Luc Bondy Salome DVD with Malfitano, Terfel, Silja and Riegel

Salome. Royal Opera Covent Garden 1997. Production: Luc Bondy. Cast: Catherine Malfitano (Salome), Bryn Terfel (Jochanaan), Anja Silja (Herodias), Kenneth Riegel (Herodes). Conductor: Christoph von Dohnanyi. Further information here.

Luc Bondy´s production of Salome has traveled around the world, and to be completely honest, I fail to fully understand why.

Luc Bondy intended to create a fin-de-siécle thriller cum family saga. To this end he applied a darkly expressionistic set mimicking the interior of a Victorian house only allowing for minimal lights to penetrate the french curtains. At one side a concrete ramp leads to Jochanaan´s basement as well as to the exterior. Thrown in are the odd few slaves. Salome´s tragedy is subsequently acted out around the dinner table in an interpretation of the work I simply do not find coherent.

Admittedly he is not helped by his Salome either. A signature role for Catherine Malfitano, I nevertheless find her Salome inadequate - vocally as well as dramatically. And vastly below the standard of her own previous DVD Salome from Berlin as well. Malfitano attacks the notes fearlessly and hits most of them as well, but the gleam, presence and character essential for a great Salome simply is not there. And a great actress she is not, in my opinion, though in fairness I should add that opinions on her Salome vary widely. Furthermore, a thrilling Salome depends on the chemistry between Salome and Jochanaan, which is simply not there.

Admittedly there is no better Jochanaan on DVD than Bryn Terfel. Nevertheless I do not think he is the truly great Jochanaan many have made him out to be. For the same reasons I do not think he is a great Wotan or a great Dutchman. Lack of majestic presence and commanding noble voice are some keywords. Not that Bryn Terfel´s voice is not both commanding, powerful and beautiful. It surely is. But his true strenght as a performer, in my opinion, lies in the edgier characterizations of less noble or haughty chatacters. As such he is a much better Leporello than Don Giovanni. And he would be among the truly greats as Alberich as well. His Johanaan has the presence of a nice fatherly priest as opposed to the commanding mysterious mytic. Nevertheless, his qualities place him vastly above virtually all his present, if not past, competitors in this, as in most of his other parts.

Kenneth Riegel and Anja Silja are both great as Herodes and Herodias. While Dohnanyi is by no means substandard, I miss sparkle and energy in a rather too anonymous performance.

Catherine Malfitano and Bryn Terfel in the confrontation between Salome and Jochanaan:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3= average):

Catherine Malfitano: 2
Bryn Terfel: 4
Kenneth Riegel: 4
Anja Silja: 4

Luc Bondy´s production: 3
Dohnanyi: 3

Overall impression: 3

DVD: Anja Silja in The Makropulos case

The Makropulos Case. Glyndebourne Festival 1995. Production: Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Cast: Anja Silja (Emilia Marty), Kim Begley (Gregor), Andrew Shore (Kolenaty). Conductor: Andrew Davis. Further information here.

When this was recorded in 1995 Anja Silja was about 55 years old (her exact age remains obscure). Though still young compared to the 337 years of her character Emilia Marty, it is still the problematic issue of this production: Despite her dramatic grip of the character and commanding presence on stage, Anja Silja simply both looks and sounds far too old to convince as the eternally young and sexually irresistible Emilia Marty. Since this opera stands or falls with Emilia Marty, it does not help much that all the secondary characters are superb as well as Andrew Davis´ orchestra.

Nikolaus Lehnhoff´s production tells the story in a relatively straight-forward manner set around the time of the composition (1923-5). Anyone not familiar with the plot may have a look here.

This is still worth watching for Anja Silja, the great singing actress. However, when Emilia Marty looks like a grandmother rather than a seductress, the entire point of the opera may not be easily conveyed...

Presently this is the only DVD available of The Makropulos case, to my knowledge.

Anja Silja as Emilia Marty revealing her secret:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average)

Anja Silja: 2-3
Nikolaus Lehnhoff´s staging: 3
Andrew Davis: 4

Overall impression: 3

Vienna: Anja Silja and Martina Serafin in Nemirova´s new Pique Dame

Anja Silja as the Countess in Vienna

Pique Dame. Vienna State Opera. June 22th 2008. Director: Vera Nemirova. Conductor: Andris Nelsons. Cast: Marian Taleba (Hermann), Martina Serafin (Lisa), Anja Silja (Countess), Albert Döhmen (Tomski and Pluto). Further information here.

Rumours had it that Vera Nemirova´s production of Pique Dame, which opened at the Vienna State Opera earlier this season, included elements of necrophilia. In fact it does not. The production revolves around the Russian society of today, emphasizing class barriers and the noveau riches. A grey building interior (seen above) serves as both boarding school, salon and gambling hall portraying the development of society (in Russia ?) over the past 50 years. Where Hermann´s love for Lisa initially seems sincere, it soon looses out to his ambitions to rise in society and be part of these noveau riches commissioning dragshows for their parties. Regarding the necrophilia, Hermann does rape the old Countess and apparently she dies during the act. While this admittedly does not make him overly sympathetic, it doesn´t make him a necrophiliac either.

Martina Serafin has a fascinating voice centered around a distinctly beautiful middle register. In addition, she looks striking on stage. So why does she not have a bigger career than she already has? Perhaps because she is slightly strained at the top and has to push for the high notes, which are occasionally fluttering? Or perhaps since her stage presence, despite her striking looks, did not seem that engaging? But all singers have strong and weak points and considering the current competition these issues hardly seem overwhelming. Furthermore I am not convinced that the role of Lisa is optimal for her and I´d like to hear her in more dramatic repertoire.

What Martina Serafin may lack in charisma, Anja Silja, who just seems to go on forever, has in spades. Her performance was the highlight of the evening. This ”second” career of hers has since quite a while proved even bigger than her ”first”, her being virtually first choice around the world in her current repertoire. I honestly have never cared for her voice, which I´ve always found too unstable in the middle and top, but these issues really are not important nowadays. Her presence and dramatic abilities are immense, and voice apart, she really must have been something on a stage in the 1960´s. No wonder Wieland Wagner thought so too. Her second-act scene remembering the past, followed by the confrontation with Hermann was the highlight of the evening. And her appearance in the stall section at the end of Act 1 reminded distinctly of the auto-da-fe scene in Konwitschny´s Don Carlos. No wonder, since it is staged by Vera Nemirova..

After canceling last years Salzburg Benvenuto Cellini on short notice, and now (on equally short notice) this Pique Dame, I wonder in how many of his scheduled appearances American tenor Neil Schicoff does actually appear nowadays? For this run, he was replaced by Marian Taleba – a fine tenor by all means, with ringing topnotes and what seemed a quite large voice.
However, it has never made any sense whatsoever to me that Lisa choses Hermann, a compulsive gambler and half-maniac over Yeletsky, good-looking, rich etc. This is either an inherent weakness in Tchaikovsky´s work or in my imagination, and not intended as a punch at Marian Taleba. Though I must admit to never having seen a really dashing Hermann (honestly, which tenor is? ), Marian Taleba was as fine as any.

Boaz Daniel was made to look rather bookish and and intellectual (maybe that is the reason) as Yeletsky, but was in glorious voice in what is virtually a one-aria part. Now, why doesn´t HE have a bigger career?

30-year old Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons made his debut at the Vienna State Opera replacing the ailing Seiji Ozawa. He deservedly received plenty applause. I always wonder how much influence such last-minute replacement conductors may yield over a top-class orchestra well familiar with the work at hand such as the Vienna State Opera orchestra. Take Rosenkavalier for one. It virtually plays itself here in Vienna does it not? I believe, even I could conduct an honorable performance of this work here…

But the conclusion stands: The orchestra sounded good with Andris Nelsons, thus I conclude that Andris Nelsons is a good. He will, by the way, conduct the new production of Lohengrin in Bayreuth 2010, where he on the contrary will have nowhere to hide, if he in fact does turn out not to be very good indeed.

Only after this performance did I realize fully HOW ridiculous Ian Holender´s (Vienna State Opera general manager) fear of downtown rioting football fans bothering the opera guests were. The reason: All the operas currently on the schedule in Vienna end well before the football games do… Yesterday evening was one of the ”dreaded” performance nights: Spain vs. Italy, played at the Vienna football stadium. The city center full of football fans. But as the match was only in the 55th minute when the opera ended, the entire Vienna city center was completely deserted for at least 30 minutes afterwards…And with 30+ degrees, it simply was too hot to make trouble before performance start.

That apart, the Pique Dame attendance did not seem exceptionally low, as I noticed only scattered empty seats in the floor section.

Superb Robert Carsen production of Dialogue des Carmelites on DVD

Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites. La Scala 2004. Production: Robert Carsen. Cast: Dagmar Schellenberger (Blanche), Laura Aikin (Constance), Barbara Dever (Mére Marie), Anja Silja (Mme de Croissy). Conductor: Riccardo Muti. More information here.

This 2004 La Scala production of the Dialogues des Carmelites is simply close to ideal. And the aesthetically beautiful and simplistic Robert Carsen production was deservedly elected opera DVD of the year by the BBC music magazine last year.

Poulenc´s music is simple and beautiful as well as tonal and easily accessible, though not without disturbing undertones, effectively underlined by the Scala Orchestra superbly conducted by Riccardo Muti.

The opera takes place during the French revolution, and is the story of the young aristocratic woman Blanche, struggling with a fear of death, who joins the Carmelite Order. Through her meeting with the old prioress and the other nuns, Blanche overcomes her fear of death to a degree that she volunteers to follow her fellow sisters to the guillotine when they are apprehended by the ”revolutionary” forces at the end.

The stage is empty, all wear 18th century dress, and Robert Carsen emphasizes the human drama with contrasts in light and colouring as the only stage effects.

All the (predominately female) cast are excellent, in particular Dagmar Schellenberger as Blanche, who delivers a compelling portrait dramatically as well as vocally, as well as Anja Silja (the old prioress) who dominates her scenes by strong presence. The scene between Blanche and the old prioress as well as the death of the old prioress are the absolute highlights of this production. Also strong performances from Laura Aikin and Barbara Dever in a cast without weak links.

Anja Silja is shattering in Mme de Croissy´s death scene:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Dagmar Schellenberger: 5
Laura Aikin: 5
Anja Silja: 5

Robert Carsen´s staging: 5

Riccardo Muti: 5

Overall impression: 5

DVD: Glyndebourne Lehnhoff Jenufa

Jenufa. Glyndebourne 1989. Production: Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Cast: Roberta Alexander (Jenufa), Anja Silja (Kostelnicka), Philip Langridge (Laca), Mark Baker (Steva). Conductor: Andrew Davis with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Further information here.

Nikolaus Lehnhoff has created a psycho-analytically orientated Jenufa for Glyndebourne in 1989: Closed spaces, primary colours. Clarity and aesthetism by simplicity are primary concerns here, as always with Lehnhoff, an old pupil of Wieland Wagner. Set in the claustrophobig environment of the closed society of a 19th century village, the sets provide the ideal background for Janaceks glorious music.

The incomparable Anja Silja is the strongest Kostelnicka one may imagine, dominating the stage whenever she appears. Next to her, Roberta Alexander can hardly avoid to seem a bit anonymous, though her Jenufa is fine sung and genuinely moving.

Superb performance from Andrew Davis with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in a sumptuous, dark reading.

The only alternative on DVD is the Tambosi production from Barcelona 2005. It may be a matter of taste, which production to prefer, as both have strong points.

Roberta Alexander and Anja Silja in Act 1:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Roberta Alexander: 4
Anja Silja: 5
Philip Langridge: 4

Lehnhoffs staging: 4

Andrew Davis: 5

Overall impression: 4

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