Tristan and Isolde at the Vienna State Opera

Of course it doesn´t make sense to compare a Tristan performance at the MET with one at the Vienna State Opera. But it´s difficult not to make some sort of mental comparison when listening to broadcasts of two live Tristan performances from March 28th less than 12 hours apart.

What I thought of the MET performance, I wrote here.

Casting and schedule details of the Vienna State Opera Tristan performances here.

At the Vienna State Opera the main strength of the performance was the absolutely glorious orchestra with conductor Leif Segerstam. He applies that exact sense of drama to the opera, which I feel Levine falls short of. If I had known he would show such mastery with this score, I would probably have attended one of the performances...

The cast in brief: Evelyn Herlitzius was a fine Isolde (once you ignore her sometimes excessive upper level register vibrato and fluttering), completely without the nasal sound that Deborah Voigt exhibits. John Treleaven´s Tristan will never be a favorite of mine, but he kept up the intensity until the end in an honorable performance and seemed in good voice. Stephen Milling was a superb, sonorous King Marke and Boaz Daniel and Janina Baechle fine as Kurwenal and Brangäne.

I´d appreciate comments from anyone present at any of the performances in Vienna.

Ljuba Welitsch: The definitive Salome

I must admit, that after hearing Ljuba Welitsch as Salome, I hardly listen to anyone else: She has everything, this role requires: A piercingly clear tone with an almost indecent quality as well as an inherent sense of drama. The intensity of her singing is unbelievable.

Ljuba Welitsch (biography here) was born in 1913 and apart from Salome she is best known for her portraits of Donna Anna (also recorded for Furtwängler in Salzburg) and Tosca.

But Salome was her major role, making her debut with it at the Metropolitan Opera in 1949 in a performance now considered legendary and resulting in front-page coverage in the New York Times and a reputation as the worlds leading Salome, which is almost undiminished today. She also sang the role with Richard Strauss himself on the podium for his 80th birthday.

She is, by most, considered the ultimate Salome. The YouTube clip (audio only) of her performing the Salome Final Scene clearly shows why (click here).

For a full recording I highly recommend her 1949 Metropolitan recording conducted by Fritz Reiner, as opposed to the 1951 recording, where signs of vocal decline are already apparent.

Unfortunately her vocal prime was very short, ending before she was 40 years old and by the mid-50´s she started a secondary career in acting. But in her prime, she was glorious indeed.

Parsifal on DVD: Lehnhoff´s end-game in a post-atomic wasteland

Parsifal. Baden-Baden 2004. Production: Lehnhoff. Cast: Waltraud Meier (Kundry), Christopher Ventris (Parsifal), Matti Salminen (Gurnemanz), Tom Fox (Klingsor), Thomas Hampson (Amfortas). Conductor: Kent Nagano. Further information here.

Recorded live at the Baden-Baden Festival House in August 2004, this Nikolaus Lehnhoff production has also been seen at the English National Opera, Liceu Barcelona, San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera, Chicago.

Director Nikolaus Lehnhoff, a former assistant to Wieland Wagner, presents a both fascinating and original interpretation of Parsifal: We are in a post-apocalyptic world. Living within bare concrete walls, pierced at one point by a meteorite, the "Knights of the Holy Grail" symbolizes a closed (religious?) community - originally perhaps intending to do good, but now rotten to the core. They do not venture into the sun outside, where creatures like Kundry (a feathered bird) and Parsifal (sun-burned in ragged clothes) come from. In fact, the outside sun here serves as symbol of the Holy Grail.

Personally, I imagine these Grail Knights to represent a closed community surviving in a post-atomic wasteland, where venturing outside equals dangerous exposure to the sun due to the diminished size of the ozone layer. In this context, it makes sense that the shell-clad Titurel (old enough to have been outside) appears from beneath the ground to implore the small community of survivors to reveal the Sun. Many interpretations are possible, I suppose.
Where exactly Klingsor fits into this picture, I am not sure: He appears within the bone structure of a human pelvis, indicating a metaphysical as opposed to real presence. Subsequently the Kundry-bird gradually sheds a giant shell to seduce Parsifal, who in the end has a real fight with Klingsor involving a real wooden spear. In Act 3 we are back in the concrete wasteland, the Grail Knight Community is dying from within, the members wearing white and grey bandages. After curing Amfortas in the end, Parsifal chooses to leave this sickening community (by a railroad appearing on stage) led by Kundry and followed by some of the knights, while the remainder of Knights gather around Gurnemanz, the apparent new leader.

Nikolaus Lehnhoff writes in the program notes: "After the mass destruction the last survivors, and thus the last humans, slowly begin to communicate across the ruins. Just like Parsifal and Kundry, they try to find, feel and share love and compassion once again".

A very strong cast was assembled for these performances: Waltraud Meier remains an astonishing Kundry, having brought this role to an entirely new level during the last 25 years as documented on several CD- and DVD-recordings. Matti Salminen is a commanding presence as well as vocally secure as Gurnemanz. Christopher Ventris, a both physically and vocally convincing Parsifal, is matched by Tom Fox´ fine Klingsor. Thomas Hampson may seem a bit underpowered as Amfortas, who is portrayed as weaker than often seen, but at repeated viewings, his portrait has grown on me and I find it quite fitting to portrait a leader of a sickening cult.

Kent Nagano draws a fine and lucid performance from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, which also continue to gain weight after repeated listening.

A relatively tedious 30 minute documentary accompanies the DVD explaining the storyline with clips from the production. For those unfamiliar with the opera, it may be worthwhile, though.

In summary, an innovative Parsifal staging of high musical quality. For the moment, probably my favourite choice among commercially available Parsifal recordings on DVD, although those inclined towards more traditional stagings may opt for the 1982 Wolfgang Wagner Bayreuth production or the Levine-conducted, though dusty Metropolitan production (also with Waltraud Meier), both of fine musical quality.

But the search for the optimal Parsifal DVD is still not over. I continue to hope for a Barenboim release.

Waltraud Meier and Christopher Ventris in Act II:

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

Waltraud Meier: 5
Christopher Ventris: 4
Matti Salminen: 4-5
Tom Fox: 4
Thomas Hampson: 3

Lehnhoff´s staging: 4

Kent Nagano: 4

Overall impression: 4

Tristan on DVD: Py´s teenage suicide vision from Geneva

Tristan and Isolde. Geneva Opera 2005. Production: Olivier Py. Cast: Jean-Michelle Charbonnet (Isolde), Clifton Forbis (Tristan), Mihoko Fujimura (Brangäne), Albert Döhmen (Kurwenal), Alfred Reiter (King Marke). Conductor: Armin Jordan. Further information here.

Young French director Olivier Py has a surprisingly original take on Tristan and Isolde: In the bonus documentary we learn that the opera is about death, more precisely ”two teenagers committing suicide”, a concept clearly transformed to both sets and stage direction.

Everything in this production simply oozes of death. It is black and austere. In Act 1 we are on a sort of black bridge/terrace. In the particularly well-thought out Act 2, Tristan and Isolde pass through several rooms, reflecting on their state of mind, until they try to commit suicide together by (once again) drinking together, however they are caught in the act by King Marke. In the third act we see how people from Tristan´s previous life (his mother) and even himself as a boy passes before him.

Unfortunately, due to the exceptionally bad videography (shaky camera, odd close-up angles) viewers get no impression of what the staging was like for those in the auditorium. From the documentary we learn that a ship slowly traverses the backgound of the stage for the duration of Act 1 – something DVD-viewers got no impression of at all.

Musically the performance was lead by veteran-Wagnerian Armin Jordan (conducting the soundtrack to Syberberg´s Parsifal film in the early 80´s), who clearly has good understanding of the structure of the piece, but with a somewhat passive approach.

Fine performances from Jeanne-Michelle Charbonnet (Isolde) and especially Clifton Forbis (Tristan), who also managed to look the part. Also good performances from Mihoko Fujimura´s beautiful, but small-voiced Brangäne, Albert Döhmen´s Kurwenal and Alfred Reiters lanky and lethargic King Marke.

The main downside to this DVD is clearly the substandard videography. Unacceptably bad for a professional release. If you only plan on owning one (or two) Tristans, this one may not be among them, but it makes for interesting watching, not least due to the original and well-thought out staging.

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

Jean-Michelle Charbonnet: 4
Clifton Forbis: 4
Mihoko Fujimura: 4-5
Alfred Reiter: 3-4
Albert Döhmen: 4

Py´s staging: 4

Armin Jordan: 4

Overall impression: 4

DVD: Chereau/Boulez with the definitive From The House of The Dead

From the house of the dead. Aix-en-Provence 2007. Production: Patrice Chéreau. Cast includes John Mark Ainsley, Gerd Grochowski and Olaf Bär. Conductor: Pierre Boulez with the Mahler Chamber orchestra. Further information here.

This DVD release of Patrice Chéreau´s superb staging of Janacek´s opera From The House of The Dead, conducted by Pierre Boulez, is one of the very few examples of an opera performance, which I simply cannot imagine being bettered in any way.

This is Janacek´s last opera, premiered in 1930, two years after the composers death. It is based on Russian author Dostojevski´s autobiographical novel of four years spent in a Siberian prison for illegal political activities in the mid-19th century. Janacek almost exclusively used Dostojevski´s test as libretto with the addition of a maximum of 10 paragraphs of his own.

The opera, in short, is about the conditions in the prison, and as such may be viewed as an ensemble piece for male voices. There is no protagonist, and no conventional plot, but we follow the lives of a handful of prisoners, who one at a time tells their life story. The starting point of the opera is the arrival of an aristocratic prisoner (sung by Olaf Bär), who in the end is released, while life for the other prisoners goes on as usual.

Patrice Chéreau and Pierre Boulez received ravishing reviews for this production, including several "opera performance of the year" awards when it opened at the Wiener Festwochen 2007 and it is a co-production with venues such as Wiener Festwochen, Aix-en-Provence and Metropolitan Opera, where it will appear in future seasons.

Patrice Chéreau succeeds in penetrating the layers of this story, showing the multi-faceted aspects of prison life while staying close to the text: The sets are by his usual set designer Richard Peduzzi, creating a gloomy concrete environment alluding any prison anywhere. We see the hierarchy of prisoners, the loneliness and desperation of the individual characters but also the strong sense of brotherhood and unity. Touching, depressing, but also in a weird sense, uplifting.
As usual Chéreau´s trademark is the detailed instruction of the singers, who simply displays superb and moving acting of a quality rarely seen in opera. All were good, but especially John Mark Ainsley and Gerd Grochowski stood out by their convincing portrayal of two of the prisoners. Chéreau has indeed succeeded in bringing this work to another level.

No less impressive is Pierre Boulez bringing out myriads of facets of Janacek´s score with the transparent sense of detail he is so famous for: Never sentimental or sloppy and never less than accurate. He stated that this was the last opera he would conduct, choosing to concentrate on composing in the future. I sincerely hope he changes his mind, as he has done before..

In addition this DVD contains 45 minutes of rehearsal footage and insightful interviews with Chéreau and Boulez.

I cannot imagine any better production of this opera and this DVD is a must for those interested in operatic theater.

Act 1 - Petrovich arrives:

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

Everyone including general impression: 5

DVD: Enjoyable L´Elisir d´Amore with Netrebko/Villazon from Vienna

L´Elisir d´Amore. Vienna State Opera 2005. Production: Otto Schenk. Cast: Rolando Villazón (Nemorino), Anna Netrebko (Adina), Ildebrando d´Arcangelo (Dulcamara), Leo Nucci (Belcore). Conductor: Alfred Eschwé. Further information here.

Whether one is a particular admirer of the Netrebko/Villazón couple or not, this is a most enjoyable performance of L´Elisir d´Amore. Though, Otto Schenk´s production dated 1980 is realistic, basically depicting a courtyard in Southern Europe, it isn´t too dusty, and provides an acceptable background for the plot.

And the story of how a shy country boy (Villazón) gains the necessary confidence to win his beloved (Netrebko) after having purchased a (fake, obviously) love potion from a con-man (d´Arcangelo) is actually quite well-suited to be put on stage, even today - funny and touching, but avoiding the ridiculous.

The main selling point of this DVD obviously is Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. And, though nobody may live up to the hype surrounding these two, they show in this DVD that all this hype indeed does not come out of nothing, both convincing with a high-quality performances vocally as well as dramatically.

First, Nemorino is an ideal role for Rolando Villazón in every way. He simply is that clumsy, shy and naive village boy, believing that a fake love potion will get him his Adina. 5 minutes applause after his big aria Nella Furtiva Lacrima even resulted in an encore. And justly so, the lyrical part bringing out maximal expressivity in his voice, without pushing it to the limit. Though his acting does in some ways remind of Mr. Bean, he genuinely seems to be in his right element here. So does Anna Netrebko with her lofty, though warm Adina.

Also Ildebrando d´Arcangelo (as the potion-seller Dulcamara) and Leo Nucci (as Nemorino´s rival Belcore) are very convincing, although they probably would have been even more convincing had they switched roles, leaving the younger, and quite handsome d´Arcangelo to play Villazon´s rival.

Do not expect this DVD to profoundly change your life or to provide new insights into the remotest corners of the human mind. But do expect to be splendidly entertained for two hours.

Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón:

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

Anna Netrebko: 5
Rolando Villazón: 5
Ildebrando d´Arcangelo: 5
Leo Nucci: 4-5

Schenks staging: 4

Eschwé: 4-5

Overall impression: 5

The Barenboim/Kupfer Meistersinger revival - again...

Meistersinger, Berlin State Opera, March 24th 2008. Kupfer (d), Barenboim (c).

With: James Morris, René Pape, Dorothea Röschmann, Roman Trekel, Burkhard Fritz.

This is almost a replica of the Meistersinger performance I saw last week (same production, same conductor, same cast), so no reason to repeat my write-up from last week (see here).

The major difference from last week was the audience reaction: That James Morris was not booed this time, but instead received a deservedly warm applause. On the contrary one (only one) very loud person booed Dorothea Röschmann - really, what kind of person decides to stand up alone in a theater and just yell? It is completely beyond me.

René Pape was quite demonic as Pogner, the glances he shot at Beckmesser resulted in most of the audience fearing for their lives. Over-all Kupfer´s individual characterization of the Meistersinger´s is far more detailed than the group portrayal often seen, here with Sachs and Pogner firmly together and Kothner clearly following them, although he does not understand what is going on.

Nothing to say of Daniel Barenboim´s excellent conducting, that I haven´t said numerous times before, including at last weeks performance.

It was also interesting to note how much better the acoustics are when you are seated at the 2nd level of the theater, as opposed to the floor section. Especially since the tickets up there comes at a fraction of the floor ticket prize.

James Morris, René Pape and Roman Trekel (center from right):

Excellent new production of The Gambler at the Berlin State Opera

The Gambler - main set- photographed 15 minutes before the performance started

The Gambler, Berlin State Opera, March 23th. Tcherniakov (d), Barenboim (c).
Cast: Opolais (Polina), Didyk (Alexej), Ognovenko (General), Toczyska (Babulen´ka). Detailed cast and information here. Co-production with La Scala opera house.

In short, this was an excellent performance of Prokofiev´s opera The Gambler. Interesting sets, very interesting stage direction, a fabulously well-playing orchestra, good singer-actors. What more can you possibly want from an opera? And besides, this had attracted a significantly younger audience, than usually seen at the opera - most of whom (at least the ones we talked to and over-heard talking) seemed to share my opinion of the performance.

Dmitri Tcherniakov is a very interesting stage director, also responsible for the excellent Boris Godunov at the Berlin State Opera (more here) and Khovantschina (more here) in Munich last year. He also designs the sets himself, which this evening, consisted of a hotel lobby, which transformed into a gambling room in the last act.
But first of all, he is eminent in his detailed direction of the singers - the interactions between them become clear and interesting - as well as funny. Plus, he has an affinity for creating several rooms on stage, in which you see the parallel actions of characters, not currently singing, which greatly contributes to the understanding of the underlying motives of the characters. Tcherniakov seemd to follow the libretto quite closely, though placing the action close to the present day. An atmosphere of nouveau riche Russian lives were tangible.

You have to admire Daniel Barenboim for his versatility and constantly taking up new repertoire, where he could easily play it safe and stick with Wagner. This Prokofiev was simply grand - I have rarely heard this orchestra play any better (or louder, for that sake).
And with excellent soloist, especially Misja Didyk (Alexej) and Kristine Opolais (Polina), but also Stefania Toscyzka (Babulen´ka) was very convincing.

Again, my only complaint this performance relates to the outrageously high Festival ticket prizes..But rumours has it there will be a run of performances at ordinary (which are very reasonable) ticket prices this autumn. Not to miss, if anywhere near Berlin. Or La Scala, for that matter, where it will be shown later this season.

Curtain call photos:

Wonderful Rolando Villazon recital at the Berlin State Opera

All photos from Berlin State Opera, March 22th 2008.

Rolando Villazón (tenor), Daniel Barenboim (piano),
Berlin State Opera, March 22th 2008.

Recital program:

Schumann: Dichterliebe

Duparc: Chanson triste /Lamento/Le manoir de Rosamonde / La vie anterieure

Liszt: Tre Sonetti di Petrarca -1. Pace non trovo 2. Benedetto sia ‘l giorno 3. I vidi in terra angelici costumi

It was obvious to everyone present at Rolando Villazón´s wonderful recital Saturday at the Berlin State Opera, that heis an artist who gives everything to his audience. He literally poured his heart out in this recital programme with songs by Schumann, Duparc and Liszt. There is just such a sympathetic aura around him that you really want him to do well. And on top, Villazon seemed unusually relaxed and calm on stage, as opposed to the hypomaniac presence I´ve seen him exhibit quite a few times in the past. Which was not at least due to the presence of Daniel Barenboim, who was a wonderful accompanist, precise and expressive, but never pushing himself forward. Villazon quite visibly leaned on his solid support the entire evening. Needless to say, the Berlin State Opera was packed, and extra seats had been placed on the podium.

Rolando Villazón is such a sympathetic artist that I genuinely wish I could report that he delivered a perfect recital in every sense and was back with full vocal power. Which, however, wouldn´t be a quite honest note of my impression.

First of all, Villazón was wonderfully expressive throughout the programme, creating infinite colours with the voice alone and with a minimum movement on stage. Regarding expressivity and insightfullness he definitely has never been better.
Vocally, however, there was a thin veil over most of his middle and in particular the high register, where he had trouble with the high pianissimos. He started out carefully with the Dichterliebe and placed more and more weight behind his voice as the evening progressed, but he never quite accomplished an unstrained sound in the top. In particular in the Liszt songs, requiring force in the top register, he didn´t quite have the necessary power.

Does this detract from the enjoyment of this recital? In my opinion, not really. However, I found myself worrying about his upcoming Don Carlos at the Royal Opera more than a few times. He has already cancelled his Cavaradossi in Berlin next season in favour of a Lenski, which seems to be a step in the right direction. It would be a genuine loss to loose an artist of his caliber.

Good Friday Parsifal in Dresden: A long night indeed...

Photo taken during the final applause

Parsifal, Dresden Semperoper, Good Friday, March 21th 2008.
Theo Adam (d), Peter Schneider (c). Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Parsifal), Kurt Rydl (Gurnemanz), Katarina Dalayman (Kundry), Franz Grundheber (Amfortas), Eglis Silins (Klingsor)

It is Good Friday, the day where you would expect most Parsifal performances to be concentrated. In fact, very few houses run Parsifal performances on this exact day, concentrating performances on the day before and on Easter Sunday.

The Dresden Parsifal (more info here) in short: This is not a Parsifal production worthy of the Dresden Semperoper. And I am referring mainly to the staging of Theo Adam dated 1988: With a few exceptions it genuinely looks like something from Wagner´s own productions in Bayreuth: Dull and gloomy with the singers basically standing passive on stage and singing to the audience with no interaction apart from the demonic energy Kurt Rydl infused into the scenes with Gurnemanz. No traces of personenregie here.

It seem like this production adheres to most of Wagners stage directions (except that Amfortas in stead of Kundry dies in the end) and thus should be ideal for those adverse to the new tendencies of Regietheater. But I suspect, based on the unenthusiastic applause and sporadic boos, that even more traditionally inclined operagoers were not impressed by this staging, despite the realistic representation of the various symbols such as the Spear and Grail and placing Klingsor on top of a castle build on skulls, shaking in its foundation (not intended) whenever he moved.

In short: It was a long night. As I am opposed to booing, the only thing left was to have some drinks (several needed) during the intermissions. It was still a long night.

On the positive side, Klaus Florian Vogt is fabulously secure and with a beautifully clear voice as Parsifal. I cannot remember the last time I´ve heard this part sung with so much ease. He did not seem strained at any point at all. And, not unimportantly, he is definitely no wimp to look at. There is, however, a certain eeriness to his appearance, which I´ve also noted in other productions, making him dramatically completely unconvincing as an innocent boy. However, the same eeriness suited him quite well as Walther in Bayreuth last year and as Andrei Khovansky (who is in fact a maniacal killer) in Khovanschina last year in Munich. As well as in the Lohengrin production from Baden-Baden (also on DVD). If I met this guy with (or without as a matter of fact) a bow in his hand, I would most likely fear for my life.

However, Kurt Rydl may not have had such concerns since he is probably the most demonic Gurnemanz I´ve yet to see. If I was Parsifal, I would genuinely fear for my life with this guy. Although not quite at ease with the top notes, he was the only of the main characters successfully infusing some life into this production. Whatever you may think of his vocal abilities, he is definitely not boring. Which also goes for Franz Grundheber´s Amfortas – convincingly acted but vocally he was clearly under pressure.

Most dismaying, Katarina Dalayman is just not a good Kundry – she has the kind of regal quality to her singing which may make her a fine Brünnhilde and Isolde – but Kundry is no disengaged Queen: Dalayman does have the top notes, but she is no compelling presence on stage, to put it mildly. The second act scene between her and Parsifal was completely disengaging – both standing on each side of the stage delivering their monologues.

And what happened with the orchestra? I know Peter Schneider as a more than competent conductor in this repertoire, but this was just not good. There was no flow, the music sounded fragmented, it didn´t keep together at all.

Curiously, I had expected this to be a house in which there was no applause after the 1st act (like in Munich) or at least an attempt not to applaud after the 1st act (like Vienna and Bayreuth): But no. There was applause as well as curtain calls after the first act (like Berlin State Opera).

Now, this production is 19 years old and is almost revived every year, Semperoper being one of the oldest and most esteemed Wagner houses in the world. It would do the house (and the unsuspecting public) good to have a new Parsifal production. As soon as possible.

Curtain-call photo from left: Kurt Rydl, Franz Grundheber, Katarina Dalayman, Klaus Florian Vogt