la scala: superb peter mattei, disappointing netrebko in elegant barenboim don giovanni

Don Giovanni, La Scala, December 2011. Production: Robert Carsen. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Cast: Peter Mattei (Don G), Bryn Terfel (Leporello), Anna Netrebko (Donna Anna), Barbara Frittoli (Donna Elvira), Kwangchoul Yun (Commendatore), Giuseppe Filianoti (Don Ottavio), Anna Prohaska (Zerlina), Stefan Kocan (Masetto).

The opening is entirely stunning: As the initial two chords of the ouverture fill the auditorium, Peter Mattei runs up the middle aisle and onto the stage where he pulls town the red velvety curtain to reveal a gigantic mirror, reflecting the entire audience: We are (again I am tempted to say), spectators to our own lives.

Robert Carsen clearly loves this sort of theatre-within-theatre concept, which he has previously used in several productions such as Tosca, Contes d´Hoffmann and L´incoronazione di Poppea, just to mention a few. A concept often more exciting on paper than in reality, it does not seem too imposing here where the production, nevertheless, is very elegant, kept mostly in black, gold and dark velvety red colours.

Don Giovanni is a free spirit. Neither malign nor cunning. Just a man, who lives every moment to the fullest. Perhaps this is why he is the last one standing on stage, while the others characters descend into hell in the end. Live life to its fullest! This Don Giovanni certainly has Robert Carsen´s sympathy. And ours as well, not least due to Peter Mattei, who is, in my opinion, quite simply the best Don Giovanni on stage today, with his smooth, direct approach, his beautiful,  beautiful voice as well as his lofty, charming and ultimately very captivating stage manners.

In general, all the singers are from the A-list and probably the best Don Giovanni cast name-per-name one could dream of assembling. Not all live up to expectations, though. However, the two mail protagonists certainly do and Bryn Terfel equals Peter Mattei in what is in one of his best roles. Terfel has always been a much better Leporello than Don Giovanni, Leporello being his own favourite as well. A rather rough, clumsy character, never failing to catch the eye and his bass-barytone contrasts well with Peter Mattei´s barytone.
This time, the ungrateful part of Don Ottavio is left with Giuseppe Filianoti, who does well without exactly distinguishing himself, though Mozart did not help him much by giving him two entirely placid arias to sing as well as some uninteresting recitatives.

Donna Anna is one of the roles that launches the international career of Anna Netrebko. In this production, she clearly loves Don Giovanni but feels obliged to hide her relation with him after the murder of her father. However, she disappoints, mostly vocally, being frequently off tune and sounding murky. I very much doubt we will see much more Mozart from here in the future.

Barbara Frittoli, replacing  Elina Garanca, was a fluttery, nervous Donna Elvira and though she wasn´t exactly a weak link, and definitely better than recently heard at the Metropolitan Opera, the role does not seem to lie well for her.

Up-and-coming Anna Prohaska and Stefan Kocan were sufficiently engaging as Zerlina/Masetto while I would have preferred a much blacker sound for the Commendatore than what Kwangchoul Yun possesses.

Daniel Barenboim´s relationship with Don Giovanni began in 1953 when he assisted the cembalist in a run of Furtwängler-conducted performances. Thus it should comes as no surprise that Barenboim conducts in the style of Furtwängler and Klemperer, lightyears from the period-specific approaches some may prefer today. Not me, though.  About 5 years ago in Berlin, Daniel Barenboim conducted the best Don Giovanni I have ever heard live and again here at La Scala his broad, slow tempi and his unfailing sense of the contrapunctual elements of the score was thrilling. 

Final scene (beginning):

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

Peter Mattei: 5

Bryn Terfel: 5

Anna Netrebko: 3

Barbara Frittoli: 4

Giuseppe Filianoti: 4

Anna Prohaska: 4

Stefan Kocan: 4

Daniel Barenboim: 5

Robert Carsen´s production: 5

Overall impression: 4-5

La Scala Lohengrin 2012 season opening

Lohengrin. Teatro alla Scala, December 2012 opening night, streamed. Production: Claus Guth. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Cast: Jonas Kaufmann (Lohengrin), Annette Dasch (Elsa), René Pape (Heinrich), Evelyn Herlitzius (Ortrud), Tomas Tomasson (Telramund), Zeljko Lucic (Heerrufer).

At 7 pm, German soprano Annette Dasch received a phone call in her Berlin home. If she could possibly come to Milano and sing Elsa in the new Claus Guth production of Lohengrin the next evening for the season opening of La Scala in Milano, as Anja Harteros was ill? To be televised directly, obviously. 3 hours later she was on the plane. The next day, she had a 2 hour session with Claus Guth and 10 minutes with Daniel Barenboim. She had worked with Barenboim before, but not in Wagner operas, as well as with Claus Guth. And she had sung Elsa to Jonas Kaufmann´s Lohengrin in 2009 in Bayreuth, in a production where Elsa is a disturbed character, not entirely unlike her characterization in this production.

Claus Guth is particularly known for emphasising the darker sides of standard repertoire work - just take a look at his Nozze di Figaro or Cosí fan tutte, both available on DVD. His favourite century is the 19^th century (source: himself) and setting his Lohengrin in a repressive Biedermeier society seems just like the thing he would do. We are in an open space surrounded by balconies and doors. A piano and some stretches of grass represent the past with frequent flashbacks of Elsa playing the piano under Ortrud´s rough guidance. Elsa and her brother were  repressed (if not physically abused) as children. It is this repressive society that Elsa longs to leave, and thus she conjures up Lohengrin, a sickly, neurotic wretch whom she clearly does not love and finally rejects. Also frequently seen on stage: A child with swan feathers and Lohengrin more often than not curled up in a fetal position. According to an interview Claus Guth´s agenda evolved around how people arrived at their own happiness after a deprived childhood. He raises plenty of questions, however. Such as why Lohengrin has to be so sickly? While it is excellent with a staging raising plenty of questions I ultimately felt that the lack of consistency and interpersonal relations (especially between Elsa and this sickly Lohengrin) were the weakness of this staging. 

For Jonas Kaufmann, the ultimate romantic hero, one could wish for him to appear in a slightly more traditional production or at least one where he is allowed to show the romantic/as written in the score sides of Lohengrin:  In 2009 in Bayreuth he was in the middle of a rat experiment, later that year in Munich he was a carpenter, and here in Milano he is a neurotic fragment of Elsa´s fantasy, stripped of all pretenses, rolling on the floor curved in fetal position.

His singing, however, is formidable and he just seems to get better and better. A couple of years ago one would often hear that he could not go on singing like that, with his shaded tenor pushing for the high notes. That criticism is nowadays seldom heard. Anyway, I for one, have always thought that, unlike Villazon, his singing seems rock solid. Really he is virtually beyond competition as Lohengrin today.

Annette Dasch is a formidable actress, and creates an intensely moving portrayal of Elsa, quite better than her performance at Bayreuth. However, legato lines and blooming topnotes still are not her specialty and Anja Harteros remains the better singer of the two while Annette Dasch clearly is the superior actress.

René Pape was superb in what is a medium-opportunity role for him and Zeljko Lucic was luxury casting as Heerrufer.

As for the socalled villains, they were unfortunately disappointing. Tomas Tomasson was heavily overmatched and Evelyn Herlitzius, though a fine actress, was wobbly and frankly unpleasant to listen to. Could Barenboim not have called Waltraud Meier for this, really?

The Scala orchestra plays formidable for Barenboim. As I noticed some years ago when he conducted Tristan and Isolde here, there is a particular expansive sound to the orchestra, not heard when he conducts his Berlin hometown orchestra.

Official production trailer:

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

Jonas Kaufmann: 5
Annette Dasch: 4
René Pape: 5
Tomas Tomasson: 3
Evelyn Herlitzius: 3

Claus Guth: 4
Daniel Barenboim: 5

Overall impression: 4

Best Parsifal on DVD - 1992 Barenboim Kupfer Berlin production

Parsifal. DVD. Berlin State Opera 1992. Prod: Harry Kupfer. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Cast: Poul Elming (Parsifal), Waltraud Meier (Kundry), John Tomlinson (Gurnemanz), Günter von Kannen (Klingsor), Falk Struckmann (Amfortas), Fritz Hübner (Titurel).

With 20 years delay, finally we now have the 1992 Berlin State Opera production of Parsifal, quite simply the best presentation to date of Parsifal on DVD.

Harry Kupfer, at this time artistic director of Komische Oper, the smallest of the three opera houses in Berlin had no real possibility of staging Wagner in his own house, thus the collaboration with Daniel Barenboim, the newly appointed musical director at the Berliner Staatsoper, 200 meter further down the Unter den Linden.
This was Harry Kupfer´s second attempt at Parsifal, the first dating from the 1970´s also at the Berlin State Opera, which could be seen at the Copenhagen Royal Opera House as well until a few years ago (I saw it at least twice). In that first production, Parsifal renounces the brotherhood chooses to leave the community with Gurnemanz and Kundry taking the spear and the grail with him, which was at the time seen as a politically charged criticism.
However, for this, his second Parsifal, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, things looked different,  for Parsifal as well. In a semi-mythical, futuristic setting, circular door reminiscent of spaceships separate the inside and the outside - both pitch dark, with metallic and electronic cold surfaces. The grail community is a sick community: Characterized by a strong bond, the knights seem fixated on the Grail, oblivious to anything else.
involved stage direction. The flower maidens show their various body parts on TV screens, only Kundry, is a real, three-dimensional woman. In the end, the knights are oblivious to Parsifal, focusing only on the Grail. Kundry takes his hand as if urging him to leave, but after a moment of reflection Parsifal choses to stay with her and Gurnemanz.
And why exactly does this work? Because of the combination of Harry Kupfer´s excellent direction of the singers (his trademark), the aesthetic stage designs (by Hans Schavernoch), Barenboim´s superb reading of the score and some of the best singers of the generation.

The singers are what Kupfer wants: Young, agile singer-actors, all in their vocal prime, most having already worked with Barenboim/Kupfer in their just terminated Bayreuth Nibelungen Ring, also the best Nibelungen Ring on DVD. The static nature of Parsifal simply needs involved personal stage direction to work dramatically. As well as singers, who master their parts, obviously.

Is Waltraud Meier the best Kundry in history? Honestly, I think she may well be. Here, stunningly beautiful in her vocal prime (36 years old), already with 10 years experience in the part, her dramatic commitment and effortless vocal flexibility is unparallelled. This is her third Kundry on DVD, with the Metropolitan Parsifal recorded the same year, but leaving her with fewer dramatic options.
Poul Elming, the Danish tenor, who started out as a baryton and got his international breakthrough when Daniel Barenboim selected him as his Siegmund in the Bayreuth Nibelungen Ring, is a committed and entirely believable Parsifal. He also appears on the recently released 1998 Bayreuth production conducted by Sinopoli.  John Tomlinson, in his vocal prime, a charismatic Gurnemanz, who tells his stories so you want to listen to them. A young Falk Struckmann is a fine, though already at this point slightly grainy Amfortas, while the Nibelungen Günter von Kannen makes a fine Klingsor.

While Christian Thielemann has the glitzy brilliance, Daniel Barenboim the weightier punch, which is ultimately the most satisfying approach. He quite simply understands the structure of Richard Wagners compositions, better than he understands the structure of anything else I have ever heard him conduct (which is, in fact, a lot).

An easy first choice on DVD.

Act III, Mittag:

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


Poul Elming: 4-5
Waltraud Meier: 5
John Tomlinson: 5
Günter von Kannen: 4-5
Falk Struckmann: 4


Harry Kupfers production: 5
Daniel Barenboim: 5


Overall impression: 5

tcherniakov the gambler dvd

The Gambler. DVD. Berlin State Opera 2008. Prod: Dmitri Tcherniakov. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Cast: Kristine Opolais (Polina), Misha Didyk (Aleksay), Vladimir Ognovenko (General), Stefania Toczyska (Babulenka)

Dostoyevski´s dark tale of the corruptive power of money set to music by Prokofiev has received a close-to-ideal presentation by this production by Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov. A co-production between the Berlin State Opera and La Scala, I remember it received rave reviews after the Berlin premiere, but disastrous reviews in Milan half a year later - with Daniel Barenboim as well and for the exact same team of singers. Which, of course, just testifies to the well-known differences of the audiences for the two houses.

The opera may not be mainstream and the plot somewhat confusing, but Dmitri Tcherniakovs staging of Prokofiev´s opera The Gambler is one of the best DVDs out there. I attended one of the performances in Berlin in 2008 and my impression holds after seeing the DVD: It´s a both exciting and moving production of outstanding musical quality.

The whole affair takes place in a hotel lobby cum gambling hall, which suits the story-line well. However, what really lifts the production is the outstanding personenregie, one of Dmitri Tcherniakov´s trademarks. It is simply entertaining throughout with myriads of small details. All singers are committed to their roles and turn in performances worthy of stage actors, without compromising on vocal quality. All accompanied by a wonderfully dense reading from Daniel Barenboim, this is highly recommended.

Duet Act 1 Kristine Opolais, Misha Didyk:

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


Kristine Opolais: 4-5
Misha Didyk: 4
Vladmir Ognovenko: 4
Stefania Toczyska: 4

Dmitri Tcherniakovs production: 5
Daniel Barenboim: 5


Overall impression: 5

So zieht das Unheil in dies Haus (or: The Berlin Barenboim Herheim Lohengrin)

Lohengrin, Berlin State Opera, April 12th 2009. Production: Stefan Herheim. Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Lohengrin), Dorothea Röschmann (Elsa), Michaela Schuster (Ortrud), Gerd Grochowski (Telramund), Markus Brück (Herald), Kwangchul Youn (Heinrich). Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Further information here.

Norwegian director Stefan Herheim has become one of the most sought-after directors after his staging of Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival last year. Some thought Herheim created a masterpiece. Others, me among them, did not. Though I have greatly admired Stefan Herheim´s stagings of the past, such as the brilliant deconstruction of Entführung in Salzburg 2003, the Parsifal was quite simply to overly-intellectual and disorganized as I saw it.
Which also applies to this new Lohengrin production, though this time to a degree that I actually find Stefan Herheim more or less has ruined the piece.
The short version of this review is that I do not recall any new staging of any Wagnerian opera, which appealed so little to me than this Lohengrin. Daniel Barenboim, on the other hand, was sensational.
In fact I have pondered for two days on how to put this on paper in a both civilized and fair manner. And to start with the fairness, I may add that though the general opinions in the German press on Herheim´s staging were only luke-warm, this review is firmly rooted in the very negative end of the specter. Not to forget, that others found this staging to be a masterpiece.
To the point: I simply didn´t understand the concept. It was a confusing, un-dramatic as well as highly intellectual mish-mash which brought me nothing. And worst of all: It took all the attention away from the music.

It started well: A Richard Wagner puppet dances on a tree-trunk during the prelude. A feather drops down and he apparently starts to compose. We then move on to Act 1, opening in present time with groups of people waving banners displaying the three opera houses in Berlin, apparently an allegory of Brabant with The Herald starting out as the Berlin bear:

All main characters, Ortrud (and possibly Lohengrin) excepted, are puppeteers with a medieval puppet version of their character, which they control. Around the time the horn and helmet clad Lohengrin arrives, the action moves into the medieval times. Still with puppets.
And with the additional twist of all characters wearing naked-body suits with strategically placed figleaves, which they change into at various points, running around the stage.

The explanation? According to the programme booklet, Stefan Herheim explains that the sin of Eve (eating the forbidden apple thus rebelling against God) in Eden is central to the drama of Lohengrin. Who am I to say he is not right? However, as engaging theater, in my opinion it fails completely. And has very little connection to the music drama Lohengrin.

Though the puppet-puppeteer concept does seem rather appropriate for a static piece like Lohengrin, Stefan Herheim, as I see it, fails to ask (or answer) the central questions of Lohengrin, such as: Where does this man come from? Why must we not know his name etc.? Questions Peter Konwitschny actually does both ask and answer in his famous Hamburg production, a major inspirational source for Stefan Herheim.
Readers who admire Konwitschny´s Lohengrin, certainly stand a rather good chance of at least reacting more positively to Herheim´s as I do.

The working relationship between Daniel Barenboim and Stefan Herheim was not the best, with Herheim publicly accusing Daniel Barenboim, among other things, for extended abscence during rehearsals (probably rightly). Daniel Barenboim, on the other hand, publicly disagreed with Herheim´s decision to stage the prelude, a decision it was "too late to change" as he put it. A rather strange statement, as one may argue he could have thought about participating in the rehearsals at a point before it became "too late" for changing anything, including the director...

Being the third, and last, performance of this run, the orchestra was simply sensational. Somewhat unusual for Daniel Barenboim, his tempi were rather brisk. But with an energy and inner sense of the dramatic structures making this easily the best conducted Lohengrin I have heard.
Of the singers, Dorothea Röschmann stood out as a simply wonderful and very touching Elsa. With her old-fashioned way of singing, much like that of Elisabeth Grümmer, the dark colouring of her voice combined with superb, stylish phrasing made for a very moving experience. Unlike her Eva in last years Meistersinger, Elsa seems to suit her well. She does reach the limit of her voice, but she doesn´t exceed it.
Klaus Florian Vogt´s Lohengrin has spurred starkly contrasting opinions: Admirers point to his ringing, effortless topnotes. Detractors point to his monotonous singing. Both sides are right as I see it: Vogt´s Lohengrin is monotonously sung and acted with the added benefit (?) of an indifferent psychopathic air to his presentation. Though he really does hit those notes, piercing effortlessly through Barenboim´s orchestra. But contributing to any degree of interpersonal drama he does not. Neither does Stefan Herheim. At least not on stage..

Beauty of voice or expression is not what Michaela Schuster offers. However, her over-all portrait of Ortrud was superb: She clearly inhabited both the comic and desperate sides to the character and delivered a very effective, vocally as well, performance. Accompanied by Gerd Grochowski´s character barytone, singing rather well as Telramund, but having a hard time to penetrate through Barenboim´s orchestra.

How would René Pape have looked running around in a naked-body suit with figleaves and a wooden stick chasing Elsa´s bridemaids? Fortunately (for him), his illness (he has now recovered) prevented us from finding out and Kwangchul Youn delivered a fine performance.
In summary, if you ask how much action and how many intellectual concepts one may put into one Wagner opera, I´d say Stefan Herheim is the man with the answers. And if anyone should still ask who is the pre-eminent Wagnerian conductor alive, it is Daniel Barenboim.

Links to most German and international reviews of the production .

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

Klaus Florian Vogt: 4
Dorothea Röschmann: 4-5
Michaela Schuster: 4
Gerd Grochowski: 4
Kwangchul Youn: 4

Stefan Herheim´s production: 1-2

Daniel Barenboim: 5

Overall impression: ?

Berlin Verdi Requiem: Smashing La Scala chorus with René Pape back in top-shape

Verdi Requiem. Berlin Philharmonie, April 9th 2009. Soloists: Anja Harteros, Luciana D´Intino, Guiseppe Filianoti, René Pape. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim with La Scala orchestra and chorus.

The short version:

A smashing performance of the Verdi Requiem in the Berlin Philharmonie.

Superb La Scala Chorus.

René Pape is back in super-shape.

The long(er) version:

Dedicated to the victims of the recent earth-quake in Italy, this Good Friday performance started with one minutes silence, as requested by Daniel Barenboim from the podium.

From then on it was full speed forward in a thrilling performance on all levels: The La Scala orchestra, obviously very familiar with the piece followed Daniel Barenboim closely, pulling out all the stops without retorting to empty bravado at any point. A balance Daniel Barenboim does not always achieve in his non-Wagnerian repertoire, but here he certainly did. The sheer power of the Dies Irae virtually knocked one back in the seat. Accompanied by the superb La Scala chorus and a quartet of soloist, not to be seen better anywhere, this could very well look like a recording project.

Most importantly, René Pape was back after illness, both looking and sounding his usual self on a very good day, easily the stand-out of the very fine quartet of soloist. Though it does become increasingly obvious that his voice continues to move upwards and parts of the score seems rather low for him (such as the Lux aeterna), you will have to go back longer in time than my (rather good and long-reaching, by the way) memory reaches to hear singing of comparable beauty and expression in this part.

Excellent singing also from the rest: Anja Harteros, seemingly ideal in the lirico-spinto soprano part, Luciana d´Intino´s firm and secure mezzo and Guiseppe Filianoti delivering a performance making one question the decision to fire him after the Don Carlo dress rehearsal earlier this year at La Scala.

Overall impression: 5

Berlin: Herheim Barenboim Lohengrin with marionettes and pre-opening controversy

Norwegian director Stefan Herheim´s new production of Lohengrin opened yesterday, April 4th at the Berlin State Opera. Cast included Klaus Florian Vogt, Dorothea Röschmann (in her role debut as Elsa), Kwangchul Youn (replacing René Pape). Daniel Barenboim conducted.

The premiere has been surrounded by more than the usual dose of controversy/press hysteria as Stefan Herheim and Daniel Barenboim apparently had a rather below-average working relationship, with Stefan Herheim being quoted in interviews as saying that "Daniel Barenboim appears a honorary guest in his own house..he hardly followed the stage rehearsals..you don´t exactly encourage the curiousity to bring music and theater together in this way" and stating that "Barenboim has another understanding of music theater [than Herheim]". At the website of the Berlin State Opera, Stefan Herheim subsequently distanced himself from the general tone of this article originally published in Die Welt, however the quotes, I believe, remain.

Daniel Barenboim has responded with the following: “I have admired Stefan Herheim’s work in the past, and I like the way he thinks.. But we have a disagreement about the overture.” Which, Barenboim (as usual with Wagner) prefers being played curtain down.

And the perforkmance? We already knew that string puppets/marionettes would appear and that Herheim was inspired by Peter Konwitschny´s 10 year old Hamburg Lohengrin production.
I did unfortunately not attend the premiere, but from preliminary reports I understand that the main concept evolved around the current opera house situation in Berlin + Richard Wagner´s composition process with characters reflecting in marionette alter egos and that at least as much stage action went on as in Herheims Bayreuth Parsifal. If that is indeed the case, I believe I shall side with Daniel Barenboim in the "understanding of music theater" discussion.

More later.

Berlin Parsifal: Domingo redeems himself in knock-out performance from Barenboim and Waltraud Meier

Parsifal. Berlin State Opera, March 9th. Director: Eichinger. Cast: Plácido Domingo (Parsifal), Waltraud Meier (Kundry), Robert Holl (Gurnemanz), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Amfortas), Christof Fischesser (Klingsor). Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Further information here.

There were two major differences between the performance of March 6th and that of yesterday: First, and most importantly, Daniel Barenboim simply nailed it. And secondly, Plácido Domingo proved that he can sing the part of Parsifal, substituting Fridays lack of preparation with a performance it is hard not to admire.

You simply do not sustain a 40+ year top career gaining you virtually legendary status without putting in a considerable amount of hard work combined with keen self-insight and criticism. Mainly for these reasons I was not surprised that Plácido Domingo had improved vastly from his performance last Friday.
Admittedly, Plácido Domingo doesn´t look and move like (some of) his 30 years younger colleagues, but he still sings better than anyone I have heard live in the part. Vocally he is at least as solid as on the 2005 Thielemann-recording, and while he may still have relied on prompting for parts of Act 2 (audible only twice even from the front row seats, which is quite normal), it didn´t significantly detract from this performance. Even if I still don´t think Parsifal brings out his true dramatic strengths (whether 40 or 70 years old), it was hard not to find his performance impressive. Though I´d expect the Simon Boccanegra he returns to the Berlin State Opera with this upcoming October will show him in an even better light.

How often do you sit in the audience, watch a singer and think: I don´t think this part has ever been better performed in the entire history of the work? It is such with Waltraud Meier´s Kundry, whose charisma and plain ability to project the character is beyond description and kicks any vocal deficiencies into oblivion.

It is also such with René Pape´s Gurnemanz. That is: Had he been there. And it is both unfair and unrealistic to expect that veteran Wagnerian (and previous Bayreuth-Hans Sachs), the not overly charismatic Robert Holl substituting at short notice, should suddenly aspire to perform at that level. His was an honorable and solid, though not overly exciting Gurnemanz.

I wouldn´t be surprised if Christof Fischesser went on to bigger things as he is a plainly superb Klingsor, even more secure at this second performance.
Hanno Müller-Brachmann repeated his beautiful and lyric interpretation of Amfortas from Friday.
Also a well-sung performance from Andreas Bauer as Titurel, coming off to the worst possible start as the curtain went up about 2 minutes too early during the Act 1 transformation music exposing him drinking from a waterbottle under the changing sets.
And a minor quibble on a related note: I would rather have the spear not changing hands from Klingsor to Parsifal at all, than to see all sorts of non-convincing spear appearances, especially when, as yesterday, the spear appeared from a hole in the floor next to Domingo, before Klingsor had even thrown it. Bernd Eichinger is obviously no opera director. But he is a film director. Could he not have made that exchange (even when it works) look more convincing?

Now to the real star of the evening:

While I admit to having been seduced by Christian Thielemann´s glitteringly, beautiful Parsifal, compared to Daniel Barenboim´s quite obvious understanding of the deeper structures of the work, Thielemann now seems superficial. Key elements in Barenboim´s reading being string rubato and accentuation as well as emphasis on the contrapunctual elements, of which, it turns out, there are quite a few. The disturbing, underlying elements of the work are exposed far below the glittery beauty in performance, with echoes lingering on for days.
Daniel Barenboim is slow, though for most parts it is a relative slowness as his Act 1 clocks in at 1:50 – exactly as Thielemann´s in Vienna last year. And curiously he even paced both sets of Transformation music considerably faster than usual.
Basically I would just like to know how he does it. How does he see those connections within the music that apparently no-one else sees? How does he approaches the score? I may just have to become a music journalist and interview him to get the answers..To summarize, I have never heard a better conducted Parsifal.

Massive applause to everyone from an unusually mixed audience, including a large fraction of Spanish-speaking visitors as well as the usual loud misunderstood hissings from semi-studied self-proclaimed expert Wagnerians at those (me included) applauding after Act 1 (which is perfectly acceptable, but requires an entire post to explain).

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

Plácido Domingo: 4-5
Waltraud Meier: 6
Robert Holl: 4
Christof Fischesser: 5
Hanno Müller-Brachmann: 5

Daniel Barenboim: 6

Overall impression: 4-5

Berlin: Embarrassingly underprepared Domingo as Parsifal with Meier, Salminen and Barenboim

Parsifal. Berlin State Opera. March 6th 2009. Cast: Plácido Domingo (Parsifal), Waltraud Meier (Kundry), Matti Salminen (Gurnemanz), Christof Fischesser (Klingsor), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Amfortas). Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Further information here.

The Parsifal production of the Berlin State Opera is by film-maker Bernd Eichinger from 2005 and described in detail at my last visit two years ago. In brief, Eichinger sees Parsifal as a journey in time. Furthermore, he doesn´t really seem to know anything about directing opera, making Parsifal a display of filmic sets, leaving the singers free to create the characters. Which is why the appearance yesterday of three leads, all new to the production, didn´t really make any difference, despite a minimal rehearsing time.

As Parsifal, Plácido Domingo was notoriously underprepared, relying heavily on audible prompting, especially in the second act. Famous for his acting skills, he had no connection with the character at all, seemingly stretching himself to the maximum to get through it alive and pronounce the words at least partially correct. Has he ever been dramatically convincing as the innocent fool? I suspect not. But yesterday he was painfully unconvincing, almost downright terrible, I (as a staunch Domingo-Wagner fan) am very sorry to say. The tones, however, were beautiful and probably not to be heard better by anyone today in this part. In a concert performance he would have been stunning. However, is it really possible to watch a performance with no chemistry between Plácido Domingo and Waltraud Meier? I wouldn´t have thought so, but apparently it is.

Plácido Domingo has chosen to sing this role again in public. And hats off to him for not cancelling the performance in front of a sold-out house. But he should have been better prepared as this was far below his own standards.

Waltraud Meier was simply stunning as Kundry. Her magnetic stage presence and dramatic projections make me hope she can continue at least 1o years more with this part. That she may have choked on a couple of high notes I find entirely unimportant in the bigger picture, and furthermore the entire middle-lower register, occupying the majority of the part was as beautiful as ever.

The major draw-back to this evening, of course was René Pape´s cancellation and in my book I suspect these performances will go down as "the Berlin Parsifals René Pape didn´t sing". I would be lying if I said he wasn´t heavily missed.

That said, Matti Salminen was a rather smashing substitute. Salminen´s voice ages well and remains firm, entirely avoiding the vibrato marring the singing of colleagues such as John Tomlinson, Kurt Rydl and Samuel Ramey. Furthermore, he was in fine vocal shape and he is an intellingent singer, fully knowing that extended legato-lines and ringing top-notes (René Pape´s major strong points) are not his aces, converting some of these to sprech-gesang or cunning pianissimi letting Barenboim´s orchestra overshadow him (best example in the Gesegnet sei section, at which point I suspect he was down-right exhausted as well). Not unimportantly, Matti Salminen has the required stage authority and apart from he-who-was-not-here I don´t think a better Gurnemanz is around.

Hanno Müller-Brachmann is an Amfortas way above average with a warm, rounded, slightly lyrical approach. Also quite superb Christof Fischesser as Klingsor, though he was occasionally thrown off guard by Barenboim´s rugged tempi. Both on the highest international level.

Daniel Barenboim doesn´t really make things easy either. The orchestra hasn´t played Parsifal in two years and I strongly suspect he didn´t waste too much time rehearsing it either. On top, he applied some peculiar accentuations and rather rugged shift of tempi, not fully incorporated within all sections of the orchestra and which threw the singers off guard, contributing to the sense of unease prevailing in this performance. But he does get beneath the glittering beauty of a Thielemann Parsifal to the closest I can imagine to the core of the work.

However, the evening as a whole didn´t really take off. Still, a Parsifal vastly superior to the one in Bayreuth, but inferior to previous performances of the same production at this house.

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 4=average):

Plácido Domingo: 3
Waltraud Meier: 5
Matti Salminen: 5
Hanno Müller-Brachmann: 5
Christof Fischesser: 5

Daniel Barenboim: 5

Overall impression: 4

damn, double damn

Worst possible (well almost) opera news of the week (the season??, the year??):
Matti Salminen replaces René Pape in the Barenboim-conducted Berlin Parsifal on Friday. Notwithstanding I am a big fan of Salminen, and Plácido Domingo and Waltraud Meier are both appearing as well, I must admit I shall probably have to sell my ticket. Which at least shouldn´t be a problem.

And, as of Wednesday, a look in the comments section will reveal that he will be replaced by Robert Holl Monday. And by Robert Holl also next Thursday with Gergive at the Barbican.

Well...opera is only entertainment after all. I suppose that is the rational way to go about this. But I would be lying to say this isn´t a major disappointment.

Barenboim: New Years Concert 2009 from Vienna

Daniel Barenboim conducts the Vienna Philharmonics in the traditional New Years concert 2009 to be released on CD (in 2 weeks), DVD and blueray (in 6 weeks) by Decca.
Live from the Vienna Musikverein on January 1st 2009,

An der schönen blauen Donau:

Radetzky March:

Haydn´s Farewell Symphony:

Daniel Barenboim: "May 2009 be a year of world peace and of human justice in the Middle East":

Posted by oly69 , naqada05 and brahms111

Daniel Barenboim

DANIEL BARENBOIM - CAREER

Daniel Barenboim, Israeli-Argentinian-(Palestinian) conductor and pianist. Born 1942 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This post will focus on Daniel Barenboim, the opera conductor.
General information including an extensive biography on may be seen on his website.

As a conductor, Daniel Barenboim is particularly reknowned for his interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner, a cornerstone in both his performance and recorded output.

Daniel Barenboim´s overall conducting debut was in 1967 with the Philharmonia Orchestra and his opera conducting debut took place in 1973 with Don Giovanni at the Edinburgh International Festival.
Daniel Barenboim´s major breakthrough as an opera conductor came in 1981 with his debut at the Bayreuth Festival conducting Tristan and Isolde. Until 2000 he appeared every year at the Bayreuth Festival, conducting Tristan und Isolde (twice on DVD), Nibelungen Ring (on DVD and CD), Parsifal (on CD) and Meistersinger (on DVD and CD).

Daniel Barenboim served as music director of the Orchestre de Paris 1975-89 and was appointed artistic director of the Paris Bastille Opera, scheduled to open in 1989, however he resigned/was dismissed amidst major controversy before the new opera house was even inaugurated. Immediately thereafter he was named Sir Georg Solti´s successor as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as post he held 1991-2006.In 1992, Barenboim became General music director of the Berlin State Opera, a post he still holds. In 1999, he narrowly lost the bid for chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonics to Sir Simon Rattle and he has subsequently intensified his efforts in developing the Berlin State Opera Orchestra (Staatskapelle Berlin) into a first-rate orchestra. Subsequently, in 2000, the Berlin State Opera Orchestra appointed him chief conductor for life.
In 2001, Daniel Barenboim created controversy by conducting Wagner (prelude to Tristan and Isolde) in Israel.
In 2006 he was named Principal Guest conductor (Maestro Scaligero) at La Scala, Milan, where he conducted Patrice Chéreau’s new production of Tristan und Isolde in December 2007 to glorious reviews. For the La Scala season opening in 2009 he conducted Carmen, in 2010 Walküre and in 2011 Don Giovanni.
Daniel Barenboim´s somewhat belated Metropolitan Opera debut took place in December 2008 with Tristan and Isolde.

Daniel Barenboim has appeared several times as an opera conductor at the Salzburg Festival, most notably with Don Giovanni (mid-90´s) and latest in 2007 with a highly praised production of Eugene Onegin, now released on DVD.

In 1999, Daniel Barenboim co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, with whom he has made several high-profile appearances, including a 2008 European concert tour of Walküre Act 1. In 2009, the orchestra will perform Fidelio in concert, both at the Proms and at the Salzburg Festival.
Daniel Barenboim:
I met Furtwängler when I was 11 years old. I did not have the courage and even less the understanding to talk to him about this issue. But I believe he never really identified himself with that horror. With Karajan, it was different. I summoned him and he told me: “I had artistic ambitions, I wanted to work in Germany, and for this I had to associate myself to the Nazi Party. That is what I did.
I have thought about this [Furtwängler conducting for Hitler througout the war] all my life. I don’t think Furtwängler was an active Nazi. But he belonged to a generation that still believed one could close one’s eyes to bad things and live through art. They viewed music as separate from life. Which also explains how Hitler was moved to tears by a performance of Lohengrin, and then that same evening was able to send thousands to the gas chambers.
I always wanted to conduct. I went to a class to study conducting for the first time when I was 11 years old.
The conductor decides on the orchestra, the times, the music etc. But when the orchestra plays and it is either unwilling or unable to play like the conductor wanted, he is totally powerless. And as powerlessness often does, it makes people think they are very powerful. And that's why conductors' egos are so famous.

DANIEL BARENBOIM- WAGNER OPERAS

Daniel Barenboim clearly states Wilhelm Furtwängler as his main model, particularly regarding conducting Wagner and several Furtwängler assets may be recognizable in Daniel Barenboim´s trademarks as a Wagner conductor, such as the relatively slow paced readings, relying extensively on rubato within a very dominant string section. Furthermore, conveying muscial structure is one of Daniel Barenboim´s main assets. Many see him as the foremost Wagnerian conductor alive today, conducting within the German tradition.

Daniel Barenboim is perhaps most revered for his interpretation of Tristan and Isolde, by his own admission his favourite opera, making his debut in Götz Friedrich´s staging at Deutsche Opera in 1978 and subsequently conducting staged performances in Bayreuth (twice), Berlin, Madrid, La Scala and the Metropolian Opera.

After he stopped performing at the Bayreuth Festival in 1999 after being a Festival cornerstone for almost 20 years, his Wagner performances are mainly concentrated at the Berlin State Opera.
During the 1990´s, Daniel Barenboim collaborated with director Harry Kupfer at the Berlin State Opera, where together they staged all of Richard Wagner´s 10 major operas, performed together at a Festival in Berlin 2001. In 2009 he conducted a new production of Lohengrin, directed by Stefan Herheim, in Berlin.
Barenboim´s belated debut at The Met took place in 2008 with Tristan and Isolde.

Daniel Barenboim began his third production of the Nibelungen Ring (after the two Kupfer productions in Bayreuth and Berlin), a coproduction between the Berlin State Opera and La Scala 2010-13 directed by Guy Cassiers.

Daniel Barenboim, Parsifal Act 3 "Mittag" - Harry Kupfer production from Berlin mid-90s:

DANIEL BARENBOIM - NON-WAGNER OPERAS

Other than Richard Wagner, Daniel Barenboim predominantly conducts the German classic operas, in particular those of Mozart, where he repeatedly returns to Don Giovanni in particular, as well as Beethoven´s Fidelio.
Verdi, he has only conducted sporadically, the Requiem apart, such as Otello in Berlin 2001 and Aida (2009) and Simone Boccanegra (2009-12) both in Berlin and at La Scala with Plácido Domingo in the title part.. 
In recent years Daniel Barenboim has furthermore conducted La Traviata, Carmen, Wozzeck, Boris Godunov, Doktor Faust, Manon and The Gambler at the Berlin State Opera. In addition to Berlin, he has conducted Eugen Onegin in Salzburg.
At La Scala he has asssumed a position of unofficial music director opening the 2009-10 season with Carmen as well as conducting Aida, The Gambler, Simone Boccanegra and Don Giovanni. 
Apart from a recording of Elektra, I am not aware of Barenboim conducting other of Strauss´operas or any of Puccini.

A new Nibelungen Ring is scheduled for 2010-13, a coproduction between La Scala and the Berlin State Opera as mentioned abov
Daniel Barenboim conducts the ouverture to the Magic Flute, 1997 on a Berlin State Opera tour to Japan:

DANIEL BARENBOIM COMPLETE OPERAS ON CD (COMPLETE LIST)

Wagner operas:
Parsifal (1991)
Tristan and Isolde (1993)
Lohengrin (1998)
Ring des Nibelungen (1994)
Meistersinger (2000)
Flying Dutchman (2002)
Tannhäuser (2002)

Non-Wagner operas:

Beatrice et Benedict
Don Giovanni (1973 - remastered)
Nozze di Figaro (1976 - remastered)
Samson et Dalila (1979)
Cosí fan tutte (1991)
Nozze di Figaro (1991)
Don Giovanni (1992)
Elektra (1996)
Wozzeck (1997)
Die Brautwahl (1999)
Fidelio (2000)

DANIEL BARENBOIM COMPLETE OPERAS ON DVD (COMPETE LIST)

Wagner operas:

Meistersinger - Bayreuth 1999, d: Wagner
Ring des Nibelungen - Bayreuth 1992, d: Kupfer
Tristan and Isolde - Bayreuth 1982, d: PonnelleTristan and Isolde - Bayreuth 1995, d: Müller
Tristan and Isolde - La Scala 2007, d: Chéreau


Non-Wagner operas:
Cosí Fan Tutte - Berlin State Opera 2002, d: Dörrie
Eugen Onegin - Salzburg Festival 2007, d: Breth
Manon - Berlin State Opera 2007, d: Paterson
Nozze di Figaro - Berlin State Opera 2000, d:Langhoff
Otello - Berlin State Opera 2001, d: Flimm
Simone Boccanegra - Scala 2010
Wozzeck - Berlin State Opera 1994, d: Chéreau

DANIEL BARENBOIM - LIVE OPERA PERFORMANCES REVIEWED BY MOSTLY OPERA

Boris Godunov - Berlin State Opera 2007
Doktor Faust - Berlin State Opera 2008Don Giovanni - Berlin State Opera 2007 (seen twice)
Eugen Onegin - Berlin State Opera 2008
The Gambler - Berlin State Opera 2008
Manon - Berlin State Opera 2007Meistersinger - Berlin State Opera 2008 (seen twice)
Parsifal - Berlin State Opera 2007 (twice) and Berlin State Opera 2009 (twice)
Tristan and Isolde - La Scala 2007, Berlin State Opera 2008
Lohengrin - Berlin State Opera 2009

Non-operatic performances:
Rolando Villazón Recital - Berlin State Opera 2008
Magdalena Kozena/Dorothea Röschmann Recital - Berlin State Opera 2008
Verdi Requiem - Berlin 2009

DANIEL BARENBOIM - LINKS

All posts on mostly opera related to Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim´s website
Wikipedia biography on Daniel Barenboim