Intermezzo

How to get a head in opera

Salome - Royal Opera House, 31 May 2012

I wish I could be more positive about this revival, but in all honesty it was looking shabby even on the first night. Angela Denoke's otherwise convincing Salome sounded tired and off-pitch, not a patch on her 2010 run. Egils Silins (Jokanaan) lacked power and presence, and the Herod and Herodias of Stig Andersen and Rosalind Plowright were under-characterised. In a Rupert the horse-style coup, the terrifying (and silent) Executioner (Duncan Meadows, above) pretty much stole the show.  

Even Andris Nelsons, a generally reliable conductor of Strauss, fell short of his usual standards. The playing didn't lack energy, but it was short on detail and too often the orchestra seemed under-rehearsed. At least that's one area that might improve over the run. 

Bloody good deal on ROH Salome

Best stalls seats for the Royal Opera House's latest Salome revival are chopped down to £65 (previously up to £120) with this Evening Standard offer, valid for performances on 8, 14 and 16 June only.

Either book online entering the code essalome before picking seats, or call the Box Office on 020 7304 4000, quoting ‘ES Salome offer’.

Valentine treat

Short of ideas/money/polar expeditionary clothing this February 14th?

Why not stay in with your loved one and watch a soprano make out with a severed head?

La Monnaie's free webcast of Salome is available online for 21 days from 14 February.

Stefan Herheim's Salome in Salzburg

 

Stefan Herheim's new and out-of-this-world Salome opens the 2011 Salzburg Easter Festival tomorrow night. This is the Festival's first proper premiere after several years of co-productions which were first seen at the Aix Festival, so anticipation is high. It will be shown only twice - on 16 and 25 April - later travelling elsewhere.

He's a dirty old man, but she can't get him out of her cistern*

Salome - Royal Opera House, 3 July 2010 (first night)

Justin Way’s revival direction seems under-rehearsed, to conjecture kindly. Even the experienced Johan Reuter looked as hesitant and uncertain as a last-minute replacement straight from the airport. Yet paradoxically on its first return to the Royal Opera House David McVicar’s Salome emerged more clearly and coherently than it did on its premiere. It's a society on the brink of the apocalypse prophesied by Jokaanan, and acknowledged by Herod as he throws a party for the end of the world before retreating to his Führerbunker below. McVicar’s 1930’s update points up the decadence which a modern audience is inclined to mistake for mere extravagance in a more traditional swords’n’sandals production. The child abuse implied by McVicar's imaginative but clunkily-executed seven veils dance explains Salome's destructive, and self-destructive, impulses.

kiss my chopper! ROH Salome prices cut

The Royal Opera House makes a rare price cut for next month's revival of David McVicar's Salome. For performances on 9, 12 and 16 July, orchestra stalls tickets are £65 (normally £95-105) thanks to a Metro offer.

Book online using the code METRO or call 020 7304 4000 and quote 'Salome Metro Offer'.

(Thanks Faye for the tip).

Royal Opera House Summer Season 2010

And so 2009/10 draws to a close with the usual tourist-friendly summer fare from the Royal Opera House.

The highlight (especially since he had to cancel Tamerlano) is Plácido Domingo's appearance in and as Simon Boccanegra (29 June to 15 July). We've all found out by now that he's not exactly a perfect fit - but then these days, who is? And it might be his last appearance at Covent Garden. And WTF he's Plácido Domingo. That's enough to make it essential. A cast that includes Marina Poplavskaya, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Joseph Calleja with Maestro Pappano himself conducting should compensate for Elijah Moshinsky's tired production.

Running it close is a new Laurent Pelly production of Massenet's Manon (22 June to 2 July) with Anna Netrebko in the title role. Pappano conducts again, and gorgeous Vittorio Grigolo makes his Covent Garden debut.

David McVicar's slightly fussy but intelligent Le Nozze di Figaro (31 May to 17 June) makes a swift return, with Erwin Schrott and a delightful springer spaniel vying for the cuteness award. As if that's not enough, Sir Colin Davis conducts most dates, making it a must-see.

Another McVicar, Salome (3 July to 16 July), has its first revival, with Angela Denoke in the title role and Hartmut Haenchen conducting. "Contains scenes of nudity and violence" - but not where you'd think.

Angela Gheorghiu lovers will be flocking to La Traviata (8 July to 17 July), though it may be James Valenti and Zeljko Lucic who make it worth seeing. Richard Eyre's production is a fine and thoughtful one, though anyone who catches it in May with Ermonela Jaho doesn't really need to see it again.

A swift resuscitation of Francesca Zambello's godawful Carmen (5 June to 26 June) has little to recommend it this time round apart from perhaps Christine Rice in the title role.

In the Linbury Studio, George Benjamin's Into the Little Hill (23 July to 26 July), here coupled with Berio's Recital I, comes highly recommended.

The Bolshoi visit in August, with a critically-acclaimed production of Eugene Onegin the only opera amidst endless nights of ballet (which to be honest, is probably a safer bet).

Friends' booking opens on 3 March and general booking on 6 April.

Royal Opera House 2009/10 season - all the details

Here first! - a full list of all the Royal Opera House's main stage productions for the 2009/10 season.

The 2009/10 Covent Garden season opens with neither bang nor whimper but with a credit-crunching concert performance on 7 September (repeated on 14 September). Makes a change from last year's Sun readers' special I suppose.

The opera in question is Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix, and the conductor is bel canto genius Mark Elder. The cast includes potential Next Big Things Stephen Costello, Eglise Gutierrez and Luciano Botelho, plus the incomparable Alessandro Corbelli, the first of several welcome appearances this season.

The first staged opera of the season is Nicholas Hytner's lego-loving Don Carlo, with - OMG!- Jonas Kaufmann !!! in the title role. John Tomlinson joins him as the Grand Inquisitor, and the rest of the cast is lifted straight from the first run - Marina Poplavskaya, Simon Keenlyside, fans' favourite Ferruccio Furlanetto, Sonia Ganassi and Pumeza Matshikiza.The conductor is Semyon Bychkov.

This season's contribution to the 2013 Wagnerversary is a new Christof Loy production of Tristan und Isolde. Antonio Pappano conducts Ben Heppner, Nina Stemme, Matti Salminen, Michael Volle and Sophie Koch.

Neigh! Francesco Zambello's ghastly Carmen returns in October, with the latest Covent Garden favourite Elina Garanca back for the title role, fighting off Roberto Alagna, Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, and a farmyard full of furry friends. Bertrand de Billy conducts. It's resuscitated again in June 2010 with a distinctly 'B' cast.

October also sees one of Richard Jones's more subtle and effective efforts back on stage - and attractively cast. The shouldn't-work-but-it-does double bill of Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole (Christine Rice, Yann Beuron, Christopher Maltman, Andrew Shore and Bonaventura Bottone) and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (Thomas Allen, Maria Bengtsson and Stephen Costello) is conducted by Pappano.

Francesco Zambello steps into Tchaikovsky's The Slippers in November. The new production will be conducted by Alexander Polianichko and features some serious talent fresh from the Mariinsky - Olga Guryakova, Vsevolod Grivnov, Larissa Diadkova, Vladimir Matorin and Maxim Mikhailov.

John Schlesinger's elderly Der Rosenkavalier is dusted off in December. Kirill Petrenko conducts and the cast includes Soile Isokoski, Sophie Koch, Thomas Allen and Lucy Crowe.

Littering the December and January schedules is the inevitable La Bohème. This time Andris Nelsons conducts most of the double-cast performances, which begin with Piotr Beczala and Hibla Gerzmava and end with not a few tbc's.

Robert Lepage's intermittently effective Rake's Progress returns in January 2010. Ingo Metzmacher, Toby Spence (a Tom Rakewell tdf), Kate Royal, Kyle Ketelsen and Stephanie Blythe promise much on the musical side.

Female conductor alert! Top Lisboan Julia Jones wields the baton over Jonathan Miller's Cosi fan Tutte in January. The cast includes Charles Castronovo and Sally Matthews.

A new Richard Jones production of Prokofiev's The Gambler in February is conducted by Pappano, with a cast including Roberto Sacca, Angela Denoke, John Tomlinson and Jurgita Adamonyte.

Plácido Domingo's first appearance of the season is as a tenor. Graham Vick's acclaimed production of Handel's Tamerlano (recorded in Madrid and available on DVD con Plácido) makes its first visit to Covent Garden in March with Christianne Stoijn, Sara Mingardo and Christine Schäfer. Baroque specialist Ivor Bolton conducts.

Bill Bryden's family-friendly The Cunning Little Vixen returns in March with Emma Matthews, Christopher Maltman and Emma Bell, though the presence of Charles Mackerras on the podium has to be the main draw.

Caurier and Leiser's lovely Il Turco in Italia is back in April, with Maurizio Benini conducting, and Aleksandra Kursak, Colin Lee, Alessandro Corbelli, Thomas Allen and Ildebrando d'Arcangelo in the cast.

Aida is subjected to the David McVicar magic in April. His new production is conducted by Nicola Luisotti and features Micaela Carosi, Marcelo Alvarez and Luciana D'Intino. Bare naked elephants?

The last of the Big Three, Richard Eyre's subtly intelligent La Traviata, makes its annual appearance in May and July. This time her name's in the programme - Our first Lady of the Camellias is the fabulous former Netrebko sub Ermonela Jaho. Joining her in her long-awaited return to Covent Garden in May are Saimir Pirgu and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. July's 'B' Violetta is Angela Gheorghiu, who makes do with James Valenti and Zeljko Lucic. Yves Abel conducts.

Laurent Pelly's now-legendary La Fille du Régiment returns in May with the unbeatable original cast of Juan Diego Flórez, Natalie Dessay, Alessandro Corbelli and Felicity Palmer back in place. Bruno Campanella conducts.

What would tempt Sir Colin Davis back into the pit? How about David McVicar's Le Nozze di Figaro? Erwin Schrott, Camilla Tilling, Maruisz Kwiecen. Annette Dasch, Soile Isokoski and Christine Schäfer head the strong cast.

Antonio Pappano conducts Laurent Pelly's new Manon, coming to Covent Garden in June with the announced cast including Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. Anyone fancy a bet?

In one of those rare operatic fairy stories, June sees a baritone with less than a year's experience thrust into a leading role at Covent Garden. Yes, it's Plácido Domingo again, and this time he's Simon Boccanegra. Antonio Pappano conducts a strong cast including Marina Poplavskaya, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Joseph Calleja. It's the 1991 Elijah Moshinsky production by the way, not the Ian Judge one seen last year.

The season ends in July 2010 with the first revival of David McVicar's controversial Salome. Angela Denoke takes the central role, with Johan Reuter as Jokanaan. Hartmut Haenchen conducts.

No link yet, but more details expected on the Royal Opera House website sometime next week.

****************

*******UPDATE 22/4*******

The Royal Opera House's press releases are now available on their website. Go here for the summary, here for the opera details and here for the ballet.

Karita Mattila kicks some ass. But doesn't show any.

The introduction was almost the best bit of tonight's Met simulcast of Salome. Karita Mattila wouldn't open her dressing room door for a pre-show probing at the hostessly hands of Deborah Voight. (Did the producers seriously think they'd get a cosy chat?) When Mattila finally burst out, half Marilyn, half Arnie in her white satin gown, her only words as she strode off to battle were "let's kick ass".

This was only the second live opera screening I've been to (the first was last year's Met La Fille du Régiment). While (as prior reports suggested) the whole thing was gloriously sung, with Mattila especially at her radiant peak, the relentless loudness of the recording and the overweighting of the voices became wearing.

And the direction - so amateurish. We never got to see the full picture, to have any sense of what it felt like to watch Salome live in the house. Shot like a football game, a mash of unprepared close ups of the guy with the ball, it fractured the narrative and eliminated an essential element of live opera, the ability to watch both action and reaction at the same time.

It was merciless towards Mattila. In the flesh, her matchless acting skills make her a credible teenage temptress from even the front row, as was clear from the scant long shots. But blown up to fill a forty foot screen the illusion inevitably explodes.

In retrospect, it was a smart decision to pan away from the climax of Mattila's 'seven veils' dance. We saw her naked back; we saw Herod's ecstatic face; it was enough information.

But can't the Met trust us with a few more long shots? The fundamental sing-your-life premise of musical drama requires such a staggering suspension of disbelief from the audience that we don't need it to look exactly like the telly, thanks.

At the moment, big screen opera is pulling in the audiences. It's still a novelty, and people, me included, are satisfied simply to be able to see it up there. But as audiences become more sophisticated, higher quality will become expected. The Met's recorded product currently displays only a feeble shadow of the skill and professionalism applied to the live productions. Or indeed, applied to the average opera DVD. To spend months working on the musical and staging aspects, then simply stick cameras up the singers' noses is such a waste.

****UPDATE**** Viewers at the Gate Cinema in Notting Hill apparently got a bonus language lesson thrown in. The subtitles were in German. Oops. (Thanks to reader Joan for the info)

Met Salome at the Cinema - cheapest tickets in London

 

Nearly every London cinema showing the live HD broadcast of Salome from the Met is charging £25 per ticket. The plush Everyman in Hampstead wants a whopping £35 (though it is rather lovely.....)

But there are cheaper deals to be found. The best prices are at non-central Cineworld cinemas. Bexleyheath and Feltham charge just £15 per ticket.

But Wood Green Cineworld are the winners with a price of just £10. And it's on their 'delux' screen too. Posh!

The nearest central London comes to a bargain is the Barbican's offer of £15 per ticket when booking 6 or more performances over the whole Met HD season.

Here is a full list of the London cinemas showing Salome and other broadcasts in the Metropolitan Opera season:

Barbican Screen (Barbican tube)
Bexleyheath Cineworld (BR: Barnehurst)
BFI IMAX (Waterloo tube)
Cineworld Fulham Road (South Kensington tube)
Clapham Picturehouse (Clapham Common tube)
Curzon Mayfair (Green Park tube)
Enfield Cineworld (BR: Enfield Town)
Everyman Cinema Club (Hampstead tube)
Feltham Cineworld The Movies (BR: Feltham)
Greenwich Picture House (Greenwich tube)
Phoenix Cinema (East Finchley tube)
Ritzy Picturehouse (Brixton tube)
West India Quay Cineworld (West India Quay tube)
Wood Green Cineworld (Wood Green tube)

Baps under Wraps - Karita Mattila NOT to unveil all in Saturday's Met Salome

 

There may be a disappointment in store for anyone clutching a movie ticket for Saturday's live broadcast of Salome from the Met.

Although its star, Karita Mattila, will disrobe fully for the 'seven veils' scene in the big house, some tasteful pan'n'scan from the cameras will ensure those of us in the cinema seats see nothing more titillating than her face reports the LA Times.

According to a Met spokesman, the decision to cover up came from Met general manager Peter Gelb, who, he said, "decided early on that the 'Salome' broadcast would not feature nudity." Karita Mattila herself, on the other hand, is presumably less bothered, judging by shots like this (*warning - incredibly NSFW*) one.

In contrast, the Royal Opera House not only displayed the full bewb-flash from the stage production in their recent cinema screening of Don Giovanni, they've made it freely available to all online. More details here.

A Viennese Salome

Salome - Wiener Staatsoper, 23 May 2008

I'm not sure if this is the oldest production on the Vienna State Opera books, but at 36 years old and counting, it has to be up there. Some of the scenery has a cardboard cut-out, school play sort of look to it, but mostly it's wearing pretty well. That's mostly down to the timeless beauty of the Jugendstil-ish designs and the close following of the text.

A few things don't quite work. The lighting is terrible. It's constantly focussed stage right (as you can see in the photo), like a sunbeam. Unfortunately, that's rarely where the singers are standing. So they're belting it out in downstage gloom while Herod's throne (which is generally empty) is bathed in a cheery glow. And somewhere along the line the stage directions seem to have got lost. A lot of text is delivered straight to audience while the intended recipient loafs around yards behind. It underlines the enormity of David McVicar's achievement with his recent and riveting Covent Garden Salome, so subtle and telling in its detail.

This production looks a very poor cousin in comparison. But it's easy on the eye, not too irritating, and, crucially, tells the story in a way Strauss would recognise and we can understand. That's some compensation for the performances, none of which bowled me over. In fact, the only singer who stepped beyond mere adequacy was Terje Stensvold, and the best I can say about his Jochanaan is that he didn't do anything noticeably wrong.

Eva Johansson was a late replacement for Camilla Nylund as Salome. Her touching gameness and sheer drive just about rescued her in the face of some serious intonation problems and a total lack of the requisite high notes.  Flinging herself about in the seven veils dance, defiantly peeling back the chiffon tarpaulins to display her sturdy frame in a sausage-coloured bodysuit, you just willed her on. There were moments when she did in fact sing very well, with a commanding icy power, but these were fleeting, and she seemed to tire very quickly.

The Herod of Wolfgang Schmidt and Herodias of Daniela Denschlag were too comical to be menacing, or even regal - more like an eccentric aunt'n'uncle playing dress-up than a ruthless dictator and the whore of Babylon. And, along with most of the smaller parts, they often disappeared beneath the orchestra - conductor Stefan Soltesz ramping up the volume to provide the excitement that was missing from the orchestra's lush but unvaried performance.

Although I've seen some great performances at Vienna recently - like Die tote Stadt and the Lohengrin I caught a couple of nights ago and will write about later - it's productions like this Salome which give Vienna its unfortunate and not wholly-deserved reputation of being second rate.

Fresh meat for Salome return to Royal Opera House in 2010

Looks like it's official.

From conductor Hartmut Haenchen's website: Salome is to return on 3 July 2010, with Angela Denoke in the title role.

No other cast news yet - so, Covent Garden buskers, get in a queue for David McVicar now.

Salome at the Royal Opera House - pay half the price, watch half the show

Salome - Royal Opera House, 29 February 2008

The main problem I had with last week's premiere of Salome at Covent Garden (see here for more) wasn't so much the production itself - it was just that I couldn't see half the bleeding thing. From high up in the cheap amphitheatre seats, the top half of the split-level set was invisible. But thanks to a kindly benefactor I was able to give it another try, this time from centre stalls.

What a difference. Unfortunately for anyone in the cheap seats, those missing few feet of stage space really are critical. What's up there is simply a tableau, a lavish dinner party where sumptuously dressed guests slump drinking and idly passing round a barely-dressed woman to be fondled like a pet. But its casual debauchery emphasised the debasement in the basement, that the grimy bath house/kitchen on the lower level is an inevitable consequence of the decadence above.

The other difference was Thomas Moser. His first night absence due to illness meant that the part of Herod was taken over by Robin Leggate - a competent but by no means stunning performance. Back in the show and on form, Moser's imposing bulk and natural charisma gave Herod the regal presence so missed in Leggate's interpretation, while his sweaty unshaven leer hinted at depravity.

He brought some balance to a production otherwise dominated by Michael Volle's towering Jokanaan, and made a more credible partner for Michaela Schuster's blowsy Herodias than the trim Leggate did. And the detail in his performance hinted exquisitely at Herod's perversity, as he kissed the dead Narraboth, recollecting his handsomeness, or fed a servant boy with his fingers. Volle aside, there was something cold and disengaging about the first night's spectacle, and in retrospect, I think it was the absence of Moser. Not only because his own performance was superb, but because he allowed the other singers to respond in kind and give their best.

And musical standards generally were higher than they had been on the first night, with Phillipe Jordan taking a bolder view, and a lot more polish from the orchestra.

Just a shame that only those with £110 tickets could appreciate it in full.

Nadja Michael

Nadja Michael again

Philippe Jordan

Michael Volle

Thomas Moser

Michaela Schuster

Joseph Kaiser and Daniela Sindram

Adrian Thompson, Martyn Hill and Hubert Francis

Philippe Jordan

Busking hunk gets his kit off for David McVicar

Tomorrow's Sunday Times reveals that the most eyepopping moment in the Royal Opera House's current production of Salome is provided by a Covent Garden busker.

In the opera, hunkular Duncan Meadows plays the silent role of the executioner who, naked and dripping with blood, presents Salome with the head of John the Baptist.

IRL he's more likely to be found coated in silver paint and surrounded by gawping tourists in James Street for his regular gig as a human statue - which is where Salome director David McVicar spotted him.

What is perhaps more surprising than McVicar's unusual casting method is the fact that, according to the Sunday Times, Meadows earns £300 a week at the Royal Opera House (that's around £100 for each 100 minute show - not bad going), but a massive ***£400*** a day for the statue act. That should keep him in raw steak and Kryolan for while.

Covent Garden unveils new Salome

Salome - Royal Opera House, 21 February 2008

I feel short changed. The Royal Opera House promised 'scenes of nudity and violence'  in their new Salome. A couple of topless extras loll about at the start as if they're waiting for a bra fitting. And when the beefcake executioner emerges at the end with the head of John the Baptist, he's coated in the prophet's blood and absolutely nothing else, a gory birth/death. But that's it, secks'n'violence-wise. Not even a glimpse of Salome in the celebrated seven veils dance - when she drops her frock, it's only to reveal a sensible granny slip underneath.

There are shocks in this production alright, but not the sort that will necessarily gratify the 'topless opera' googlers (and believe me there are plenty around). With a nod to Pasolini's Salò, it's placed in a huge and grubby tiled basement, wine racks one end, urinals the other. Nice. The setting is '30's Italy or something similar. Herod and his guests are in tired looking evening wear, the ladies in jewelled satin gowns. It's an environment so decadent that anything goes, everything is acceptable. Uniformed soldiers loiter and grope barely-dressed women. Immaculate servants tend silently to all needs. No-one really notices or cares when Narraboth neatly kills himself. Salome is not so much the wilful slut as the pitiable product of a fatally corrupted society and (strongly implied) child abuse. Her dance for Herod is played as a series of sick fantasies/games - or maybe a dream sequence of hazily recollections, it's hard to tell. Fatalism is her guide, not sensuality. Her death is inevitable. 

OK, so that's the clever bit of this production. On the dumb side, David McVicar has given his set an upstairs level. The wicked geometry of viewing angles meant that those of us way up top in Covent Garden's cheapest seats couldn't actually see what was happening there. From the feet and table legs on view I would hazard that Herod's guests were enjoying dinner. Possibly it was constructed that way as a blindingly ironic comment - the poor gazing upon the rich etc - but I suspect it's more likely to have been a simple design cock up. It would be more forgivable if this was some imported show designed for a different theatre, but at the premiere of an in-house production there's really no excuse.

Musically, Michael Volle (Jokanaan) was the unquestionable star of the night. Huge, wild and hairy, with a voice to match, he filled the stage and, perhaps intentionally, was the only character to project any real warmth. Everyone else had a less than human quality that just left me cold, indifferent either way to their fate.

Nadja Michael was otherwise a better Salome than I'd expected. A fine actress not afraid to throw herself around physically, she writhed gamefully on the floor for much of the night. She got most of the notes and kept her vibrato under control, but her delivery lacked refinement. I know this is a hellish role to cast with all its acting, dancing and visual requirements on top of the singing, but I would simply rather hear a purer, more youthful voice.

Robin Leggate was a last minute replacement for the sick Thomas Moser as Herod, and in the circumstances did a creditable job. The singing was all there, but the presence was neither regal nor imposing, and he faded away when he should have been terrifying. Michaela Schuster didn't have a great deal of sensuality, but the wheedling manipulative side of Herodias came across strongly. Joseph Kaiser's Narraboth was another that didn't make a huge impression, despite there being nothing particularly wrong with his performance. I just felt 'so what' as he stabbed himself.

I imagine if conductor Philippe Jordan could have any heads on a plate, he'd probably pick the horn section. Not his fault there were so many scrappy entrances and bum notes from that quarter. He generally did a competent if somewhat unadventurous job, lacking that sweeping opulence the score demands, though he managed to gather up some steam towards the end.

I'd like to go back and try this again - all the right ingredients are there even if it didn't quite come off tonight. Annoyingly, it looks like a near sell-out already though.

**Update*** - more (including photos) here