How many opera lovers know Lalo’s Le Roy d’Ys? I think few have even heard of it, let alone ever had the chance to see the opera. It is totally forgotten.
How unjustified that is, is proven by the performance recorded by Dynamic (33592) in Liège in April 2008. Le Rois d’Ys is a very melodious opera with many choral parts and duets, and the music is romantic and compelling.
The libretto is simple: the daughters of the king of Ys (an ocean-threatened city) love the same man. When he chooses Rozenn, Margared takes revenge. Together with Karnac (enemy of the city and of the king), she opens the floodgates, resulting in a flood. But Margared is consumed by guilt and sacrifices herself by jumping into the swirling waters. The city and its inhabitants are saved.
The staging is simple and realistic. The flood is depicted as a huge rainstorm. Not really threatening, but then again, all of us probably possess a healthy dose of imagination.
The cast is good to very good. Gylaine Girard is a fantastic, poised Rozenn. Her very flexible soprano has a particularly pleasant timbre. This is in rather sharp contrast to the mezzo Giuseppina Piunti (Margared), who is almost screeching at times. But she is so committed to the role that I soon forgive her.
We know Sébastien Guéze (Mylio) – among others – from his fantastic rendition of Romeo at the Saturday Matinee in 2008. He has a pleasant, light tenor with an unmistakable French touch, and his interpretation is really right for the role. Werner van Mechelen is a very good Karnac. Recommended!
Sébastien Guéze in the same production but from Opera St.Etienne :
Onegin, unlike don Giovanni, is not a colourful character. He is a rather dull, bored brat, for whom even hitting on a woman is too much trouble. Through an inheritance he has become a rich man and as such has access to the”high society”, but everything bores him and in fact he does not know himself what it is he really wants.
He dresses according to the latest fashion, the only question is whether he does it because he likes nice clothes, or because that’s the way things are supposed to be. Because he does know how things should be done.
He also shows hardly any character development over the whole course of the opera. He kills his best friend after flirting with his lover – not because he really wants to, but to teach him (and the, in his eyes horrid, countrybumpkins) a lesson – and even that leaves him unmoved. Only at the end does he “wake up” and something of a feeling enters his mind. But is it real?
Not really someone you can dedicate an entire opera to, which is why for many people the real protagonist is not Onjegin but Tatyana. If Tchaikovsky had really wanted it that way he might have named the opera “Tatyana”, but that she is a much more captivating character than the man of her dreams, is beyond any doubt.
CDs
One says Tatyana, one thinks Galina Vishnevskaya. The Russian soprano has created a benchmark for the role that few singers can yet match. In 1955, she recorded the role, along with all the Bolshoi greats of the time.
Her “letter scene” is perhaps the most beautiful ever, but the recording has even more to offer: how about Sergei Lemeshev as Lensky? Fingerlicking good!
Sergey Lemeshev as Lensky (his great aria & duel scene)
Valentina Petrova is a peerless Larina, unfortunately the title hero himself (Evgeny Belov) is a bit colourless. (Melodiya 1170902)
In 1962, the opera was recorded live in Munich (Gala GL 100.520).
Ingebort Bremmert is too light for Tatyana, she also sounds rather sharp, but Brigitte Fassbaender makes up for a lot as Olga. But for a change, the ladies do not make the greatest impact, you buy it, of course, for the men: Hermann Prey and Fritz Wunderlich.
Prey is a very charming, gallant Onjegin, actually more like a brother than a lover, but the voice is so divinely beautiful! And about Wunderlich’s Lensky I can be very brief: ‘wunderbar’! By the way, it strikes me once again how similar Piotr Beczala sounds to him!
There is a lot of stage noise and the sound is dull with far too many bass sounds. And of course it is in German, but yes, that’s how it was done in those days. But it is a matchless document and, especially because of both singers, actually a must-see.
Duel scene from the recording (with picture!):
In 1974, Georg Solti recorded the opera for Decca(4174132) and that reading is still considered one of the best. In Stuart Burrows he had at his disposal the best Lensky after Wunderlich and before Beczala, and Teresa Kubiak was the very personification of Tatyana. Young, innocent, with a touch of elation at the beginning of the opera, but resigned at the end.
Under his direction, the orchestra (Orchestra of the Royal Opera House) flourished like the cornflowers in the Russian fields, making it clear why the composer considered his opus magnus to be “lyrical scenes” and not opera.
Bernd Weikl is a very seductive Onjegin, his very spicy baritone particularly sexy. Nicolai Ghiaurov is of course legendary in his role of Gremin and for me Michel Sénéchal is perhaps the best Triquet ever. Enid Hartle deserves to be especially mentioned as Filipyevna.
I want to dwell for a moment on Onjegin by Sir Thomas Allen. He has sung the role several times: both in Russian and in English. In 1988, he recorded it for DG (423 95923). Tatyana was sung by Mirella Freni – in the autumn of her career it became one of her showpieces. She is therefore more convincing as the older Tatyana than as the young girl, but there is nothing to criticise about her interpretation.
Neil Shicoff, then a splendid lyricist, was a very idiomatic Lensky, but Anne Sophie von Otter was only moderately convincing as Olga. Under James Levine, the Staatskapelle Dresden produced an unexpectedly lyrical sound, with lovely long arcs, but not devoid of a healthy sense of drama.
Anyway: it’s mainly about Thomas Allen. His reading of the title hero is particularly exciting and dramatically well grounded; it is truly fascinating to hear how Onjegin’s condescension in I turns into a shimmering passion in III. A vocal artist, no less.
It is also very interesting to see how he coaches young people at an ‘Onjegin master class’ (among his “students” is James Rutherford, among others):
DVDs
Boris Pokrovsky is a living legend. For decades, from 1943 to 1982, he was opera director of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Even in the Netherlands, he is not unknown: in 1996, he was ‘visiting’ us with his new company, the Moscow Chamber Opera, with “Life with an Idiot” by Alfred Schnittke.
His production of Onjegin, recorded for TV at the Bolshoi in Moscow in 2000(Arthaus Musik 107 213) originally dates from 1944. It is, of course, a classic, complete with all the trimmings. Sumptuous costumes, true-to-life sets, everything as it ‘should’ be.
As soon as the stage curtain opens, the first ‘open curtain’ is a fact. People love it. And they are right: it is indeed so very beautiful! Of course, you don’t get to see it like that anymore. Think Zeffirelli, but really authentic, without a single liberty being taken. You have to have seen it at least once, just to know how it was originally intended.
The unknown singers are all just fine, but the close-ups are a bit laughable. Of course, it is not a production to be shown on TV, you have to actually see it in the opera house. There is no chance of that, though: Boris Pokrovsky’s production has been replaced by a new production by Dmitri Tcherniakov after more than 60 years of faithful service. Buy the DVD and muse on the ‘good old days’, because they really aren’t coming back.
I started on Dmitri Tcherniakov’s production(Bel Air BAC046) with a huge dose of scepticism. His decision to replace Boris Pokrovsky’s old legendary production was very brave, because Muscovites (and not only Muscovites) were so very attached to it. Besides: you have to be really sure of yourself to dare to replace a LEGEND. On top of that, from the entire cast – apart from Kocherga and Kwiecien – I did not know any of the performers.
I quickly changed my mind, because from the start I was on the edge of my seat. The staging, costumes, stage design, sets and props – everything is right, even if it is not as it is in a typical ‘Onegin’. The entire first and second acts take place in the same space: the dining room in Larina’s house, with a long table and chairs prominently displayed. The same table and chairs also recur in III, but in a much richer ambience.
It is incredibly difficult to explain the whole directorial concept in a few words, you have to believe me that it is extremely fascinating and extremely exciting. Very intelligent too.
Tatyana is portrayed by Tatiana Monogarova in a very convincing way. She is pale, thin and slightly autistic, locked in her own mind. The outside world scares her as she tries to hide from it.
Olga(Margerita Mamsirova) is just a flirt and from the start she challenged Onegin. She is more than a little tired of her poet- boyfriend’s sighs. and she is not wrong!
Lensky is sung by a good, though not exeptional, Andrey Dunaev. He is a bit stupid, pushy and jealous and thus the real instigator of all evil happenings.
Larina (an insanely good singing and acting Makvala Kasrashvili) also gets more attention than usual. The moment when, thinking back to her childhood, she downs a drink and has a little cry is very touching. But she soon recovers and everything stays the same.
Mariusz Kwiecien (Onegin) is indeed irresistible. Or let me rephrase it: he portrays such a very bored and self-important arsehole (sorry for the word!). And he actually stays that way until the end. Utterly convincing!
Frantically he tries to belong to the ‘high society’, where he is not really accepted. Even his sudden passionate love for Tatyana feels unreal. On his knees, he offers her a bunch of red roses and when she refuses to run away with him, he tries to rape her.
Dignified, Tatyana walks off the stage on her husband’s arm on which Onjegin pulls out a pistol, but we are spared the suicide, because, of course!, without witnesses by his standards there is no use for it..
Trailer:
And then there is Robert Carsen’s production for the Metropolitan Opera, recorded in February 2007(Decca 0743298). I am a huge Carsen-adept and love almost everything he does. So too this Onjegin
His staging is very realistic and he follows the libretto accurately. In the first act, the stage is strewn with autumn leaves, but everything else is basically bare and there is almost no scenery. A bed for the ‘letter scene’, otherwise some chairs in the second and third acts. At the duel, the stage is completely empty.
It is not distracting. On the contrary. The costumes are really beautiful, but especially in the first act they remind me more of English Jane Austen film adaptations than of the Russian countryside. It is not really disturbing, the eye wants something too, but Renée Fleming is too glamorous for a peasant trio, making her switch to a proud princess less impressive.
Onjegin (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) is mainly a dandy here, very concerned with his, good, looks. Well, Dima is an extremely attractive singer in all aspects, but in his confrontation scene with Tatyana, he is more reminiscent of daddy Germont than of Onjegin.
Ramón Vargas is one of the best lyric tenors in 2007, but Lensky he is not! He really does his best, he also looks like a real poet, but this role needs to be a bit more languorous.
As usual, Carsen’s character direction is truly unsurpassed and even Fleming seems to thaw out at times. Unfortunately, her Russian is totally unintelligible.
Fleming and Hvorostovsky in the final scene of the opera:
I am not going to bore you with a detailed explanation of the various versions of Boris Godunov – two of them by Mussorgsky himself. Enough has already been written about it and if you want to know more, you can find some on the internet. Besides: really getting sidetracked by this doesn’t work, I’m afraid. Hence I judge these few selectively chosen recordings purely on performance (and direction).
ANDREI TARKOVSKY
In 1983, Andrei Tarkovsky staged ‘Boris Godunov’ for Covent Garden. It was his first opera direction and also his last. Something very regrettable because his vision of Mussorgsky’s magnum opus is truly breathtaking.
The staging exudes the same style so characteristic of all his films: visionary and poetic. The whole shows itself as a colourful film with lots of Christian symbolism, images in slow motion and an enormous attention to every detail. In 1990, the production was taken on by the Mariinsky theatre and broadcast live on English television, a first at the time.
The lead role was also performed in London by the English bass, Robert Lloyd, and his interpretation is among the most impressive I have ever seen in my life. His voice was still truly great then, both in volume and timbre, and in his acting he was not inferior to the best stage actor. In the process, he managed to hold his own excellently among the otherwise exclusively Russian cast.
About the cast by the way, which apart from Lloyd includes (among others) Olga Borodina, Alexei Steblianko and Sergei Leiferkus. Nothing but praise, by the way. Valery Gergiev has the opera at his fingertips. An absolute must. (Philips 0750899)
WILLY DECKER
Filmed in Barcelona in 2004, Willy Decker’s production had already been presented in Amsterdam in 2001. The direction is heavily centred around the protagonist: for Decker, the drama is psychological rather than historical. The setting betrays Russia of the early 20th century, just before the revolution, and the scenery is very minimalist.
The chairs and tiny houses, Decker’s trademark are obviously present, a giant seat dominates the mise-en-scéne from the start. It makes for some very nice scenes – the ascent to the throne, for instance.
Eric Halfvarson is a bit of a weak Pimen, but the rest of the cast, with Matti Salminen (Boris), Anatoli Kotscherga (Varlaam) and Philip Langridge (Shuisky) leading the way is truly outstanding.
And then there’s Fyodor sung by the unforgettable Brian Asawa, who left us far too soon.
Alex Grigoriev deserves special mention for his superb performance in the role of Yuriodivy. (Arthaus Musik 107 237)
CALIXTO BIEITO
Sometimes I suspect that opera directors imagine themselves to be some kind of modern-day dictator, trying to force their own opinions down our throats. And if we don’t want to swallow it then we are mistaken for stupid.
That the abuse of power is a product of all times is clear; even toddlers know that these days. The news, whether we want it or not, invades our households and there is no shortage of images – on Youtube or otherwise. So I don’t think we need a director to tell us yet again that Putin or Blair (?) is the new Godunov, with the gory images included, otherwise the opera won’t do any more.
If I want to watch Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky, I don’t expect Putin and I don’t expect Pussy Riot. I expect the boyars, the monks, the ‘Old Believers’ and the church bells of St Petersburg. I can make the link to the present myself.
You get the point: Calixto Bieito’s Boris Godunov (Munich 2013) just cannot charm me, and I am putting that mildly here.
I prefer Willy Decker’s production, which was also shown in Amsterdam. It also had better singing.(BelAir BAC102)he role of Yuriodivy. (Arthaus Musik 107 237)
FILM
‘Boris’ was filmed in Russian studios in 1954. It was directed by Vera Stroyeva, a grand lady of Soviet cinema, who captured the opera in the best social-realist (think Eisenstein!) traditions.
It is a mix of all versions with many cuts but it doesn’t matter: you must have seen it at least once. Just for the atmosphere the film exudes, which really brings you frighteningly close to the story.
And it features insanely good singing by the likes of Alexander Pirogov, Georgi Nelepp and Ivan Kozlovsky, the then stars of the Bolshoi. Legendary (VAI 4253).
Boris’ death scene
CDS
Martti Talvela
The first ever recording of Mussorgsky’s original score, (the revised version from 1872) was made in 1976. Anyone familiar with Rimsky-Korsakov’s polished arrangement(s) (which at the time was most of us) was in for a shock by the rough-hewn sounds. But once you adjust to the shock, you could not help but give in. Less beautiful, though it may be, it fits the story much better.
The all-Polish cast, except Martti Talvela (Boris), Aage Haugland (Varlaam) en Nicolai Gedda (Grigori/Dimitri) is more than up to the job, but not quite thrilling under the direction of Jerzy Semkow.
Boris Christoff
We cannot ignore Boris Christoff, one of the all-time great Borises. He has recorded the role several times, of which the performance under André Cluytens is dearest to me.
Here, apart from Boris, he also sings Pimen and Varlaam, which is a bit confusing at times, but gives him the opportunity to showcase different possibilities of his fantastic bass. The version is of course by Rimsky-Korsakov, and the 1962 recording still sounds fine. (once EMI 5678772)
Speaking of Boris Christoff, not long ago the budget label Andromeda reissued a 3-CD box set of all the songs of Mussorgsky he sang. The recordings, with both piano and orchestral accompaniment were made in 1951, 1955, 1957 respectively. Unfortunately no lyrics, nor any liner notes. (ANDRCD 5098)
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk illustration by B.M. Kustodiyev
It was supposed to be a four-part opera, an operatic tetralogy dedicated to the position of women in Russia in different eras.
A Soviet Russian Ring des Nibelungen, of which part one, `Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk’ would be a kind of Rheingold. But alas, it was not to be. Though initially no one could have suspected any impending doom.
Premiere poster 1934 QED Art and press from the USSR and Central Europe
The premiere on 22 January 1934 at the Maly Theatre in Leningrad was a tremendous success, and for two years the opera was performed several times a week both in Leningrad and Moscow. The opera was also very succesful abroad: after Cleveland the New York City Opera followed , and then Stockholm, Prague and Zurich.
Until Stalin attended a performance in January 1936 and left early. The next day, an article appeared in Pravda under the headline ‘Chaos instead of music’.
It was signed by a certain Zaslavsky, but according to Shostakovich, it was written by Stalin himself. The opera was immediately dropped from the programmes and the composer was labelled an ‘enemy of the people’.
After Stalin’s death, Shostakovich revised his opera, and under a new title, Katerina Ismailova, it was first performed in Moscow in 1963. Prague and Zurich.
Shostakovich loved his heroine. To Solomon Volkov, he confessed: “Although Yekaterina Lvovna is a murderess, she is not yet lost as a human being. Her conscience torments her, she keeps thinking about the people she killed. I have sympathy for her. […] I wanted to show a woman who morally stands much higher than all the people around her. Because around Yekaterina there are only villains. She lives like in a prison and this is how she has been suffering for five years.”
“Her life is sad and uninteresting. But then comes love, a great passion. And it turns out that this passion is worth a crime to her. After all, it doesn’t matter, since otherwise life makes has no meaning to her.” (From Testimony. Memoirs of Dimitri Shostakovich.)
The opera, about the tragic fate of Katerina, who after marrying a rich merchant ends up in a kind of prison, from which she believes she can escape through her passionate love for Sergei and then ends her life in an icy river in Siberia, is a mix of tragedy and satire, seriousness and humour, lyrical melodies and – yes, indeed – chaos.
With a dizzying pace, the atmosphere changes from touching melancholy (Katja’s lament ‘Zherebyonok k kob’lke toropotsa’) to sexually charged (seduction scene), to end in actually pornographic sounds – Shostakovich has succeeded in describing ‘the deed’ through music in detail.
The premiere on 22 January 1934 at the Maly Theatre in Leningrad was a tremendous success, and for two years the opera was performed several times a week both in Leningrad and Moscow. The opera was also very succesful abroad: after Cleveland the New York City Opera followed , and then Stockholm, Prague and Zurich.
Until Stalin attended a performance in January 1936 and left early. The next day, an article appeared in Pravda under the headline ‘Chaos instead of music’.
It was signed by a certain Zaslavsky, but according to Shostakovich, it was written by Stalin himself. The opera was immediately dropped from the programmes and the composer was labelled an ‘enemy of the people’. After Stalin’s death, Shostakovich revised his opera, and under a new title, Katerina Ismailova, it was first performed in Moscow in 1963. Prague and Zurich.
Shostakovich loved his heroine. To Solomon Volkov, he confessed: “Although Yekaterina Lvovna is a murderess, she is not yet lost as a human being. Her conscience torments her, she keeps thinking about the people she killed. I have sympathy for her. […] I wanted to show a woman who morally stands much higher than all the people around her. Because around Yekaterina there are only villains. She lives like in a prison and this is how she has been suffering for five years.”
“Her life is sad and uninteresting. But then comes love, a great passion. And it turns out that this passion is worth a crime to her. After all, it doesn’t matter, since otherwise life makes has no meaning to her.” (From Testimony. Memoirs of Dimitri Shostakovich.)
The opera, about the tragic fate of Katerina, who after marrying a rich merchant ends up in a kind of prison, from which she believes she can escape through her passionate love for Sergei and then ends her life in an icy river in Siberia, is a mix of tragedy and satire, seriousness and humour, lyrical melodies and – yes, indeed – chaos.
With a dizzying pace, the atmosphere changes from touching melancholy (Katja’s lament ‘Zherebyonok k kob’lke toropotsa’) to sexually charged (seduction scene), to end in actually pornographic sounds – Shostakovich has succeeded in describing ‘the deed’ through music in detail.
GALINA VISHNEVSKAYA, 1978
Shortly after the composer’s death, his friend, the cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, found the original score of Lady Macbeth. In 1978, the opera was recorded in full for the first time (Warner 0825646483204). Rostropovich conducted and the leading roles were performed by the best singers from the Russian tradition. Galina Vishnevskaya is a phenomenal Katerina. In her interpretation, you can hear her character’s full range of emotions and character developments. She is bored, in love and passionate, and her despair at the end is the very deepest.
Nicolai Gedda portrays a very attractive and masculine Sergei, and Dimiter Petkov and Werner Krenn are matched as father and son Ismailov. Robert Tear is (as always, by the way) extremely convincing in his character role as the shabby labourer and only Birgit Finnila (Sonyetka) sounds a little too old-fashioned for me.
Rostropovich conducts with an eye for all the details and emphasises the contrasts. All in all: a better CD recording is unthinkable. Not that you have a choice: the only real competitor on CD, a DG recording (4375112) with Maria Ewing and Sergei Larin conducted by Myung Whun Chung, has now been dropped.
NADINE SECUNDE, Barcelona, 2002
EMI (5997309) once released a production from Barcelona (May 2002) on DVD, which may be called convincing to say the very least. It was directed by a former actor from Norway, Stein Winge, who made a very moving, mainly personal drama of it.
The setting suits the opera’s period of origin. The stage is dominated by a giant bed, which is prominently displayed even during the first bars of the music. Above it, a window with clouds, too high to see through, and too high to escape from. Good find.
Katerina’s arioso:
The staging is quite realistic without being vulgar. The lovemaking scene is particularly beautifully portrayed. Katerina ties the endless sheets to the legs of the bed, creating a kind of sea. She and Sergei disappear under it, and the commentary is left to the music (and our own imaginations), which is very evocative.
Nadine Secunde is a fine Katerina, very believable and extremely convincing both vocally and scenically. Christoper Ventris seems born for the role of Sergei: extremely attractive and very macho, he lives up to his reputation that no woman can resist him.
The rest of the cast is also phenomenal. Most impressive to me is the veteran Yevgeny Nesterenko in the small role of the old forced labourer.
And yet I still have a side note: the end of the opera. I won’t give it away to you, but it’s different from the libretto (for the umpteenth time already). Where does the new fashion of changing an opera’s ending come from anyway?
EVA-MARIA WESTBROEK, Amsterdam, 2006
In October 2006, Eva-Maria Westbroek made her widely acclaimed debut at London’s Royal Opera House as Katerina Izmailova. It was even spoken of as ‘one of the most important debuts at Covent Garden ever’
. But we, the Dutch opera lovers, already knew it, because at the Holland Festival in June 2006, Westbroek made her debut at the Netherlands Opera in the same role, in a performance that received nothing but overenthusiastic reactions.
The production also saw Martin Kušej, a not uncontroversial Austrian opera director, make his debut in our country. In his concept, sexuality and power are closely linked and the opera is a terrible abyss, which can only be described with words like orgasm and manslaughter.
Katerina lives in a glass cage with a hundred pairs of shoes, guarded by dogs and surrounded by mud. Her longing for love and security is never satisfied, because what Sergei has in store for her is pure sex, devoid of any affection.
The musical mix of tragedy and satire, seriousness and humour, lyrical melodies and hard porn was perfectly portrayed scenically by KuÅ¡ej, which was only enhanced by the phenomenally playing Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons. As a bonus, you get an extremely interesting ‘the making of’ documentary (Opus Arte OA 0965).
GLORIA LANE, Rome, 1976
To my knowledge, only one recording exists of Katerina Ismailova’s 1963 adaptation of Lady Macbeth, on the budget label Opera D’Oro (OPD 1388). It is an RAI recording of a broadcast on 29 May 1976 in Rome.
The differences from the original are noticeable right from the first bars: it is milder, without the biting irony, with more melancholy and sadness. The biggest differences are in the intermezzi. The first, for instance, has been replaced by completely different music. Even in the big seduction scene, the bulk of the music has been killed off and almost all the high notes have disappeared from Katerina’s music.
The performance, conducted by Yuri Ahronovich, is most certainly adequate, although I have trouble with William Cochran’s Sergei. It may be just me, but I experience his tenor as pinched rather than sexy. In the lead role, another one of those forgotten greats of yesteryear: Gloria Lane. Her Katerina is very dramatic and full of passion.he making of’ documentary (Opus Arte OA 0965).
Finally, the very interesting documentary Shostakovich against Stalin by Larry Weinstein was once released on Philips (Philips 0743117) with very much historical footage and even more music. The docu can also be found in its entirety on You Tube
“The” sound. That is what Schreker was obsessed and fascinated by. A sound that died off on its own, but not really, because it had to keep resounding – if only in your mind. It had to be a pure sound, but one containing orgasmic desire and it should be intertwined with visions.
Sight & Sound Experience of Gustav Klimt – Atelier des lumières Paris
Of course, it also had to do with the spirit of that time; other artists too were experimenting with it, though perhaps not so fanatically. “The” sound, Schreker never let go of it, even when, at the end of his short life, he seemed to be going in a different direction.
This sound, which according to our chief conductor Marc Albrecht is “narcotic”, is abundant in Der Schatzgräber. It was Albrecht’s deepest wish to conduct the opera one day, a dream that came true in September 2012.
The making of Der Schatzgräber in Amsterdam:
And Albrecht is good at it, at creating the perfect sound. It still needs to be perfected, though, as the sound at the premiere was, especially at the beginning, far too loud. Fortunately, after the intermission it became more lyrical and softer, gently guiding you through the music, just like in Els’s stunning lullaby at the beginning of the third act.
About the staging, I can be brief: it sucks. In the first two acts I was still able to somewhat relate to the neglected, aggressive cult members (?). The beautiful Els resembled Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour, with her blonde wig and the very high heels under her short, sexy dresses. Something that was also a bit true for the Queen (good silent role by Basja Chanowski).
But the geriatric hospital/nursing home, with stumbling old people with walkers? Sorry, that didn’t even make me reflect; I found it ugly and unnecessary. And speaking of films, I was reminded a bit of Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves. The ultimate sacrifice.
The video projections were too much of a good thing for me. A lot of them also didn’t add anything at all or were just too obvious (white horse, children being born or a twinkling starry sky during the love night – Kubrick’s ‘2001 Odyssey’?). It made me restless. Schreker’s music has to be experienced, then the images will come naturally.
I do have to admit that van Hove kept reasonably to the libretto, there were very few discrepancies between what you saw and what you read. What he did do is translate the medieval fairy tale into our contemporary (hyper)realism, and that is alright. In his introduction, he said he did not want to start from a concept, what he wanted was to create a universal drama.
It was a first for everyone. For the director, for the conductor and for the orchestra. And for all the, more than outstanding singers. Hats off!
First of all, the interpreter of the title role, Raymond Very. His tenor is lyrical and agile, he just throws his high notes into the air as if they are very easy to sing, and he manages not to overpower himself with the, at times, very intense music. What a relief to enjoy the long Schrekerian arcs so completely in style. You may notice that he is struggling towards the end, but try to walk in his shoes! Three times BRAVO!
Manuela Uhl (Els) was also a bit spent towards the end. But her performance before that borders on the impossible. Beautiful woman with above-average acting skills and with a voice that went from whispery-soft to bellows and from very low to very high, chapeau.
Kay Stieferman made a particularly strong impression. His baritone is of an immense size and blessed with thousands of colour nuances. He certainly needed all those for Der Vogt, because there were so many emotions in this character. He managed to convey them all clearly, even allowing you to have some sympathy for his actions. Very impressive.
About Graham Clark (the Jester), I can be short. He was exactly what was expected of him – nothing but really wonderful!
Have you ever heard of Catarina Mancini (10 November 1924 – 21 January 2011)? This soprano, born at Genzano di Roma had the true ’voce Verdiana’: she combined a beautiful height and pure coloratura with a drama that even La Divina might have envied her for.
Never heard of her? Then it’s time to make up for the damage, because I promise you a voice out of thousands. And this is exactly how her Leonora sounds in the recording from 1951 Rome (Warner Fonit 2564661890). Extraordinary.
Her Manrico was sung by the very heroic sounding (then already nearly 60 years old) Giacomo Lauri-Volpi and a very charismatic Carlo Tagliabue sang the role of di Luna. Miriam Pirazzini (Azucena) completed the cast and the whole was very impressively conducted by Fernando Previtali.
Here are Mancini, Lauri-Volpi and Tagliabue in the trio of the first act:
Highlights on Spotify:
Price and Corelli, 1961
With their 1961 performance recorded live for Sony, both Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli made their debuts at the Metropolitan Opera. For me, Corelli, alongside Del Monaco and Domingo, is the best Manrico ever. Very masculine and very sexy, you can hardly resist that as a woman.
Mario Sereni and Irene Dalis are more than adequate as Luna and Azucena respectively, and it is a great joy to discover none other than Teresa Stratas in the small role of Inez. And Charles Anthony as Ruiz should not be forgotten
Price and Domingo, 1970
The recording made 19 years later for RCA shows a more mature Price, but her sound is still that of an excited teenager, with just about the most perfect Verdian ‘morbidezza’. Her ‘D’amor sull’ali rosee’ seems like a little prayer, weeping so beautifully.
This Trovatore was the very first opera that Plácido Domingo, then 28(!), recorded in the studio. Fiorenza Cossotto shines as Azucena, but what really makes the recording indispensable, at least for me, is one of the most delightful Lunas ever: Sherrill Milnes (88883729262).
Below Price, Domingo and Milnes in ‘E deggio e posso crederlo’:
Maria Callas, 1956
A problem in the 1956 recording conducted by Herbert von Karajan very excitingly is Giuseppe di Stefano. Beautiful though he is, for Manrico he lacks power.
Fedora Barbieri comes into her own even better here than on the Myto recording, which may be partly due to the much better sound quality. Rolando Panerai is a solid Luna, but his “Il balen” neither makes me hot nor cold, especially with Bastianini and Milnes to my ears.
And Maria Callas? Callas remains Callas. Overdramatic. Her Leonora is anything but an adolescent in love. Her ‘D’amor sull’ali rosee’ is more than beautiful, perfect almost, but it leaves me utterly cold (Warner 5099964077321).
Below Callas in D’amor sull’ali rosee’:
Leyla Gencer, 1957
I don’t think I need introduce you to Leyla Gencer. The Turkish diva enjoys a cult following comparable only to that of Olivero and Callas. Her supple, round and clear voice – with pianissimi with which she could rival Montserrat Caballé – made her exceptionally suited to Verdi operas. Her Leonora is simply perfect: you can’t get any more beautiful than that.
Nor do I think there has ever been a better, more beautiful and impressive Luna than Ettore Bastianini. Del Monaco is otherwise a very macho Manrico. His radiant height in ‘Di quella pira’ compensates for his sometimes lacklustre interpretation.
Fedora Barbieri impresses as Azucena and Plinio Cabassi is a Ferrando to kiss. The recording was made in Milan in 1957 (Myto 00127).
Gré Brouwenstijn, 1953
It is almost unbelievable, but there were times when even an opera like Il Trovatore could be cast with only Dutch singers. You can also hear them all in the performance recorded live by Osteria (OS-1001) at the Amsterdam Schouwburg in 1953.
Annie Delorie’s Azucena disappoints me a little, but Gerard Holthaus, unknown to me (is there anyone who can tell me more about him?), is a surprisingly beautiful Luna.
Gré Brouwenstijn is definitely fantastic as Leonora. And yet… her ‘Tacea la notte placida’ doesn’t really penetrate my soul. Mario Cordone was unfortunately not among the very best conductors in the world, which is a pity: sometimes I get the feeling that he is a hindrance to the singers.
Cristina Deutekom, 1976
Give me Cristina Deutekom! In the 1976 recording (Gala GL 100.536), she manages to convince me completely and penetrate deep into my heart. Unlike Callas who remains just Callas in everything she sings, she is Leonora. With her feathery coloraturas, she sounds exactly how I imagine a Leonora to be: a young girl in love with a strong tendency to exaggerate. The latter in the best sense of the word.
Jan Derksen is also a Luna to be reckoned with and secretly I think he may be even better than Bastianini and Milnes. His “Il bales” is among the best versions of the aria I had ever heard.
Carolyne James is an okay Azucena, but the reason the recording is not my absolute number one is because of the very dickish (sorry!) sounding Juan Lloveras (Manrico).
Below, Cristina Deutekom and Lloveras in ‘Miserere’:
Raina Kabaivanska 1978
Il trovatore was one of Von Karajan’s favourite operas. In 1962, he directed a series of performances in Salzburg, which were taken over and televised in Vienna in 1978. It is a very old-fashioned and static performance, with realistic sets and costumes.
Terribly underrated outside Italy, Raina Kabaivanska portrays a flesh-and-blood Leonora: her voice is dark, with an old-fashioned vibrato and clearly lined phrasing.
Domingo was a last-minute substitute for the angry runaway Bonisolli. For his ravishing ‘Ah si, ben mio’, sung with radiant top notes, he was rewarded by the audience with a minute-long ovation.
Cossotto’s Azucena has since become legendary: like no other singer, she left a mark on that role (Arthouse Music 107117)
Below Domingo, Kabaivanska, Cappuccilli and Cossotto in ‘Prima che d’ altri vivere’:
Di quella pira
For those who cannot get enough of ‘Di quella pira’: Bongiovanni (GB 1051-2) has released a CD with no fewer than 34 performances of the tenor hit, recorded between 1903 (Julian Biel) and 1956 (Mario Filipeschi). Lauri-Volpi, here in a recording from 1923 (!), displays a radiant and long-held high c. However, he is surpassed by Aureliano Pertile: what a sound!
Helge Rosvaenge is disappointingly dull, but Richard Tauber’s 1926 recording (in German) is a delightful curio (yes, he can do it!).
Jan Kiepura can’t get enough of trills and welds them into everything, but what a ringing sound he has! Even Gigli ventures into it: something he had better leave out. The best of them all I think is Jussi Björling from 1939. Please let me know who your favourite was?
Gigliola Frazzoni
For dessert, I give you ‘Tacea la notte placida’, sung by Gigliola Frazzoni, one of Minnie’s best (La fanciulla del West). It was recorded in Amsterdam, on 16 October 1954. Marijke van der Lugt sings Ines and the Amsterdam Broadcating Orchestra (?) is conducted by Arture BasileDanny
Radames was among Domingo’s favourite roles. No wonder. Here he could really ‘show it all’, because the hero is very complex. He is a ‘macho with a lot of muscles’ and a vulnerable boy at the same time, and he is torn between duty and passion. Unfortunately, the two are not compatible.
To sing Radames well you need not only a cannon of a voice but also an intellectual ability. And he has both.
He made his debut with Aida in 1968 in Hamburg and he has since sung the opera thousands of times. There are many recordings on the market, both studio and live. I would like to dwell on a recording that will not evoke an ‘aha’ moment for most of you – also because at first glance the cast is not idiomatically perfect.
The fact that Anna Tomowa-Sintow was one of Karajan’s favourite singers had its advantages and disadvantages. She was a welcome guest in Salzburg and her name appears on many recordings conducted by the maestro. But it also meant that she was primarily rated as a Mozart and Strauss singer, while she had so much more to offer. Her Desdemona and Amelia were legendary and after her Munich Aida, Leonie Rysanek praised her performance for its pure beauty.
Fassbaender is really surprising and particularly convincing as Amneris. Just listen to what she does with the single word ‘pace’ at the end of the opera. The opera was recorded by Bayeriche Rundfunk on 22 March 1979 and released on Orfeo (C583 022).
Also noteworthy is the recording from Munich 1972, with a now almost forgotten Verdi singer, Martina Arroyo. As Amneris, we hear Fiorenza Cossotto and Cappuccilli and Ghiaurov complete the excellent cast conducted by Claudio Abbado. The recording from Vienna 1973 (Bela Voce BLV 107.209), under Riccardo Muti, is also of particular interest. In the leading role we meet Gwyneth Jones and Amneris is sung by an exceptional mezzo: Viorica Cortez.
The recording from Vienna 1973 (Bela Voce BLV 107.209), under Riccardo Muti, is also of particular interest. In the leading role we meet Gwyneth Jones and Amneris is sung by an exceptional mezzo: Viorica Cortez.
Of Domingo’s studio recordings the 1970 RCA release (probably from the catalogue), is probably the best. How could it be otherwise, when you know that the conductor is Erich Leinsdorf and the other roles are sung by Leontyne Price, Sherrill Milnes, Grace Bumbry and Ruggero Raimondi. The whole thing almost pops out of your speakers.
What started with a Chilean novel in 1983 turned into an opera in Los Angeles in 2010. Composer Daniel Catán followed the success of the book and two film adaptations with a wonderfully lyrical and poetic opera: Il Postino. Highly recommended.
First there was a novel, Ardente Patience (Burning Patience), written by Chilean Antonio Skármeta. The book became widely known when it was filmed in 1983, by the author himself. The film won a large number of national and international awards, including Le Grand Prix du Jury in Biarritz.
However, it did not become a real hit until 1994, when it was filmed for the second time by Michael Radford, this time under the title Il Postino (The Postman). The film gained cult status – you didn’t count if you hadn’t seen it.
It is a (fictional) story about a young postman Mario who discovers the world of poetry. Inspired and encouraged by his only “customer”, an exiled world-famous poet and communist activist (Pablo Neruda), Mario writes poems to his beloved Beatrice.
Years later, during his return to Cala di Scotto, once his place of exile, Neruda meets Pablito, Mario’s little son, who never knew his father – he was killed during a communist demonstration.
The delightfully nostalgic and moving “feel-good movie”, in which tears also flow profusely, has also conquered the world of classical music. In 2010, the opera Il Postino had its world premiere in Los Angeles, with none other than Plácido Domingo in the role of Neruda.
Daniel Catán
It was the last opera by Mexican composer Daniel Catán, who died in 2011 at 61. Catán himself produced the libretto for his opera.
With its flowing melodies and recognisable arias and duets, Catán’s music is nothing short of beautiful. Not only for us, the audience, but also for the singers. I quote George Loomis, one of the New York Times’ music critics: “His operas let singers do what they have been trained to do, and what they do in the theatre when not performing operas by contemporary composers.
And so it is, although, especially with Il Postino, I myself would prefer to use the word “poetic”. Not because one of the main characters is a famous poet, but mainly because of the language used in the libretto, to which the music is “moulded”.
Just listen to the duet “Metaforas”, in which Neruda explains to the young postman the art of using metaphors. “Is the whole world just a metaphor then?” asks Mario, who discovers that he too can write poetry… “You’ll get the answer tomorrow,” says Neruda, but we can already read it on his face.
The super-romantic love duet between Mario and Beatrice melts your heart. It could have walked right out of La bohéme and I love that. Indeed, I am touched by it.
In one of the opera’s first scenes, we are introduced to Neruda and his wife Matilde. Endearingly, he sings of how she managed to turn their “asylum” into a home (the duet ‘Los Manos’).
In a very erotic aria ‘Desnuda’, he sings of her beauty and undresses her with his eyes. What follows is a very poetic love scene, in which we are shown just enough to tickle our fancy.
Domingo is a dreamy Neruda. His very warm voice is full of love and passion, he transports, inspires and endears. He has hundreds of facial expressions at his disposal… and he can tango!
Cristina Gallard-Domas (Matilde) occasionally sounds a little shrill in the upper registers, but her intensity and her role interpretation make up for everything. She is also a beautiful woman, a prototype of a South American with too big eyes and too big a mouth, behind which you can suspect one and all passion.
In Mario, Charles Castronovo has found the role of a lifetime. With his lyrical tenor – and his acting talent! – he portrays a real-life young man: shy and romantic but one with many ambitions and perseverance to achieve his goal.
Amanda Squitieri is a sparkling Beatrice and Ron Daniels’ direction is definitely sublime – his character direction is to die for! The production is very cinematic and a little reminiscent of de Sica’s Italian neorealism with Almodovár’s colours.
Susanna has a secret. Does she have a lover? That’s exactly what her jealous husband Gil thinks. In the house there is a smell of smoke, so…? Well, no. Susanna doesn’t have a lover and the cigarettes? She smokes them herself. So that’s her secret. It all meant nothing, but Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari managed to turn the sneering story into one of the funniest comic operas ever.
His music is divinely beautiful. More, in fact. In his notes, he managed to capture all moods. Angry, happy, troubled, angry, happy… You can hear it. Genius. That the opera is still rarely performed has everything to do with our contempt for anything that smells of verismo. For the peace of mind of verismo-haters: no, Il Segreto di Susanna is not a verismo opera, it is more like a commedia dell’arte. Or, flatly put, a delightful interlude.
The live recording from 2006 is excellent. Ángel Ódena is a more than convincing husband and Judith Howarth a sweet-voiced Susanna. For me, the latter is (the only) immediate downside of the recording: Surely Susanna could be a bit more outspoken! Those who know the recording with Renata Scotto know what I mean.
As a bonus, we get Wolf-Ferrari’s youth work, a Serenade for strings. And beautiful it is! The excellent playing Oviedo Filarmonia is under the very enthusiastic direction of Friedrich Haider.
“Forgetting forms a part of all actions,” Nietsche wrote in one of his pamphlets. “To (over)live, one must sometimes destroy one’s past.” Korngold should know, because with those very words you can sum up the real themes of his most famous opera, Die Tote Stadt.
“A scene from the original 1920 Hamburg production of Die tote Stadt. From left to right: Walter Diehl (Graf Albert); Josef Degler (Fritz) Anny Münchow (Marietta); Felix Rodemund (Gaston); and Paul Schwartz (Victorin).”
Die Tote Stadt had its world premiere simultaneously in Cologne (directed by Otto Klemperer) and Hamburg on 4 December 1920, after which the whole world followed. Before the war, it was the most played of all contemporary operas.
RENÉ KOLLO (once RCA, now Sony)
“After 1938, Die Tote Stadt was no longer performed. Only in the 1970s did a cautious comeback begin. The first studio recording of the opera dates from that time (1975).
Unfortunately, the text booklet (which is otherwise well cared for with the well reproduced synopsis and the complete libretto in two languages) does not tell the ‘why’ of that release. I would have liked to know who exactly conceived the idea of recording Die Tote Stadt, all the more so since the work was still considered inferior at the time.
Even Leinsdorf never concealed the fact that he did hold the work in high esteem. And yet he conducts it as if it were a masterpiece. Perhaps he gradually came to believe in it? He gives the opera the grandeur of a monument and the lustre of gold. Particularly exciting and energetic, he leads the brilliantly playing Munich Radio Orchestra through the score. At the end of the first act, when Marie’s portrait comes to life, you imagine yourself in the middle of the dream scene from Hitchckock’s ‘Spellbound’, and even without the image the tension is up for grabs.
There is also excellent singing, although I have a bit of trouble with Kollo in his demanding role of Paul. During the recording he shuttled between Munich and Bayreuth, where he was singing Parsifal at the time, so his voice sounds a bit tired.
Moreover, I prefer a more lyrical tenor in that role, but one with enough power to rise above the orchestra. Fritz Wunderlich could have been ideal, but he had been dead for almost a decade by then, and no one had thought of Gösta Winbergh at the time.
Carol Neblett is a fantastic Marie/Marietta, her creamy soprano possesses many colours and is well-stabilised in height. Benjamin Luxon portrays a warm and fatherly Frank and Herman Prey (Fritz) brings paradise closer with his sweetly sung Tanzlied.
Below, Herman Prey sings “Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen”
The small role of Brigitte is also phenomenally sung by Rose Wagemann, perhaps the best Brigitte I have heard so far.
THOMAS SUNNEGÅRDH (Naxos 8660060-1)
In 1996, Die Tote Stadt was put on the repertoire at the Royal Swedish Opera House in Stockholm. Two of the performances were recorded live by Naxos and released on CD. The result is definitely not bad, one feels the excitement of the theatre which in fact is always a plus. The stage noise is audible, it does not bother me, quite the contrary. Leif Segerstam conducts calmly and it is due to a few cuts that the whole thing is almost 15 minutes shorter with him than with Leinsdorf.
Paul is sung by Thomas Sunnegårdh, a Wagner tenor who impresses mainly by his volume: occasionally he degenerates into sprechgesang and the lyricism is nowhere to be seen. Superbly, on the other hand, Katarina Dalayman as Marie/Mariette and Anders Bergström (Frank) and Per-Arne Wahlgren (Fritz) also portray their roles convincingly.
TORSTEN KERL
DVD
Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg staged Die Tote Stadt in April 2001. The highly controversial production by Inga Levant was released on DVD by Arthaus Musik (100 342).
If you thought the story of Die Tote Stadt is set in Bruges in the late nineteenth century, you are wrong. True, Korngold based his masterpiece on Rodenbach’s ‘Bruges-la-morte’ and that medieval city, with its fog and symbolism, put its stamp on both the libretto and the music, but Inga Levant knows better. So we end up in Hollywood where anything is possible and Marietta resembles not only Marie but also Marylin Monroe.
The whole thing is loaded with quotes from Fellini’s films, but fusion is in and anything goes. So I resignedly accept that ‘Mein Sehnen, mein Wänen’ is not sung by Pierrot but by the barman – played brilliantly and with a sufficient dose of schmalz by Stephan Genz
But if the libretto is violated, my patience and tolerance end. So I don’t accept Paul’s suicide because not only does he commit suicide, but also the entire opera.
Torsten Kerl (Paul) and Angela Denoke (Marie/Mariette) sing well, but the latter convinces mainly through her overwhelming stage presence and acting ability
CD Orfeo C 634 042
In the summer of 2003, this opera was performed at the Salzburg Festival. It was directed by Willy Decker and the leading roles were sung by Torsten Kerl, Angela Denoke (they seemed to have a patent on it) and Bo Skovhus. The performances were received with enormous enthusiasm by both the audience and the press, and the entire cast was rewarded with a standing ovation.
The 18 August performance was recorded live by ORF and released on CD. Why not DVD? The lack of images misses an important aspect of the performance, all the more so as the director had the roles of Frank and Fritz performed by the same singer which may have worked optically in the directorial concept, but is particularly confusing without images.
Torsten Kerl is clearly at his vocal limits, which manifests itself mainly in his pinched height. But he also has many beautiful and lyrical moments, something that cannot be said of Angela Denoke: without visuals, nothing remains of her.
The opera can also be heard on You Tube:
But I can’t get excited about Bo Skovhus either, something that is particularly hard for me: he was once one of my beloved baritones. He sings matte, without soul and his reading of “Mein Sehnen, mein Wänen” is downright pale. Too bad, because that he can do better he already showed at the beginning of his career on one of his first CD recordings:
Maria Jeritza who created the role of Marie/Mariette:
Basia con fuoco 