Lohengrin, Scala opening night

Lohengrin, Richard Wagner

Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Claus Guth, staging

Christian Schmidt, sets and costumes

Olaf Winter, lights

Ronny Dietrich, dramaturgy

 

Jonas Kaufmann, Lohengrin

Ann Petersen, Elsa von Brabant

René Pape, Heinrich der Vogler

Tómas Tómasson, Friedrich von Telramund

Evelyn Herlitzius, Ortrud

Zeljko Lucic, Der Heerrufer des Königs

 

I may not have understood everything in Claus Guth's interpretation of Lohengrin (especially the entrance of Lohengrin and his initial behavior) but overall, as usual, I was transported in his unique world, full of grace, subtility, humor and childhood references.

The only disruptive image was the half-swan/half-child costume, not quite the same standard, I thought, as everything else.

Ann Petersen, a last minute replacement for the role of Elsa was phenomenal, both on the acting and singing part: she portrayed uniquely the madness Guth put in Elsa and to be able to apprehend the staging in less than 24 hour was a miracle in itself. 

Her singing, moreover, was a joy to listen to.

René Pape and Tómas Tómasson both sang admirably; Tómasson's stage presence really sold his character in a level I had rarely seen before (especially for Telramund).

 Evelyn Herlitzius portrayed a demoniac Ortrud but her singing was a bit of a let down.

And Jonas Kaufmann was, of course, to no surprise, the king of the night.
His singing is exquisite, and the role of Lohengrin is perfect for his voice, because the darkness he has is the first perfect step toward seeing Lohengrin as anything but the white knight on his gigantic swan.

Several mistakes were heard in the orchestra pit, especially a lack of unisson at times.

The interpretation of Daniel Barenboim was anything but flamboyant (a quality he deeply lacks, I think), but decent enough not to get in the way of the singers.

A word on the Scala chorus: I must say it does not live up to the standards the Scala name is synonym with.

Their diction was quite awful (and if I, whose german is anything but fluent, can hear it, I can only imagine what native german speakers endured there) and there was something missing in their stage presence: discipline is the first word that comes to mind.

 

 Overall, a very good evening.

Personal ratings

Singers : A

Staging : A

Conductor: B

Orchestra: B-

Chorus : C

 

 

All photographs Foto Ufficio Stampa

Guth's Nozze di Figaro - Salzburg 2006

Le Nozze di Figaro
W.A.Mozart

Stage direction : Claus Guth
Dramaturgy: Ronnie Dietrich
Stage and costume design: Christian Schmidt
Choreography: Ramsès Sigl
2006 Salzburg Festival DVD Deutsche Gramophon

The talent of Claus Guth lies in his fantastic ability to add depth and darkness to an otherwise very silly vaudeville-esque plot. Each character is given more layers than the libretto states, from the most obvious (Figaro or Il Conte) to the most unexpected ones (Cherubino for instance). Not only that, but Guth creates a very cohesive and clear, yet infinitely personal and detailed vision of Le Nozze.

The dramaturgy of Ronny Dietrich is very logic to start with, but Guth takes it to a higher level with numerous thoughtful details, either poetic - the feathers falling from the sky when Figaro cuts Cherubino's hair (first portayed in the introduction as the angel puppeteer with small feathered wings) in Act 1 "Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso", or funny - the entrance of Il Conte threatening his wife with an axe in Act 2 "Tutto è come il lasciai" recitativo for instance.

Furthermore, Guth is brilliant at dealing with trios. He creates a unique and colorful synergy between the three characters all the time, that transcends Da Ponte's words, adding codes to structure his whole concept - such as the recurring posture of the two dominant characters surrounding left and right the weakest one.

Guth's general idea is that the characters' lives are intertwined even closer than what the libretto suggests, and that everyone is the puppet of Destiny - the Cherubino-twin angel in his vision. Each apparition of the Destiny - even when the little angel throws himself out the window or comes in on an unicycle - is very relevant and true to the concept, often even poetic.

You are drown to this production, overall even more accomplished and mesmorizing than his hynotizing Don Giovanni for the 2008 Salzburg Festival. It's such a joy to be able to see such a successful production, such a rare feeling for me - and I should know, I neither like Mozart nor Netrebko and I still bought the DVD.

Guth's Cosi - Salzburg 2009

Act 2, Last scene

 

Cosi fan tutte
 W. A. Mozart


Fiordiligi - Miah Persson
Dorabella - Isabel Leonard
Ferrando - Topi Lehtipuu
Guglielmo - Florian Boesch
Don Alfonso - Bo Skovhus
Despina - Patricia Petibon
Wiener Philharmoniker & Staatsopernchor
Adam Fischer Musikalische Leitung
Claus Guth Regie

Salzburg, July 30 2009, ORF2 broadcast

Claus Guth's Cosi, that was performed this summer in Salzburg, is set in a modern house near the woods where Don Giovanni was wandering in last year. The dark atmosphere is pretty similar in both productions but Don Giovanni was a masterpiece - and Cosi is just an accumulation of awkward moments.

The fault is on Guth obviously, who saturated this production with German expressionism, but also on the cast, who was not able - Isabel Leonard excepted - to convey Guth's vision.
But since the singing was overall good, I blame Guth again on that subject - for not simplifying his direction. If your ideas don't work with the cast you have, you must adapt. Mustn't you? The most obvious example lies with Don Alfonso. Guth's idea of Cosi is focused around Don Alfonso - portrayed as Gounod's Méphitophélès from Faust : dark and manipulative.

This concept first lost credibility when he added tons of expressionism - Konwitschny-style.
It then sank when Bo Skovhus was cast for the role - no insult intended, but he's definitely no Erwin Schrott. And I'm pretty sure this production could only have worked with Schrott as Don Alfonso. Well, I suppose this only means you can't be a genius all the time. Better luck next time.

Isabel Leonard

[superb "Amore è un ladroncello" in Act 2]
  Patricia Petibon
  Florian Boesch & Miah Persson

Further reading:

" Au Festival de Salzbourg, un "Cosi" sous hypnose mais peu hypnotique ", Renaud Machart for Le Monde with once again a brilliant review (Aug.8). Chosen extracts: " On pourrait dire que Claus Guth a les idées frappées au coin du nonsense : mais ses excentricités ont toujours un sens, caché ou évident, qui finit par convertir les sceptiques et par le distinguer des metteurs en scène dont l'art du détournement aboutit au cul-de-sac du raccourci abusif. A première vue, ce Cosi est de la même trempe. Il tente de boucler la boucle par des liens récurrents avec les deux autres spectacles salzbourgeois : Eros mène toujours les personnages au doigt et à la braguette ; la forêt de Don Giovanni, lieu de mystère et de sortilèges, est rappelée ; l'escalier monumental des Noces est réinstallé, mais dans une version de l'architecte allemand Mies van der Rohe pour une villa californienne des bords du Pacifique.
(...) Guth a eu l'idée de faire de Don Alfonso un hypnotiseur, vaguement sorcier, un peu John Travolta (mais pourquoi ces mouvements de danse ?), qui claque des doigts, frappe dans les mains (se reprend si cela ne marche pas) et manipule tout le monde.
(...) Cosi, apparemment si simple et si binaire, est pourtant le plus difficile à monter de la trilogie Da Ponte. De très grands, comme Patrice Chéreau, s'y sont même cassé les dents. La lecture de Guth semble plaquée artificiellement sur l'oeuvre, alors qu'elle semblait découler naturellement d'elle dans les deux précédents volets.
(...) En fosse, Adam Fischer (...) souligne adroitement les détails cachés de la partie orchestrale, ménage un cantabile permanent et des tempos sans excès. Tout cela est raisonnable, bien sous tout rapport, mais d'un ennui redoutable."

Don Giovanni, Salzburg 2008

Don Giovanni - Christopher Maltman

Leporello - Erwin Schrott

Don Ottavio - Matthew Polenzani

Donna Anna - Annette Dasch

Donna Elvira - Dorothea Röschmann

Zerlina - Ekaterina Siurina

Il commandatore - Anatoly Kocherga

Masetto - Alex Esposito

Conductor - Bertrand de Billy

Director - Claus Guth

Sets and Costumes - Christian Schmidt

Wiener Philharmoniker, KV Wiener Staatsopernchor

Salzburg Festival August 2008 Unitel Classica Broadcast

First, I want to point out I'm rather unfamiliar with Mozart's operas - including Don Giovanni. My opinion is therefore one of a neophyte.


Most musical critics were skeptical about Claus Goth's new production, judging it controversial and lascivious. The staging might be a bit lustful (but really, just a bit) but isn't that the quintessential sense of the Don Giovanni's myth?
As far as I'm concerned, Claus Goth's work was true to the story, cohesive, aesthetically successful and very actual. What shocked the Mozart aficionados is undoubtedly what drew me into this production - that I would only describe as mesmorizing; portraying both Don Giovanni and Leporello as drug-addicted outsiders - some would refer to them as mavericks -, with the inevitable scene where Leporello injects in both their veins the illicit venom, was an interesting twist on the libretto - not a sacrilege.

The rotating stage (indeed a very pragmatic approach to the setting changes) was also a good idea; on the other hand, I was more doubtful about the chosen context at first (the story is unfolding in the woods) but all and all, the concept is solid and well-used [1]. Definitely a mesmorizing production.

I don't know what Mozart purists think about Bertrand de Billy's conduction but I found it vibrant, energetic and enticing.

Cast

Both Ekaterina Siurina, Alex Esposito and Dorothea Röschmann overplayed, ultimately looking more like Comedia dell'Arte characters - an unforgiving contrast with the tone Claus Guth was going for. Both of them also had vocal issues; Röschmann's breath was chaotic, Esposito couldn't properly project his high notes and Siurina was too distant and not focused enough on her Zerlina.

Annette Dasch's stage presence was much better, but her singing lacked implication (plus she has to do something to improve her Italian diction). As for Matthew Polenzani, he showcased poor acting skills and his singing was overall uneven (brilliant only once in Act I sc.14).

On the other hand, Christopher Maltman's Don Giovanni was praiseworthy (especially in the acting department [2]) and complemented perfectly Erwin Schrott's Leporello. The two created a fantastic dysfunctional pair, with a credible and powerful dynamics that is one of the two highlights of this cast, the other being Erwin Schrott.
His stage presence and his identification with the character were truly riveting, almost occulting his vocal abilities. I loved his performance.  

Conclusion

I might not appreciate Mozart's music to its (supposedly) true value, but this production was indeed a very unexpected and beautiful discovery. I only wish my "repertoire" would only be so lucky to be allowed such inspired staging and cast.

[1] My only criticism is about the Burger King crown Don Giovanni is wearing at the end of the opera (picture above)
[2] Vocally, he totally screwed "Finch'han dal vino" (Act I sc.15) with a tempo that had nothing to do with de Billy's. Also read the live review of Mostly Opera about this production - she calls a masterpiece (so we basically agree).