The Damnation of Faust at the ENO

Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust deserves to be staged. It's a wonderful work full of surprises and fantasies. Having sung the work in French a few times, I have become very partial to the work. So I went to ENO's staged version of Faust.

An in true ENO fashion, The Damnation of Faust received a thoroughly provocative treatment. Hildegard Bechtler created a set that was both practical and versatile in delivering the countless scene changes. I thought the cliff top / German Romantic backdrop was really good. The Nazis were used to depict hell and the works of the devils. Provocative enough for an English audience, but might seem mundane to visitors from across the Channel.

Peter Hoare, as Faust, had the right kind of ringing tone and enough emotions to be believable. Christopher Purves as Mephistopheles delivered a wide range of colours, from the wooing romantic to the sarcastic devil. Christine Rice was a fine Marguetite - and she was particularly good in the solo arias. Though low on numbers, the chorus did rather well throughout the scenes. Edward Gardner once again gave the work the necessary shape and flow. Let's hope the ENO will revive this again.

Comments

Hearing the Berlin Philharmonic at the Philharmonie

Those of us London-centric folks easily forget there are great concert halls in other parts of the world. I remember as a young kid buying DG LPs with von Karajan on the front cover conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. So as my first visit to the city, a visit to the Philharmonie to listen to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was a must. Ivan Fisher started the evening's concert with Haydn Symphony 88. A light and delightful work. As I'd expected, the acoustic of the hall was amazing - probably a good 2.5 second of reverberation - and much more generous than the Royal Festival Hall in London. The strings sounded sweet and the timpani came through clearly with definition. The audience was then treated to Béla Bartók's Seven Pieces for Choir and Chamber Orchestra: the Berlin Phil reduced in size occupying only half of the stage while the Netherlands Youth Choir took the other half. These young performers (all female) sang in Hungarian from memory - not easy at all - and rea...

Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

One can certainly Over Do art in Vienna. The beauty of the Liechtenstein Museum is its fine collection of paintings and architectural features within a manageable space. The building had been lovingly refurbished while the art works and exhibits were beautifully presented. Like Galleria Borghese in Rome, one can spend a leisurely morning strolling through the library and rooms without feeling pressured (unlike Musée du Louvre ). If you have time, enjoy a cup of cafe melange in the court yard.

Król Roger, Royal Opera

The Polish barihunk Mariusz Kwiecień sang the title role on the first performance of Król Roger at the Royal Opera. Kwiecień's portrayal of Król Roger was subtle and involved (might have helped with him having a head cold as Kasper Holten came and told us after the interval). Pappano did full justice to Szymanowski's lush score.

Diary of a Culture Hedonist

Search This Blog