Has director Damiano Michieletto been at the 'special' mushrooms? His new La bohème for the Salzburg Festival has an Alice in Wonderland feel. Sets are massively under or over scaled, perspectives are distorted.
Anna Netrebko plays Mimi in a raspberry beret - the kind u find in a second hand store - and Nino Machaidze is Musetta in what look like the offcuts from Jonas Kaufmann's paw-worthy leopard print suit.
The production opens on 1 August, when it will also be shown live on ORF2. A recording will be broadcast on 2 August on ZDF and Unitel Classica.
All photos © Silvia Lelli
Anna is in a good shape now and her voice should be amazing, Nino should be quite a lovely Musetta too I think ... as to that staging - any way it's better than some quirky productions at some German houses ;)
Posted by: Alexander | 29 July 2012 at 01:33 AM
Looks pretty cool. Post links when available?
Posted by: Sheila | 29 July 2012 at 04:37 AM
Alexander - it hasn't opened yet! Let's wait and see what Intermezzo has to say about it.
Posted by: Nikolaus Vogel | 30 July 2012 at 01:38 PM
I don't think it should be any of diminishing quality performances for the cast.
Hopefully you don't have anything to do with German Operatic Houses, do you ?
Have a nice day at yours , and anyone who cares about too ;) cheers ;)
Posted by: Alexander | 31 July 2012 at 10:35 AM
Good thing you posted the pics before I saw the delayed broadcast. I would never have guessed the windowsill. There were very few camera shots encompassing the entire stage.
I enjoyed it. Not sure why Anna is still singing Boheme, and am a little disappointed in Beczala's transitions to high notes, but they both disappeared into the characters. The costumes were especially effective in evoking a modern young vibe. It's pretty hard to anchor a beret over a wig, so the switch to the party hat made sense.
Posted by: Sheila | 01 August 2012 at 11:06 PM
Just back from the cinema live relay (audience of 15). The red beret has gone, but leather jacket, denim skirt and tatoos remain. Anna gave it her all and went along with some very slow tempi from Gatti in the death scene. I liked her performance very much. Beczala sang beautifully and had been convincingly made up as Johnny Depp in intellectual mode. Musetta suits Nino M dramatcally, but the waltz song was not ideally dreamy. Good support from the Italian male Bohemians. Act Three took place mostly on or beside a strangely vehicle-free ring road and the burger van from Miss Fortune resurfaced. Cafe Momus scene was infuriatingly bad. I love modern dress Bohemes (Baz L, an old Opera north one, the recent Glyndebourne, even the Miller ENO) but this was let down in a big way by the sets and props (or lack of).
The Zauberfote trailer did not really excite my interest despite a beautifully sung Tamino (Bernard Richter). Very arch chorus ladies and a Citroen delivery van full of dead birds.
Posted by: Pushed Up Mezzo | 01 August 2012 at 11:10 PM