La Voix humaine, L’Heure espagnole and Der fliegende Holländer on OperaVision

Stuck abroad I am, and opera houses shuttered. What to do?

Over the past month I watched three operas on OperaVision (on YouTube) that were all unusual and very interesting.

La Voix humaine by Poulenc. It's a one act - one soprano opera. Kudos to Opera Zuid's creativity in rehearsing, staging and broadcasting during lock down. Talar Dekrmanjian as Elle was amazing, carrying the story and drama all on her own with just a few props. The austere colours from the orchestra (scored for a chamber orchestra) further heightened the edgy story.

L’Heure espagnole was in the second half of this double bill. Romie Estèves was Concepción - capturing sexual frustration perfectly. The orchestra did a fine job in bringing out the nuances from Ravel's score.

I have seen many productions of Der fliegende Holländer, but this was the first time where a real ship was on set and the stage was physically at the dock side. Almas Švilpa sang the title role with torment and hope, Sandra Janušaitė's Senta was innocent yet edgy. The most amazing was that the stage was on the waterfront in Klaipeda - no need for backdrop! You could even see ships going past. I could imagine there were challenges galore - amplification was needed (as it was outdoors), slippery stage with water chucking down, and impossible sight-lines for the singers.

There is still time to catch these productions. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Comments

Eugene Onegin

I did not think much of the last Eugene Onegin in the 90s - a bit too baren - too literal. The latest production which I saw tonight at the Royal Opera has improved quite a lot. For a start, we had Dmitri Hvorostovksy and Amanda Roocroft singing Onegin and Tatyana respectively - two strong well matched voices that sparked off a reasonable amount of passion between the two! The production was exciting too - with a believably real "river" running on stage. It's not often you get Tatyana jumping into the river and splashing about on stage. Then there was the frozen river with Moscow in the background - there was almost real ice skating on stage just before the Imperial Ball scene. Much fun. Very enjoyable.

Generous afternoon tea at the Portrait Restaurant

Very few people know there is a restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery with roof top view. Even fewer know they serve a afternoon tea. I was treated to afternoon tea there on Friday. The place was buzzing with late tea-drinkers and early cocktail-quaffers. We settled on their classic afternoon tea set which arrived as below: The sandwiches were freshly made with lovely soft bread - there was a selection of egg mayo, cheese and chutney, ham and mustard and tuna paste. All very tasty. It even came with a honey-mustard dressed salad. Then there were the scones - they were twice the normal size and warm to the touch and one would feed two easily. Sitting behind the huge scones were two slices of victoria sponge cake with inch-think icing - they were soft to the touch and moist when you bite into them. All very yummy.

L'atelier de Joel Robuchon, London

The restaurant is one week old, but Joel Robuchon's latest venture L'atelier in Covent Garden already feels like an institution. My fellow diners felt at home and lively conversations could be heard around us. Effectively combining the eating styles of Japanese Sushi bar, Spanish tapas and French haute cuisine could be a tall order. Yet L'atelier has risen to the challenge. The Menu Découverture turned out to be an exciting and balanced menu - and one has to give them credit for serving this 7 course meal in 90 minutes without feeling rushed. What was enjoyable? Everything was lovely, but particularly the Scottish scallops - just lightly cooked and dressed in seaweed scented butter. What was not enjoyable? Worry about the rest of London descending to West Street.

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