Le nozze di Figaro

Just got back from the Royal Opera having seen the first night of Le nozze di Figaro.

I could not quite figure out what Pappano was doing with Mozart's score. The tempi were quite elastic. For instance, the Countess' aria at the beginning of Act II was beautifully sung by Dorothea Röschmann though there were quite a few recognisable rubati. The stage direction was superb (by David McVicar) and the excitement that the cast brought to the production more than compensated for the occasionally wayward tuning.

Ervin Schrott as Figaro was very good - he had flair and energy.

I think Pappano was taking the entire cast with him - given the elastic tempi - there were many places that could have taken a bad turn yet I could feel everyone on / off stage was giving their best.

Verdict: Go see it.

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Dialogues des Carmélites at the Royal Opera

Michael Levine's set design for Dialogues des Carmélites was minimalist. Actually, was there any set design? I suppose the director Robert Carsen was clever at introducing formation of human figures in many different ways to suggest the context of the opera. It kind of worked. Blanche, sung by Sally Matthews, was pretty good. Though I did find the whole work quite tedious - I think the intimate nature of the dialogues needed a small and intimate performing space i.e. not the Royal Opera House. The ending was worth waiting for. Dramatic. Poignant.

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