie Duprels made a riveting Katya, all her warmth and passion gradually crushed by her cold, reserved husband (a blustery Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts) and her vicious stepmother (Anne Mason, needle-sharp). Tom Randle's troubled Boris seemed pretty unappealing to me, but perhaps that was the idea - Katya is so starved of affection she'll settle for anything.

Some of the evening's best singing, clear and gleaming, came from Patricia Orr as Varvara and Andrew Rees as Kudrjáš.

Had the orchestra benefited from a few more rehearsals than usual? They played vividly and accurately for Stuart Stratford, and with enormous confidence. It was hard to believe this was only the first night.

Glyndebourne - 'the music was a bonus'

The FT's weekend columnist Mrs Moneypenny explains the appeal of Glyndebourne more astutely than any opera critic:

"Take a wall, any wall, put a door in it, make it difficult to get a ticket to go through the door, and put smart food and drink on the other side. People will pay a fortune to get through that door, irrespective of what is happening – sport, opera, even a flower show. And they will pay up more than once a season!"

das Land ohne Musik's greatest hit

What's the most popular English opera in Germany? By far? Performed up and down the country, several times a year, by both professional and amateur ensembles? (clue - it's not by Britten. Or Purcell.)

Find out here.

Christian Thielemann - I was pushed

 

Christian Thielemann has confirmed in an interview with FAZ that the decision not to renew his contract as Munich Philharmonic chief conductor from 2011 was down to the Munich city council, not him.

Officially, the sticking point is a new contract clause which gave the orchestra's general director the right to select guest conductors and their programmes - reducing Thielemann, as he put it, to the status of a guest conductor in his own orchestra.

But there are also rumblings that cost cutting might have contributed to the city council's decision. Even though Thielemann's presence has boosted ticket sales, the orchestra is mostly state-funded.  

Another possible factor in the mix is evidenced by the trail of epithets which attach to Thielemann - ''uncompromising' is one of the politest.

He also explains in the interview that his Bayreuth 'musical adviser' post - mentioned in last year's Eva/Katharina Wagner joint succession announcement - hasn't been firmed up further. Apparently the sisters have been busy with other matters. But he recalls the words of James Levine - whoever conducts the Ring at Bayreuth (as Thielemann does this year) is the de facto music director, if only because he's busier than everyone else.

Meanwhile, Dresden Semperoper, looking for a new music director to replace Fabio Luisi from 2012, have lost no time in tapping up Thielemann - 'first contact' has already been made.

Jennifer Pike's bathroom break

As violinist Jennifer Pike tells the Sunday Express today, the life of a classical musician is not always a glamorous one:

“I was travelling alone to Tasmania for a recording session,” she says. “The journey took five days instead of 25 hours. I slept on chairs and the only private space available to rehearse in was the disabled toilets.

It really hit me on that trip that classical music is actually a tough business. The flight out of London was jam-packed. I was entitled to an upgrade but I soon realised it would only happen if I was in a suit and male. I had my violin slung across my back and the computer said no after just a cursory glance.

At Singapore the airport people were a nightmare, they kept repeating, ‘Just calm down, dear, we’ll get you on a flight.’ You can see them thinking, ‘Not another hysterical woman.’ I was a mess.

When I got to Sydney, because of the delays I missed the connection to Tasmania. I couldn’t get on the first flight out, for no apparent reason, and at the gate for the next one I was told there was still something wrong with the paperwork. I had to go back to the ticket counter and start again.

I was playing a new repertoire in Tasmania and my rehearsal time was evaporating. My only salvation was practising in the loo. The disabled toilets were least busy but it was a nightmare. This experience aged me.

If you’re young and female, you can get trampled on, people don’t see music when they look at you, they just see a girl. I’ve always been grateful to my dad for looking after me but recently I’ve learned to go it alone.”

Don Giovanni from Verbier with Terfel and Pape - FREE streaming

 

The 20 July Verbier Festival concert performance of Don Giovanni is available in full online FREE for one month (thanks to reader Dolcevita for the tip). It's luxuriously-cast and beautifully-sung top to bottom, and marks the last opportunity to catch Bryn Terfel in the title role before he switches permanently to Leporello.

Manfred Honeck conducted the Verbier Festival Orchestra, and the full cast is René Pape (Leporello) Anna Samuil (Donna Anna), Bryn Terfel (Don Giovanni), Thomas Quasthoff (Commendatore), Michael Schade (Don Ottavio), Annette Dasch (Donna Elvira), Sylvia Schwartz (Zerlina) and Robert Gleadow(Masetto).

There are two sources - arte.tv and medici.tv. I found the Medici streaming was slightly better quality - but you need to sign up for a (free) account to watch beyond a brief preview. 

The festival runs from 17 July to 2 August, and as last year, both channels are are also streaming other festival performances - in some cases live. The full programme is here.

 

 

Mariinsky Ring - Covent Garden casting announced

 

Casting details for the Mariinsky's Covent Garden performances of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung are now available on the Royal Opera House website.

Amongst a bunch of names that mean nothing to me I spot Evgeny Nikitin as Wotan (except in Walküre), Larissa Diadkova as Fricka and Mikhail Petrenko as Hagen. Unfortunately none of the young singers who impressed me most in the Mariinsky's recent Barbican visit, but then they weren't exactly Wagnerian voices. We shall see.

customer feedback

 

as scrawled on a portaloo door at Opera Holland Park

only 154 shopping days to xmas

No wonder the Royal Opera House shop are having trouble shifting their last few Valkyrie tea towels (£5), introduced for the 2007 Ring Cycle. Look! Two years on, and they still can't be arsed to iron one for the publicity shot. And when you can buy a dishwashing machine for the same price as a stalls seat for Tristan und Isolde, who needs a tea towel anyway? But perhaps Valery Gergiev can help flog a few when he visits next week.

I wonder if Sydney Opera are doing any better with their spectacularly diverse selection of stuff you never knew you needed. How about a roof tile fragment encased in genuine plastique for $135? Or a hand painted christmas tree ball for $14.95?

Almost as essential is the €57 paper bag. From Vienna's State Opera, it's a numbered signed edition designed to commemorate the annual opera ball.

The Metropolitan Opera's Lincoln Center shop is a cornucopia of overpriced DVDs and Swarovski-crystallised knick-knacks. Online, a more restricted selection includes this scented candle for $42. Whilst I wonder just what their copywriter has been sniffing, I find myself unable to surpass the fragrant prose of their own recommendation:

"This hand-poured candle, in a stunning opera house-inspired box, is available in three scents. Soprano: black bamboo combined with delicate green jasmine and finished with the essence of rare black orchid. Tenor: heliotrope and bergamot, enhanced by aromatic teas and finished with lemon blossoms. Baritone: Italian fig, finished with warm cedar and crushed Indian vetiver leaves "

The most tasteful opera house shopping comes unsurprisingly from the style bastion of Milan. La Scala's shop carries a huge selection of remarkably untacky souvenirs. The most exquisite is the hot-to-trot €320 'Toccami' lamp:

"It is called Touch me because in order to activate it you don't have to do nothing but touch it. You can turn it on with only one light touch, it can be moved in always different positions to satisfy any desire of light games. Entirily covered with red velvet, it is personalized with La Scala 1778 logo".

 And finally, if you're scratching your head over a gift for Sir Colin Davis, how about the Salzburg Mozarteum's set of four dining chairs featuring portraits of the Mozart family? Yours for €1,480.

Munich's opera houses in photos

This is the main opera house, the Nationaltheater in Max-Joseph Platz. During the summer, the days are long and the theatre isn't air-conditioned, so everyone piles out on to the steps during the interval: