Fin de cycle

La Traviata
G.Verdi
Opéra de Lyon

Photo Opéra de Lyon

July 7 review (last performance of the run).
For further details about the cast and the production, see here.

Amazing how 15 days of performances can make a difference on an orchestra.
Although I am still very much doubtful about the level of the flute and French horns, I must say the orchestra as a whole sounded decent this time around.
Even the conduction of Gérard Korsten was more inspired and focused - but I still think he has a consensual and panache-less reading of the score.

The chorus was also better last night, which cannot be said of the cast as a whole. The three main roles, Alfredo, Giorgio and Violetta sounded tired and both Alfredo and Violetta had lost some clarity in the voice (the problem was obvious for Edgaras Montvidas as Alfredo).
Ermonela Jaho as Violetta also looked pretty tired, which obviously brought her closer to her never-dying character (by the way, in this production, she doesn't actually die on stage, but ends up as a static zombie while the curtain is closing - talk about originality). Once again, I couldn't really relate to the emotions she showcased, as I found myself deaf to her vocal expressivity.
Her stage presence improved on the other hand, especially at the end (from "Addio del passato" to the end).


This performance was the official end of the 2008-09 season in Lyon.
It's very doubtful I will attend any performance here next season.
I'm done with Serge Dorny's choices.

Cordes raides

Musée de la Musique, Paris
June 16, 2009

Kaufmann's Lohengrin

Jonas Kaufmann latest CD Sehnsucht, with The Mahler Chamber Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado has been released by Decca in Germany, and a couple of extracts are available on YouTube;

- "In fernem Land", Lohengrin, Wagner
- "Mein lieber Schwan", Lohengrin, Wagner

What an appealing Lohengrin...

Little Red Riding Violetta

Natalie Dessay at the Santa Fe Opera for her first Traviata.

From PlaybillArts.

High skyes

Plafond du théâtre des Champs Elysées
Paris, Feb.26, 2009

Traviata in Lyon with Jaho

La Traviata

Giuseppe Verdi
Opéra en quatre parties, 1853
Livret de Francesco Maria Piave
d'après La Dame aux camélias d'Alexandre Dumas fils

Ermonela Jaho, Violetta Valéry
Edgaras Montvidas, Alfredo Germont
Lionel Lhote, Giorgio Germont

Orchestre et Chœurs de l'Opéra de Lyon
Alan Woodbridge, Chef des Chœurs
Gérard Korsten, Direction musicale

Klaus Michael Grüber, Mise en scène
Ellen Hammer, Collaboration artistique et réalisation de la mise en scène
Recréation - Coproduction initiale Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Lyon

June 23 performance



First of all, I know it's not very elegant to criticize dead people, but the late Klaus Michael Grüber who directed the original run of this production in 1993, really was uninspired.
Think about a stage where all the characters are static, with for whatever reason a naked woman appearing in the first part, a ridiculous use of the stage (or non-use I should say), this would have be comical if I had been in the mood to close my eyes. Unfortunately I was not, but I came to the notion as the music was unfolding.
Neither of the singers were really able to act convincingly in this ghost of a production (bad joke intended). Jaho didn't really have the stamina to portray the dying Violetta and her performance lacked intensity and ardor. The others were even worse.

The conduction of Gérard Korsten was unoriginal at best - but you can't except much from someone who doesn't hear how vivid and vibrant Verdi's music is (or rather only sees one dimension to it).

The real disaster though came from the pit: all sections of the orchestra were horrendous, at one time or another (another being a number between 5 and 6), and all the time altogether. I have never heard it sound so badly in the years I've regularly attended performances at the Opéra de Lyon. This was an embarrassing nightmare really, but the audience loudly cheering the orchestra at the end must have been even worse. How bad are your ears people, seriously?

Lionel Lhote as Giorgio Germont was decent, but his voice quietly worsened during the performance. Edgaras Montvidas as Alfredo has still a lot of work to do to polish his sound and clear his timbre. But he displayed interesting and lifeful colours and emotions.

Ermonela Jaho was kind of a disappointment.
Her voice started to emerge for the Sempre Libera aria, but she wasn't really a factor before that. Her notes were beautiful, her singing passionate, but somehow I didn't feel the emotions coming out of her voice. Kind of when you attend a play and aren't really touched by an actor you normally like.
Hopefully I won't have the same impression when I come back for the last performance of the run (July 7).


Overall, once again, it's very unforgiving to come back to the Opéra de Lyon after a Muti experience...

All photos Opéra de Lyon except those below.






Further readings:

• "Ermanela Jaho, magnétique Violetta dans La Traviata", M.A.Roux, Le Monde, June 26 :

"La soprano albanaise Ermonela Jaho n'est pas encore très connue du grand public. (...) Présence magnétique et voix d'airain, la jeune femme incarne une Violetta sur le fil, alternant un chant très retenu, avec de brusques montées de fièvre - mimétique des symptômes phtisiques qui la rongent.

A ses côtés, le solide Alfredo du ténor lituanien Edgaras Montvidas semble un tantinet froid, le Germont de Lionel Lhote un rien plébéien. Le seul bémol (de taille) vient de la très prosaïque direction du chef d'orchestre sud-africain Gerard Korsten."

• "La Traviata s'offre gratuitement en Rhône-Alpes", Luc Hernandez, Libération Lyon, July 3
  

Demofoonte, part II

First post about the June 16 performance of Demofoonte in Paris (Opéra Garnier) here.

III. The staging

Salzburg May 28, 2009

On paper, I like where Cesare Lievi went with his sets: a deconstructed Greek temple, where everything is upside down, with slight changes between the acts that focus on small details.

The concept would have worked brilliantly, hadn't it been for the complete lack of any actor's direction, an unimaginative scenography and an horrendous use of the stage. Basically nothing ever comes to life in this context, and all it does really is focus on the repetitive aspect of Jommelli's music. Not exactly the best way to present his Demofoonte to a public that is not familiar with it.
It seems to be a trend among stage directors these days, to do everything in their power to ruin the music and the singing.

Muti should never have accepted that...

Salzburg, May 28, 2009

IV. The AROP gala


In Paris, if you're a wealthy opera geek, the AROP is the select club that will allow you to attend opera performances amongst high-end friends, with a beautiful dinner at the end of the evening, free champagne and canapés during the intermissions, and an Opera House specially decorated for the event.

Obviously this kind of evening is the perfect showcase for your latest designer dress, and you expect men to wear a tuxedo with a neck bow (or if you're a rebel, a tie). Anyway, this is the time to be glamorous among your fabulous friends.

On the down side, this is the night the Opera House is guaranteed not to be filled, because inevitably, some will have better things to do than attend the performance, and their expensive seats will remain desperately empty. Quite a shame, considering the whole run of Demofoonte is full. But hey, when rich and famous, who cares about waste? And who cares about the vulgare pecus?

Anyway, the auditorium was obviously not full, and the public reacted at the end of the performance with the appropriate restraint and elegance: not too much noise and certainly no bravo, this was not the time and place to be exuberant and lavish. Fortunately, the 4th balcony was packed with ordinary people who were a bit louder and more enthusiastic, but I must say the applause was mainly directed at Riccardo Muti.









Further readings:

- "Les faux débuts de Riccardo Muti à l'opéra de Paris", June 19, Le Monde, M.A.Roux
"Mais qu'allait-il faire dans cette galère ? C'est le sentiment qui domine à l'issue des quatre heures de spectacle consacrées au rarissime opéra napolitain Demofoonte, de Niccolo Jommelli (1714-1774), avec lequel le chef d'orchestre Ricardo Muti a fait, à bientôt 68 ans, ses débuts à l'Opéra de Paris. Car il n'est pas sûr que ce Demofoonte (prochaines représentations au Palais Garnier les 18, 20 et 21 juin) marque durablement la rencontre tant attendue de Paris avec le maestro italien."

- "Le jardin napolitain de Riccardo Muti", Webthea

- "La première française de l’opéra napolitain", June 16, ResMusica, Francesca Guerrasio

Demofoonte in Paris with Muti

Drama per musica (opera seria) in 3 acts

Nicolo Jommelli
Libretto Pietro Metastasio
1770 Napoli version

Demofoonte - Dmitry Korchak (tenor)
Dircea - Maria Grazia Schiavo (soprano)
Timante - José Maria Lo Monaco (mezzo-soprano)
Matusio - Antonio Giovannini (counter-tenor)
Creusa - Eleonora Buratto (soprano)
Cherinto - Valentina Coladonato (mezzo-soprano)

Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini
Riccardo Muti conducting

Stage direction - Cesare Lievi


Opéra National de Paris
Palais Garnier
June 16, 2009

Grand escalier décoré pour Demofoonte

I. The score

Pietro Metastasio's libretto is quite a success, as things flow with an acute sense of dramaturgy, displaying intricate situations in which characters unfold, with mixed personalities and a certain sense of humour.
In that regard, not only is this libretto quite ahead of his time, it's also a very cohesive and homogeneous piece.

Jommelli's music however doesn't have this continuous appeal. The last two acts are rich and audacious for the time, and contain real jewels (Demofoonte's aria in Act II, scene 10 being the highlight of the score for me), but the first act is really disappointing (and terribly long: 1 hour and 15 minutes). It doesn't display the originality Jommelli put in the last two, and all the arias are built on the same scheme: two quatrains. As for the music, this first act is saturated with da capo (when the aria is a closed loop with a ABA structure). All it does really is allow you to fall into a semi-conscious state of mind where you desperately wait for something unusual to come along - a vain hope in the first act obviously.

Fortunately, the drought ends after the first act, and I must say the transition between boring and exciting was quite astonishing. The second act is the most appealing for me, with once again that sublime aria of Demofoonte in scene 10.

The end of Act III is a bit long, and Muti's choice to conduct the 1770 version is indisputably relevant after hearing the piece (Jommelli cut 8 of the 24 arias in this version!).

II. The musical execution

The youth orchestra Luigi Cherubini that Riccardo Muti created in 2004 to give back to young Italian musicians was recast in 2008 to allow for new instrumentalists to learn, and to send the original musicians to the real world of professional orchestras around the world.

This Demofoonte production is their biggest work so far, having previously traveled to Salzburg this Spring and heading to Ravenna for this summer. For such a young group, their performance was phenomenal.
They played with poise, finesse, intelligence, sensitivity, passion, at such a level it's hard to figure they're not professionals yet. They responded with verve and perfect accuracy to the conduction of Riccardo Muti.

The strings were brilliant (especially the cellos), the horns were exquisite, and it turned out to be such a shame Jommelli didn't orchestrate his piece for more instruments.

As for the singers, the level was quite unequal - Maria Grazia Schiavo as Dircea was amazing, as was Eleonora Buratta as Creusa (their duet was pretty intense): beautiful breath, perfect placement of the voice, great high, low and middle registers, adequate projection, magnificent phrasing, they simply delivered an outstanding performance.

The rest of the cast I was disappointed by.
José Maria Lo Monaco, although an audience favorite, seemed cold and somehow not in the mood for the piece, and her timbre is neither velvety nor coarsed, just unpalatable to my taste.

Dmitry Korchak on the other hand as Demofoonte had gigantic issues with ornamentation and his high register. He's supposed to sing Nadir in Santiago at the end of August, and I feel sorry for Bizet already. His stage presence was not really convincing also, and Cesare Lievi didn't help by not hiding this age (he's way too young for the part).

I also didn't react positively to neither Antonio Giovannini as Matusio nor to Valentina Coladonato as Cherinto. Their performance was mediocre at best, and their technique is not quite yet where it should be (especially the breathing for Giovannini and the high register for Coladonato).



Finally, a few words about Riccardo Muti.

Once again, I can only praise the work he's done with this piece. The orchestral bars were all sublime and magical, and that's when you regret Jommelli didn't put as many of those as Gluck. One thing he did do however, is moderately use the recitativo secco and extensively substitute them with recitativo accompagnato, where Muti's input was exquisite. One can only attempt to describe with words what marvels Muti can accomplish with so few notes.




NB.
There will be another post about this performance, because I have to talk about the stage direction and this special evening, the AROP gala.