Intermezzo

One knight is enough

Robert le diable - Royal Opera House, 6 December 2012

If this staging has one positive result, it will be to silence once and for all any pleas for more Meyerbeer at the Royal Opera House. The best efforts of all involved do little to disguise a limp plot, flimsy characterisation, vapid melodies and rote composition. Presumably the Parisians who hailed its 1831 debut were taken in by the superficially pretty orchestration and some spectacular vocal gymnastics. It's hard to imagine anyone staying awake otherwise.

Royal Opera House's Robert le diable - in photos

Time has taught us that Laurent Pelly is unafraid to embrace the kitsch.  Although the ballet of the zombie nuns will have to remain a surprise until the show opens tonight, here's the rest of his Robert le diable in full - and I mean full - colour.

The truth - or half of it

The Royal Opera House has a habit of couching its artist withdrawals in evasive terms. A spat with the director becomes 'sudden illness', an unforeseen inability to hit the high Cs is 'recovery from infection'.

But, credit where credit's due, they've come clean about Jennifer Rowley's unsuitability for the part of Isabelle in Robert le diable. Let's hope this heralds a new era of more honest cast change announcements.

But one big question remains. Why's it taken so long for them to find out? The change was made just four days before opening.  Is that when the decision was made, or were they just waiting for Patrizia Ciofi, the replacement, to complete her previous booking before announcing a fait accompli?

If it really was a last-minute swap, then why? Had no-one at Covent Garden heard Rowley's Musetta in Stefan Herheim's recent Oslo La bohème? Broadcast and DVD'd, so no excuse. Even if not, surely the weeks of rehearsal had dropped the odd clue that her voice is now 'more dramatic' (as they put it), or less agile (as I would) than the role requires. Were the music and casting decision-makers actually listening to the rehearsals, or at least getting feedback? Or were they too busy elsewhere?

Some commenters on the post below imagine the ROH announcement is some sort of sinister cover-up for Machiavellian manoeuverings. But from where I'm sitting, it looks like the only thing being covered up is incompetence.

Marina Poplavskaya replaces herself

Is this the most bizarre cast change announcement ever? A week after pulling out of the ROH's Robert le diable due to illness, Marina Poplavskaya is now back in again.

According to the ROH:

"Marina felt that she had to withdraw from Robert le diable due to a medical condition and on the advice of her doctor. She wanted to make the decision swiftly in order to accommodate the difficult task of finding a replacement as early as possible.

However, after further consultations and examinations, she has been advised that it will be possible for her to continue with the rehearsals and performances of Robert le diable after all without any risk, and that any necessary treatment can carry on meanwhile or be postponed."

Robert le Diable loses yet another star

With today's news that Marina Poplavskaya has pulled out of  Robert le Diable, the new Royal Opera House production loses its last star worthy of the title. 

Juan Diego Flórez jumped ship very early on, before the production was even officially announced; Diana Damrau handed in her notice a few months ago when she found out she was pregnant.

Of course a rarely-performed opera is worth a visit whoever's singing, but those three could be said to justify the ticket price of up to £175.  Whether the unremarkable trio of Bryan Hymel, Jennifer Rowley and TBA should be equally valued is open to question.