WTF is Lianna Haroutounian?

All live reports welcome. Meanwhile.....

Comments

[Laura]

I'm very curious too - I have tickets for the 15th and am coming to London especially for Don Carlo. I don't know what to make of Haroutounian on the basis of these youtube clips. The Ballo sounds great, the Trovatore cabaletta not so much. I hope she'll be great and exceed all expectations.

As to Harteros... *sigh*, I've only heard her 1 out of the 4 times I bought tickets to hear her. I never heard Strauss lieder sung so well, and was looking forward to her Elisabetta. I have tickets for the Trovatore in Munich in July, so hopefully I'll hear her there.

[Siggy]

Very difficult to make a judgement on these clips but I'm not discouraged by the voice so that's something. I hope everything goes well on her début tonight and I have do doubt she'll be well supported by fellow cast members - and at least she'll be well rehearsed which is unusual in this situation.

As for me, well I'm looking forward to the performance on Saturday where I fully expect to be hearing Haroutounian rather than Harteros - I'll eat my hat in Covent Garden piazza if she sings on Saturday!

[David]

I’m not overly discerning, but I thought she was excellent. Bright shining high notes, fearlessly sung and loud! And, in keeping with the entire production, very well acted. Really liked her shift from young girl in Act 1 to buttoned-up Queen thereafter - she portrayed the conflict between passion and duty beautifully.

As you would expect, a few boos and hisses when the announcement of Harteros’ withdrawal was made. But we all love an underdog and Haroutouian got a massive ovation at the end

[OperaBeginner]

When I saw the casting slip besides the cast sheet, my heart sank. Kaspar Holten duly came out on stage to say that AH had a throat infection, which was greeted by some boos and comments. He said that LH has sung Tony Pappano out of the room earlier that day, so we were in for a great night. I'm no expert on singers but I thought she did well, lots of volume, which is always good in my book, though AH last Saturday was in spectacular form, particularly in Act 3. She is slightly shorter and dumpier than AH, so not so good a visual pair to JK. She got a tremendous round of applause at the curtain call.

[Sara Phillips]

She is WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL! She has great stage presence and assurance, sang her heart and lungs out last night, and was a joy and privilege to hear. She damn near got a standing ovation.

(Meanwhile, for this opera-lover, last night was a hat-trick (3/3) of canx by Anja Harteros. One of these shared, on a double bill, double canx, with J Kaufmann)

[manou]

For Siggy:

http://tinyurl.com/cgh9z4j

Surely it should be "Hut"...and Covent Garden "pizza", too.

[Siggy]

Nice one manou. And if Ms Harteros does show up I'll gladly chow down.

[Desdemona]

Definitely! She was fabulous! And she seemed almost in tears at the reception she received. Everybody else in great form, and the acting really is first class. A great night.

[Steve]

I thought she started maybe a bit nervously (understandably) and was almost putting too much into the big notes, but she got better and better and was really singing well by the end. The ovation was perhaps just a little better than deserved strictly on the performance alone but was nevertheless very heart warming and was nice to see. I'd certainly like to see her again in future and expect she'll go from strength to strength.

[thomron]

I think you are bang on the money here, Steve, both as to her and the reception she got. I would rather hear her any day than Popsy but I am sure AH would have been more subtle with her phrasing and imagination - Kaspar's tweet said the first night was a night to remember years later, well sadly for the hundreds of pounds spent, that was not the case last night. This girl has got a good pair of lungs on her for the money notes which will always impress but only up to a point. I saw the first nights of Hymel and Grigolo and though last night I had hoped I would, I did not come away thinking "a star is born".

[Justin Chapman]

I'd prefer to hear Elaine Page over Popsy, quite frankly! Even in the same rep...

[thomron]

ha ha, with you on that one - whatever dirt she has got on casting directors must be top grade

[Justin Chapman]

Indeed - can't wait to hear her ruin 'Vepres' this autumn - *sigh*.

[SJT]

Strange. Far from hearing Hymel's house debut (as Don José) and feeling that "a star is born" I came away thinking "the bottom of a barrel has been scraped".

And so fed up with the Munich maybes am I, I've given my Saturday ticket back and am off to hear Andris Nelsons do Shostakovich's 7th instead at the RFH.

[SJT]

Expect developments.....

[Justin Chapman]

Has she been ditched? And by the by - did Micaela Carosi (apologies for swearing) ever give birth?
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Intermezzo replies - There's a subtle clue in the post.

[John]

Poplavskaya has been down to perform Les Vepres for ages and is already in the official season guide. Can they really ditch her now? She was supposed to be doing I Due Foscari with Domingo in London in a couple of years but now it seems that Maria Agresta is taking over. Could Popsy's star finally be falling?
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Intermezzo replies - I don't think there's any question of 'ditching', but she's been unwell for a while. There may be a mutual agreement to replace her should her illness persist.

[manou]

Siggy - no pizza for you:

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/cast-change-lianna-haroutounian-to-sing-role-of-elizabeth-of-valois-in-don-carlo-on-11-may

[Justin Chapman]

Oooh. Is it not a coincidence then, that Ms Haroutounian is shown singing arias from the Italian version of Verdi's opera?
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Intermezzo replies - Ms Haroutounian, a resident of Paris and fluent French speaker, would certainly have less trouble than most in mastering the French version. Should that be required.

[laura]

News on Poplavskaya; after what I understand to have been a disastrous Traviata premiere in Amsterdam, she's been replaced by Joyce El Khoury for the entire run.

I do hope that she takes some time off to address the issues that have led to her current vocal situation. I really love her - few sopranos have the same dramatic intensity, so I really hope this isn't it. At any rate, I don't see her singing Les Vêpres and Tannhaüser and whatever else she has planned for the near future.
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Intermezzo replies - It's a shame. She was one of the best things about that dreadful Robert le diable just a few months ago, but apparently had problems in the Met's Faust more recently. It can't help that she attracts a degree of childish spite vastly out of proportion to her technical flaws.

[Nik]

I'd happily have Florence Foster Jenkins, were she alive.

[SJT]

It can't help that she attracts a degree of childish spite vastly out of proportion to her technical flaws.

An admirable sentiment in itself. However, in this case, it's more a matter of the air being thick with the beating of chicken's wings as, on strict Ibsenite principles, the dark past comes home to roost.

I do believe it's called "Karma": and hers has arrived.

[John]

Technical flaws aren't character flaws.

[SJT]

I never said they were. And she has quite enough of those to contend with these days as it is. I was simply trying explain IM's reference to "childish spite" as characterising criticism of Popsy.

[John]

I'm not sure I follow - doesn't karma imply that her current misfortune is the consequence of her own moral failings? I don't really know what happened in Amsterdam (more information, please!) but I think a lot of people could see something like this coming. She's a hugely talented performer but with pronounced technical problems which she should have sorted out before embarking on a global career. Hopefully she'll take stock and seek a good teacher.
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Intermezzo replies - She is not universally popular with her colleagues (see http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/12/06/101206fa_fact_talese), but her current problems are nothing to do with that, purely technical/medical.

[laura]

More details on the Poplavskaya situation in Amsterdam:

I went to a public rehearsal on april 26th - they rehearsed act 2, scene 2 and act 3, but I heard that before that her act 1 had been worrisome. Of course, she marked a lot, and she sounded as though she was struggling with her voice at times, but it was a regular rehearsal - so it's not fair to judge. She looked like she was in good spirits, though, even laughing when some of the money Ismael Jordi threw in her face ended up in her mouth.

On May 4, the final dress took place. I wasn't there, but understand from those present that the first act was a complete and utterly painful mess, but that the rest was more or less okay.

On May 6, the first night took place. I wasn't there, but again, act 1 was painful, and the rest sounded okay, but she was still audibly struggling. I heard that at the post-performance reception, she was standing alone at the bar, visibly tired, almost K.O. Newspaper reviews weren't too positive; one even had the headline 'Promising Poplavskaya's voice shattered'.

After deliberating with DNO, Poplavskaya withdrew from the May 8 performance. Luckily, Joyce El Khoury, who was already scheduled for two performances, was already in Amsterdam and well-rehearsed. The official explanation before the start of the performance was "allergies".

On May 9, news was released that Poplavskaya had cancelled all remaining performances.

Apparently, she has had an insane performance schedule lately, flying back and forth during rehearsals for a Verdi Requiem in Japan and Götterdämmerung in La Scala, which can't have helped things.
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Intermezzo replies - Thank you very much for the detailed report. What a sad story.

[Paxps]

I was in ROH last night, lianna haroutounian did it very well, London audience loved her. Her voice has energy, and getting extremely good in act V.

[Feldmarschallin]

Do not fret!
Just back from performance on 15/5 and Haroutounian was terrific!
Kaufmann the modest star but all-round a great evening.
Surprising to say Kwiechien was the weakest link - not that you'd know it from the curtain calls!

[Siggy]

Must admit that I was puzzled by the audience reaction to Kwiecien - I found him good but not great with no especial insights into the chracter although I thought the chemistry between him and Kaufmann was good.

I'm looking forward to revisiting on the 18th
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Intermezzo replies - Kwiecien was easily the strongest singer last night, and a lot of people do want nice voices rather than great theatre. May also have been a few proud Poles in the audience.

[John]

Thanks for the update, Laura. I heard Poplavskaya sing Traviata in London last season and I must admit that she sounded pretty rough in the first act then. She did much better in Robert le Diable, though, so isn't it possible that her current problems are just a combination of fatigue/a virus with a role that she finds a struggle in the best of health? I'm sorry for her, although I can't pretend that I don't think some time out and some vocal re-training would do her a huge amount of good.

The reviews from her Met Faust weren't positive, to be fair -I think one referred to her "shattered soprano".

[Jonnie Ash]

I was also there last evening and thought it was a great performance all round. The orchestra and chorus were definitely firing on all cylinders. Don't understand the comment that "Kwiecien was the weakest link" - I thought he put in a fabulous performance and agree that the chemistry between him and Kaufmann was excellent. Very committed performance from Uria-Monzon - but thought her musicality was a bit wayward at times!

[Feldmarschallin]

Sorry, but I thought Kwiecien rather loud and monochrome beside the subtlety of his male colleagues.
But all things are relative and it was a terrific night at the opera all round!

[mimoblade]

Could someone tell me (in layman's terms) what are the technical flaws that Poplavskaya is supposed to have? I've never really warmed to her but I was missing her in last nights performance, much to my surprise. I put it down to never having ever seen any one else sing Elisabetta.
However I thought Kwecien would have blown the whole cast out of the water were it not for the towering force that is Furlanetto. Wow. That duet with Halfarson - I digress - Kwecien was truly moving.

Ami I alone in thinking Kaufmann was not on form? He seemed to be coughing, and I've got a ticket for Saturday. Does anyone else think he will cancel too?
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Intermezzo replies - Poplavskaya exhibits muscular tension, which manifests itself in various sporadic and unpredictable problems such as singing out of tune. I still find her a compelling stage performer and would far rather have had her than Harteros.

Kaufmann looked as if he wanted to be somewhere else last night - I wouldn't be surprised if he's ill.

[Siggy]

"Kaufmann looked as if he wanted to be somewhere else last night - I wouldn't be surprised if he's ill."

Noooooooo, don't say that! *sends up manifold prayers to operatic gods". I hope he can hang on for one more performance - I've got tickets for Saturday!

[May]

What is the location of Poplovskaya's muscular tension? The throat?

It's interesting how people perceive different things in different performers. I wasn't too excited about Kwiscien either, however solid he is vocally doesn't make up for his lack of a rounded characterization.
Kaufmann's portrayal of Carlo is quite disturbing. I don't know if this sense of his not wanting to be there is because he's bored with the part/misses Harteros/hates the production/is god forbid ill, but it certainly fits in with Carlos' mental state of constant distressed. His Carlo is very miserable in a quiet, different way. It's a very daring interpretation in the sense that he doesn't resort to hysterical histrionics, and it's extremely non-showy. Last night the way he played and sang in the final duet was completely heartbreaking and had me in tears and it felt like the entire audience was in tears too.
The only quibble i have about his singing really is that it sounds as if head resonance is not happening much in the loud bits, which is a bit worrying for possible future Tristan and Otello. But i guess Kaufmann knows what he's doing vocally.

[May]

I meant that Kaufmann's Carlo is miserable in a quiet, diffident way, not different. It takes courage from a performer, i think, to make vocal choices that are right for the character, even if it means not singing out much or saving it for specific moments, or in a way that will garner and secure much applause. Kaufmann is certainly the kind of artist who is not afraid to take artistic risks, and for that i love him very much, head resonance or not, low/high placement. His pianissimi are beyond mesmerizing and he's a consummate artist and musician. Singing all that Mozart early on and all the lieder..
@Liane, i was there on 11th too and thought he sounded much better yesterday, so here's hoping he's not falling ill.
Also, i went to the stage door yesterday after the performance pretty quickly after it ended. Within five minutes the stage door receptionist came out to say Jonas Kaufmann sends his apologies to everyone but he is going to a sponsors' dinner and will therefore not come out. That was a nice, thoughtful gesture from him.

[May]

P.s. Meant @Siggy, not @Liane ..
And also meant to spell Poplavskaya and Kwiescien...

[mimoblade]

Final duet was indeed heartbreaking. But they BOTH sang beautifully in that. She did well. Still, Furlanetto alone makes the ticket worthwhile for me, and I shall go again on Saturday happy just for him, even with no Jonas, if that were to happen (gulp, fingers crossed). I just think Kaufmann isn't on form. On the 8th he was defo coughing discretely. One has to feel sorry for them if they feel compelled to sing when not on top form because of the weight of all our expectations. I don't like working when I'm sick.....

[mimoblade]

tx

[May]

Yes, of course, sorry, this is a thread for Haroutourian... Yes, she DID Sig beautifully throughout actually, I thought. Her Tu che le Vanita was wonderful.

I sat too far away to pick up on any surreptitious coughing from Kaufmann. His top notes didn't sound as usual but he seems to be otherwise ok, going tp Hamburg for that prize in between, going to the sponsors dinner. Yes he can't exactly not go to these things but still...
Fingers crossed for everyone tomorrow!

[Siggy]

I thought the final duet was breathtaking - that made the evening for me, along with Furlanetto's towering performance.

I think Carlos is a difficult part for the tenor - both vocally and dramatically. Certainly not your typical tenor role and in the right hands it can be devastating - as it was on the 11th when I saw it. The thing that struck me was it was very much a team effort - it helped that the majority of the singers were excellent and on the same level - made it a much more cohesive experience.

We'll see what happens on Saturday but even if Jonas doesn't show it will be worth it for Furlanetto and Houroutounian alone. And of course Pappano conducting Verdi!

[May]

*Kiewcien, Haroutounian.

[Roy]

I was there Saturday 21 st and predicted correctly that kweicien would get the loudest ovation. The oath duet with kaufmann was sublime, I don't expect to ever hear it sung better. Ms haratounian was a pleasant surprise too, very fine in act v. All round a great night.

[Hugh Kerr]

I was there tonight for the B list cast and they were all excellent never missed JK at all!

[Tim]

I've never heard Ms Haroutounian and (without meaning to disparage her) I think it is very dishonest of the Royal Opera to claim she has sung at the Opéra-Bastille when she has never appeared on the main stage but only in the Amphithéâtre. The RO clearly wants to build up their replacement but that sort of statement is very misleading.
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Intermezzo replies - The ROH don't claim she has sung at the Opéra-Bastille. What they say is "Lianna’s recent appearances include ..... Leonora in La forza del destino (Paris Opéra)."

Regardless of the discrepancy, what they say is not true. As her own biography clearly states, she was a cover only for this production.