Tannhäuser at the Royal Opera

Have I really waited for nearly a quarter of a century to see Tannhäuser? Well, the wait was over last night. Naturally there was a lot of anticipation for this new Royal Opera production in 25 years. So they pulled out all the stops. The opening prelude was spellbindingly good. The solemnity of the opening theme quickly gave way to the playful and sexual thrusts with fluid and athletic choreography (Jasmin Vardimon) on stage - all this went on for nearly 20 minutes before Tannhäuser (Johan Botha) appeared. There was a bit of a giggle in the audience as Mr Botha was larger than the slim male dancers. This quickly gave way to the Venus-Tannhäuser dialogue. Michaela Schuster (as Venus) was very good with a firm yet insistent tone. Herrmann (sung by Christof Fischesser) picked up the dialogue as Venusberg dissolved and replaced by a floating tree!

The mass chorus gave its very best with a great deal of contrast, from the ethereal angel voices to the muscular song contest march. The German diction was impeccable. Johan Botha continued to shine in Act II but now singing opposite Eva-Maria Westbroek as Elizabeth. Her bright and noble tone was just right for the role.

Semyon Bychkov's reading of the score was considered and more elastic than some would expect. The very measured pace towards the end of Act II held everyone's attention. The combined forces responded and reacted to each of his nuanced direction. The set by Michael Levine was subtle - which is about right for an opera with so much drama on stage.

I do hope they will bring Tannhäuser back more regularly. Judging from the audiences' response, the Royal Opera should not have trouble selling tickets.

Comments

Written On Skin at the Royal Opera

This was the first revival of George Benjamin's Written On Skin. As with contemporary operas, familiarity goes a long way in appreciating the work. In this revival, I found Christopher Purves's The Protector powerful and moving. Barbara Hannigan, who sang Agnès, was superb. The pure and slightly eerie tone of Iestyn Davies as The Boy completed the perfect cast.

Götterdämmerung at The Met

Carl Fillion's set design for The Ring at The Met caused a real stir at the premier. Though not having the luxury of seeing the whole Ring, I managed to get a ticket to see Götterdämmerung. Fabio Luisi at the helm of the large Met orchestra kept everything going. There was enough breathing space for the drama to unfold, and there were muscular moments that needed to punctuate the drama. Probably not as poised as Bernard Haitink at Covent Garden many years ago, or as gutsy as Antonio Pappano this season in the same house. But nonetheless very good. Deborah Voigt was a fine Brünhilde - as the role demands from beginning to end. Lars Cleveman was quite a believable Siegfried - youngish looking, jumps about, looking slightly naive on stage. Hans-Peter Köonig was OK - none of his phrases sent shiver down my spine as there was not enough evil. Back to the set. The rotating 'fingers' really worked (you can see them in this pic - sitting above the performers), especially...

Hänsel und Gretel at the Royal Opera

Having seen Hänsel und Gretel only a few months ago at Glyndebourne , I was looking forward to see how the Royal Opera will bring this fairytale opera to life. Christian Fenouillat pastoral set worked well. Like many operas with a small cast, he added a bounding box to reduce the size of the stage without losing perspective. Angelika Kirchschlager and Diana Damrau were believable Hänsel and Gretel respectively. Their stage acting (how they walked, jumped and cuddled) conveyed a real sense of innonance. Thomas Allen (their father) was on good form. The Dew Fairy (by Anita Watson) was fabulous with an orange duster and a yellow squirty spray cleaner. All in all, the creative team managed to strike a good balance between serious opera and fairytale. Colin Davis also did real justice to Humperdinck's lush Wagnerian score. It would be nice for this lovely work to remain in repertory around this time of the year to counter-balance the sickly sweek Nutcracker.

Diary of a Culture Hedonist

Search This Blog