Capriccio: All shine in elegant Paris production

Capriccio. Paris Palais Garnier 2004. Production: Robert Carsen. Cast: Renée Fleming (Countess), Dietrich Henschel (Count), Anne Sofie von Otter (Clairon), Rainer Trost (Flamand), Gerald Finley (Olivier), Franz Hawlata (La Roche). Conductor: Ulf Schirmer. Further information here.

Whether one actually likes Capriccio or not, I find it hard to argue against this close to ideal production by Robert Carsen set in the elegant Palais Garnier in Paris 2004.

A theater within the theater production transferring the action to the time of the composing of the opera (1941), though the Nazi presence is very small in this very elegant look into upper-class Parisian lives at the time. Perfectly suited for DVD, the action is played out at parts before an empty auditorium with the Countess and her brother as spectators from the balcony. At other points it seems a genuine live performance.

Everything in this production just oozes elegance: Carsens staging is accompanied by the equally elegant and sophisticated conducting from Ulf Schirmer.

And the singers are simply first-rate over the entire line: First of all, obviously, Renée Fleming as an entirely convincing Countess. Whatever one may feel about Renée Flemings vocal technique, including her heavy use of portamento, her Countess is both vocally and dramatically entirely convincing and is on par with the greatest in the discography.

Virtually all the others stand out as well, beginning with Anne-Sofie von Otter as a slightly mad Clairon, Franz Hawlata as a not overly ridiculous La Roche, Gerald Finley as a half-desperate Olivier, Rainer Trost as Flamand and Dietrich Henschel as a rather confused Count.

One of the finest DVDs on the market, though traditionalists may prefer the only alternative on DVD, from the San Francisco opera with Kiri Te Kanawa and conducted by Donald Runnicles, in a completely traditional staging (read: including plenty of dust). While this musically is not a bad choice, I find Renée Fleming clearly superior to Te Kanawa as well as von Otter to Troyanos.

Renée Fleming in the Final Scene:

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

Renée Fleming: 5
Anne Sofie von Otter: 5
Dietrich Henschel: 5
Gerald Finley: 5
Rainer Trost: 5
Franz Hawlata: 5

Robert Carsen´s staging: 5

Ulf Schirmer: 5

Overall impression: 5

For those not allowed to live

Ilse Weber (1903-1944) was primarily a poet, writer of children's books, and producer of programs for the Czech Radio in Prague. Weber and her husband saved the life of their oldest son when they sent him to Sweden on a Kindertransport prior to their own deportation to the Terezín (Theresienstadt) concentration camp in 1942.
At Terezín, Weber worked as a nurse in charge of the children's ward where she often accompanied herself on a guitar while singing for the children. When her husband was summoned for to Auschwitz in the fall of 1944, she volunteered to accompany him together with her young son Tommy. Her wish not to break up the family resulted in the execution of Ilse and her son in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, while her husband survived her by some thirty years. Wiegala, one of her works, a simple lullaby is rumoured to have been sung by her when she accompanied the children into the gas chamber. More here.

Wiegala and other works by composers imprisoned at Theresienstadt (and all but one executed in Auschwitz) may now be heard on the incredibly moving CD Terezín/Theresienstadt by Anne-Sofie von Otter together with Forsberg, Gerhaher and Hope. Recordings like this do not appear every year. More on the disc here.

Von Otter/Kuusisto/Forsberg in Korngold recital

I suppose I ought to be more familiar with Korngold´s music, so I wouldn’t have had to risk neck injury to look at my neighbor’s programme to follow the going-ons at this recital – since programs were sold out even before people started arriving, though the Queen Elizabeth Hall was only half full at most…..

Luckily accompanist Bengt Forsberg provided some initial explanations of the programme – which mainly consisted of songs by Korngold and contemporaries (sung by Anne Sofie von Otter) as well as his violin sonata (played by Pekka Kuusisto). I must admit, I was very impressed with Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto – his appearance in casual outfit and an almost non-chalant take on the music, but a very engaging presence on stage. Anne Sofie von Otter sang beautifully, but she somehow seemed not to perform at maximal intensity.

I now see that Intermezzo has also reported from this event (more extensively), and with more or less the same main points as myself.