Josephine_Barstow

Karajans zwanenzang: Un ballo in maschera

TEKST: PETER FRANKEN

Als de kroon op zijn reeks grote Verdi producties tijdens de Salzburger Festspiele had Herbert von Karajan voor de editie van 1989 Un ballo in maschera (1859) geprogrammeerd. Tevoren was er een opname gemaakt voor de cd uitgave en voor de Festspiele werd John Schlesinger aangetrokken om een opulente productie op het toneel te zetten. Karajan overleed echter tijdens de repetitieperiode en werd op de valreep vervangen door Georg Solti waardoor de voorstellingenreeks werd gered, en met groot succes.

In 1990 werd de productie hernomen en daarvan is een opname gemaakt die op dvd werd uitgebracht. Als je daar zo’n dertig jaar later op terugkijkt valt op dat Schlesinger er een wel erg museale enscenering voor heeft gemaakt, natuurlijk wel helemaal in Karajans straatje. Maar zelfs voor 1989 oogt het uiterst gedateerd. Let wel, de spraakmakende Ring van Chéreau dateert van 15 jaar daarvoor en die oogt nu heel klassiek.

Herbert von Karajan had gekozen voor de originele versie die zich afspeelt aan het hof van de Zweedse koning Gustavo III einde 18^e eeuw. Dat komt een stuk overtuigender over dan de versie die Verdi door de censuur werd opgelegd en waarbij de hoofdrol wordt vertolkt door de Engelse gouverneur van Boston. Daar klinkt overigens nog wel iets van door als Gustavo tegen het einde zijn vriend en rivaal in de liefde voor Amelia ‘terug naar zijn vaderland wil sturen, zodat een oceaan hem van diens echtgenote zal scheiden’. Voor iemand die Anckarström heet kan er toch nauwelijks een ander vaderland denkbaar zijn dan Zweden, en daar is hij al.

Het libretto wordt tot in de kleinste details gevolgd en de kostumering is zo ‘authentiek’ dat je plaatsvervangend medelijden krijgt met het Zweedse hof van twee eeuwen eerder, wat een drama om altijd maar weer in die zware pakken en jurken rond te moeten lopen. Zelfs de lichtvoetige Oscar gaat gekleed als ware hij de belangrijkste hoveling in plaats van een page. De decors blijven niet bij die kostumering achter en ogen zonder meer indrukwekkend, maar ook erg museaal. Gelukkig was er een topcast voor aangetrokken waardoor het toch allemaal blijft boeien.

Op zich is het verhaal vrij eenvoudig. Gustavo gedraagt zich als de spreekwoordelijke verliefde man die geen enkele remming wenst te ervaren om bij zijn geliefde te geraken. Daarmee brengt hij Amelia in gevaar maar dat schijnt hem niet te deren. Evenmin laat hij zich weerhouden door het feit dat Amelia’s echtgenoot zijn beste vriend is die over hem waakt en daar een dagtaak aan lijkt te hebben, zoveel vijanden heeft de verlichte despoot Gustavo inmiddels gemaakt.

Josephine Barstow geeft een mooie vertolking van de handenwringende eveneens verliefde Amelia, die echter wel redelijk helder blijft denken, ook al helpt het haar niet. In het middenregister komt haar stem niet erg goed door maar het merendeel van de partij wordt in het hoge register gezongen dus blijft het probleem beperkt. Florence Quivar is een heel goed Ulrica, acteert ook uitstekend in een setting die wat voodoo-achtig overkomt bij aanvang.

Veel aandacht ging indertijd uit naar de Oscar van Sumi Jo. Zij was in 1989 Karajans nieuwste protegée die naar zou blijken ook zonder hem een bliksemcarrière wist te maken als belcantozangeres. Met de rol van Oscar heeft ze niet de minste moeite en het is leuk haar acterend aan het werk te zien.

Leo Nucci ziet als Renato zijn huwelijk en zijn relatie met Gustavo in rook opgaan en geheel in lijn met het vaste gebruik in de opera zweert hij wraak. Gustavo zal zijn verraad met de dood moeten bekopen. Dat deze inmiddels een decreet heeft getekend waarmee het vertrek van de familie Anckarström wordt geregeld, ver weg van elke verleiding, komt te laat en is sowieso een gebaar zonder inhoud. Gustavo heeft de reputatie van Renato en Amelia vernietigd, daar valt niets aan te depanneren. Tegelijkertijd heeft hij zichzelf evenmin een dienst bewezen door zijn puberale gedrag.

De fenomenaal zingende Nucci staat tegenover de excellerende Plácido Domingo die de hoofdrol extra glans weet te geven door zijn optreden. Laten we deze Ballo postuum maar zien als Karajans zwanenzang in Salzburg. Het had een mooi afscheid kunnen zijn.

zie ook: 2 x ‘Gemaskerde moord’ op Plácido Domingo alias koning Gustaaf III

Placido Domingo and Verdi

ERNANI

Ernani is an important opera to a Domingo collector. Domingo made his debut with it at La Scala on 7 December 1969. It was also the only opera he sang in Amsterdam, on 15 January 1972. Concertante, of course (yes, during the Matinee, where else?). Unfortunately, no complete recording exists, so we have to make do with fragments only (Bella Voce BV 107.004). Felicia Weathers, who sang the role of Elvira, had a terrible head cold and neither Piero Francia nor Agostino Ferrin are names to remember, but it remains an important document.

At La Scala, besides Domingo, there were two other greats of bygone days: Raina Kabaivanska and Nicolai Ghiaurov. Unfortunately, Cappuccilli had to cancel due to illness, but his replacement, Carlo Meliciani, really gives his best. Add to this the truly sublime direction of Antonino Votto and you know that you can expect a special ‘evening’ of opera.

AIDA

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.

Of Domingo’s studio recordings the 1970 RCA (now Sony)release, 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.

IL TROVATORE

Il Trovatore was the very first opera Placido Domingo, then 28 years old (!), recorded in the studio in 1970. Fiorenza Cossotto stars as Azucena, but the recording is really indispensable because of one of the most riveting Lunas ever: Sherrill Milnes .

Below: Price, Domingo and Milnes in ‘E deggio e posso crederlo?’

Il trovatore was one of Von Karajan’s favorite operas. In 1962 he directed a series of performances in Salzburg, those were taken over by Vienna in 1978 and broadcast on television.

Domingo was a last minute replacement for Franco Bonisolli, who had left the production in a fit of temper. Domingo’s delightful, radiant topnotes in ‘Ah si, ben mio’ earned him an ovation that lasted for many minutes.

Cossotto’s Azucena is now legendary: like no other singer she put her mark on the role (Arthouse Music 107117).

Below: Domingo, Kabaivanska, Cappuccilli en Cossotto in ‘Prima che d’ altri vivere’

BALLO IN MASCHERA

The Royal Opera House production released by Opus Arte (OA 1236D) dates from early 1975. The sound is a little dull, but you will forget that as soon as you hear the beautiful voices of the singers.

Katia Ricciarelli is one of the most moving Amelias I know. The sound that she produces is perhaps not really ‘Verdian’, and perhaps her voice is a little too light, (she has sadly destroyed her voice by singing this type of role), but the pianissimi that she spins deserve a prize for sheer beauty, and her fragility is palpable.

The kindly anxious, loving, but also playful tenor of the young Placido Domingo fits the role of Gustavo like a glove. Piero Cappuccilli is an excellent Renato and Reri Grist an Oscar such as you do not often hear them anymore. Her performance alone is worth buying the DVD.

Claudio Abbado (how young he was then!) conducts lightly and keeps the tempi sparkling, resulting in an effervescent orchestral sound.

The direction by Otto Schenk is effective. Conventional and yet surprising. And like no other, he exposes the comic aspects of the opera.

Trailer of the production:

Fifteen years later, Domingo is already a seasoned Gustavo. His king is now more mature, more serious too… But although he says he doesn’t believe Ulrica’s predictions, you can still see something like terror in his eyes. It could so easily be true…
This production includes also a more mature Amelia. Now she is not a dreamy girl, but a woman with intense desires. Josephine Barstow certainly lives up to this interpretation. She is a torn Amelia, full of love, sorrow, pain and tears. In ‘Ecco l’orrido campo’, her fear is physically palpable and in ‘Morro’ you think you may die with her. Leo Nucci shines as Renato and Sumi Yo is a light, bouncy Oscar.

The direction lies in the hands of the famous film director John Schlesinger. The end result is devastating: overwhelming, true-to-life sets, beautiful costumes and dazzling mass scenes. The picturesque image is occasionally reminiscent of enormous tableaux-vivants, and the direction of the characters is- as you would expect from a renowned director – phenomenal.
At the opera’s finale, when the dying king gathers his last strength and, gasping for breath, bids farewell to his beloved, his subjects and the fatherland, no one can suspect that with his last ‘addio’ an entire era is also coming to an end.
It would be Herbert von Karajan’s last production in Salzburg. He died just before the premiere in 1989 and was replaced by Solti, who also conducted the revival of the opera in 1990 (Arthaus Musik 109105).

The final word on Turandot has not yet been spoken

VIENNA 1983

Harold Prince, with no less than 21 Tony Awards to his name, one of the biggest (if not the biggest) musical producers/directors, tackled ‘Turandot’ (Arthaus Musik 107319) in 1983, with very impressive results. He created a world of illusion ruled by fear, where the inhabitants, dressed in dazzling costumes, hide themselves (and their true feelings) behind masks. Beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

Eva Marton sings a phenomenal Turandot and Katia Ricciarelli is a fragile, pitiful Liù. Her “Signore ascolta” spun out with the most beautiful pianissimi is heartbreaking.

And José Carreras… He makes me cry too, because at the age of 37 he had one of the most beautiful (lyrical) voices in the world. But Calaf was not his role. He sings it beautifully, but one hears him crossing his own boundaries. And yet …. His hopeless macho behaviour, which goes against all odds, not only fits the concept of the director, it also illustrates Calaf’s character perfectly. At least for me.

The orchestra from Vienna is conducted by Lorin Maazel. Not my favourite conductor, but in this case, I have no reason to complain.

NEW YORK 1987

There was a period when I thought I’d had enough of the larger than live productions by Franco Zefirelli. I only thought so, because now I yearn to see them again. All the more so because it was not just pomp and circumstance: Zefirelli was undeniably a very good personal director, with him the interaction between the characters was always perfectly timed as well.

Plácido Domingo is a different story. As many of you know (if not, you know it now) he is my absolute hero and idol, but he is so kind! And sweet! He sings the role better than Carreras (incidentally – neither gentlemen was a champion of high notes). His voice is bigger and stronger, but in terms of drawing a character Carreras wins.

Leona Mitchell (what happened to her?) is a very moving Liù. And her skin colour means you can feel for her as a slave (so not good enough for Calaf).

VALENCIA 2008

For lovers of fairy tales, stunningly beautiful and colourful costumes, overwhelming sets, and opera ‘as opera is supposed to be’: the production from Valencia, recorded in May 2008, will make your heart beat faster and even with your ears closed, you will enjoy it immensely.

The famous Chinese film director Chen Kaige (a.o. ‘Farewell to my Concubine’) pulls out all the stops and lets you gasp for breath from the very first moment. There is no lack of visual pleasure, which does not mean that it is musically not good.

Maria Guleghina is not the most subtle of contemporary sopranos. She always remains a bit unapproachable and cold, but she has a huge voice and her high notes are as solid as a rock: here we have the perfect interpreter of the title role. Marco Berti is the prototype of an ‘old-fashioned Italian tenor’: straightforward, little movement. However, his sound is also unmistakably ‘old-fashioned Italian’: grand, ringing, with a touch of Bergonzi in his timbre and a beautiful height.

Alexia Voulgaridou is a very moving Liù and the three ministers are extremely convincing.

The orchestra (Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana) under maestro Mehta does its best to sound as Chinese as possible, which they do wonderfully well (C Major BD 700404/DVD 700308).

ARENA DI VERONA 2010

I’m having a hard time with this. I watch and listen to Salvatore Licitra and cannot control my tears. He has never been my favourite tenor, but knowing that you are watching and listening to what was probably his very last recording (in September 2011 he had a fatal accident on his native island, Sicily), makes judging, let alone ‘enjoying’ this very difficult.

Salvatore Licitra courtesy of San Diego Opera

And what can I say about the production itself? It’s a good old Zefirelli, with all the frills, although he does change things a little here and there. But the atmosphere in Verona is to be jealous of, so beautiful.

The moon is lit and you imagine yourself in the middle of a fairy tale. The images are undeniably beautiful and it remains a fascinating spectacle, especially if you are sensitive to it.

And the execution? Maria Guleghina was the reigning Turandot at the time and she is doing very well, but she has also grown older and a certain routine has crept into her voice and her portrayal. I also hear a frayed edge in her heights.

Luiz-Ottavio Faria is a very moving Timur and Tamar Iveri a beautiful, if not really memorable Liu. Difficult (BelAir BAC066).

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE LONDON 2013

Do you hate Calaf as much as I do? He has to be one of the most unsympathetic opera heroes: selfish, egocentric and keen on money and power, capable only of loving himself. Once started he can’t be stopped by anything or anyone: neither by the supplications of Liu and his father, nor by the wise words of Ping, Pang and Pong. The world to which he wants to belong is one of glitter and false appearances, where only the outside counts.

Or do you really think he is in love with Turandot?

Sometimes I suspect Puccini deliberately didn’t finish his opera. How do you create a happy ending to a fairy tale that is a series of tortures, murders and suicides?

Maybe I’m not the only one. Director Andrei Serban stops the opera for one long minute after Liu’s death, in which all actions freeze. I am very grateful to him for this, because Timur’s cry for help (“wake up Liu, it’s morning already”) resonates so strongly in your head.

The thirty-five year old production – which, after travelling half the world, returned to Covent Garden in 2013 – has lost none of its beauty and still fascinates from start to finish. The performance, with its beautiful choreography, is a feast for the eyes: dazzling and colourful, with a very dominant colour red.

Marco Berti is a fine although somewhat stately Calaf and Lise Lindstrom sings an absolutely convincing Turandot. Something I unfortunately can not say of Eri Nakamura (Liu).

The young Henrik Nánási has a long way to go before he can call himself a ‘Puccini conductor’. He still lacks a dose of healthy sentiment. But he is capable.

This is not the best performance of Turandot, but perhaps, at least to me, it is one of the most beautiful to watch.

Below is a trailer of the production:

AND ON CD

For years the recording with Birgit Nilsson, led by Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (once EMI 7693272) was my absolute favorite. It couldn’t and can’t be better, basta. Until a while ago I re-listened an old CD with Gina Cigna (Naxos 8.110193-94) I had not heard in ages and now I am not so certain any longer.

Both Nilsson and Cigna have great voices with which they can easily handle the role, but Cigna has much more ‘italianitá’. On the other hand there is the icy chill in Nilsson’s timbre, which makes her a personification of the ice princess.

Franco Corelli and Francesco Merli are equally matched: macho and powerful. But Merli sounds a little more distant than the warmer and very seductive Corelli.

Renata Scotto is a very fragile and moving Liu, but so is the young Magda Olivero. Difficult. The choice is yours. Although: who says you should choose?

ALFANO

Franco Alfano with Puccini

Finally, a few words about the ‘Alfano ending’. Twenty-five years ago (does time go so fast!?) it was performed at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp and since then I’ve become a real fan of it. It’s such a shame that it was never officially recorded!

The CD on which Josephine Barstow sings the original Alfano ending with Lando Bartolini (Decca 4302032) has unfortunately been out of print for years. It really deserves to be re-issued.

Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator

In Dutch:
Het laatste woord over Turandot is nog niet gezegd

Rosa Raisa: from the Bialystok ghetto to La Scala in Milan