Intermezzo

Watch Der Freischütz from Baden Baden live on Monday

Set your controls for arte.tv.

The French TV arts channel will be broadcasting Robert Wilson's new production of Der Freischütz live from Baden-Baden on Monday 1 June - with simultaneous online streaming. And it's free!

Streaming begins at 6.30pm local time (5.30pm UK time) with interviews and backstage stuff, and the performance itself starts at 7pm (or 6pm here).

The production's costumes by Viktor & Rolf are spectacular even by operatic standards, featuring men dressed as trees, women dressed as bouquets, and gazillions of Swarovski crystals. In a programme at 10.30pm tonight (but sadly not online), Arte discuss the project with the designers.

teh crystals!

 

Bob Wilson yet again fails to embrace pictorial realism:

Lots more info, photos - even a full libretto - on Arte's website. And here's a video of rehearsal clips the Festspielhaus have put together:

and here's one with Viktor and Rolf about the costumes:

Viktor & Rolf whip out their Bedazzlers

The New York Times interviews Viktor and Rolf about their eagerly-awaited costume designs for Robert Wilson's new Baden Baden production of Der Freischütz .

The chorus wear black neoprene dirndls and lederhosen, and the heroine Agathe is a singing bouquet of giant flowers ("the costume is very heavy and hot" V&R admit). Close on a million Swarovski crystals were used to make costumes sparkle under Robert Wilson's spectacular lighting.

"The kitschy aspect seemed to fit well with a 19-century German Romantic opera," they say.

This may be the last we see of the duo in the opera house though. They confess "we are not big opera lovers," and "we want to keep our theatre efforts to a minimum, as we want to focus as much as possible on fashion."

 

 

  
Photos by Dennis Yenmez, sketches courtesy of Viktor and Rolf

Viktor & Rolf's opera premiere

Genius art-frockers Viktor & Rolf  are to follow up their Spring 2008 'violins' collection, below, with another musical venture.

Taking their first plunge into operatic waters, they will design the costumes for Robert Wilson's new Baden-Baden production of Der Freischütz, which opens on 30 May 2009.

Wilson's trademark strike-a-pose style should allow them to ignore quotidian dullities like can you move in it? and indulge in the complex constructions they are famed for.

Though this classic from 2005 might be more suitable for the audience:

Fab (ish) Four celebrate OAE's 21st in historically informed style

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment 21st Birthday Concert - Royal Festival Hall, 30 June 2007

Purcell Suite from Welcome to all the Pleasures & Now does the glorious day appear
Rameau Suite from Dardanus
Mozart Concerto in E flat for 2 pianos, K.365
Haydn Symphony No.63
Weber Der Freischütz - Act II Finale (The Wolf's Glen)
Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks

It's not often you get four top conductors in one night, but the 21st birthday concert of the OAE merited something special. The fab four in question were Mark Elder, Vladimir Jurowski, Sir Charles Mackerras and Sir Roger Norrington, and their magical mystery tour was broad reaching enough to show many facets of the orchestra's capabilities.

But even the fabbest of fours has a Ringo, and tonight it was Sir Roger Norrington, who took the first section. Although the orchestra and particularly the chorus bounced through the Purcell, directed by Richard Egarr from the harpsichord, well enough, it was marred by some below-par solo singing. Only counter tenor Robin Blaze really did it any credit. John Mark Ainsley and David Wilson-Johnson were barely audible, and Ainsley simply didn't hit all the notes right. The Rameau suite which followed was sluggish and uninspired, Rameau's sparkle and wit completely buried.

In between the Purcell and Rameau a video birthday message from Sir Simon Rattle was aired on a big screen above the stage. Unfortunately it was so brightly lit as to be nearly invisible (unlike the left hand side of the auditorium, which remained in total darkness all night despite audience complaints).  Further videos later on were similarly whited out. Surely the RFH has had long enough to sort out its technical problems by now?

After Norrington had taken his leave, Mozart's Here's One I Knocked Off In My Sleep was directed from the keyboards (tonight, fortepianos) by Richard Egarr and Robert Levin. This was another problematical item, and not only because of the less than inspired writing (with all the wonderful Mozart there is to choose from, why pick something this dull?). The fortepianos duly demonstrated why they were dinosaured out by the pianoforte, their close, muffled sound completely inadequate to fill an auditorium this size. Egarr and Levin tossed their hair and flung their arms, smirking and winking across the keyboards as if there was no audience apart from each other, to the expense of a very noticeable error from Levin. Their flippancy underlined their (understandable) lack of regard for the material - so again, why not choose something else to play? There's a place for self indulgence, but it's not in front of a paying audience. No wonder Sir Roger Norrington, sitting a few rows in front of me for this one, carried on talking to his companion over the opening bars, something I now plan to do next time I catch one of his concerts.

I really thought the whole evening was going to be a waste of time, and then Vladimir Jurowski bounded onto the stage like a frisky puppy and dug straight into the Haydn. The atmosphere and the orchestra were totally and immediately transformed. Though really this is far from Haydn's finest moment, Jurowski invested it with so much colour, vigour and drama that for a moment it seemed like the greatest thing ever written. I hereby pledge my soul to his LPO - he is simply the most exciting conductor in London right now.

Jurowski was a hard act to follow, but Mark Elder nearly topped him with a splendidly performed extract from Der Freischütz. Singers Clive Bayley and Philip Langridge gave an ingenious semi-staged performance, where the lights were dimmed and the orchestra became a forest for them to pick their way through. Weber's brilliant and imaginative orchestration came thrillingly to life, all its bizarre corners and lush drama stunningly displayed. A performance so inspiring it made me want to rush out and listen to the whole opera from start to finish.

It was left to Sir Charles Mackerras to end the evening with Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks. Delivered in appropriately celebratory style, its bang-crash-wallop wound things up on a high note.