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

Kaufmann's Werther broadcast

Massenet's Werther will be broadcast live tomorrow on Arte, but also on the web via Arte Live Web, the Paris Opera Website or Medici.tv (countries restrictions on the latter, but the broadcast will be available for all on Feb.3rd).

Broadcast Tuesday Jan.26 starting at 8:30pm (Paris time).

Don Carlo's pictures from the ROH

Recent performances of Nicolas Hytner's Don Carlo at the Royal Opera House. The production premiered in June 2008 and this new run featured Jonas Kaufmann as Don Carlo and Simon Keenlyside as Posa. All photographs - Catherine Ashmore

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...

Jonas Kaufmann’s Romantic Arias

1. La Bohème, Puccini - Che gelida manina 

2. Carmen, Bizet - La fleur que tu m'avais jetée 

3. Martha, Flotow - Ach, so fromm 

4. Tosca, Puccini - E lucevan le stelle 

5. Don Carlo, Verdi - Io l'ho perduta... Io la vidi, a suo sorriso 

6. Der Freischütz, Weber - Nein, länger trag' ich nicht die Quälen / Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen 

7. La traviata, Verdi - Lunge da lei...De miei bollenti spiriti...O mio rimorso 

8. Manon, Massenet - Je suis seul...Ah, fuyez, douce image 

9. Rigoletto, Verdi - Ella mi fu rapita...Parmi veder le lagrime 

10. Faust, Gounod - Quel trouble inconnu...Salut! Demeure chaste et pure 

11. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Wagner - Morgenlich leuchtend 

12. La Damnation de Faust, Berlioz - Invocation à la Nature 

13. Werther, Massenet - Pourquoi me réveiller, ô souffle du printemps?

 

The perfect male voice, in my standards, would be an hybrid where the masculinity of a baritone timbre would be tempered with the clarity of a tenor. Or simply put, Ernest Blanc's voice. These affinities make me a hybrid myself, as those two aspects rarely come together. Juan Diego Flórez for instance is without a doubt the paragon for clarity these days. His masculinity on the other hand is a wishful concept longing for emancipation. So what about Jonas Kaufmann ?

This CD is a good way to apprehend him globally, as the track listing covers a wide range of XIXth century composers, mixing hackneyed extracts of Rigoletto, Tosca, Faust, Traviata with more unusual arias. Among the later, Flotow's "Ach! So fromm" offers Kaufmann a perfect opportunity to shine; his expressivity is through the roof and he exudes genuineness, especially when he calls Martha's name. Also striking are "Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen" from Weber's Freischultz and "Morgenlich leuchtend" from Wagner's Meistersinger. The German language is the one suiting him the best, I think, as it is obvious he gets all the subtleties of both the pronunciation and musicality of it. His dark timbre is perfect for this kind of repertoire – not so much for "Salut! Demeure chaste et pure" from Faust or Berlioz's "Nature immense" – and that's when you realize, to relay my initial question, that his timbre – as gorgeous as it may be – lacks the clarity necessary for those arias.

His attempts at Puccini ("che gelida manina" and "e lucevan le stelle") are even less successful and to me, the main weakness of this recording – I consequently think it was a mistake to include them as it only brings light to a recurrent critic about Kaufmann – his inconsistency.

Alternating with the bad, his interpretation of arias from Werther and Manon offers a new perspective on Massenet's work – I never thought they had any kind of dramatic intensity in them. I suspect though this is symptomatic of Kaufmann's timbre and of the way he attacks notes (rather aggressively with that distinctive virility of his). His Rigoletto's "Ella mi fu rapita!" follows on the same path – for the exact same reasons.

Marco Armiliato's conduction is once again unimaginative and insipid, desperately neutral and without any kind of statement about the various pieces of this recording. One thing for sure: he doesn't overstep one inch his supporting role.

This recording provides indeed an exhaustive grasp of Jonas Kaufmann – showcasing both his strengths and his weaknesses. All and all, my final impression will remain his powerful interpretations of the 3 German arias chosen.

ACA's Carmen

London, Royal Opera House
Broadcast of the Dec.19, 2006 performance
DVD also available
Pictures of the production there









Carmen : Anna Caterina Antonacci
Don José : Jonas Kaufmann (role debut)
Michaëla : Nora Amsellem
Escamillo : Ildebrando d’Arcangelo
Zuniga : Matthew Rose
Le Dancaïre : Jean Sebastien Bou
Le Remendado : Jean Paul Fouchécourt
Morales : Jacques Imbrailo
Fraquita : Elena Xanthoudakis
Mercedes : Viktoria Vizin

Conductor : Antonio Pappano
Director : Francesca Zambello

Anna Caterina Antonacci
© 2006 by Catherine Ashmore

At last a production that captures the true essence of an opera…

Francesca Zambello’s view may seem unoriginal on the surface (simple set, costumes that could have been seen in Paris when Carmen was created in 1875, choreography true to the Spanish/Gypsy atmosphere), yet it’s the first time I’ve seen such a care to portray Don José as he was intended in Bizet’s mind.

In June 1872, the Opéra Comique in Paris ordered a new opera to Bizet, who chose to build the story based on Prosper Mérimée’s novel, Carmen (1845). If the librettists Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy were excited by this choice, the minister Adolphe de Leuven was horrified by it: it was unconceivable, according to him, to see a dramatic ending in the Opéra Comique, as well as depraved and low-life gypsies.
After all, this House was the place of choice for families and wedding arrangements.
In order for the piece to be accepted, Bizet was urged to change the ending into a happy one (which he refused) or at least to make Don José more lovable by introducing a new and pure character, Micaëla, his childhood sweetheart.
In the composition of the opera, the distinction between the arias of Carmen and Micaëla is obvious, the latter singing in the usual Opéra Français style (duet “Parle-moi de ma mère” in Act One for instance), while Carmen is granted with the Spanish connotation.

The Opéra Comique is also responsible, by the way, for the spoken parts in the piece (which I don’t think add anything to the story).

The audience at the premiere included Délibes, Gounod, Massenet, Offenbach, Thomas, Alphonse Daudet and Alexandre Dumas-fils. Yet the piece was a huge failure, as the libretto was too shooking and the music too awkward.





In any case, Carmen was build around an aggressive and mean Don José, and nowadays, almost all the productions of this piece portray him as a kind soul whose only fault is his jealousy.

Well, Francesca Zambello took on Bizet’s approach, and Jonas Kaufman, with his dark voice and rustic appearance was indeed the perfect tenor for this (although I was very sceptical in the beginning). We’re miles away from the crystalline singing of Nicolaï Gedda but this approach definitely made me revisit what I expect of Don José. How often can a production alter for the best the perception you have of a piece, seriously?

The children’s chorus was full of life and extraordinary realistic, and I also loved the first silent picture of Don José (during the overture), handcuffed, dirty, visibly disoriented and in despair, holding the faded rose Carmen once gave him and being taken away to die. A simple idea, yet perfectly describing the essence of this opera in just a few seconds.

I know Londoners don’t like it when someone dares to criticize Antonio Pappano and his conducting, but I have to say his interpretation lacks the flamboyance of Georges Prêtre’s and I’m not sure being a singers’ conductor turns out to suit this work: it slowed down the rhythmn at times, and the rhythmics is paramount in this piece.

© 2006 by Catherine Ashmore

Ildebrando d’Arcangelo (or Michelangelo, as I call him) was a powerful Escamillo (even if bringing a magnificent horse on stage didn’t really bring anything to the production, it was fascinating to watch him sing while riding it). The score is not really his cup of tea, and neither is the French language, but his stage presence is always outstanding and made up for his weaknesses.
Nora Amsellem was a weak Micaëla with way too much vibrato everywhere; the two gypsies Elena Xanthoudakis and Viktoria Vizin were pretty good, especially the latter.


The Carmen of Anna Caterina Antonacci is simply extraordinary.
She has the fire in her eyes to own the character from the very first few seconds; her stage presence is phenomenal and suits exactly the role, her acting skills are brilliant, her French diction is perfect and her singing is amazing. What more can you ask for?

So obviously people, I will try and see her in Toulouse next April…

YouTube extracts of this production:

- Carmen’s Habanera, " L’amour est un oiseau rebelle "
- Carmen, gypsy's song "Les tringles des sistres tintaient"
- Carmen & Don José, final duet "C'est toi, c'est moi"
- Don José, "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée"
- Escamillo, Toreador's song, "Votre toast, je peux le vous le rendre"

© 2006 by Catherine Ashmore