Diary of a Culture Hedonist

Bryn Terfel gave an impressive performance of the title role - punchy delivery of the Russian text and quite animated acting. John Tomlison's drunken Varlaam was fun. David Butt Philip's Grigory Otrepiev was also excellent. The chorus raised to the challenge and tackled the numerous choruses with gusto - they almost sounded Russian. Pappano did a fantastic job at usual.

When I last saw Akhnaten, I was a school boy. Yet this opera left a lasting impression - the opening arpeggios , the entwined melodic lines, the naked singers and the stark production (sand castles!). So I was much looking forward to seeing this new production thirty years on. Anthony Roth Costanzo made a pensive and somewhat haunting Akhanaten with his vocal colours. The chorus was on form (despite recent troubles). The orchestra rocked from time to time and it was unfortunate that the ensemble fell apart at the destruction of Akhanaten's empire - though Karen Kamensek did a good job at holding everything to together. As for the production? I found the juggling a little too much - they worked fine at the beginning but it became a little repetitive, almost distracting. As for the stage set (Tom Pye), it was a little too close and introspective (perhaps that was the intention). It was a delight to see Philip Glass coming on stage at the end - to receive an enthusiastic applaus...

Sarah Kane's Cleansed exposed the dark world of torture. If it was shock and awe, then the direction from Katie Mitchell did the job. The cast delivered an intense performance. I've even heard of other punters fainting during the play. The plot, however, I found very thin - making the torture scenes somewhat gratuitous.

I've never seen a Chabrier opera. One hears the odd aria on the radio or at recitals, but seldom sees his works staged now. So it was a real delight to go to the Royal Opera's first performance of L'étoile. The set (by Julia Hansen) was crazy and fun. The cast delivered bagfuls of humour and wit under the watchful eyes of Sir Mark Elder (who took part in some of the comic moments). Please bring it back soon.  

I have sung bits of Cavalleria Rusticana before, but never seen it, nor Pagliacci. The set and the production was really clever, weaving these two operas in quite ingenious ways. Eva-Maria Westbroek was a larger than life Santuzza. Perhaps Alfio could benefit from a bigger voice. Aleksandrs Antonenko gave it all as Canio (in Pagliacci). The chorus was great. Needless to say, Pappano milked every musical moment.

Superb patience on my part to have sat through Morgen und Abend - a contemplative and introspective work by Georg Friedrich Haas. I think if one was in the mood, then one would find the work poignant and insightful. I wasn't. So I got very little out of it. Sigh.

Cultural nourishment was what I craved, and I got plenty of it at Ariadne auf Naxos.  Karita Mattila made a good Ariadne - her darker timbre worked most of the time. Jane Archibald was a flamboyant Zerbinetta - hitting all the high notes at the right places. Robert Dean Smith was an admirable Bacchus and he did beautifully along side Mattila. I thought Lothar Königs was a little unsteady at the beginning, but everything soon fell into place - especially the second half of the last act was superbly done.