Well-educated
British readers (I know there are some out there) will need no explanation as
to who was Georgiana Cavendish (1757-1806), the Duchess of Devonshire, famous for her soirées in the Devonshire House in London. Some may know her from Keira Knightly´s portrait in The Duchess,
And we are,
in fact, witness to such a soirée in The Duchess´ ballroom in London
Piccadilly, where she is staging a performance by Händel´s Alcina (written in
1735 it could well have been performed here) performed by herself (as Alcina
obviously) and her friends.
An intimate
dining-room atmosphere, which suits the piece well, especially as it opens up
into a field of almost neon-green grass and a clear blue sky (see above), which
contrasts with the dark dining room atmosphere complete with servants and
(perhaps?) her dissatisfied husband, the Duke, who seems to pop up a couple of
times.
The
director is Adrian Noble, British and former director of Royal
Shakespeare company, also responsible for the staging of Macbeth at theMetropolitan opera in 2008.
Would it
not have been obvious to make Ruggiero into Charles Grey, 2nd Earl
of Grey, the gentleman with whom The Duchess has an illegitimate child after he
had courted her in her saloon for some time? But no, this seems not to have
been Adrian Nobles errand, as Ruggiero, as played by Vesselina Kasarova, in the
beginning of the opera, clearly is a female friend of the Duchess.
To begin with
Vesselina Kasarova: This woman´s singing is downright strange and peculiar. In
fact, it is one of the most peculiar things I have heard on stage for a long
time. When I heard her live in this part five years ago I found her “absolutely brilliant”. Now she is absolutely bizarre. Did these, almost yodling
peculiarities really develop within the latest five years or did I just not
have the ear for them then?
Her Alcina five years ago as well as now is Anja Harteros,
who is a splendid Alcina, and an elegant Duchess of Devonshire, adapting to
baroque style with an almost vibratoless top. Probably not the kind of role she
will continue singing if she also wants to move into the heavier Wagner, as she
has said (Senta).
While Veronica
Cangemi was far too thin-voiced, especially
in the top as Morgana, Kristina Hammarström was a solid Bradamante. Most
impressive, though was boy soprano Alois Mühlbacher as Oberto, with spot-on
coloratura and solid intonation. He is 15..
Baroque
operas are not plat du jour in Vienna. Before this production the latest
one being L´incoronazione di Poppea in the 1060´s. Accordingly, it is not the
Vienna State Opera Orchestra in the pit but the baroque specialists Les
Musiciens du Louvre effectively conducted by Marc Minkowski.
Vesselina Kasarova with Mi lusinga il dolce affetto, judge for yourself:
The bottom
line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):
Anja Harteros: 4-5
Vesselina
Kasarova: 2-3, perhaps to be re-evaluated
Veronica
Cangemi: 3
Kristina
Hammarström: 4
Adrian
Noble´s production: 4
Marc
Minkowski: 4-5
1 comment:
No, something really happened with Kasarova's voice. You can listen on youtube to parts of her recital in 2005 in Schwetzingen and compare...
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