IN REVIEW: Metropolitan Opera – Un Ballo in Maschera

Un Ballo in Maschera
Giuseppe Verdi
-PRODUCTION PHOTOS UNAVALIBLE-

PRINCIPAL CAST
Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda
Amelia: Michèle Crider
Oscar: Kathleen Kim
Ulrica: Stephanie Blythe
Riccardo: Salvatore Licitra
Renato: Dmitri Hvorostovsky
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production: Piero Faggioni
Set Designer: Piero Faggioni
Costume Designer: Piero Faggioni
Lighting Designer: Piero Faggioni
Stage Director: Laurie Feldman, Laurie Feldman

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – (December 29, 2007) This production of Un Ballo in Maschera was the most uneven performance I have seen at the Metropolitan Opera House this season. The casts two heaviest hitters were not the pieces romantic leads, Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Renato nearly stole the show with his smart and complex portrayal of the roll. I found the singing divine. The Russian Baritone’s “Alla vita che t'arride” was wonderful and his “Eri tu” deservingly received the loudest bravos of the night. One thing I never noticed was Hvorostovosky’s loud breathing. It was obnoxious.

The Russian baritone would have taken the night had it not been for Metropolitan Opera Veteran Stephanie Blythe. Her Ulrica was aggressive but didn’t fall into the insane Verdian cliché of the “Gypsy Mezzos”. This Ulrica was a woman in control of her destiny. The singing was unbelievable. When Blythe’s voice joined with those of her cast mates it was hers which was the largest and most attractive. Her lower register shook the gaudy walls of the Metropolitan Opera House.

The evening was a trio of great performers the last of which was young coloratura Kathleen Kim who’s Oscar was enjoyable, bubbly and generally perfect. I would like to see her again soon.

The opera’s romantic leads were performed by less able singers Michèle Crider and Salvatore Licitra. Neither of the two was awful, but both had moments where they were just that. Crider’s voice is very abrasive at times, this is what makes it special and were the voice slightly bigger she would make a great Aida. When the soprano came on stage the voice was a little too sour for my taste. Later she changed my mind with her perfectly phrased “Morrò, ma prima in grazia”. It was old fashioned in all the best ways.

Licitra was a friendly Riccardo and moved well on stage. He was warm commanding as the King of Sweden and I enjoyed it very much. His singing was less warm, the tenor’s top often sounding strained and tired. In his opening aria, “La rivedrà nell'estasi”, the tenor displayed a lack of security as he sang the final cadence of the piece. Any sort of “Bel Cantoesque” phrase sounded awkward and didn’t flow well. In his middle and on less lyric passages Licitra’s voice was good.

The sets were large and opulent. The color blue dominated the stage. It was sort of what you might expect of Ballo, provided the house doesn’t offer it in that ridicules Boston version. I had seen this production before, in a DVD with Aprile Millo (our Goddess Devine) and at times the blocking was exactly the same. Michèle Crider at one point did a whole aria that was just like that of Millo…not vocally.

Gianandrea Noseda nearly lost control of the orchestra a several times. Had it not been for the trio of great singers the evening would have been a waste.

IN REVIEW: Metropolitan Opera – Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel
Engelbert Humperdinck

PRINCIPAL CAST:
Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski
Gretel: Christine Schäfer
Hansel: Alice Coote
Gertrude: Rosalind Plowright
The Witch: Philip Langridge
Peter: Alan Held
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Production: Richard Jones
Set & Costume Designer: John Macfarlane
Lighting Designer: Jennifer Tipton
Choreographer: Linda Dobell
English Version: David Pountney

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – (December 29, 2007) The Metropolitan Opera House closed the year with a bang (and a lovely bang too) with a broadcast of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. This gym of the German Repertoire is neglected in large part. This is because the opera was written for children in large part, and people still believe it’s subject matter to be childish – and in some ways it is – but this doesn’t mean that the opera has nothing to say.

The was some evidence of Peter Gelb (the Great Satan) and his style in this production but for once I found it completely satisfying. Conductor Vladimir Jurowski – Glyndebourne’s Music Director – led the orchestra in the finest playing I’ve ever heard them in. For once the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra had a German sound and his tempo and volume was completely appropriate.

German Soprano Christine Schäfer was difficult to understand in the English version of the opera, but as the performance went on it became unnoticeable. Schäfer’s sweet lyric soprano was perfect for Gretel. She worked perfectly moving about the registers seamlessly with a nearly perfect technique. Her physical portrayal was convincing and she proved herself not just a singing actress, but also a fine comic with her witty performance
Alice Coote’s Hansel was also very fine. Like Schäfer, Coote was a smart actress and provided sufficient charm for the boy. She had the awkwardness of a seven year old child and made me smile as the opera went forward.

The low point of the evening was the Gertrude (Mother) of Rosalind Plowright. The Mezzo had that squawk that some dramatic mezzos have. She proved fine for the part, but I wouldn’t like to hear her as much else. The voice was large and her acting was convincing. Her prayer that her children return was very beautiful.

American Baritone Alan Held’s portrayal of Peter (Father) was the highlight of the evening. He sings a sort monologue about the difficulty of life as a poor man, and he left the crowd wanting more. He was fatherly and kind. Held will appear as the Dutchman in Washington later this season, and it will be worth a trip.

Philip Langridge appeared as the Witch. The role was perfect for him, and it gave him an opportunity to show off his gift as an actor. The voice was large yet brilliant and lyric, it was perfect for parts like this or Loge. The Witch’s part is also very small, and he left us wanting more or wishing that the villain had consumed the children so that we might her another aria about how good they taste.

The set was witty, using large pieces of artwork as a the curtain between acts. In the beginning as the prelude played there was a large empty plate which showed the children’s hunger, later as the children entered the haunted forest the plate was replaced with an awful mouth that was hungry for blood. The device worked well.

The first act took place in a sparse and small room. This was the children’s impoverished home. It is clean but shows sings of disrepair. Hansel and Gretel play games to pass the time rather than doing their charms. Their dancing game has an enchanting duet (which later becomes a hymn of praise and thanksgiving) and the pair performed the scene very well. They break the glass jug of milk, the family’s only source of nourishment and when Mother finds out she sends them away into the woods to pick berries so they will have something to eat. She prays to find a way to free her children.

Father comes home drunk and then shows his wife the huge amount of food he has gotten during the day and telling her the milk was “no loss on a day like this”. He asks where the children are and nearly beats her for sending the children into the woods. He explains that the woods have an awful old woman who likes to eat children living there. The parents are soon off to look for Hansel and Gretel.

The visual highlight of the opera came at the end of the second act after the Sandman puts the children to sleep. Traditionally they are in a wood, but in the Met’s version the siblings found themselves in a large room with wallpaper that looked like the forest. It was very artistic (very Gelb) but worked well. There was a long table. Sandman blesses the children and keeps them safe in the night. The production also broke from tradition by eliminating the angels that often come to protect the children after they say evening prayers in a stunning duet.

In this version there was a long dream sequence where the children are no longer hungry because they are fed by a large group of funny looking chefs and a butler with the head of a fish. It serves to enforce the feeling that the children are very hungry, and you can understand their happiness as the long table is set for a king, and they are able to eat.

In the third act there is no gingerbread house, instead the children are beckoned though the curtain which has become a mouth with it’s tongue sticking out and a cake on the tongue. The children can’t resist the treat and find themselves in the Witch’s industrial kitchen. Gingerbread children can be seen all around and when the audiences catches a peek into the large stainless steel refrigerator they see arms and legs.

The Witch is killed by Hansel and Gretel as they push her into the oven. Her spell is broken, and after an explosion and a moment of darkness and time in from of a curtain (now a broken plate) the Hansel and Gretel find that the gingerbread statues have turned back into live children. Here the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus sings the sublime chorus as they cry because their eyesight has been lost. Hansel and Gretel break this spell too by giving every child a “tender touch”. They sing and joyously as they once more see the light, and it was the most touching moment I’ve seen over the last year.

Finally Mother and Father (Gertrude and Peter) find the children. Held performs the melody of the children’s dancing duet, but this time he thanks God for delivering the family from evil. The production avoids obvious Germanic clichés and feels like it could be just about anywhere. The message is clear, family and love is the most important thing and that God will deliver those who love their families.

IN REVIEW: Metropolitan Opera – War & Peace

War & Peace
Sergei Prokofiev


PRINCIPAL CAST
Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda
Natasha: Irina Mataeva
Sonya: Ekaterina Semenchuk
Mme. Akhrosimova: Larisa Shevchenko
Count Bezukhov: Alexei Steblianko
Prince Andrei: Vasili Ladyuk
Napoleon: Vassily Gerello
Kutuzov: Mikhail Kit
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production: Andrei Konchalovsky
Set Designer: George Tsypin
Costume Designer: Tatiana Noginova
Lighting Designer: James F. Ingalls
Projection Designer: Elaine McCarthy
Associate Set Designer: Eugene Monakhov
Choreographer: Sergei Gritsai

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – (December 28, 2007) The Metropolitan Opera’s Colossal War & Peace was the talk of New York – and the opera world – for weeks now. With a cast that dwarfs even the largest Aida, battle scenes, love and plenty of nationalism it was quite a show they put on at Lincoln Center.

The cast was led over the trenches of Porkofiev’s score by Gianandrea Noseda. While the orchestra got off to a sluggish start, they soon picked up the energy of the singers and by the end of the first act they were on fire.

Baritone Vasili Ladyuk made a fine Prince Andrei, the opera’s obvious hero. His monologue began the evening, and set the tone of Tolstoy’s epic. He was believable as he sang the difficult part and expressed his disillusion with life…and he performed the latter part of the scene with a new vocal color as he spoke of the love ignited in him by the radiant Natasha.

Soprano Irina Mataeva’s Natasha was also excellent. The singing actress became the young woman who’s life would be so changed by war. The character was changed by the destruction and death she witnessed in the war and Miss Metaeva expressed this excellently with her sweet silver tone.

Count Pierre Bezukhov, performed by Alexei Steblianko is also worth mentioning. The baritone funny, and lovable, the less obvious…but true hero of the work. In Tolstoy’s version the reader learns that after all is passed Natasha and Pierre end up together, happy and they grow old and have a family. Steblianko’s singing was so ernest as to bring tears to the eyes.

The true highlight of the evening came late, with bass Mikhail Kit’s Kutuzov. His portrayal of the Russian General who finally defeated Napoleon and France, but only after sacrificing Moscow was incredible. He was a defeated man as he sang about leaving Moscow behind – for any American like leaving New York to a foreign military force – in order to fight on another day. The audience reacted to his singing as it brought them into the General’s world.

There were other fine performances that evening notably that of Vassily Gerello’s Napoleon. The tenor who performed Count Anatol Kuragin did not impress.

The sets were stunning, large and functional. They worked on a turntable and a large mound built on stage. In the beginning, the peace section, the floor is beautiful inlaid wood and is perfect for the large ball scene. In the ball the costume’s were fine and expensive looking. The Entrance of the Czar couldn’t have been better. As the act progressed, and war came closer cracks appeared in the floor exposing the rotten layer beneath.

When the first act finally ended, the chorus appeared bringing news of the invasion of Russia. The mob came forward and sang one of the most glorious scenes in all of opera. It was inspiring to anyone, as they sang of one Russia rising up to crush the invaders from the West.

The second act was the opposite of the first, the inlaid floor had been removed and only rotten earth remained. It was here that the battles were fought, complete with guns, explosions and bodies. This opera rivaled Coppola’s Apocalypse Now when Napoleon appeared on a wall of the dead. Cannon Fodder is the word that comes to mind. Tolstoy would have appreciated the symbolism.

Natasha and Andrei’s final scene together was touching, as the danced as the once had. In the end he was consumed with the pain of his wound and could think of nothing else. As our hero died Natasha, who was forgiven for her betrayal of him cried bitterly.

The largest departure from the novel was the opera’s nationalistic ending. The Russians sang and they stacked captured French Flags at the feet of General Kutuzov and waved Yellow banners of the Czar. Tolstoy focus of the characters and how they hated war and family and love was all they had left.

The Metropolitan had a triumph with this opera.

IN REVIEW: MET – Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor
Gaetano Donizetti

CAST:
Conductor: James Levine
Lucia: Natalie Dessay
Edgardo: Marcello Giordani
Enrico: Mariusz Kwiecien
Raimondo: John Relyea
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Production: Mary Zimmerman
Set Designer: Daniel Ostling

Lighting Designer: T. J. Gerckens

Choreographer: Daniel Pelzig

NEW YORK, NEW YORK(September 27, 2007) – The Metropolitan Opera opened with Lucia di Lammermoor in September. Peter Gelb once more successfully billed the new production’s premier as an event, and many famous faces were in the audience opening night.

I arrived in New York to see the second performance, just two days after the premier. The entire city was a buzz with excitement over the new Lucia. A first class advertising campaign covered billboards and busses with a slogan someone thought was cute, “you’ll be MAD you missed it!”

Mary Zimmerman’s first major opera placed the saga in a sort of Jane Austin-esque Scotland. The opera opened strangely, with a large black wall covering all but a small area of the stage. Behind the wall was a several hills, a friend I attended with joked that it looked like a large pile of dog poop...I think she was sort of correct. As they brought large hounds across the stage searching for an intruder the small opening didn’t serve anything well and the male chorus and dogs hobbled around the awkward opening. Finally as the first aria began.

Leading the serious of challenging arias to come was Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien as Enrico. Sufficiently nasty, the young baritone proved himself to be among the finest interpreters of the Bel Canto literature. In his aria “Cruda, funesta smania”, where he talks about his desire to see an enemy struck down by lightning he was very commanding.

Natalie Dessay’s Lucia was wonderful from the start, and herfirst notes were stunning. She sang them with her back to the audience, and the voice was large and attractive in the Met’s massive house. In her first aria (“Quando rapito in estasi”) she sang about the sprit that haunts the estate of her family. A woman appeared as Lucia told the tale, she was painted white with very messy hair; yes, the ghost actually appears in Mary Zimmerman’s sick mind. It was just the first of many distractions from a director who doesn’t yet understand that sometimes it can be just about music.

Marcello Giordani’s Edgardo was an impressive and convincing one. From the moment that he entered the stage and Natalie Dessay and him came together I felt that they really were in love. His signing was also as convincing.

In the second act as Lucia learns of her impending marriage the Polish baritone’s Enrico was once more a great force. Lucia began to loose it here, as her home was cleaned up, somehow turned from a dusty parlor to a splendid ballroom before our eyes. One device I loved was after the signing of the marriage documents, Lucia knocked the ink well over as she laments, “I have signed my death warrant” and the ink appeared as blood.

The septet was so well sung I could hardly believe it. Once more Zimmerman had too much going on at once. As each party entered a photographer arranged a group photo culminating in an old fashioned exploding flash bulb at the end of the music. What a distraction. Edgardo’s entrance to the wedding was convincing, but as always in Lucia, the audience was waiting for the mad scene and the moment just seemed long, but well done.

The castle hall was a large stairway and it was filled with well wishers after the wedding. The joy faded quickly as Lucia entered covered in blood for the Mad Scene. The French Soprano knows how to act…it was one of those things that seemed so natural that the music was like speech. Her Lucia had lost her mind completely and killing her husband seemed natural, it was tragic and frightening to watch. She went from sexual bliss to despair to a state of joy throughout the “Spargi d'amaro pianto” section of the scene. The traditional flute was replaced with the original glass armonica producing a ghostly sound. The famous ‘flute cadenza’ was sung without flute as well. The drama of the scene worked better this way.

Dessay proved in the scene why she is the world’s leading Lucia as she ran around the stage, and laid on her back to sing this most difficult scene. She was taken off stage, having fallen dead after a brilliant high f#. The audience went wild, and I understood why it is said that a second performance is better than the first. The audience made missing the opening worth it.

The last act was dominated by Tenor Marcello Giordani’s performance of his suicide aria. I don’t remember much, the signing was good, but I was quite distracted as Natalie Dessay arrived…painted white and with messed up hair…yes she was a ghost too. She helped her lover kill himself; it must have seemed like a good idea in Zimmerman’s sick mind. To me it just seemed like she was a selfish nasty little bitch.

The orchestra was in world class form under James Levines able hands, and brilliant singing, that’s for sure. The Met’s new Lucia was a failure as a new production. Perhaps with another director things like the ghost will not appear, and Lucia will not come back looking like a bag lady. Dessay was stunning, Giordani was very good, and the sexy baritone Mariusz Kwiecien was very fine.