Lady Loudmyla begins her reign

Macbeth - Royal Opera House, 24 May 2011 (first night)

Liudmyla Monastyrska met all the hopes raised by the YouTube evidence and her recent Aida when she made her debut as Lady Macbeth at Covent Garden earlier tonight. It's all about the voice - and what a battle tank of a voice - dark, powerful, solid top-to-bottom, and huuuuuge. At full throttle, it blasts through the theatre, yet she manoeuvres it precisely around the fiddliest coloratura, and can wind it down to a whisper without losing its shape. I can think of no current soprano who could meet the demands of the role quite so perfectly, and the rest of the audience recognised it too - her every aria roundly applauded. In short, a miracle.

At her most effective when raving or spitting fury, she didn't give the subtlest of performances, it's fair to say. But then she didn't need to when paired with Simon Keenlyside, whose wracked portrayal could grace the Shakespearean stage with ease. The contrast between flawed human and monster is only etched more sharply.

The cast has been carefully picked, no doubt with a view to the live relay on 13 June. The reliable Raymond Aceto delivered another a knockout performance as Banquo, and Dimitri Pittas was a sturdy Macduff. Lukas Jakobski and Elisabeth Meister stood out as the Doctor and Lady-in-Waiting.

Macbeth is far from Verdi's most elegantly crafted or dramatically propulsive score, as was felt keenly in Pappano's slightly flabby reading. Uncharacteristically, the orchestra slipped from his grasp a couple of times. Perhaps he was dreaming about all the arcane repertoire he'll be able to tackle now he's discovered a soprano who can actually handle it (though, bizarrely, I don't see Monastyrska pencilled in for anything else in the near future).

Phyllida Lloyd's production is generally unobtrusive in that sort of prison-cum-steakhouse style that afflicts so many Verdi productions. A feminist angle is always laudable, though in so many ways this is not the most suitable opera to paste it on to. At least Lloyd's omnipotent, omnipresent and unibrowed witches know better than to stand in front of the singers, and mildly tittersome background details like a full size faux horse and a crucified extra are wheeled off before the laughter gets too loud.

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

production photos (above) - Clive Barda / Royal Opera House

curtain call photos (below) - intermezzo.typepad.com

 
 
  
 
  

Comments

[Vecchio John]

Who is the schoolboy in the curtain calls? Or is the whole production staged as Fleance's dream of his nightmare schooldays at Fettes?
Now that would be a novel idea.

[Wenceslao Serrano]

Thanks for the pictures. I was there last night and I have several remarks:

- The soprano was mostly great in the sleepwalking scene. The first aria was good but not as good as the sleepwalking scene. In general, though, she had a tendency to overdo things. Although Verdi asks for extreme vibrato or extreme dark voices and almost no singing, I find other interpretations more convincing, like Cossotto or Verret in the famous CD's. In any case, I agree with your general conclusion that she is a true hit and a discovery.

- Although Keenlyside was marvellous, he dissapointed me a bit. I had the feeling he was not penetrating enough in the music, he was singing too fast and with no intention. His acting was nothing extraordinary either. Perhaps he needs more time and a few more performances to warm up and bring up the character. In any case, this is a criticism (which may also apply to Pappano and the orquestra, who were only superb enhancing a few details) that I do taking into account he is a magnificent singer and his aria was spectacular.

- The regie was particularly poor, clearly the worst of the performance. In the third act, macbeth is presented by the witches to a potential family and when he decides to go to war and kill everyone to save himself, he kills the children he has been presented. Then he goes to his bed and the choir singing Patria Opressa appears while he and lady macbeth are in their beds, with no particular dramatic effect gained from that. The kind of boxing ring where the battles and coronation take place is particularly ugly and the movements of the actors are sometimes not credible. IT is a pitty that such a magnificent opera doesn't have a good production in the ROH like Il barbiere, die zauberflote, Tannhauser, le nozze di figaro and so many other operas, in which you go to the ROH knowing that you are going to see something well done and thought, interesting and detail - oriented.

Thanks,

[Miriam]

@ Vecchio John: I think the schoolboy in the curtain calls must be the second apparition from Act III, who sings from off-stage while the witches hold a bloody baby doll.

I was at the rehearsal last Saturday and enjoyed it so much that I booked for a performance later in the run although I did not originally intend going to one.

[LeeSheen]

I actively disliked the production, which I'm positive I saw in Paris in the late 90's though it's not stated as a joint production in the programme. There were several times I found myself preferring moments from the Richard Jones production at Glyndebourne, which at least were memorable and sometimes affecting, such as the sleepwalking scene - and I'm no great fan of that production.

Monastyrska definitely lived up to the promise of her Aida, but I was underwhelmed by Simon Keenlyside's performance. From where I was sitting in the far left corner of the stalls circle didn't feel convincing as the portrayal of a great man brought low. It felt like there'd were a lot of 'stand and deliver' performances from many of the cast and for me this held the drama back.

The orchestral playing also left me slightly cold. I wanted more drama and impact from the brass, particularly in the apparition scene which seemed oddly flat, (though not in the musical sense) and the Act 1 finale.

For me, a bit of a disappointing evening, but nowhere near as much as the recent Fidelio.

Having said that many of the reviews I've been reading this morning are more positive, so It may just be that my expectations or appreciation of this opera are not quite right.

[Philip Lawton]

The schoolboy was one of the offstage voices for the spirits that appear when Macbeth visits the witches again.

Liudmyla was amazing! As was Verdi, let's not forget...

[Martin Dodsworth]

Have not bothered to book, Keenlyside had been so slated for his performance in Vienna, this is not the kind of role he should be singing; ok he is no longer a young man but these kind of Verdi roles will simple wreck what is left of his voice.

[Steve W.]

Has Clive Barda started airbrushing his ROH pictures or is this the return of 1950's style make up?

******************************************
Intermezzo replies - the whole cast are very heavily made-up. Something to do with the HD broadcast perhaps? It looked very obvious in the theatre too.

[Su Traditor]

Lyudmila will be back in 2 years time for Abigaille in Nabucco.

[Wenceslao]

Martin, I totally agree with you. He definetely has a too lyrical voice to sing Macbeth, where you need bigger voices, more heroic. And this also affects the orquestra that purposely or not plays softer and makes the performance lack energy and confidence.

Having said that, the voice / the artist is so good that still the performance is very good. I wouldn´t be as extreme as to renounce to the chance of seeing him at least once.

CHeers

[Gabrielle Ferro]

I think that Keenlyside compensated the lack of energy with an amazing old-styled technique: his marvellous sfumatos reminded me the early Jose Carreras. It was a freudian return ticket to the past.

[Vecchio John]

Su Traditor,

Great news about Nabucco, too long absent and the last Tim Albery production was vile.

[Kathy]

I was at the rehearsal and it was the first time I had heard Monastyrska. She blew us all away - indeed, as a relatively recent (last 5 years or so) convert to opera, I don't think I've ever heard a soprano's voice fill the ROH auditorium like that. The subtleties of Simon Keenlyside's portrayal were sadly not visible or audible from the amphitheatre - a pity as he had stood out for me in Don Carlos a year or two ago and in the recent Barbican concert performance of Pelleas et Melisande.

[martin]

Saw tonight's performance (Friday 10 June).
I am in an apparently small minority on several points
I have never thought this to be one of Verdi's better works. But Pappano and the band made an exceptional job of trying to persuade be otherwise. Some of the critical response to the conducting and playing on other boards just puzzle me.

I thought the witches were great.

Is Monastyrska a consummate actress - answers on a postcard.
But is she one heck of a singer - an emphatic yes. Does she sharp - she does. But the other qualities so far outweigh the niggles that those who have not heard her can happily ignore the carping.
And absolutely contrary to the impression given, she can and does sing very beautifully at lower decibel levels.

Keenlyside was good, and more than loud enough. In fact I worried he was trying too hard to up the decibel level to match everyone else. It's true that his Verdian line / legato is not ideal, but he was good.

I did not appreciate MacDuff I'm afraid. Thank goodness we all have differences, but amazed to read on another board that a critic preferred Pittas' timbre to Callejas. My goodness, if only Calleja had come back to repeat his MacDuff, that would have raised the bar.

But it's not an evening to be missed.

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Intermezzo replies - do remember that 'other boards' were listening to a different show from the one you did. The first night was nearly 3 weeks ago. Individual and collective performances tend to improve as a run progresses, at least in tightness and assurance, and can vary massively from night to night anyway for all sorts of reasons - illness, tiredness, mood, whatever. A live performance is not like a recording that sounds the same every time you play it. That's one reason why I always date my comments.

[Stoke joe]

I watched the live relay last night and my comments are that I am very sorry not to have seen Lyudmila Monastyrska live. I had previously seen Ulmana and Gulginia in this same production and have watched many DVD's however I can definately say - she totally astonished me as to the total control through out the whole range. The way she pulled of the opening Act 1 aria and cabaletta were remarkable. I will definately want to see her Abagilie. - A must !!