Skip to main content

An out of sync Die Zauberflöte at the Royal Opera

There seemed to be some sort of battle between what was being played in the pit and what was being sung on stage at the Royal Opera last night. The 6'4" Joseph Kaiser as Tamino started well in the opening aria with a strong tenorial ring in his voice. But when the three ladies turned up things started to change - the ensemble of the singing was good, but somehow it went out slightly with the orchestra. Christopher Maltman's Papageno also got off to a good start - but there was tension in the tempo. It all came to a head when the three ladies and the Queen of the Night (Jessica Pratt) returned - it was touch and go at times whether they will reach the end of the bar together. Sadly it went on like that for the remaining first act. 


The second act started well, and Jessica Pratt sang the famous Queen of the Night aria with accuracy and conviction. But the ensemble problem came back - the chorus wasn't together with the orchestra, the tempo of the three brave boys rocked, and so on. In the solo arias, the singers wanted to take more time with the lines but the pit didn't go with the flow. Luckily the final scenes were more or less together and everyone stopped at the same fermata.
To me, the whole performance sounded like a rehearsal. Except it couldn't have been as it was the second performance of this revival production by David McVicar. Based on my personal observation, I think Sir Colin Davis was unwell - his walk to the rostrum was slow and timid, he didn't look up to the singers much nor give them the leads when expected, and he seemed to have focused more on the orchestral players than on stage. At the end of the performance, Sir Colin took his curtain call in the pit rather than on stage. So perhaps he was unwell. Or perhaps it was something else ...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bar Shu, London

After La Belle Hélène at the ENO, we found ourselves in a new Sichuanese restaurant in Soho (north of Shaftesbury Avenue so technically not China Town). The deco is authentically Chinese but a bit cramped. Lots of small wooden tables. We were shown downstairs in a small basement room. I ordered Dan Dan noodles, beef in a spicy soupy sauce and smoked chicken slices. The "heatiness" or "spicyness" was very authentic, comparable to what I have tasted in Shanghai. What was enjoyable? Authentic Sichuanese food authenticated by mainland Chinese customers. What was not enjoyable? Wrong kind of noise - the staff did through the crockery and cutlery about, noisy customers (may be because of the small room) and not an enthusiastic service. A review of this restaurant can be found on FT.com

Square One, Park Hyatt Saigon

OK - if you want to go somewhere sleek in Saigon - Square One will pretty much fit the bill. Rather than just one open kitchen (a la Caprice at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong), there are SEVEN! Each focusing on a particular cooking technique (grilling, baking, steaming, etc.). The decor is comfortable (armrests of armchairs too high) and the Vietnamese food is actually good and well presented. What was enjoyable? Pho Beef Soup with rice vermicelli - nice clear stock, flavourful. What was not enjoyable? Trying too hard perhaps? Everything is just a bit out of place - you could be any where - New York, London, Hong Kong ...

Buddha Jumps Over The Wall (佛跳墻) at Tim's Kitchen

There are many interpretations of "Buddha Jumps Over The Wall" - but here is a rare opportunity to sample this sumptuous dish at Tim's Kitchen last night. It arrives in a beautiful white-and-blue porcelain bowl.   Here is the first "eat" - a demi-cuit pigeon egg with rehydrated abalone in a supreme chicken broth. Fish maw appears in the second "eat". I have to confess I forgot about what fish maw tasted like and it was a very strange sensation to be re-acquainted with it. De-boned goose-web, pig's knuckle tendon and sea cucumber forms the third "eat". And the soup ingredients were presented on a plate - black chicken with lean Jin Hua(金華) ham. This is undoubtedly a sumptuous and luxurious dish - using highly priced ingredients. And I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to experience it again. One could not help but wonder whether a top notch chef such as Tim could concoct the same dish with ...