légende dramatique en quatre parties
livret Hector Berlioz et Almire Gandonnière
Faust - Marcello Giordani
Marguerite - Susan Graham
Méphistophélès - John Relyea
Brander - Patrick Carfizzi
Conductor: James Levine
Production: Robert Lepage
Metropolitan Opera House
November 22, 2008 Matinee broadcast
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The more I listen to Berlioz, the more convinced I am that his music is indeed unique. There's an overwhelming atmosphere to it, that I would compare to Schubert's. Muti's interpretation of Episodes de la vie d'un artiste in Paris certainly unlocked new doors. Berlioz is so much more than one of those XIXth-century French composers.
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The production
Robert's Lepage's production at the Met is, in my opinion, a beautiful one. It suits Berlioz's score brilliantly and is very cohesive overall, quite an accomplishment considering the piece. It also does capture pretty well the spirit of the XIXth-century Paris atmosphere Berlioz lived in. By all means, Lepage's production was really the key to immerse myself into Berlioz's music.
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The music
On the other hand, I was disappointed by James Levine's performance. His conduction was too fast and not vivid enough for me. Krivine's performance last June was on such a different level.
The whole musical performance really comes to the way "Ange adoré" and the duet with Marguerite following Faust's aria (Part 2) is handled - or not handled, rather. Marcello Giordani's high notes were so hideous (they were horrendous all evening long) he sounded more like a yorshire barking, and Levine just left him to his misery. He could have had the orchestra help, for instance.
1 comment:
Graham and Relyea will also be in the Chicago Lyric production February/March 2010, along with Paul Groves. I have no idea what the staging will be like.
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