Roméo et Juliette, Salzburg 2008

Opéra de Charles Gounod

Juliette - Nino Machaidze Roméo - Rolando Villazón Frère Laurent - Mikhail Petrenko Mercutio - Russell Braun Stefano - Cora Burggraaf Le Comte Capulet - Falk Struckmann Tybalt - Juan Francisco Gatell Gertrude - Susanne Resmark Le Duc de Vérone - Christian van Horn Le Comte Paris - Mathias Hausmann Grégorio - Jean-Luc Ballestra Benvolio - Robert Murray Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Conductor Stage director - Bartlett Sher, Sets - Michael Yeargan Costumes - Catherine Zuber Lightning - Jennifer Tipton 3SAT broadcast, August 2nd 2008 Numerous pictures of the production taken during the final dress rehearsal on July 28 here. First of all, I don't think musically Roméo et Juliette is nearly as good as Faust or even Polyeucte (which would deserve to be performed regularly if you ask me). I am truly amazed for instance, that nobody except me finds the introduction of the first big aria of Juliette, "Je veux vivre dans ce rêve" to be a total plagiarism of the beginning of the "Ah je ris de me voir si belle" aria in Faust.

That been said, and to focus on the actual broadcast, I have to say this was a rather frustrating performance. Both the staging, the costumes, sets and lightning were equally boring; as for the cast, I was not impressed by anybody - Nino Machaidze has a huge problem with her French diction, and the rest of the cast was average, as was the chorus, too inarticulate (special mention though to Mikhail Petrenko as Frère Laurent and his beautiful timbre - that, oddly enough, I didn't seem to be sensitive to in the recent Don Carlo in Paris).

Nino Machaidze & Mikhail Petrenko

I was extremely disappointed, on the other hand, by Rolando Villazon. Both his stage presence and his singing portrayed Roméo as a predator with bad intentions and that was a disaster for me. Some could argue this perspective is imaginative and brings an new light on the legend of Romeo and Juliette. To me, it's just like portraying Méphistophélès as a nice guy abused by Faust - and I have too much respect for both Shakespeare and Goethe to applause to such an alteration of the essence of their stories. Beyond that, the real problem was his singing; he had difficulties with the high notes and his breathing and failed to produce any nuance and sensitivity. The scenes requiring finesse and commitment were the worse, especially the final scene that was very well-conducted but failed due to his poor performance. The only highlight of the evening - a relative highlight I may immediately add - was the conduction of young Franco-Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. There were true great moments in his vision of the score, but some arias were totally screwed up as well. To be precise, the beginning of the opera was fresh and extremely vibrant - but by the middle of the first act, both the conductor's intentions and the execution by the orchestra faded; things sounded much better again by the middle of Act 2, especially the last aria of the act, "Va! Repose en paix!" which was played with a rare finesse and a very organic fluidity to it. The 2nd scene of Act 3, with Stefano's Tourterelle aria was a failure; some of the most exquisite bars of this opera, the chorus sentences during the duel, "Capulets/Montaigus, race immonde" were very well thought of, but the brass section was at a total lost during that time; the last two acts were globally well-conducted and the final scene was brilliant (except for the singing, as mentioned earlier). YouTube extracts: - Mikhail Petrenko in "Dieu qui fit l'homme à son image" - final scene

Esthéthisme et sécurité [ter]

Follow-up on the judiciary battle between the City of Lyon and Jean Nouvel & Co, who designed and built the Opera House. Previous episodes (in French) here and there.

Hall de l'Opéra de Lyon Feb.17, 2007

The court has ordered 5 firms, including Jean Nouvel's, to pay 113 000€ to the City (which is a ridiculous amount considering the plethoric problems of the building) for the misconception of the restaurant's kitchen ventilation system. Said the judges, « Il résulte de l’instruction, et notamment du rapport de l’expert, que la gaine d’extraction et de désenfumage située dans la cuisine du restaurant du sixième étage de l’Opéra de Lyon, a été réalisée en un matériau qui, par sa porosité, provoque l’encrassement anormal de certains segments des réseaux d’extraction ». Via Qobuz.

Heaven in Seattle

In case nobody has noticed yet, Les Pêcheurs de Perles is my favorite opera... So the perfect night of the year for me seems to be happening on Jan.23 2009 in Seattle; this performance of Bizet's opera (cast here) will be a LGBT event, as the Seattle Opera, following on NY good ideas, has launched LGBT nights. Such events won't be coming to France anytime soon, let's not fool ourselves...

2 Roméos, 7 years apart

A long long time ago, when Serge Dorny was not the director of the Opera de Lyon, this house had a real talent for scouting new singers - since obviously it never has had the budget to hire real stars - except for Natalie Dessay, a native who is willing to sacrifice a little cash for the pleasure of coming home to a city one can only love once one knows it (but that's a whole different story). Furthermore, this house had the intelligence to schedule French masterpieces - after all, where better to promote the French music than in France? (Serge Dorny dismissed that idea as stupid as soon as he arrived here and has never changed his mind since). Anyway, in may 2001, the Opéra de Lyon had put Gounod's Roméo et Juliette on schedule, with a young and still relatively unknown tenor in the part of Roméo, Rolando Villazón. I had never heard of the guy before and I still remember the impact he made on me that night. The voice was light and extremely expressive, and I couldn't help but think of Franco Corelli - the similarities were indeed plethoric.

Extract of the original program with my comment from 2001 and the exclamation point, proof of my enthusiasm at the time (since I almost never use that punctuation mark).

This summer, Villazón appeared once again as Roméo, this time in Salzburg, and a performance was broadcast by 3sat, allowing me to watch it. Over the years, his voice has darkened, which is not at all my cup of tea. But the real surprise in Salzburg was how uninspired his acting was. I did not buy the character at all and that poor performance, combined with a rather inexpressive singing, concurred to a huge disappointment. And a serious nostalgia of 2001.

Which opera are you?

For those of you understanding French, take a few minutes for a little quiz created by the St Etienne's Opera House entitled "What opera are you?". It turns out I'm Offenbach's La Belle Hélène. Which, truth be told, is not so wrong; not exactly in the way they describe it (always moving to avoid boredom) but rather in the out-of-touch, dreamy and dilettante perspective.

Richter's vision for Geneva

Tobias Richter, the newcoming director of Le Grand Théâtre de Genève for the 2009-10 season, answered an interview for Le Monde yesterday about the Montreux-Vevey osbcure festival he heads. Renaud Machart managed to ask him a couple of questions regarding his vision for Geneva at the very end of the piece. Well, it seems like change will also come to Geneva, as Richter mentioned he plans to schedule contemporary operas that were never performed in Geneva and never performed anywhere after they premiered. I'm not sure how my dear Genevois neighbors will react to that...

Divorce à la française

La Liberté guidant le peuple (28 juillet 1830) 
Eugène Delacroix
 

Because, you know, Americans are what they are (...), the French language suffered yet another insulting ostracism a few days ago. Rufus Wainright, the Canadian pop singer, who was ordered a new piece by the Met two years ago, Prima Donna, has been released from his engagements as the Metropolitan Opera, esp. Peter Gelb, does not approve of the libretto been in French.

Obviously, the English people are a lot smarter, and Prima Donna will premiere next summer at the Manchester International Festival. Still anyone wondering why the French are so anti-American ?

More on the subject: Telegraph

A leap of faith

As another season is about to begin, I would like to expand my operatic horizons. If it wasn't for Philip Glass, my opera affinities would all be in the past (merely surviving World War I). So maybe some of you could make suggestions regarding living composers or composers who died not so long ago (Menotti would obviously fall in that category). Do you love some contemporary operas, which ones, and what makes you crazy about them? Or do I have to resign myself to forget about new pieces?

Joël's health problems

Nicolas Joël, a few days from starting his last season at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, and headed for the Paris Opera after that, had a stroke last week. He's expected to make a full recovery (or is he?).

Die Zauberflöte, Salzburg 2006

Riccardo Muti conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker

Production by Pierre Audi

DVD Decca, part of the series "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Complete Operas, Salzburger Festspiele", M22.

What makes Riccardo Muti achieve greatness is his ability to extract the essence of each score – at least that's how I feel. He has a truly unique talent to unravel every detail and emphasize each line.

Opera should be as much about music as it is about singing. Yet it is obvious that assumption is very unwidely spread among conductors. The orchestra is too often relegated to a supporting role as singing is elevated to the true essence of a piece.

That's never the view of Riccardo Muti.

This Zauberflöte is yet another example of it. Don't get me wrong, I slightly drop into boredom after a while, Muti or not Muti, but at least I hang on there for some time and enjoy hearing the orchestra no matter what – superb in the Papageno aria "Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja" in act I for instance.

Clearly Diana Damrau's Queen of the Night is stealing the show with her incredible charisma and magnetism – not to mention her brilliant vocal expressivity. René Pape (Sarasto) is not half bad either, as is Christian Gerhaher as Papageno.

On the other hand, Pierre Audi's staging is a mess. The sets and costumes are beyond ugly, and the production lacks any kind of meaning – it obviously doesn't help to know nearly nothing of the storyline, and Audi's staging doesn't help a bit.

10 mistakes to avoid when planning an innovative staging of Gounod’s Faust

Staging orientations

1. Don't make up Faust as an elderly cripple only to rejuvenate him as a flamboyant young man at the end of the act I.
2. Don't display the catholics' rites too ostentatiously (death of Valentin, church scene, final scene "Christ est ressussité").
3. Don't make Méphistophélès stand on a wooden barrel for the "Veau d'Or" aria.
4. Don't portray Valentin provoking Méphistophélès with a crucifix ("C'est une croix" aria).
5. Jewels aria: no literal or derivative version of a golden/silvery jewels box should appear onstage.
6. Walpurgis Night: don't show semi-naked women or imitate in any way the Bacchus iconography.
7. Final scene: don't make Marguerite wear a white immaculate frock, don't tie her with long ropes or chains cemented on the wall and ask her to adopt the position of crucifixion.

Costumes

1. Don't dress Méphistophélès in red.
2. Don't dress Marguerite in any "purity" colours: white, light blue, light pink.
3. Don't dress the chorus with XIXth century military uniforms.

Faust, Orange

August 5 performance review

Nicolas Joël’s staging

Obviously, Joël’s view on Faust is centered around Marguerite.
The huge set in the background – a replica of the organ in the Narbonne’s cathedral – was designed to emphasize the church scene at the end of Act 4 where Marguerite seeks refuge feeling guilty after her brother’s death, only to be “welcomed” by Méphistophélès – effectively rushing her to madness, ultimately leading her to kill her child and being imprisoned and executed.

The libretto is quite rushing these events by the way – no doubt a main flaw to fluidity in this piece. On this level, Joël didn’t really help understand the story better; the duel scene in which Valentin (Marguerite’s brother) is killed by Faust, with the help of Méphistophélès, was conceptualized as a kind of “struck by lightning” moment with Faust and Valentin both static, with no sword in hand, and Méphistophélès killing Valentin by a casual fan movement.
I liked the idea very much, but people not familiar with the piece were clueless as to what was happening (I should know, I know some of these people).

Anyway, the church scene – staged as it was to be the counterpoint of the evening – was clearly a success, and I must admit the whole organ setting was indeed well thought of (as I managed to convince the couple sitting next to me of its relevance – though they were more than skeptical about it).

The rest of the production, I must say, was a disappointment: very conventional, very static, very boring. The costumes were unimaginative as well – except for Méphistophélès who was dressed as a circus host – a costume that didn’t suit René Pape’s silhouette (or lack of, rather) at all.

Michel Plasson’s direction

I still remember the first time I saw Plasson conducting, a decade ago, when I was a student in Toulouse.
He was trying to bring classical music to young people by performing free concerts exclusively for students – and there’s nothing more appealing to a student than the word “free”. He was conducting Mahler and his interpretation was full of life, energy and passion.

Neither of those components was to be found in Orange. His conduction was painfully slow, blend and apathic (from what I heard his performances of Carmen in Orange were equally bad). Moreover, the rhythm was awfully off on the fast arias, and clearly “Gloire immortelle de nos aïeux” was a disaster. This was kind of my last try with Plasson, and I must say I’m done for good with him.

From now on, his presence will dissuade me from attending a performance.

Supporting roles

My beloved Nicolas Testé as Wagner made a terrible entrance. His first sentence was an absolute nightmare and in such a small part, the first notes are decisive. The role of Siebel – a male role with a soprano line – was filled by a tenor (contrary to tradition) and I must say this choice actually worked pretty well for me – plus Xavier Mas as Siebel made a good impression on me. Marie-Nicole Lemieux’s Marthe was fun and entertaining, which is basically what the part demands, more than technical perfection.

Jean-François Lapointe as Valentin was praised by a lot of the audience (beautiful timbre and good singing) yet I could not get pass Ernest Blanc’s Valentin. At that point, I realize I probably never will and will remain unsatisfied by any performance. Inva Mula’s Marguerite was also a disappointment. The first part of the jewels aria, “Il était un roi de Thulé” was inaudible as it was obvious she was keeping her strength for the “Ah je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir” part. The rest of her performance was OK I guess, but again, first impressions are unforgiving.

René Pape and Roberto Alagna

There is no doubt Pape has a great stage presence and is equally good in comic and dramatic situations. His high notes are splendid and incredibly convincing, but the lower lines –numerous in this part – are clearly his weakness. They all were perfectly hit on Thursday, but the volume level was too weak – even with the great acoustics of the Théâtre Antique. On the other hand, projection is not really an issue for Roberto Alagna. As expected, the live broadcast on France 2 brought out the best of him, vocally and most noticeably in the acting department. He’s not the fantastic Faust he used to be several years ago but his performance was superb – maybe some of the light vibratos on the high notes could have be prevented, but his stage presence was indeed one of the best I’ve seen of him since 3-4 years.

Conclusion

The review – as always with me – may be mixed – mitigé as we say in French – but there’s one thing unique in Orange – especially for someone like me living in the heart of a big city: attending an opera performance literally under the stars is a one-of-a-kind experience: the beauty of the music is an amazing complement to the wonders of the Universe.

 
French légionnaires watching over the performance