Berlin Staatsoper (State Opera) 2008-9 season

Finally, the Berlin State Opera has announced the 2008-9 season on a press conference by Daniel Barenboim (at the somewhat unusual time of 9pm this evening), the day after it was announced that Intendant Peter Mussbach leaves the house effective immediately.

As I predicted previously, all the premieres will go forward as scheduled, despite rumours to the contrary in the sensation-seeking Berlin music press.

The absolute highlights, in my opinion will be:

Parsifal - revival of Eichinger´s excellent production in March, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, with René Pape and Waltraud Meier. Hopefully this strong casting means it will be recorded for DVD. Nikolai Schukoff is singing Parsifal (...). This will probably be the highlight of the season.

Faust - new production by Wiegland. With René Pape, Charles Castronovo and Marina Poplavskaya. Altinoglu conducts. Could also turn out quite good..

Eugene Onegin - new production by Achim Freyer. With Rolando Villazon, Anna Samuil, Roman Trekel, René Pape. Conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Also a major highlight. Much depends on how Roman Trekel will be as Onegin as the other without doubt will be superb.

Lohengrin - new production at the Festtage (at ridiculously high prices). By Norwegian Stefan Herheim. With Dorothea Röschmann, Burkhard Fritz, Gerd Grochowski, Michaela Schuster, René Pape. Conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

Tristan and Isolde. Revival. Conducted by Daniel Barenboim. With Clifton Forbis, Katarina Dalayman, Michelle DeYoung. Waltraud Meier will have to be released from rehearsals for the Peter Sellars/Bill Viola Tristan in Paris if she is to jump in for Katarina Dalayman again...(one may always hope). Strangely, it is still scheduled as the Kupfer staging (as opposed to the new Herzog production). Also strange that Peter Seiffert is not Tristan (he is not engaged elsewhere in this perios as I am aware of), as this otherwise is the team for Barenboim´s upcoming MET Tristan debut only two months later.

The other premieres are:

Hölderlin. World premiere. By Peter Ruzicka, who also conducts.

Orlando Paladino (Haydn). Conducted by René Jacobs. With Marlis Petersen.

Entführung aus dem serail. Production by Michael Thalheimer. With Christine Schäfer, Pavel Breslik.

Among the revivals:

Daniel Barenboim will conduct Aida.

Dorothea Röschmann, Magdalena Kozená and Peter Rose in Rosenkavalier. If I am not mistaken, this may be role debuts for Magdalena Kozená as Octavian as well as for Dorothea Röschmann as Marschallin?


A series of Warlikowski´s excellent Der Spieler (cond: Barenboim) - now at ordinary ticket prices.

Waltraud Meier in Fidelio, conducted by Barenboim.

Gustavo Dudamel will conduct the Don Giovanni. Andrea Concetti is the Don.

Ermonela Jaho (Anna Netrebko´s successful Covent Garden replacement earlier this season) in La Traviata.

Peter Mussbach´s beautiful Macbeth staging with Sylvie Valayre.

Henze´s Phaedra.

Angela Denoke in Salome.

Micaela Carosi in Tosca.

Sylvie Valayre in Turandot.

Waltraud Meier will appear in Fidelio and Parsifal.

René Pape is sleep-walking through most of the season giving the 20 performances he is contracted to do, among those numerous appearances as Sarastro, Gremin and King Heinrich. Also as Mephistopheles and Gurnemanz though.

Daniel Barenboim is quite present throughout the season and will conduct Eugene Onegin, Tristan, Parsifal, Lohengrin, Der Spieler, Fidelio and Aida.

Berlin: Compelling Tristan with Barenboim, Meier, Storey and Salminen

Waltraud Meier as Isolde (here with Christian Franz) in Kupfer´s production.
From http://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/

Tristan and Isolde. Staatsoper Under den Linden, Berlin. May 12th, 2008.

Production: Harry Kupfer. Cast: Waltraud Meier (Isolde), Ian Storey (Tristan), Matti Salminen (King Marke), Michaela Schuster (Brangäne), Roman Trekel (Kurwenal), Reiner Goldberg (Melot). Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Further information here.

The original cast for this performance was Peter Seiffert, Katarina Dalayman and Christof Fischesser. We heard Ian Storey, Waltraud Meier and (as a last-minute replacement) Matti Salminen. I have not heard anyone complain about these substitutions yet...

Much may be (and is) said of Daniel Barenboim. And whatever one may think about him or his accomplishments in other fields, or with other composers, there is general agreement that it is with Richard Wagner, that he truly excels.

While all his Wagner interpretations are genuinely top-class, Tristan and Isolde may represent the sum of his achievements: The electricity he generates from this score, in my opinion, is unmatched by any other conductor alive today.

In other repertoire, he may sometimes give the impression of going for the superficial effects. Not here. He completely masters the structure of the piece – the endless waves of the music, pushing forward relentlessly. Never loosing the big picture it was simply a thrilling performance. I suspect there to have been next to no orchestra rehearsals for this performance. Barenboim may not need it, but the brass section could have used some coordination of their entries, to put it mildly.

The advantages of the Berlin State Opera acoustics to the Bayreuth Festival House with regards to Barenboim´s interpretation of Tristan are obvious: In Bayreuth, the sound generated by the covered orchestra pit softly emerges from underneath blending uniquely with the singers, but you do not get the explosions in the orchestra possible here in Berlin.. This was a more edgy interpretation from Barenboim, compared to the Scala performances earlier this season, and he seemed to be experimenting with the woodwinds as well, leaving some of the rounded, ”Italianate” sound of the Scala performances behind. The result was completely compelling.

I believe I have stated so previously, but I have never heard better conducted live Wagner performances in my entire life than the ones Daniel Barenboim conduct at this house. Not even by Christian Thielemann, who sometimes does get close, though.

Of course, this performance was sold out. Apparently due to practical staging issues related to the company´s previous tour in Japan, this was a one-time performance of the old Harry Kupfer production (the new Herzog production will be back next season).

Now… Waltraud Meier. I have never seen her deliver a performance that was anything less than completely compelling. Her interpretative powers, acting skills and pure presence on stage is of a magnitude that whether or not she exactly does hit all the notes precisely on pitch becomes completely irrelevant. The Narrative and Curse was probably the highlight of the entire opera. The variety in acting and word-colouring, the way she and Daniel Barenboim within micro-seconds adjust their tempi to each other was thrilling to watch.

And though irrelevant, she did in fact hit all the notes, the Cs somewhat more briefly than usual, and she was slightly sharper than usual in her high register. But the Liebestod, as always, completely on-pitch and with heart-breaking intensity. In the middle of a European recital tour, she understandably was cautious with her voice at the beginning, and only in the third act did she give the usual 100%, she would doubtless have given here from the start had she been able to plan her schedule around this performance.
As I´ve said before, in my book, she delivers the definitive interpretation of Isolde and I genuinely have no desire whatsoever to see anyone else in this part. Except for maybe Karita Mattila.

I heard Ian Storey´s Tristan earlier this season at La Scala, and his interpretation clearly benefits from this smaller house. Unfortunately (for me) there is a certain vibrato in his middle voice, that I genuinely dislike, but compared to the issues most of his Tristan-singing colleagues have, he has plenty of assets: He is an excellent actor. He convinces dramatically in the part. Furthermore, he looks quite good, and vastly better than most other Tristans around. He does have the high notes. He didn´t seem too tired i the third Act. He could go on to have a major career with this part. And those issues apart, he had superb on-stage chemistry with Waltraud Meier.

As the King Marke you would normally expect for this kind of performance for some obscure reason (..) is in New York, and the scheduled Marke Christoph Fischesser was ill, Matti Salminen was flown in from Zurich at the last minute. Matti Salminen´s interpretative powers as King Marke are of a magnitude, that he even after singing several bunches of completely wrong notes in the Monologue he delivered a compelling portrayal.

Michaela Schuster iwas a fine Brangäne. Not a beautiful voice, but effective and ways better than her dry and wobbly Venus last month. Though is´s still not obvious to me why she has to move on to Ortrud now (in both new Lohengrin productions in Berlin and Munich next year).

Roman Trekel as Kurwenal did not seem in very strong voice, and I wonder if these dramatical barytone parts really suit him?

And a curious thing: There was a lot of Chéreau in this production. In particular when Ian Storey covered Waltraud Meier´s eyes at the beginning of the "O sink hernieder" in Act 2. Unless, that of course was Kupfer´s orginigal intention? Also in several situations in Act 1 it seemed (fully understandably) like Ian Storey had imported Chéreau´s (excellent by the way) concept.

I don´t remember the last time I´ve seen standing ovations like this at the Berlin State Opera. Most were for Waltraud Meier, Matti Salminen and Daniel Barenboim.

If Daniel Barenboim doesn´t conduct the Tristan and Isolde next year in Berlin, one almost have to consider visiting the Metropolitan Opera to hear him there. Without Waltraud Meier though…

Auf wiedersehen..

Berlin: What is better than sitting outside somewhere along the river in this fabulous weather and have some beers? This is. Hopefully. More tomorrow.

miscellaneous

Macbeth returns to the Metropolitan Opera, where René Pape and Joseph Calleja downstages the main protagonists (no surprise there). From An Unamplified Voice and Associated Press.

About time: Bulgarian violinist Albena Danailova, former concertmaster of the London Philharmonics and currently with the Bavarian State Opera orchestra is appointed concertmaster at the Vienna State Opera Orchestra (consisting mainly of members of the Vienna Philharmonics) as the first woman ever in this very male-dominated orchestra. She probably played five times as well as her male competitors..
Story here.

I´ve always admired the ”give the job to the most qualified applicant regardless of origin” –attitude, I thought prevailed in the United States (no, I am not being ironic). So, I can´t help being somewhat puzzled by the sharp debate with numerous comments over at La Cieca´s surrounding the appointment of a British (as opposed to US) citizen to lead the Youth Artist Programme at the Houston Grand Opera (from La Cieca).

Superb Konwitschny production of The Flying Dutchman in Munich

Anja Kampe as Senta. From http://www.staatsoper.de/

The Flying Dutchman. Bavarian State Opera, Munich. May 11th, 2008.

Production: Peter Konwitschny. Cast: Alan Titus (Dutchman), Anja Kampe (Senta), Peter Rose (Daland), Robert Dean Smith (Erik). Further information here. Cond: Philippe Auguin.


In brief, Peter Konwitschny has succeeded in creating a superb production of The Flying Dutchman. Not only has he successfully transferred the action to a present-day setting, but in so doing, he manages to provide new insights into the motivations and relations of the main characters. Together with his Tristan and Elektra, I wouldn´t hesitate to judge this one of his finest works. Furthermore, Konwitschny communicates his points clearly and precisely to the audience (read: I actually understood what he was trying to say without having to read the accompanying booklet!), which is far from always the case (read: Just have a look at his Parsifal production).

This Flying Dutchman production opened at the Bavarian State Opera in 2006, a theater by now quite accustomed to Peter Konwitschny´s quirky Wagner stagings, with both his Parsifal and Tristan in the current repertoire. This didn´t prevent one spectator from booing extremely loudly just seconds before the curtain fell yesterday. And this production, with specific attention to the controversial ending, has indeed divided audiences, though most end up on the positive side.

Even for those not previously familiar with Konwitschny´s work, a quick look at the cast list, at which a character named An Angel is listed at the bottom indicated not that would be as in the Dresden 1843 world premiere.

The core elements of the piece (ie. the doomed Dutchman stepping ashore once every seventh year to search for redemption through faithful love) remains intact with Konwitschny, who essentially follows the storyline as Richard Wagner himself would recognize it:

There is not much controversy in Act one: The gangways from the two ships are lowered successively from each side of the stage amidst a heavy storm. The Dutchman and his crew arrive directly from the 16th (or somewhere close) century into Daland´s world of today. (I suppose, if countless women have been damned due to failure to be faithful to the Dutchman, some time must indeed have passed...).

On stage we look at painted rocks and bending naked trees on a backdrop of the raging sea. So traditional, that you intuitively know that it will not last. The Dutchman with his crew (with more than a slight touch of Pirates of the Caribbean not least when he opens a trunk filled with golden treasures) meet with Daland in plastic chairs on the shore. The character ”An angel” already entered during the Dutchman´s big monologue (Die frist ist um) at the exact point where the Dutchman mentions the bargain attained for him in heaven by the angels. Throughout the opera, she follows the Dutchman and Senta at decisive points and silently tries to influence the action (ie. help the Dutchman).

On to Act Two, which takes place in…a fitness center – more precisely in a spinning class, each woman spinning on her bicycle (anyone who doesn´t get the word play?). But there is more to this scene than the dual meaning of the word spinning: It somehow seems fitting that contemporary women would meet in this way. Senta arrives late, carrying with her a painting of the 16th century Dutchman. In effect, it might as well have been George Clooney she was infatuated with. The Dutchman, of course, is completely out of place in the fitness center and he carries with him a 16th century bridal gown for Senta to wear. How can this last? Of course, Senta is not interested in Erik, arriving in a bath-robe directly from the shower, it seems.

Act Three opens with the locals partying in the harbour with a clear view at the looming sea in the background. The Pirates of the Caribbean are sulking alongside several long tables at one side of the stage, finally chasing the locals off, who then return a bit later, armed and prepared for fight (to no avail, as it turns out). After overhearing the conversation between Erik and Senta (he claims that she has broken her vows to him), the Dutchman then decides to leave. What does Senta do? Well, in her advanced state of exaltation, she then fetches a barrel, rolls it onto center stage, sets it on fire and virtually blasts everyone (including the audience) away in a quite impressive demonstration of special effects risking temporary (at least) hearing impairment for those sitting in front of the auditorium, not to mention the cast and chorus.

Musically, the evening was more bland. Anja Kampe basically has a lyrical voice and interprets Senta accordingly. Her voice is somewhat fluttery near the top, but she nevertheless convinces in the part, dramatically as well. Does she really have the middle register to support the Isolde she will be singing in Glyndebourne next year? That remains to be seen, I suppose…

Apart from the dress, Alan Titus does not have much in common with Johnny Depp´s Caribbean Pirate. With all due respect I found him in rather dry voice and he didn´t seem to catch on interpretatively either. Now where is Juha Uusitalo, who usually sings the Munich-Dutchman? (a rhetorical question, since I am well aware that he is in Vienna for the Siegfried-Wanderer). Next season offers the opportunity to see what kind of pirate Bryn Terfel will make. Also not a particularly memorable performance from the otherwise fine British bass Peter Rose as Daland. Robert Dean Smith, also essentially a lyrical singer, for once managed to sound rather large-voiced as Erik..obviously the company is rather more thankful here than when I heard him (or rather almost didn´t) next to Waltraud Meier in Madrid.

The orchestra played well under Philippe Auguin, but unfortunately with almost no intensity.

In summary, it all adds up to a highly successful production in which Konwitschny manages to take a fresh look at the work without loosing the perspective. It would be a most welcome addition to the DVD-Dutchman catalogue, provided some adjustments are made in the cast.

Berlin: Busoni´s Doktor Faust

Photo: www. staatsoper-berlin.de

Doktor Faust (Busoni). Staatsoper Under den Linden, Berlin. May 10th, 2008.

Production: Peter Mussbach. Cast: Roman Trekel (Faust), John Daszak (Mephistopheles), Christof Fischesser (various parts), Carola Höhn (Duchess). Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Further information here.

Peter Mussbach´s stagings are never less than aesthetic and beautiful, achieved mainly by a keen sense of mixing appropriate colors and light projections on a relatively neutral background. In this respect Doktor Faust is among his most successful productions, originally seen at the 1999 Salzburg Festival and also presented at the Metropolitan Opera 2000-1 season: The spare, sometimes hilly stage is populated with various figures in dusty matching colours and fairy-tale costumes including a Duchess in golden dress surrounding the trench-coat clad Faust, who seems perpetually on the move.

Visually, the production is absolutely compelling. Otherwise, I simply lack some theatrical energy. The production presents itself as dreamerish and fleeting, but then that would seem to be Peter Mussbach´s point. According to the program notes (without the notes, the point of the production would have escaped me) Faust undertakes a "virtual journey'' like a ''daydream without reality.'' And that dreamish, unreal quality is certainly captured here.

Dreamerish and docile are not words I´d normally associate with Daniel Barenboim, though this is how his reading of this score appeared. The textures in Busoni´s music shift between the dense and delicate, and it was indeed played delicately here. I never thought I´d attribute lack of energy to Daniel Barenboim either, but it did seem like he was sleepwalking his way through this performance. In the spirit of Mussbach´s staging, I suppose.

Roman Trekel´s characterization of Faust was obviously not helped by the production, having him endlessly pace the stage in his black trench-coat, occasionally lighting small fires in the ground. He has a fine voice though, and none of the manners, that sometimes tend to make Thomas Hampson (a superb Doktor Faust in the Zurich production by Grüber, as well as in the previous MET performances of this staging) irritating. John Daszak was quite simply superb as Mepistopheles, and the only one to infuse some real energy into the performance.

The auditorium was only half full, and I suspect quite a few of those not deciding to skip opera altogether and enjoy the fabulous weather, went for the Lohengrin revival premiere over at the Deutsche Oper. I would normally have been there as well, but you never know when another opportunity to see this staging comes up again, which considering the present situation at the Berlin State Opera, may well be never.

Riccardo Muti to take over the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Not entirely uninteresting news, on way or another I suppose. Whatever one may think about him as a conductor (personally I am in many ways undecided), at least he is not boring.

To the New York Times, Muti says on the appointment, which runs 5 years from 2010:

"When I left La Scala, I thought it was time for me to be absolutely free, like the birds in the air," he said. "Birds go around and they enjoy their happiness, their freedom. But sometimes it can happen they find a tree and they like to stop on a tree, and they didn't know about the tree before. It doesn't mean one tree is better than another tree. It just happens at the right moment in life."

Full report here.

Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera Munich) 2008-9 season

Announced on the website earlier today the 2008-9 season of the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.

Highlights include:

The premieres:

Lohengrin. Director: Richard Jones. Conductor: Kent Nagano. With: Jonas Kaufmann (Lohengrin), Christof Fischesser (Heinrich), Anja Harteros (Elsa), Wolfgang Koch (Telramund), Michaela Schuster (Ortrud).

Palestrina. Director: Christian Stück. C: Simone Young. With: Christopher Ventris, Michael Volle, Peter Rose, Falk Struckmann.

Macbeth. Director: Martin Kusej. With Nadja Michael, Zeljko Lucic. C: Luisotti.

Wozzeck. Director: Kriegenburg. C: Nagano. With Michael Volle, Michaela Schuster.

Lucrezia Borgia. Director: Christof Loy. C: Bertrand de Billy. With Edita Gruberova, Pavel Breslik.

Jenufa. Director: Barbara Frey. C: Kirill Petrenko. With: Eva-Maria Westbroek.

Aida. Director: Christof Nel. Conductor: Daniele Gatti. With: Barbara Frittoli, Salvatore Licitra.


From the repertoire:

Eugen Onegin - without Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who´s apparently cancelled. Instead Marius Kwiecien will be Onegin.
Flying Dutchman - with Bryn Terfel and Matti Salminen.
La Boheme - with Anna Netrebko and Joseph Calleja.
Werther - with Garanca/Kasarova and Rolando Villazon
La Traviata - with Anja Harteros, Jonas Kaufmann and Simon Keenlyside
Elektra - with Agnes Baltsa, Polaski and Schnitzer.
Otello - with Adrianne Pieczonka. Otello not officially announced.
Ariadne auf Naxos - with Adrianne Pieczonka.
Norma - with Edita Gruberova.
Salome - with Angela Denoke and Stig Andersen as Herodes.
Tamerlano - with David Daniels.
Doktor Faust - with Wolfgang Koch, John Daszak.
Parsifal - with Michael Volle, Mihoko Fujimura, Kent Nagano.
Rosenkavalier - with Dorothea Röschmann as Marschallin.

Not all cancellations are bad news: Waltraud Meier to appear as Isolde in Berlin next week

Earlier it was announced that Ian Storey is to replace Peter Seiffert in the upcoming Tristan and Isolde at the Berlin State Opera.

Today another cancellation was announced as Waltraud Meier replaces Katarina Dalayman as Isolde. No disrespect towards Katarina Dalayman whose Isolde I was quite curious to hear, having accepted that Daniel Barenboim initially chose to cast this Tristan with his upcoming Metropolitan Opera debut Tristan and Isolde pair Katarina Dalayman and Peter Seiffert (now: Ian Storey and Waltraud Meier as in the Chéreau La Scala Tristan earlier this season).

But I´d be lying if I said I was disappointed by this last cast change, which is almost too good to be true: I almost didn´t buy a ticket for this sold-out performance since Waltraud Meier wasn´t singing Isolde....

Upcoming Wagner releases..

It finally looks like the following much-anticipated and long-awaited performances will be released within the next months:

The Barenboim/Heine Müller Tristan and Isolde production with Waltraud Meier and Siegfried Jerusalem from Bayreuth is scheduled for DVD release on Deutsche Grammophon on June 17th. For many, including me (I know the production), this may well turn out to be the Tristan production of choice on DVD.

The Copenhagen Ring (recorded 2006) now scheduled for DVD release autumn 2008 (but has been postponed before). Production by Kasper Bech Holten, conducted by Michael Schønwandt. With: Stig Andersen, Stephen Milling, James Johnson and probably Irene Théorin (I haven´t information on which of the alternate cast will appear on the DVD).

René Pape singing parts of Walküre-Wotan and Hans Sachs with Christian Thielemann (recorded in Munich last spring), also has been postponed but finally looks to be scheduled for release 2008 by Deutsche Grammophon.

The Berlin Soap Opera 2008-9 season

Current events related to the Berlin State Opera (read: The Berlin Soap Opera) are quite bizarre, and makes for unending speculations in the ever (over)vigilant and sensation-seeking German (with overflow to the international) music press...

Current events in brief:

Earlier this year it was announced that Berlin State Opera Intendant Peter Mussbach´s contract was not to be renewed after 2010. Next Mussbach accused Chief conductor Daniel Barenboim of applying "mafioso methods" in pushing him out. On that same day (mid-April) Daniel Barenboim cancelled his scheduled April Don Giovanni performances (in Peter Mussbach´s staging), which several media quite uncritically interpreted as a sort of reaction from Barenboim, which Barenboim later denied. That Barenboim and Mussbach do not get along is no secret, but that Barenboim´s cancellation should have anything to do with Peter Mussbach at all is completely unlikely (why on earth would Daniel Barenboim care about whatever Mussbach says? Mussbach has lost and is on his way out) and purely speculative, brought forward by what may only be seen as sensation-seeking press members. By the way, next week Daniel Barenboim will conduct two Peter Mussbach stagings as planned.

And now, in the most recent development of this soap opera, the announcement of the 2008-9 Berlin State Opera season schedule has been delayed until the beginning of June, after the Berlin cultural secretary has warned of a potential budgetary deficit, to which Peter Mussbach has responded that three out of the six planned new productions may have to be cancelled or performed in concert. May I suggest including the world-premiere of the opera "In the Kindergarten" to the premiere schedule?

All this has led to countless articles proclaiming a massive current crisis at the Berlin State Opera, something difficult to be seriously worried about for the following reasons:

1. Peter Mussbach has never been the real leader of the Berlin State Opera (Daniel Barenboim is), so whether Mussbach is around or not really does not matter and his departure thus hardly constitutes any crisis no matter when he leaves. What is important for the future of the house is that Daniel Barenboim stays (no matter what one may think about him the house will be hard pressed without him in the next years, which include a major renovation and performing in another Berlin venue for about three seasons), which he does at least until 2012. The current challenge is to find a new Indendant who can work with Daniel Barenboim, which I don´t believe will be as difficult as some members of the press make it out to be.

2. It looks like the money for next years productions is in fact there. But due to the schoolyard squabbles between Peter Mussbach and the business manager, deadlines for producing the required business plans to the authorities regarding next season has largely been ignored. The most likely outcome as I see it is that the overdue business plans will be ratified, the money released and next season with the six premieres will progress as planned...

Sources: Tagesspiegel, Welt, Berliner Morgenpost etc. updated daily...

Zurich Opera 2008-9 season

The Zurich Opera´s dazzling 2008-9 season with numerous premieres (link here) and revivals (link here).

Among the highlights:

New production of Tristan and Isolde directed by Claus Guth with Nina Stemme and Ian Storey conducted by Ingo Metzmacher.

Revival of Robert Wilson´s complete Nibelungen Ring conducted by Phillippe Jordan and with Eva Johansson (Brünnhilde), Matti Salminen (Hunding/Hagen), Egils Silins (Wotan/Wanderer), Stuart Skelton (Siegmund) and Scott MacAllister (Siegfried).

Katharina Thalbach directs a new production of Fidelio (what is wrong with Jürgen Flimm´s not-so-old one?)

Robert Carsen directs a new Tosca production with Emily Magee, Jonas Kaufmann and Thomas Hampson.

Martin Kusej directs a new production of Rake´s Progress.

New production of Simon Boccanegra with Leo Nucci and Isabel Rey.

From the repertoire:

Vesselina Kasarova in Carmen.

Cecilia Bartoli in Robert Carsen´s Semele.

Anna Netrebko in La Traviata.

Deutsche Oper Berlin season 2008-9

The complete 2008-9 season of Deutsche Oper Berlin has now been announced (link here). Not to be confused with the Staatsoper Berlin, which will not announce the next season until June.

Some points of interest:

Premieres

Turandot. Director: Fioroni. Cond: Steinberg/Tomasello. With: Maria Guleghina/Lise Lindström, Carlo Ventre/Fabio Armiliato, Elena Mosuc.

Tannhäuser. Director: Kirsten Harms. Cond: Schirmer. With: Nadja Michael in the double-role as Venus/Elisabeth.

Die ägyptische Helena. Director: Marelli. Cond: Litton. With: Ricarda Merbeth,

Ariadne auf Naxos. Director: Robert Carsen. Cond: Lacombe. Production from München. With: Violeta Urmana, Jane Archibald.

Carmen. Director: Jürgen Gosch. Cond: Able. With: Angelika Kirchschlager/Kate Aldrich, Nicole Cabell, Massimo Giordano.

Cenerentola. Director: Sir Peter Hall. Cond: Arrivabeni. Production from Glyndebourne. With: Ruxandra Donose, Maxim Mironov.

Marie Victoire. By Respighi. Staged by Katharina Wagner.

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theater will visit with Khovantschina, The Nose and Pique Dame.

Repertoire

Nadja Michael will sing Aida.
Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu in L´amico Fritz (concert version).
Bo Skovhus and Olga Guryakova in Eugen Onegin.
Johan Reuter/Juha Uusitalo and Matti Salminen in the Dutchman.
Johan Botha, Petra Schnitzer and Susanne Resmark in Lohengrin conducted by Michael Schønwandt.
Malin Hartelius, Angelika Kirchschlager, Franz Hawlata in Rosenkavalier.
Manuela Uhl in Achim Freyer´s Salome.
Violeta Urmana/Nadja Michael, Jonas Kaufmann and Ruggero Raimondi in Tosca.
Angela Gheorghiu in La Traviata.
Evelyn Herlitzius and Robert Gambill in Tristan and Isolde.
Janice Baird and Agnes Baltsa/Hanna Schwarz in Elektra.

Berlin: Fascinating production of The Magic Flute in the subway

Magic Flute in the underground- the auditorium...

The Magic Flute in the subway/Die Zauberflöte in der U-bahn. Berlin, April 27th 2008 (second performance of the run - opened April 26th)
Concept, director and conductor: Christoph Hagel. Berliner Symphoniker. Cast listed here.

Full information on the production here.

The concept for this production of the Magic Flute is fascinating: The location is the new subway station Bundestag, not scheduled for use until 2009, located in the center of Berlin next to the new Parliament (Bundestag in German). The concept apparently is evolving around the subway being the center of an expanded web/labyrinth of the city and is directed by Christoph Hagel, previously associated with similar events in Germany.

The ”auditorium” is in fact the entire railway station (see photographs below), the rail tracks on one side filled up by seats – on the other side the tracks serve as entry and exit points for the various characters. No decorations are present other than the original subway interior complete with vending machines, directories etc.

The updated and rewritten story goes as this: We are in a subway (!) in present day Germany, as indicated by the rewritten contemporary dialogue including jokes about Angela Merkel etc. but with Tamino seemingly arriving from the past. Several of the arias were re-texted as well, but I didn´t understand what they were actually singing. In brief, Pamina is apprehended by railway officer in a break during the overture and led to Sarastro (a businessman?). Papageno is a punk-type living within the subway station where the Queen of the Night (and other characters apart from the three boys, who arrive on skateboard) appear from the railway track. In the end the Queen of the Night with followers are swallowed by the railway.

Not only is the production set in a subway station, it also successfully manages to involve the subway and subterranean city life in the staging concept. One may argue whether jokes about Angela Merkel are really funny in this setting. Personally, I don´t think so, but clearly a large part of the audience thought otherwise.

The primary reason to see this is the concept and atmosphere of actually being in the subway. That said, particularly the performances of Tamino (which I belive, based on the picture in the programme, was sung by Michael Müller, but no information was available regarding which of the alternating cast we heard), Monica Garcia Albea (Pamina) and Sascha Borris (Sarastro) were good. Also well played by 30 members of the Berliner Symphoniker, located at the far end of the subway station, halfway hidden behind concrete pillars with the conductor pacing back and forth on the platform to coordinate the singing with the orchestra. All singing and dialogue was amplified, probably a necessity due to the acoustics of the place, which were expectedly not of ordinary opera house standards.

That better performances of the Magic Flute in terms of strict musical quality may be heard both in Berlin and elsewhere seem besides the point here and does not really detract from the unique concept and experience, which makes this well worth seeing.

Tips for those planning to attend any of the performances: Gallery left side tickets are located right above the rail tracks where characters are entering and exiting – it seems better to opt for the right side gallery. There is free seating in the galleries and the entrance opens approximately one hour beforehand. It is quite warm inside – no need to bring additional warm clothing.

The new Siegfried with Nina Stemme´s debut as Brunnhilde just opened at the Vienna State Opera

Siegfried, the second installment of the new Bechtolf /Welser-Möst Vienna Ring (the Walkure opened earlier this season) opened on Sunday 27th of April. More information on the cast here, which includes Nina Stemme´s debut as Brünnhilde, Juha Uusitalo as the Wanderer, Stephen Gould as Siegfried and Anna Larsson as Erda.

Major praise for the musical aspects (excerpts and general impression based on reviews below), finding (in general) Nina Stemme´s Brünnhilde a "spectacular debut", a "spectacular and powerful" Juha Uusitalo, Stephen Gould "sings the Siegfried as few are capable of today" and Anna Larsson´s Erda was "magnificent". Welser-Möst was described by one paper as "the true hero" of the production and the orchestra generally received much praise.

The audience reacted with the obligatory boos for Bechtolf´s staging, which allegedly emphasizes the humorous aspect of Siegfried in a staging applying a political interpretation to the work as well as emphasizing the psychological characterization of the characters and focusing on the mysteries of the nature...Does it make sense? I´m not sure, but that was the essence of the reviews below.

Quoted reviews:

Die Presse
Standard
Wiener Zeitung
Nachrichten


Complete performances of this Ring Cycle are scheduled for next spring.

It´s now official: Wolfgang Wagner retires from Bayreuth Festival leadership

It is now official, that Richard Wagner´s grandson Wolfgang Wagner retires as leader of the Bayreuth Festival "latest end of August" this year after more than 50 years.

Thus, Wolfgang Wagner wrote in a letter to Toni Schmid (president of the Board of the Bayreuth Festival) today. A representative of Wolfgang Wagner furthermore stated that "he does not want to block the road anymore". All involved parties (the Friends of Bayreuth, the official representatives of Bavaria etc.) seem satisfied with his decision to volunarily step down.

The Board of Directors of the Bayreuth Festival are meeting today to decide on the successor to Wolfgang Wagner. Favourites are Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier (running as a team).

Wolfgang Wagner´s retirement is fixed and unconditional, but a representative states that "he is convinced that the solution with his two daughters succeeding him is the best one" and hopes it "will be confirmed by the Board of the Festival" later today.

Full story in Kurier.

This is episode 19 of the mostly opera docusoap "The Bayreuth Succession".

Previous episodes of this Wagnerian docu-soap may be read here, and for new readers the background of this unique Wagnerian docu-soap is written up here.

Berlin Don Giovanni - René Pape without Daniel Barenboim: My final words...

Don Giovanni, Berlin State Opera, April 25th and 27th 2008. Director: Peter Mussbach. Cast for both performances: René Pape (Don Giovanni), Annette Dasch (Donna Elvira), Anna Samuil (Donna Anna), Jeremy Ovenden (Don Ottavio), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Leporello), Arttu Kataja (Masetto), Sylvia Schwartz (Zerlina). Conductor: Asher Fish. Further details here.

I have now attended four performances of this Don Giovanni production (co-production with La Scala) and previously reported on the first two in December (here and here). So, until further notice, these are my final words on this production:

While René Pape was sleepwalking his way through the performance on Friday (in addition to using the first 20 minutes to warm up his voice), he was right on spot (and from the beginning as well) in Sunday´s performance.
As I´ve mentioned before, I believe René Pape to be the ideal interpreter of the Don. No doubt, he is the among the most heavy Don Giovanni interpreters, both regarding voice and presence on stage today – I would probably describe him as a mix of 60% Cesare Siepi, 20% Nicolai Ghiaurov and 20% Samuel Ramey. Those favouring lighter baritone voices or lighter interpretative types such as Simon Keenlyside and Erwin Schrott (two very fine, but different interpreters of the part) may very well not find René Pape´s Don Giovanni ideal.

In terms of vocal beauty, René Pape without doubt has one of the very few most beautiful voices on the operatic stage today. And on stage he presents with an air of distance and inapproachable superiority with an added touch of the demonic, all of which makes him able to completely command the stage.

However, there is something strange about René Pape in this production, and he does not seem to be at ease with it himself, which I strongly suspect may be attributed to Peter Mussbach´s production concept (or rather, lack of concept): This production set on a virtually naked stage (staging described previously) stands and falls with the characterization of the Don, and Mussbach simply does not seem to have developed the character sufficiently.

With his stage appearance alone, René Pape could be 100% believable as a demonic Don Giovanni or as most other relatively psychologically heavy interpretations of the part, which the majority of his colleagues could never pull off convincingly. However, it is unclear exactly what Mussbach wants with him – as stated in interviews Mussbach sees DG as a character trapped in a net of circumstances beyond his control and intends to show how the other characters to a varying degree are attracted and repulsed by him (especially Leporello). . Somehow this falls short of a satisfying characterization. The problem is that Mussbach has actually been very thorough and prescribed some very detailed stage movements and reactions of the Don, which doesn´t seem to fit any pattern of characterization at all. If he had just left René Pape to his own devices he probably would have come up with something more convincing himself...

Looking at the future, most importantly René Pape had no trouble at all in hitting or sustaining the top notes neither here or in the Don Carlo two weeks ago (in fact his voice still seems to move upwards). The point of course being: I predict no trouble with the Wotan high ranges…unfortunately I will not be proven right until 2010...

I do like Peter Mussbach´s very spartan sets (described previously). The problem is that such spartan staging concept places major demands upon the characterization of all of the the singers, which he generally doesn´t seem to have developed sufficiently.

Of the other singers, Annette Dasch was truly grandiose. What a voice and what a dramatic presence. She seemed an entirely different singer compared to the initial performances in December, whether due to a genuine change or an initial oversight on my part is obviously not for me to say. I wouldn´t be surprised if she goes on to have a major career. She will by the way sing Donna Anna in the new Salzburg Don Giovanni production this summer.

Jeremy Ovenden was also fine in the thankless part of Don Ottavio and the others were largely as I remembered them from December´s performances (where they varied between fine and excellent).

Obviously, many in the sold-out house were disappointed not to have Daniel Barenboim conduct as he cancelled this run only weeks ago. Barenboim´s way with this score was simply magnificent in December, despite it being clearly underrehearsed due to the simultaneous Tristan performances at La Scala. Barenboim represents the poignant Mozart tradition along the lines of Furtwängler and Böhm. Thus, those favouring the new period approaches with the likes of René Jacobs may not find Barenboim´s Mozart to their liking.

While Asher Fish, a both sympathetic and fine conductor, is no match for Barenboim in this respect, he definitely does not serve period-style Mozart light, either.
Those finding Barenboim´s Mozart a tad too heavy may favour Fish´s approach, which then may be described as both fresh and exciting. I rather found it too fast, and furthermore Fish does tend to let the tempi carry away with him and accelerate during the fast arias and ensemble pieces, worst during the Champagne Aria - ad it been much longer he would have lost René Pape (who tried not to accelerate but eventually had to) completely. Generally most of the singers set a slower tempo than Fish, which I´d wish he would adjust to, but obviously that is his call. Only in René Pape´s Deh vieni was he forced to keep the slower tempo set by Pape (but it was obvious how he seemed most eager to set a quicker beat). But most of all, I missed the intensity in the orchestra from December´s performances, though by all means Asher Fish did a fine job. For the moment it looks like (but one never knows) Barenboim will be back to conduct the last performance of the run in May.

Compared to the premiere, the April audiences were much more benign. And, one may add, probably far less critically inclined on average, since many were tourists and all around me people were deeply absorbed in reading the English translation of the plot summary.
My neighbour initially confused Leporello with the Don, and couldn´t understand why the Don was singing the Catalogue aria (the only piece the knew).The people sitting right behind me had trouble distinguishing Donna Anna from Donna Elvira…and while admittedly not exactly helped by the production, it doesn´t exactly reflect on an overly familiarity with the piece either.
But for what is is worth, the atmosphere in the audience was light and (for once) it felt like people actually were there to be entertained.

Entertaining Berlin duo recital: Röschmann and Kozená with Barenboim

Dorothea Röschmann (soprano), Magdalena Kozená (mezzo-soprano), Daniel Barenboim (piano). Berlin State Opera. April 27th 2008.

Despite the slightly antisocial scheduling of this recital at 11 am on a Sunday with the most superb weather seen as of yet this year, the Berlin State Opera was sold out for this duo recital of 19th century songs.

The concert was divided in two, with each half consisting of two duo sections and one solo section (programme listed below).

And I can report that both ladies both looked and sang superbly with Magdalena Kozená looking at least 7 months pregnant.

Magdalena Kozená represents the exquisite and delicately elegant singing style combining a perfectly controlled voice over the entire range with sensitive phrasing and immense varieties in word colouring. For her solo section, she unfortunately chose a selection of songs by Duparc, where she, in my opinion, fell short in terms of expressive power, though nevertheless exquisitely sung. Not surprisingly these songs are also commonly performed by Karita Mattila, having the sort of voice I´d find optimally suited to Duparc´s expressivity.

Dorothea Röschmann represents a more expressive singing style, with storytelling and declamation her first priority, not always opting for the beautiful sound, although she indeed has a beautiful voice. Her solo section consisted of songs by Wolf, performed with plenty of character and humour.

Their voices blended eloquently together, again with Dorothea Röschmann emerging the characterful and Magdelena Kozena the elegant, though with a tendency of Dorothea Röschmann to vocally overpower Magdelena Kozena. Both visibly enjoyed themselves, and in general the atmosphere of the entire recital was joyful, with the artists receiving far more applause than usual in Berlin (I suppose most of the audience were foreigners as well).

Accompanist was Daniel Barenboim, of whom can be said that he played exquisitely and with grace, never drawing attention to himself but providing a solid platform for the two ladies to shine. Furthermore he looked in very good health indeed (for those speculating on the reasons behind his cancellation of the current run of Don Giovanni performances, one of which is indeed scheduled later this afternoon).

Recital programme:

MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (duets)
Ich wollt´, meine Lieb
Abschiedslied der Zugvögel
GrußHerbstlied
Maiglöckchen und die Blümelein

HUGO WOLF (Dorothea Röschmann)
Nimmersatte Liebe
An eine Äolsharfe
Erstes Liebeslied eines Mädchens
Denk es o Seele
Im Frühling
Gesang Weylas
Begegnung

JOHANNES BRAHMS (duets)
Die Schwestern
Es ging ein Maidlein
Phänomen
Och Mod’r, ich well en Ding han
Weg der Liebe

Intermission

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS (duet)
Pastorale

CHARLES GOUNOD (duet)
D’un coeur qui t’aime

GABRIEL FAURÉ (duet)
Puisqu’ici-bas toute âme
Tarentelle

HENRI DUPARC (Magdalena Kozená)
L’Invitation au Voyage
Extase
Chanson triste
Phidylé

ANTONÍN DVORÁK (duets)

V dobrým sme se sešli
Holub na javore
Zajatá
Zelenaj se, zelenaj
Prsten

MET HD simulcast: La Fille du Regiment

MET HD Simulcast: La Fille du Regiment. April 26th 2008.

Director: Laurent Pelly. Cast: Natalie Dessay (Marie), Juan Diego Flórez (Tonio), Alessandro Corbelli (Sulpice), Felicity Palmer (Marquise of Berkenfeld), Marian Seldes (Duchess of Krankenthorp). Conductor: Marco Armiliato. Further details here.

I cannot imagine any two singers better suited to the parts of Tonio and Marie than Juan Diego Flórez and Natalie Dessay - they have superb onstage chemistry, they look the parts and in addition they both sing and act well. What more can anyone wish for?

First, Natalie Dessay. She is a true wonder of a singing-actress delivering a completely convincing portrait of the boyish Marie, constantly moving around and delivering her arias in what would seem impossible positions on stage. Nevertheless, I am genuinely worried about her. She has a beautiful voice, but when she puts pressure on, which she does for a substantial part of her singing here, almost the entire voice range becomes dry, and my impression is that she pushes for her top notes. This doesn´t really detract from her performance, but how long can she continue to sing like that? On the other hand, when her singing is soft (such as her last aria of the second act) it is very beautiful indeed.

Then there is Juan Diego Flórez. I haven´t read anything but the highest praise on his performance in this role and he is indeed extremely good. Not only does he effortless hit all the high Cs, but there is more to him than that: He looks good (the dream of most mother-in-laws, I´d say), he has warmth and manages to be both shy and funny. No wonder, he is so popular.

But (and I almost do not dare to write this, as he almost seems to be above criticism)...I think he generally sings in a staccatoish way - both in his manner of attacking the high notes and in his sense of rhythm and there is a sharp ring to this topnotes as well (at least it came across as such in the movie theater). Maybe he plans to adopt a more fluid singing style for his upcoming Rigoletto-Duke in Dresden, if not I think he ultimately will be in trouble in the Verdi repertoire. But what do I know? I lay no claims of being an expert in leggero tenor singing, and this doesn´t really detract from his performance either as I cannot imagine any singer alive touching him here.

And no...he didn´t do the encore of Pour mon ame. In the intermission interview with Renée Fleming he uttered a couple of broken sentences along the lines of only doing it for special occasions, when the applause was right. Not that he didn´t receive thunderous applause, but I think it was a good decision not to do it here, or he would indirectly have been pressured to do in infinitely.

Felicity Palmer and Alessandro Corbelli were both superb. On the other hand, I do not understand the casting of Marian Seldes and the Notary, both terrible French speakers. Why not simply cast French actors for these speaking parts? It bothered my native French-speaking colleague present at the premiere, but it also bothered me, though my French is far from as perfect as I wish I could lay claim to. And yes, this thing about Marie´s husband to-be being part of a bob-sledge Olympian team (in the rewritten dialogue), instead of just a member of the Olympian team (as in previous productions as I am reliably informed) seemed both stupid and entirely unnecessary as well.

I am uncertain what to say on Marco Armiliato in the pit as he seemed to conduct with precision and enthusiam, but ultimately I didn´t find the music flowing completely freely.

Overall I quite like the production, previously shown in both London and Vienna, combining the light-hearted and the poignant and with both witty and detailed direction by Laurent Pelly. Some of it may have been slightly over the edge, but other parts were just hilarious. I was never bored. Regarding the scenery, the first act in particular worked well, with maps on the wall and hills at the front, while the second act declining interior of the Marquise´s castle was somewhat drab, but the actors more than made up for it with some hilarious scenes behind and around the piano.

Renée Fleming almost went over the edge herself, in her appraisal of next year´s HD sessions, and in the intermission she was interviewing the four protagonists, who provided relatively standard answers to relatively standard question ending up with Natalie Dessay saluting the French HD viewers (vive la France!) ultimately accompanied by Juan Diego Flórez quipping "and Peru"...

Pierre Boulez - on audiences, composing in Bayreuth and generating controversy

[Pierre Boulez] says little has changed in the music world since he started out, in that "20% are very interested in new things, 50% can be persuaded and 30% are in their coffins before their time."

Excerpts from a fascinating interview with Pierre Boulez in today´s Guardian.

How to generate (almost free) publicity for your opera house: Naked pensioners and orchestrated encores...

Two lessons in marketing within the past few weeks involving a minor and a major company, both creating headlines in the international press, and both based on events, which I honestly find of questionable importance...

Lesson one (from a small German opera house):

You are the manager of a small German opera house with limit