Royal Danish Opera

Peter Konwitschny´s Elektra at the Royal Danish Opera

The Royal Danish Opera is located in Copenhagen. The main venue is The Copenhagen Opera House, inaugurated in 2005 and located on the Copenhagen waterfront. Baroque and chamber opera incl. Mozart are performed at The Old Stage.

Kasper Bech Holten and Michael Schønwandt were artistic and musical director, until 2011. Keith Warner was artistic director 2011-Jan 2012, where he quit allegedly due to recent budget cuts. The contracted music director Jakob Hrusa similarly chose not to come to Copenhagen. As of February 2012 the two positions are vacant.

THE PRODUCTIONS

Productions are usually updated and inventive. Major successes of past seasons include Peter Konwitschny´s Elektra (the best production I have ever seen at the Royal Danish Opera) and Kasper Bech Holten´s Maskarade and Nibelungen Ring (both released on DVD), all conducted by Michael Schønwandt. But also the baroque operas Giulio Cesare and Partenope were among the major successes of the past decade.

Also David McVicar´s staging of L´Incoronazione di Poppea and Francisco Negrin´s Giulio Cesare (released on DVD) were major successes with audiences and critics alike.

THE ORCHESTRA

The Royal Danish Orchestra is a first-rate opera orchestra, particularly in the German repertoire, most of all it is an outstanding Richard Strauss orchestra.

THE SINGERS
Notable members of the ensemble include sopranos Iréne Théorin, Tina Kiberg, Ylva Kihlberg, mezzosopranos Susanne Resmark, Tuva Semmingsen, Randi Stene, tenors Stig Fogh Andersen, Johnny van Hal barytones Johan Reuter, Audun Iversen and bass Stephen Milling.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The Royal Danish Opera schedule of the day is listed on two electronic blackboards on each side of the entrance to The Old Stage.

Further information and photographs on the Copenhagen Opera House here.
Further information and photographs on The Old Stage here.

Websiste of the Royal Danish Opera here.

Tickets:

The main box office is located next to The Old Stage. Another box office is located at the Copenhagen Opera House. A certain number of seats and standing room spaces are only available for purchase on the day of performance. Standing room stapce only available at the Copenhagen Opera House.

Tickets may be bought from the website and printed out at home.

The Copenhagen Opera House:

The Old Stage:

Dresden Semperoper

The Dresden Semperoper is located in the middle of Dresden city center.
First build in 1841 by the architect Gottfried Semper, the Semperoper was destroyed and rebuilt twice: After the 1869 fire and again after the 1945 Allied bombing of Dresden.
The rebuild Semperoper opened in 1985 (for detailed history of the house click here). The building suffered severe damage by the flooding of the Elbe in 2002, but reopened December 2002.

The Semperoper is one of the historically most important opera houses having seen the world premiere of several of Richard Strauss´most important works (ie. Rosenkavalier, Salome, Elektra) as well Richard Wagner´s Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser.
The orchestra is the first-rate +400 year old Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (founded 1548), 2007-10 with Fabio Luisi as music director followed by Christian Thielemann from 2012, succeeding Bernard Haitink and Guiseppe Sinopoli .

Practical information:

Tickets are reasonably priced, relatively easy to come by and may be ordered via the Semperoper website.

Outline of the auditorium, with seat categories displayed here.

Ticket prices listed here. Tickets bought at the evening box office are ~10 % discounted.

Newer productions are generally modern and inventive, but some very old-fashioned productions of core repertoire (such as Parsifal) is still on the repertoire.

The Semperoper is located in the middle of the historical center of Dresden, approximately 15 minutes walk from Dresden Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), a bit further from the other main station (Dresden-Neustadt).

Dresden is ~2 hours by train from both Berlin and Prague.

The Zwinger gallery is located next to the opera house:

Copenhagen: Andreas Scholl, Tuva Semmingsen and Concerto Copenhagen in superb Partenope

Partenope. Royal Danish Opera, Old Stage. Premiere, October 4th 2008. Production: Francisco Negrin. Cast: Inger Dam-Jensen (Partenope), Andreas Scholl (Arsace), Tuva Semmingsen (Rosmira), Christophe Dumaux (Armindo), Palle Knudsen (Ormonte), Bo Kristian Jensen (Emilio). Lars Ulrik Mortensen conducts the Concerto Copenhagen. Further information here.

The poor stage manager was truly overworked at the premiere of Francisco Negrin´s new Partenope production for the Royal Danish Opera. First she had to announce the partial indisposition of German counter-tenor Andreas Scholl, singing with a cold. Half an hour later, the red curtain was lowered mid-performance due to technical problems as Partenope and Armindo were on the verge of being crushed by some incontrollable stage walls...However after about 5 minutes, the problems seemed solved and the performance continued.

Händel´s 1730 opera Partenope (synopsis here), his first comic opera, was given a near-ideal performance in Francisco Negrin´s new staging starring German counter-tenor Andreas Scholl and luckily taped for DVD-release.

Francisco Negrin´s staging is minimalistic, with brownish stone-mosaics providing a continuous backdrop to the modern-clad characters. It is a comic opera, but Negrin never resorts to crude humour or slapstick comedy. Rather it is underplayed and sweet as well as funny, entertaining and moving. Negrin´s major strenght is the individual direction of the singers, as soloists or ensembles: It is quite simply very, very good. Time flies with this Partenope.
On top, Negrin communicates his ideas so clearly that no previous familiarity with the work is needed to follow the story-line. He doesn´t seem to have any external "concept" - the story, surprisingly "modern" is told straightforward, exploring the emotions and interactions of the characters. Obviously Negrin is helped by a libretto with almost Shakespearean qualities. It is outrageously entertaining. But also immensely insightful.

Tuva Semmingsen´s Rosmira was simply wonderful - she has the exact mezzo-coloratura and superb acting skills to pull this off at the highest international level. Inger Dam-Jensen delivers a very nuanced portrait of Partenope and looks smashing as the femme fatale - no wonder all the male characters fall for her. Vocally she is rather overchallenged, and perhaps this part simply needs a more dramatic voice (she is a lyric coloratura).

Andreas Scholl looks absolutely dashing as well as sweet. Audibly indisposed, singing at mezza-voce throughout (oddly fitting for Arsace, a wimp), but a great comedian and presence on stage. Furthermore, had he cancelled, I doubt the premiere would have taken place.
Christoph Dumaux had a somewhat deeper countertenor with plenty of ring to it, in another top-performance. Also great performances from Palle Knudsen and Bo Kristian Jensen, the fist appearing twice on the first balcony, firing himself down on stage with a rope.

The real star of the evening however, was the incomparable period-specialist Lars Ulrik Mortensen with an outstanding performance from the period ensemble Concerto Copenhagen. This music simply cannot be performed better than with the Mephistophelean-looking Lars Ulrik Mortensen and his band. Exctiting recitatives, razor-sharp precision and impeccable coordination. But most of all, lively and energetic.
I just read that the ensemble is currently experiencing economic difficulties. Hopefully temporary. The ensemble is absolutely indispensable on the Danish as well as on the international early music scene.

Photo gallery and video clips here.

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

Tuva Semmingsen: 5
Christoph Dumaux: 5
Inger Dam-Jensen: 4
Andreas Scholl: ?

Francisco Negrin´s staging: 5

Lars Ulrik Mortensen: 5

Overall impression: 5

Copenhagen: Andreas Scholl with Partenope rehearsal footage

Händel´s Partenope in Francisco Negrin´s staging with Andreas Scholl, Tuva Semmingsen and Lars Ulrik Mortensen conducting the Concerto Copenhagen opened yesterday at the Royal Danish Opera.

The performances are taped for DVD release.

Below rehearsal footage with Andreas Scholl interviewing both conductor and director:

DVD: Nadja Michael´s Salome (and David McVicar´s)

Salome. Royal Opera, London 2008. Production: David McVicar. Cast: Nadja Michael (Salome), Michael Volle (Jochanaan), Michaela Schuster (Herodias), Thomas Moser (Herodes). Conductor: Philippe Jordan. Further information here.

David McVicar´s Salome production for the Royal Opera Covent Garden was inspired by the 1975 Pasolini movie "Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom" (based on the Marquis de Sade novel), and is an eerie mix of external political contexts and internal sexual perversities, including child abuse.

We are presented with a sort of upstairs-downstairs setting of a European wealthy palace of approximately 1938, the stage horizontally split in two. The party initially taking place “upstairs” with the rich and their guests, while Jochanaan is imprisoned in a cellar below the “downstairs” bathroom/basement level of the servants. A decadent society on the verge of a break-down.

The entire atmosphere of the staging is eerie and David McVicar succeeds in creating an atmosphere of looming premonition, so essential for a successful Salome. His use of symbolism is visible but not obtrusive - an example: Herod killed Salome´s father, who was imprisoned in the same cistern as Jochanaan, which initially spurs Salome´s curiousity (as opposed to sexual attraction) towards Jochanaan.

In the very well-executed dance of the seven veils, we are led into seven consecutive rooms (of Salome´s mind) in a series of strong images evoking Salome´s prior sexual abuse by Herodes. Nudity is represented by the naked executioner, sprayed with blood (in real-life this man works just outside as a "living statue" at the Covent Garden market). The final scene is played out conventionally, between Salome and Jochanaan´s head, but nevertheless leaves a strong impression.

There may never have been a better-looking Salome on stage than Nadja Michael. Her past as an East-German swimmer does pay off, and apart from looking absolutely stunning she moves superbly on stage and has great dramatic expression.
Unfortunately, Nadja Michael is vocally severely overchallenged. Her high notes often comes out as shrieks and she is almost half a note flat on several key points. While she does manage to hit quite a few of the high notes cleanly, she pays the price with an obtrusive vibrato on the floating notes just below the top (and there are a lot of those floating notes). As a vocal performance I find it very difficult to listen to.
However, it is not as if there are a lot of vastly superior Salome´s to chose from, Karita Mattila apart. With Nadja Michael´s physical advantages it is an obvious part for her to take on, but her voice still seems more like the pushed-up mezzo (that she was) than the dramatic soprano, she seems intent on becoming. Obviously, her voice may project better in the house and indeed she is judged an A-rate Salome with performances both at La Scala (to be released on DVD as well), Covent Garden and San Francisco opera these seasons.

Michael Volle is both physically and vocally a close-to-ideal Jochanaan, perhaps the finest overall performance. Though Thomas Moser is extremely well suited to play this extraordinarily despicable Herodes - you believe this man to be everything David McVicar insinuates he is. Michaela Schuster is, for once, a Herodias in her vocal prime, however she didn´t seem at ease with the part.

Imaginative reading from Phillippe Jordan in the pit, though ideally I´d like a bit more punch to it.

This DVD consist of two discs, Salome on the first and a fascinating documentary on the creation of Salome on the second.

David McVicar´s Salome - various clips from the production:

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

Nadja Michael: 3-4
Michael Volle: 4
Michaela Schuster: 3
Thomas Moser: 4

David McVicar´s production: 5

Philippe Jordan: 4

Overall impression: 4

DVD: Tannhäuser in Zurich - a nightmare

Tannhäuser. Zurich Opera House 2003. Director: Jens-Daniel Herzog. Cast: Peter Seiffert (Tannhäuser), Roman Trekel (Wolfram), Solveig Kringelborn (Elisabeth), Isabelle Kabatu (Venus), Walther (Jonas Kaufmann), Alfred Muff (Hermann). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further information here.

In brief, I find this production virtually unbearable to watch, reflected in the extraordinarily low overall rating below.

First of all, the camera work is quite easily the worst I have yet encountered in opera, jumping back- and forwards between backstage shots of the characters in their dressing rooms (even in the middle of the opera), overhead shots of the pit, close-ups of the sweating Peter Seiffert (whom we also see putting on his final costume during the ouverture before he heads downstairs) and Franz Welser-Mösts wedding ring, shots from the stage aiming at performers waiting backstage etc etc. Furthermore, fans of Jonas Kaufmann, beware: During his only aria we do not see him at all, as the camera only focuses on the faces of Tannhäuser and Elisabeth. Extremely annoying..

This moving back and forth between pre-production and performance shots, takes away a significant part of the potential pleasure of the staging, which I cannot even describe properly due to the odd camera angles. The sets are simple, the stage is bare, but aesthetic it is not. I simply cannot imagine that, visually, this DVD will appeal to anyone.

Musically things are rather better, though not exceptional. Solveig Kringelborn does make a rather fine Elisabeth (though I personally find her irritating), not entirely matched by Isabelle Kabatu as Venus. Fine performance from Roman Trekel (slightly neurotic) and Peter Seiffert (equally boring). Franz Welser-Möst is more than competent though not overly imaginative.

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

Peter Seiffert: 3
Solveig Kringelborn: 3
Roman Trekel: 3
Isabelle Kabatu: 2

Franz Welser-Möst: 4

Jens-Daniel Herzog: 2

Overall impression: 1

DVD: Robert LePage with The Rake´s Progress

The Rake´s Progress. Bruxelles Monnaie 2007. Production: Robert LePage. Cast: Andrew Kennedy (Tom Rakewell), Laura Claycomb (Anne Trulove), William Shimell (Nick Shadow), Dagmar Peckova (Baba The Turk). Conductor: Kazushi Eno. Further information here.

Robert LePage´s production ot The Rake´s Progress is both extraordinarily imaginative and well-thought out, set around the time and place it was written – Hollywood 1948, using the American cinematic language of that time. Stravinsky´s neoclassical take on the Faust legend sprinkled with biblical mythology is told rather straight-forward, the symbolism made clear from the opening scene presenting Adam (Tom Rakewell ) and Eve (Anne Trulove) making out on a carpet, God (Anne´s father) giving Adam advice and the Devil (Nick Shadow) popping up from underneath.

The Hollywood setting resonates surprisingly well with Stravinsky´s musical texture as well as with the drama: Simple on the surface but with danger lurking just underneath. Scenes such as Anne Trulove driving up in front of the movie theatre as Tom and his new wife Baba The Turk arrive for the opening night celebration of the movie “Tom Rakewell and Baba The Turk – A Nick Shadow motion picture” is simply extraordinarily well thought-out. Tom Rakewell, the actor, rococco-outfit sniffing cocaine in front of his inflated silver mobile home on a movie location. Tom and his bearded wife Baba The Turk on the terasse besides the big pool. I simply cannot imagine a better production of Rake´s Progress.

That Tom Rakewell is a rather weak character, whose demise is more of his own making than of Nick Shadows is quite obvious and Andrew Kennedy embodies him almost to perfection, vocally as well. It´s equally obvious that Anne Trulove is truly as good as her name implies, and the fine Laura Claycomb succeeds in conveying all this goodness without becoming irritating. William Shimell is Nick Shadow, underplayed as he should be. Kazushi Eno brings out the lurking eeriness of the score.

This is a coproduction including Opéra National de Lyon, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Teatro Real in Madrid, where this staging has been/will be seen in recent past/future seasons.

Robert LePage is the man behind the new Ring at the Metropolitan Opera. He might just be the right man for the job.

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

Andrew Kennedy: 5
Laura Claycomb: 5
William Shimell: 5
Rober LePage´s production: 5

Kazushi Eno: 5

Overall impression: 5

Paris Bastille Opera

The Bastille Opera is located in Paris and is the main stage of the Opéra national de Paris, the other stage being the smaller baroque theater Palais Garnier.

The Bastille Opera was inaugurated in 1989, designed by Carlos Ott and is one of the biggest stages of Europe with 2723 seats. Opinions on the design as well as the acoustics are varied.

Intendant of the Opéra national de Paris is Nicolas Joel (2009-).Philippe Jordan is music director (2009-).

New productions are generally modern and inventive, but virtually always stylish.
Robert Carsen´s aesthetics seem to have been accepted by Parisians and he has created numerous successful productions for the Bastille Opera such as Lohengrin, Rusalka, Tannhäuser and Contes d´Hoffmann.
Other stylish directors at the Bastille Opera include Gilbert Deflo (L´amour de trois oranges, Ballo di maschera, Manon), André Engel (Cardillac) and the extremely stylistic Robert Wilson (Die Frau Ohne Schatten). Also anti-aesthetics as Marthaler (Wozzeck) have appeared here and recently Krysztof Warlikowski (Makropoulos Case, Parsifal). The company scored a major artistic success with Peter Sellars production of Tristan and Isolde (with sets by Bill Viola) in 2008.

Practical information:

Paris Bastille Opera website, including season schedule, on-line ticket sale etc.

Tickets are not exactly cheap, but relatively easy to come by and may be ordered via the company website. Standing room spaces are relatively good value located at the rear of the auditorium, available 90 minutes before performance start. The outline of the auditorium (see below) results in unrestricted visibility from all seats (as the auditorium is one of the largest in Europe, binoculars may come in handy for those on the third balcony).

The Paris Bastille Opera is ocated at the Place de Bastille, in the middle of Paris.

Above photographs from the Opera Bastille, taken during a performance of Parsifal, March 2008

DVD: Henze´s L´Upupa

L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe. Salzburg Festival 2003. Production: Dieter Dorn. Cast: John Mark Ainsley (The Demon), Matthias Görne (Kasim), Laura Aikin (Badi´at el-Hosn wal Dschamal), Hanna Schwarz (Malik), Alfred Muff (Kasim´s father). Conductor: Markus Stenz with the Vienna Philharmonics. Further information here.

Hans Werner Henze was primarily inspired by the upupas (hoopoes) flying above his olive grove and furthermore felt very close to Mozart during the composition of what he “knew would be his last work for stage” according to the booklet. Not so, as documented by his Phaedra of last season. L'Upupa and the Triumph of Filial Love was commissioned by the Salzburg Festival 2003.

Hans Werner Henze was also responsible for the libretto for this “German comedy in 11 tableaus” – a mix of 1001 Nights and The Magic Flute based on half-imaginary Arab and Persian legends.

We are introduced to the good Prince Kasim (the oriental Tamino) burdened by two useless brothers. Kasim travels the world to bring his father a golden bird – the hoopoe (upupa in Italian). During his adventures, he falls in love with a princess, Badi´at .. etc. etc. (the oriental Pamina), held captive by Dijab (the oriental Sarastro), to whom the Princess even says “Herr, ich bin zwar Verbrecherin”, when she is caught trying to escape. However, the oriental Sarastro is an even better man than Schikaneder´s and sets the pair of lovers free immediately.
In all this, Kasim has secured the help of a curious Demon (closer to an oriental Papageno than a Méphistopheles). The black-tattoed Demon comes in handy when Prince Kasim´s useless brothers finally throw him and the Princess into a well. Finally justice prevails and the brothers are expelled from their fathers realm after a situation involving a magic chest with malicious gnomes. Prince Kasim is now theoretically able to marry his princess, however to fulfil a promise to the Demon he has to set out again, leaving the Princess behind with his father as well as leaving the end of the story open.

For those looking for deeper meanings, the best bet evolves around Henze´s exploring of the various kinds of love: Between family, friends, spouses and also for the arts (represented by the symbolic bird, which refuses to be held captive).

The Demon is by a considerable margin the most interesting character in the opera and is given a striking portrayal by John Mark Ainsley. Matthias Goerne sings beautifully as the saintly Kasim, an extraordinarily boring character by Henze´s hand. Matched by the slightly less boring Princess Badieat el-Hosn in Laura Aikin´s fine interpretation. The excellent Hanna Schwarz is seen in a small trousers role and Alfred Muff is equally convincing as Prince Kasim´s father.

The staging is by Dieter Dorn, using a virtually naked stage, evoking the Arab wold with very few symbols and bright colours.

Hans Werner Henze´s soundworld is unmistakably his own and despite the massive orchestral apparatus (quadruple wind, seveal pianos, five percussionists) as well as taped sounds of beating wings etc., there is an almost chamber-like clarity to his music and a very slim soundworld is created, perhaps intentionally, mimicking the Singspiel genre. Which is probably the main reason I will never love this work, though I admire it. The music is clearly not simple, though it may seem so on the surface.

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

John Mark Ainsley: 5
Matthias Goerne: 4
Laura Aikin: 4

Dieter Dorn´s staging: 4

Markus Stenz: 4

Overall impression: 4

DVD: The Sawallisch 1975 Flying Dutchman film

The Flying Dutchman. Film from 1975. Director: Vaclav Kaslik. Cast: Donald McIntryre (Dutchman), Catarina Ligendza (Senta), Bengt Rundgren (Daland), Erik (Hermann Winkler). Conductor: Wolfgang Sawallisch with the Bayerische Staatsorchester. Further information here.

For those going regularly to the movies since the 1970´s, this Flying Dutchman may not be an easy watch. Neither is it unwatchable and at any rate much better than Herbert von Karajan´s filmed Rheingold from around the same time.

The 19th Century period sets and costumes are part of a setting as realistic as an indoor seastorm is capable of being... The mighty ocean waves and tempest-swept ships were filmed in two massive water tanks and admittedly, the indoor shooting takes some of the point out of making a Flying Dutchman movie in the first place.

That apart, the sets are rather evocative and much of the essence of the work is captured, though Václav Kaslík must have come close to blowing the budget on dry ice for his excessive expressionistic use of smoke.

The lip synchronization is rather bad and I cannot help thinking that if singers do not actually sing in a movie, why not replace those who cannot act (read: Act well) with real actors? Especially Catarina Ligendza´s blank-faced Senta comes to mind, furthermore she seems to have considerable trouble with the high tessitura as well. In that respect she is matched by Hermann Winkler´s Erik, but considerably overmatched by both Donald McIntyre´s first-rate, firm (though slightly dry) Dutchman as well as Bengt Rundgren´s Daland.

The conducting of Wolfgang Sawallisch is quite simply spectacular and the highlight of the performance. Swift and on the move from start to finish in a grandiose performance from the Bavarian State Orchestra. Sawallisch conducts Wagner´s earlier version of the score as performed in the Dresden premiere with the so-called “blunt” ending of the ouverture and without the Tristan-inspired redemption music.

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

Donald McIntyre: 4
Catarina Ligendza: 3
Bengt Rundgren: 4
Hermann Winkler: 3

Kaslik´s direction: 3-4

Wolfgang Sawallisch: 5

Overall impression: 3