Cosi fan tutte - Lyon streaming

On Saturday, July 16, the Opera de Lyon will bring Cosi fan tutte to all Lyonnais (outside screen, place des Terreaux and elsewhere 9pm) and also to all internet fans, wherever they might be (streaming starts at 9:35pm on the Opera de Lyon's website).

Ah! Lève toi Soleil!

The Librabry of Congress has put online some Victor recordings from the early XXth century in a section called National Jukebox. The Opera section contains, to date, more than 1000 extracts.

This is indeed a good way to re-discover famous operas and famous names from the past, long since forgotten. In the French section, this includes extracts from

• Victor Massé, Paul et Virginie, "Air du tigre"
• Ferdinand Hérold, Le pré-aux-clercs, "Souvenirs du jeune âge"
• Ambroise Thomas, Le caïd, "Air du tambour major"
• Félicien David, La Perle du Brésil, "Charmant oiseau" 
• Benjamin Godard (the composer who reorchestrated Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles, see there), La vivandière, "Viens avec nous petit" (the melody reminds me of the French national anthem)
• Meyerbeer, Robert le Diable ("Du rendez-vous") and Le Prophète ("O toi qui m’abandonnes")
• Lecocq's operette La fille de Madame Angot, "Voyons, Monsieur, raisonnons politique"
• Massenet, Cléopâtre ("Air de la lettre") and Griselidis ("Ouvrez-vous sur mon front, portes du paradis!")

Other Gounod's extracts:

• "Oh nuit d'amour ciel radieux" duet with Geraldine Farrar and Enrico Caruso, from Faust
• "O ma lyre immortelle", Jeanne Gerville, Sapho
• "Au bruit des lourds marteaux d'airain", Marcel Journet, Philémon et Baucis (the tempo is not as good as the recording I own and doesn't really give justice to this beautiful aria - Philémon et Baucis is, to my opinion, a brilliant score ruined by an atrocious libretto, which explains why the opera was alas forgotten)
• "Faites lui mes aveux" (air de Siebel), Louise Homer, Faust
• "Ah! Lève-toi soleil", Charles Dalmorès, Roméo et Juliette
• "Ah! Ne fuis pas encore!", Beniamino Gigli and Lucrezia Bori, Roméo et Juliette

Extracts from Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles:

• "Je crois entendre encore", Enrico Caruso
• "Au fond du temple saint", Marcel Journet and Edmond Clément
• "De mon amie", Enrico Caruso

And I haven't even started the italian section...

[Les Pêcheurs de Perles] 2011-12 performances

• Opéra Comique, Paris, June 18-28 2012

Leïla, Sonya Yoncheva
Nadir, Dmitry Korchak
Zurga, André Heyboer
Nourabad, Nicolas Testé
Direction musicale, Leo Hussain
Mise en scène, Yoshi Oïda
accentus
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Werther, Villazon directing

Werther
Jules Massenet
Drame lyrique en quatre actes
Livret de Edouard Blau, Paul Millet et Georges Hartmann, d'après Les Souffrances du jeune Werther (Goethe)
1892

Opéra de Lyon
Jan. 24, 2011 - premiere
Last performance of this run: Feb. 7

When you have been especially careless with your voice, the time comes rather quickly when you have to find a new way of earning money, and hope to find a new career besides singing - directing, in the case of Rolando Villazon.

Well, I don't think he's yet ready, and if he'll ever be ready for that new job of directing an opera.

Having sung the role of Werther many times clearly didn't provide him with any kind of a deeper insight of the opera, as he tried - and failed - to give it a Regietheater twist that only resulted in a disaster.

All the components of the Regitheater are present, from the white and almost empty stage, the bright, colorful and ugly costumes, to some "grand" ideas that completely disrupt the dramatic moments of the opera and to some frankly very naive views on the whole story.

First of all, I think the way to core concept of Villazon is very wrong.

Werther is not one of those operas you can twist into a circus-like idea, or if you can, you completely loose all it's interest; maybe the idea of all the characters living in a world of fate and thus being clowns of their own lives could have had a chance, if Villazon could have been constrained to be less explicit and more subtile.

Subtility, here's what's clearly missing from this.

For instance, the first time Werther enters the stage, it's not enough that this child double is dressed in the same horrific color as he is (chick yellow), Villazon trusts himself (or the audience) so much that, just to make sure everyone gets it, they have the exact same gesture. Really useful? I sure don't think so, but I'm also sure this example is pretty much the quintessential way to describe this production.

It all seems terribly immature, almost childish, and this is clearly not the way to emphasize the dramatic quest of Werther.

Yet another example at the end of Act II, moments after Werther bids farewell to Charlotte in a very dramatic way (basically telling her he's going to kill himself): a giant pillow fight on stage orchestrated by the clowns and the children.

Again, was that really useful?

As far as the conducting by Leopold Hager was concerned, nothing extraordinary there, but rather a blend and forgettable reading of the score.

The singer clearly on top of the cast is Karine Deshayes (Charlotte) whose interpretation was indeed very convincing and quite well-sung.

Arturo Chacon-Cruz (Werther) struggled with his high notes (or rather has to learn how to sing a high note without yelling) and seemed like a clone of Villazon on stage: too much movements for such little effects... his stage presence, in other words, was all but sincere and credible.

Lionel Lhote (Albert) and Alain Vernhes (le Balli) both had a good performance, as well as Anne-Catherine Gillet (Sophie).

All pictures on this page from the Opéra de Lyon.

Video extract here.

Links to the Opéra de Lyon website:

- presentation of the production

- programme (incl. libretto)

- dossier de presse

Press reviews:

- "Un Werther "clownesque" à Lyon pour la première mise en scène de Rolando Villazon", AFP
- "Werther à l'Opéra de Lyon - rencontre avec Rolando Villazon", Le Progrès
- "Pas tout à fait la Bohème", Le Progrès, Antonio Mafra
- "Werther, Opera de Lyon, review", The Telegraph, Rupert Christiansen
- "Des danseuses et des clowns", La Libre Belgique, Nicolas Blanmont

Ernest Blanc is dead

Just a few days before Christmas, on Dec. 22, the great French baritone Ernest Blanc died at the age of 87.
He was, as stated here, probably the baritone I loved most.


Reviews in French:
- "Ernest Blanc s'est tu pour toujours", Sud-Ouest
- "Ernest Blanc est mort", Qobuz

Evelino Pido: Otello / La Sonnambula - 2010

Otello ossia Il Moro di Venezia

Giaocchino Rossini

John Osborn : Otello

Anna Caterina Antonacci : Desdémone

Marco Vinco : Elmiro

Dmitry Korchak : Rodrigo

José Manuel Zapata : Iago

Orchestre et Chœurs de l'Opéra de Lyon

Evelino Pidò, conductor

Nov.7, 2010 - Concert version

La Sonnambula

Vincenzo Bellini

Michele Pertusi - Il Conte Rodolfo

Cornelia Oncioiu - Teresa

Natalie Dessay - Amina

Javier Camarena - Elvino

Orchestre et choeur de l'Opéra national de Paris

Evelino Pidò, conductor

Opéra National de Paris

Feb.15, 2010 - Mezzo broadcast

Muti out of Chicago

Illness forces Muti out of fall CSO concerts
Chicago Tribune, Oct.3


Illness Slows New Leader of Chicago Symphony
NY Times, Oct. 3


Riccardo Muti, malade, est contraint d'annuler ses concerts
Le Monde, Oct. 5

Récital Joyce DiDonato

Bis: "Parto, parto", La Clemenza di Tito, Mozart

Joyce DiDonato ended her 10-day recording session with the Orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon by providing us Lyonnais with a glimpse of this new album, whose highlight was, for me, her exquisite rendering of Gluck's da capo aria from La Clemenza di Tito, "Se mai senti sporarti sul volto". She was here able to fully express the desperation of Sesto on his way to death. The aria in itself is beautifully written to start with (the oboe is literally to die for), but her interpretation was really mesmorizing.

Of course she excelled with her collatura in pieces such as "Non più mesta" from La Cenerentola, or "Amour, viens rendre à mon âme" from Orphée et Eurydice (adapted by Berlioz) - she can, indeed, "braver le trépas" with strength and determination.

It was no surprise either that she ignited the audience with her wonderful spirit, and her obvious love and devotion to the music. She took a few minutes before the last aria to share with us the impressions she had of her stay - and it seems she has discover the hidden treasure of Lyon - its food. She praised Maestro Ono for his musicality and attention to details, and I quite agree with her.

The orchestra sounded quite improved and much more focused than before Ono arrived two years ago. 

Sure there were some slight issues (the cellos and double bass were sometimes a bit off), but the musicality of the orchestra has grown tremendously, and they were able to convey nuances and a vitality that were indeed refreshing.

Poulenc's Sinfonietta was vibrant and exciting under the baton of Ono, but the overture of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride was for me, the highlight of the orchestra. It started a bit heavy with the strings, but after the first few bars, the music really came to life and illuminated the whole opera house.

Overall a wonderful evening.

L'étranger, D'Indy

L'étranger

Action musicale in two acts (1898-1901), Op. 53

Vincent d'Indy, see also here for a very detailed biography in French

Texte de Vincent d'Indy, d'après Brant d'Henrik Ibsen

Création: Bruxelles, Théâtre de la Monnaie, 7 Janvier 1903

France Musique live broadcast

Montpellier, July 26, 2010

Synopsis & analysis, by Michel Fleury :

" Despite his goodness, the Stranger, who has settled in a fishing village, keeps out of the way of the inhabitants who fear him. A Christian hero fulfilling a divine mission of charity on earth, he must leave in order not to give in to human love shared with Vita, the fiancée of a dry, hard-hearted customs officer. During a tempest, the Stranger is the only one to go to the rescue of a sinking boat. Vita jumps into the dinghy to accompany him, and both perish in the fury of the waves.

This controversial libretto, sacrificing action to the symbol, has weighed heavily on the destiny of the work. Its religious resonance (is divine love compatible with human love?) is accentuated by the recourse to Gregorian themes. On the other hand, the richness and beauty of the music explain Debussy’s enthusiasm and admiration: clarified and totally transfigured, the Wagnerian heritage is resolved in a miraculous balance between vocal line and orchestra, harmonic colour and polyphony, realism and Impressionism, Germanic complexity and Mediterranean clarity. At a time of re-evaluating one of our finest musicians, the rediscovery of this great and beautiful work imposed itself. "

Despite the comments above, the score is rather uninteresting, especially if one knows and appreciates Puccini. The Germanic influence is also quite clear, but I reckon Edouard Lalo with Le roi d'Ys and Ernest Reyer with Sigurd have done a much better job of integrating it with the French knowledge of melodies and the Italian sense of passion.

Overall a forgettable score - but I could never have had this opinion if the Montpellier's festival hadn't had the great idea to exhume this work.

Thielemann's view on Schubert's 9th

Franz Schubert

Symphony No. 9 in C major D944

Munchner Philharmoniker

Conductor: Christian Thielemann

Live Recording (Bayern 4)

Philharmonie am Gasteig, München

January 2006


I did not enjoy Thielemann's view, which I find heavy, solemn and military at times.
Schubert's madness is buried under a Spartan tempo, rigorous and inexpressive, and all the lightness the score often contains is hidden behind a lifeless and constrained performance that does not represent, for me, Schubert's music.

Luthier lyonnais

Christian Charlemagne

Luthier

4 rue Terraille, Lyon

Get a virtual ticket & watch Rigoletto

The Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium will stream Rigoletto live on its website Opera Live on March 23, 2010 (8 pm Paris time).

You'll need to buy a virtual ticket to watch the program (that comes an information package about the singers and the production); 4€ for a Standard Quality video, 6€ for a video in High Quality.