Hamlet at the Met - Ambroise Thomas

Hamlet at the Met. Ambroise Thomas. Wed 24th March 2010


This was a splendid performance of the Bard’s classic story in a less classic French opera, albeit with immortal moments. Hamlet was brilliantly portrayed by English baritone Simon Keenlyside who has gone from strength to strength, now doing one of the most dramatic mental undoings of the stage. His drinking song (O vin, dissipe la tristesse) was rousing with the mighty Met chorus, reminiscent of Sherrill Milnes in his heyday (he did this role in Sydney many years ago).

The curtailed play ‘within’ was a brilliant pas-de-deux ballet with the ‘girl’ played by a tall male dancer with rouged cheeks as per Shakespearean times when women could not be seen on stage (at least in England). Bizarre, but most enjoyable - and most effective in raising the regal ire. Following the king’s outburst, Hamlet, in “j’accuse” mode, leaps onto the royal banquet table and pours a pitcher of blood/wine onto the damask. He then wraps himself in the bloodied cloth and even drinks/gargles/spits between his taxing vocal lines with his velvet voice and strong characterisation. As if to add yet another degree of difficulty, the director had the table on wheels, an unnecessary and inappropriate device in my opinion (OHS issue pending if I were the house doctor).

Popular soprano Natalie Dessay pulled out several weeks before the opening due to illness (who would want to run an opera company?!). The second-cast Ophelia German soprano Marlis Petersen stepped up. And she has all that is takes for this oppressed and rejected character, culminating in her marathon mad scene. Rather than drowning which is mentioned in the text, in this production she slowly cuts vertical incisions on both wrists which bleed liberally, finally doing the same in her cleavage, creating a blood bath of technical difficult only matched by the phenomenal coloratura she was singing at the time. I wonder if this looked too surgical or artificial on the HD telecast … it looked perfect from my stalls seats. But in my opinion this is another liberty taken by directors - asking singers to do extraordinary things while they ‘chew gum’. Ms Petersen not only had to do all this blood letting in the last minutes of her cabaletta, ‘Pale et blonde’ but also had to sing the final climactic notes lying prostrate facing away from the audience. Ridiculous! Gone are the days of standing and delivering, yet all these dramatic demands cannot possibly improve the vocal line.

Jennifer Lamore was marvellous as the conniving queen Gertrude.

The opera’s music, like the story, is dark and brooding. Unfortunately the Met artistic management decided to omit most of the ballet music which to my mind is uplifting and crucial in balancing for the work as a whole. I have often said that it could replace Prozac in suitable cases.

I read that Hamlet was intended to be a tenor role but no suitable singer could be found (can someone lend me a tenor?!). So Thomas re-wrote it for a famous baritone of the time and it has been thus ever since. The other important minor roles were taken by Met singers of high calibre including Toby Spence, David Pittsinger, Matthew Plenk, Richard Bernstein and Maxim Mikhailov. James Morris has had a glorious bass/baritone career and is probably now beyond doing major roles such as Wotan. However, like Samuel Ramey, Paul Plishka and numerous others, the Met continues to use their services in appropriate and less arduous roles. In such cameo or minor roles such senior singers form an important connection with a previous age for young artists, something which unfortunately does not happen in Australia to any great extent despite the wealth of ‘senior’ talent around.

Louis Langrée conducted a solid score - my only criticism the absent ballet music.

The performance was filmed by perhaps 8 cameras across the auditorium which was distracting, especially for those nearby. I gather this was done as a back-up for the high definition cinema simulcast the following Saturday afternoon which will reach participating Australian and Japanese cinemas later in April. Due to the time difference it is largely Europe and the Americas which benefit from these matinee performances direct in real-time. These are usually then released onto DVDs and television and continue the Metropolitan Opera’s contribution to operatic posterity which goes back 50 years or more with the Saturday radio broadcasts.

This Hamlet production from Geneva is by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser. It involves two large symmetrical wheeled sets cleverly designed to be castle exteriors on one side and domestic interiors on the other, both somewhat curved and thus self supporting.

The production and performance were of extremely high quality and I am sure that the cinema broadcast will be well received. However, it must be said that the opera itself is less than an enduring masterpiece, despite having numerous high points. Rather than one intermission it should have two to space the five acts (and accommodate my favourite ballet music!).


Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

Opera blog: http://www.redfernclinic.com/opera/critique/blog/

Travel, food, etc: http://ajbtravels.blogspot.com/

New York in 1922 from grandfather: http://bpresent.com/harry/code/09n_new-york.php

Exemplary Aida at the Met: performance number 1113(!). Faulty scenery!

Aida Friday 26th March 2010 8pm. The Metropolitan Opera

Dear Colleagues,

My father (aged 83) and brother were in town from Australia for this Met performance with a new cast and conductor. We were fair bowled over by the incomparable quality and power of the show which was one of the high points of my opera-going experience. Chinese soprano Hui He made her Met debut and she proved to be a dramatic and vocal force to be reckoned with. She has done Turandot in Italy. The voice is large and well placed with an even production (happily there was no triumphal E flat attempted!). Her expressive diminuendos, portamento and soft high singing were exemplary. Not to be outdone, Salvatore Licitra sang the most creditable Radames I have heard in a long time. He sang Celeste Aida conquering the pianissimo ending which is written but which few tenors can manage. His dramatic portrayal was superb.

But perhaps the star of the night was Dolora Zajick (and some say the opera should be called ‘Amneris’). Her strong mezzo voice was again in evidence. Carlo Guelfi was also a fitting if slightly rough Ethiopian king.

Stefan Kocán was a suitable Pharaoh who leads the patriotic concerted piece ‘Su del Nilo’. As Ramfis Carlo Colombara was more than adequate.

Conductor Marco Armiliato kept the orchestra producing wonderful music at sympathetic paces. There is obviously chemistry happening in the pit unlike what happened on the La Traviata opening on Monday 29th March under Leonard Slatkin. On that night, as well as singers missing beats, I noted three brass players returning mid-act to miss a cue, an almost unforgivable lapse, like a sailor missing the boat.

Enough has been said and written about the magnificent Met Aida extravaganza directed by Sonja Frisell. All I can add is that despite their imposing nature the sets by Gianni Quaranta contain a major error. They all look well aged, despite the opera taking place in royal palaces and temples of one of the great waring dynasties (18th most likely). The columns, capitals, walls, hieroglyphics and other architectural detail each look just like the Egyptian items at the Metropolitan Museum. Yet in reality they would have been bright coloured and fresh, perhaps with gilding, lapis and ebony decoration. Of course we are all more familiar with the faded sepia tones, broken statues, incomplete cartouches, etc, so I am being picky.

I happened to spy Atlanta tenor Lawrence Brownlee in the foyer a few days ago. He had been supporting Met debut of colleague tenor Mr James Valenti. I complimented him on his excellent recent Met Almaviva and would eagerly await hearing (if not seeing live) the Armida with Ms Fleming. I said that I hoped he might come downunder some time as we were short of tenors … to which he replied that he had heard that our opera company no longer took overseas artists. Now I wonder where he could have heard that? Sadly it is largely true. This is 'small town', 'tall poppy' and ‘false economy’ syndrome all rolled into one. Many subscribers who have heard great opera in the past must seriously have reconsidered their expensive and poor quality opera-going experience. Contrary to their mission statement, much of it is not “opera” at all nowadays with musicals, G&S and experimental works dominating true opera. And the average prices in Sydney are far higher than the Met. ‘D’ reserve has disappeared and standing room is restricted by fire laws, thus losing an important cheap “gateway” for young people to learn about opera. *Shame* on opera management in Australia.


Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

Opera blog: http://www.redfernclinic.com/opera/critique/blog/

Travel, food, etc: http://ajbtravels.blogspot.com/

New York in 1922 from grandfather: http://bpresent.com/harry/code/09n_new-york.php

"Boys in the Band" in New York: the playwright attended! [OFF TOPIC!]

Boys in the Band. The Penthouse Apartment, 37 W26th St, NYC 7pm Sun 28th March 2010 The playwright attended!


Just the anticipation of seeing this play was a pure delight. I have known about it all my life but never seen it, nor the movie. My mother went to see it in Sydney over 30 years ago and talked about it for a year or more! But the surprise of the night could not have been predicted by me.

The play was fresh, (almost) timeless and very familiar. Little had changed (rotary telephones notwithstanding; $20 no longer buys a hustler) and the play had every detail one could imagine about gay life in the city pre-HIV and pre 9/11. It is essentially a private gay birthday party with an unexpected and unwelcomed ‘straight’ arrival.

The play’s end, like its beginning, was marked by the young visitor from Long Island attending to each of the lamps around the apartment. After some generous applause, initially in the dark, we were asked by the director to stay in our seats as they introduced an old gent called Mart Crowley - the man who wrote the play! Only in New York!!

I was able to chat with Mr Crowley for a while about the Australian connection, queens through the ages and other things. He said that his play had a bumpy ride in Australia. Despite a successful seven month season in Sydney in 1968, when it moved to Melbourne the cast were apparently arrested and spent a night in custody due to a complaint to the Vice Squad. The episode made a mockery of the laws which apparently were changed shortly afterwards. In Adelaide some minor changes were required after an uncensored version was given for the Attorney General and his staff. I got this from a Google search and can only presume it was accurate (http://www.ains.net.au/~raystan/boys.html).

Mr Crowley kindly autographed my program as he was spirited off to a post party event. He seems to have written an almost timeless play and I am sorely embarrassed that I never saw it originally as most people who at least saw the movie if they missed the original runs of the play.

Comments by Andrew Byrne ..


http://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/shows/the-boys-in-the-band_161537/

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/137094-Boys-in-the-Band-in-an-Intimate-Setting-Opens-in-NYC

Met Traviata - debut of Mr Valenti already taking risks!

La Traviata. 8pm Monday 29th March 2010 Metropolitan Opera House.


This opera had some high points as well as some low ones. Angela Gheorghiu has a gorgeous voice but she seemed out of sorts and that beauty was only in evidence intermittently. Unlike the description of her by Papa Germont in Act II, she displayed little elegance and poise in her dramatic approach on the night. On many occasions she shook her head, sending the two sides of her flowing hair to the wind as she ‘skipped’ to the right then the left in what appeared to be a calculated yet awkward and ‘girlish’ manoeuvre. It did not help her singing as she got out of time with the conductor frequently. In two or three of these occasions, one with Mr Hampson, she caused a ‘train wreck’ of incoordination with the podium.

Her ‘Ah forse lui’ was less than sublime and she took major applause in the middle (before ‘Follia’) as if she wanted a break. At times she sang recitative pianissimo for no apparent reason, especially towards the end of the opera. She sounded as if she was intending to nail the E flat at the end of act I, omitting the second ‘il mio pensier’ but then just ending on a sustained A flat, a note most mezzo-sopranos can sing with ease.

The surprise and delight of the night was the Met debut of young American tenor James Valenti after numerous auspicious roles overseas including at La Scala. He has several of the important qualities required of a great singer. Tall, handsome, high notes, excellent breathing for a long vocal line, accurate pitch (not always THAT accurate on the night), lovely portamento, beautiful quality voice and good acting abilities. He was clearly very nervous and lost his timing ever so briefly in Act I before the Brindisi. However on balance it was an auspicious start for a young man who might turn out to be the (next) great white hope we have lost in Mr Villazon’s absence. It is tough now that Pavarotti is gone to g-d, Carerras is retired and Domingo sings baritone roles or conducts.

Act II saw Mr Valenti sing De miei bollenti spiriti as well as the full cabaletta Oh mio rimorso infamia including the sustained high C at the end (almost unheard-of at the Met or most anywhere else!). After a powerful and exciting vocal line he ended by nailing the upper tonic, held it respectably and then ran off stage to great and well deserved applause.

Unfortunately Mr Hampson and Ms Gheorgiou managed to almost destroy their second act duet (others might have called it a ‘train wreck’). It seemed to me that the soprano just was not looking at the conductor - she might have been doing what we were told in the program notes that Nellie Melba started singing Dit’alla giovine facing up-stage.

Mr Hampson is possessed of a full bodied and gratifying voice, showing his rightly deserves the Warren, Merrill, Milnes succession of anointed American baritones. He sang ‘Di provenza il mar il suol’ with strength and elegance, gaining enormous applause. For unknown reasons he left out the cabaletta so hated by some musicologists (in fact we are all musicologists in my view!). I have heard people say: 'Verdi did not really mean to write that cabaletta' … but he did! And it should be included in my view. The act thus ended precipitously with Alfredo finding the invitation on Violetta’s desk and declaring he will attend to take his revenge.

As Nellie Melba pointed out 100 years ago, most people in the audience would probably not notice, nor would they therefore care less about particular details of singing or repertoire (’sing them muck’).

The timing problems are obviously a combination of conductor and singers - it takes two to tango. Leonard Slatkin may not have been free of guilt in the numerous episodes of incoordination between the pit and stage. It was the first night and also nerves or inadequate rehearsal might each also have played a role. Despite numerous high points, this was not an overall satisfying performance in my view. That is a disadvantage of seeing the opening performance of anything - it is always the most unpredictable and rarely the best artistically. This is in stark contrast to the Aida on Friday which was electrifying in almost every respect.


Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

[post script: please note that shortly after this posting it was announced that the conductor would be replaced for the remainder of the season. The reasons given seemed euphemistic. See http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/conductor-slatkin-leaves-mets-la-traviata/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/arts/music/31traviata.html

Shostakovich and "The Nose" at the Met.

The Nose by Shostakovich. Metropolitan Opera. Thurs March 11 2010 8pm.


I knew that this opera would be a challenge for me but I went along with a positive attitude despite some trepidation. Clearly for people who like that sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they would like!

For me, even reading Gogol’s short story on which the opera is based did not help. I found the opera to be a meaningless cacophony with ugly vocal excesses albeit in a brilliant and original visual production by a William Kentridge. There was no intermission and the piece went for about 95 minutes. Yet the crowds seemed delighted with the bizarre occurrences on stage and in the pit. The season of 6 performances is a sell-out and reviews are positive so I am clearly in the minority. I heard complaints that there is no HD video broadcast planned this season - perhaps later.

Valery Gergiev conducted Paolo Szot (baritone) as Kovalyov, Gordon Gietz (tenor) as The Nose and Andrei Popov (tenor) as the police inspector. I waited in vain to hear the words ‘nostrils’ or ‘flared’. ‘Sniff’ was used in relation to a joke about haemorrhoids and snuff.

The story is theatre of the absurd. That should be no stranger to the opera house where bizarre and unbelievable stories are common in successful operas (I just saw a DVD of La Sonnambula which is also crazy). Yet for me this opera was a failure since it lacked the two essential ingredients of visual and vocal beauty. We don’t need much, but some contrasts between the desirable and the unpleasant are necessary to my mind. This opera seemed to have no defined vocal arias nor melodic orchestration which complimented dramatic situations in the libretto. Some stressed lines of singing were written too high for the tenor to sing, creating a strained, ugly and uncomfortable noise from someone trained to do the opposite.

Nevertheless, one’s interest was certainly kept engaged with the various scenes complimented by brilliant B&W projections of shadow wire figures. These started as a central curtain projection of a slowly rotating silhouette of what looked like a complex mobile mechanism which finally coalesced in an instant to a static human face, possibly Stalin. The brilliant effect caused applause, yet the device did not seem related to the story in any particular way from my vantage point. It also interrupted what passed for an overture. Other images were horses galloping (on one occasion a limping horse with three legs) and these were sometimes used to give the appearance of dragging large pieces of the set around the stage.

There were scenes in a barber’s shop (strangely set with the residence below); bedroom; village square; bridge; newspaper offices, etc. The (absurd) drama unfolded, essentially of a man who wakes up to find his nose is gone and his face flat while another man in the town finds a nose in his breakfast and tries to dispose of it without being detected. The rest just eluded me.

As well as the normal sub-titles we were presented with frequent convenient stage projections of words, sometimes identical to our libretto titles (English and German choices this time). At times however, there were random and provocative words projected in various languages and fonts and colours, even sideways and upside down. The text disambiguation seemed to be an attempt by the production team to compliment and already confusing story.

The orchestration appeared to be constantly aiming for what one could not expect or predict. The usual orchestral instruments were complimented by a piano I believe with other keyboards and additional percussion instruments. One bracket consisted of a five minute loud drum solo. While this arguably had something to do with the libretto, it became boring and repetitive after the first minute or so of drums and cymbals.

If an honours undergraduate drama student had been asked to do the most outrageous and bizarre theatrical things on a large budget this would have gained top marks. Yet it was all completely meaningless for me … as well as another regular opera subscriber who was sitting beside me. Yet for another person in our row, this was her third performance and she was convinced that it should be a life-changing experience for all participants. So each to their own! I just missed the magic which others described. Shostakovich is a special taste and think I just missed out on the essential chromosome to appreciate such Russian cultural material.

Web site for the short story by Gogol found on Google!
http://h42day.100megsfree5.com/texts/russia/gogol/nose.html

An insightful review found on an internet search: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-live-0318-nose-review-20100318,0,5768315.column

Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

Eglise Gutierrez recital - best value for high soprano singing.

Eglise Gutierrez in recital at Merkin Hall, Kaufman Center, NYC.


Ms Eglise Gutierrez gave a most impressive recital at this relatively small venue mid-week to an enthusiastic audience. She is a Cuban American soprano who is performing all the famous bel canto roles in the middle sized opera houses at the moment. She has sung several major roles for the Opera Orchestra of New York, a company which seems to have disappeared from its usual prominence during the recent world financial crisis. Ms Gutierrez’s choice of repertoire was pretty wide ranging and she did not disappoint. In fact, her arias and Spanish songs were little short of amazing.

The very first piece most sopranos would not even dare consider singing, let alone its full extent. The almost impossible and hauntingly beautiful Russian Nightingale song was followed by a Spanish one La maja y el ruiseñor by Granados.

She had E-flats, E naturals and a couple of spare F’s I do declare. She was dressed in all black for the first half, looking every bit the diva. Her canary yellow spiral lace layer dress in the second half was one of the most extraordinary I have ever seen on a woman (thus I exclude Mardi Gras, of course).

After ‘Nel cor piu non mi sento’, our soprano was joined by a fine flautist for the Proch theme and variations, degree of difficulty: unmeasurable.

For the opening of the second half, Ms Guttierez had begged the audience’s indulgence to hear the first encore at the start of the second part – which seemed rather odd … yet it was the entire final scene from La Sonnambula, Oh se una volta sola … Ah no credea mirati … Ah non giunge. It was a phenomenon and the small private audience (with piano and flute) went wild with applause at all the pieces. Her FINAL encore (but one) was Ah forse lui … Sempre libera from Traviata act I. Amazingly (and “only in New York”), a man who appeared to be the video operator suddenly became the tenor, Alfredo, who sings a couple of lines at the end of the Traviata excerpt. This was delightfully bizarre the erstwhile cameraman broke into fabulous song with a strong and accurate youthful tenor voice (off stage as required by the original!).


We were sitting near Eve Queller the Carnegie Hall conductor whose company (OONY) has gone broke, sad to say, with the economic downturn. There was a flurry in the second half as the star realised that in the front row on the right side of the theater was Licia Albanese, a star of yester-year, and always a supporter of young artists. Remarkably, she is nearly 100 years old, and made some of the most enduring early micro-groove opera recordings! Only in New York!

Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

YouTube exerpt 'Ah non giunge' - link on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUZYh4e6qwU&feature=related

Sondheim's Night Music on Broadway - great fun!

Stephen Sondheim: A Little Night Music. The Walter Kerr Theater, West 48th Street.

As if the composer’s 80th birthday concert the previous night was not enough, we attended Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury and Alexander Hanson at the classic Walter Kerr Theater built in 1921 (originally The Ritz Theater).

It was a splendid and clever production involving a set of about 8 or 10 large smoked glassed doors in a curve across the rear of the stage. This became the great outdoors of the country estate in the second half for the ‘dirty weekend’ which became so terribly complicated.

The beginning was brilliant with Stephen R. Buntroon as the young religious son playing the ‘cello on stage … while his father and new young wife decide they will go to the theater. The plot really gets going when old thespian faces are recognised, not always with happy memories.

‘Ordinary mothers’, ‘Send in the clowns’ and numerous other classic pieces punctuated clever concerted pieces, duets and dance scenes. Ms Lansbury, as the grandmother, appeared in most of her scenes playing patience on the table of her wheel-chair. She has an instantly recognisable voice and persona … and looked perfectly fit and agile in her curtain calls. Likewise Ms Zeta-Jones, Mr Hanson and the rest sang and acted well for a highly polished and exciting show.

Although listening to musicals is not my favourite pastime, the energy and excitement of the actors and audience responses were infectious. To my taste both the 8 piece orchestra and actors were over-amplified, especially for a small theatre with one about 1000 seats.

Another unforgettable experience about New York theatre is coming out of the building onto the pavements at the same time as dozens of other Broadway shows … and then running the gauntlet of the crowds making their way to the Subways, pubs clubs and hotels nearby.


Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

Sondheim turns 80 - Big Birthday at Lincoln Center

New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Sondheim: The Birthday Concert.

7.30pm Monday 15th March 2010

We were privileged to obtain premium mid-orchestra seats for Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday concert tonight at Avery Fisher Hall. The great man himself was sitting a few rows in front of us and he even took a bow and said a (very) few words at the end (“Roosevelt said that first you are young, then you are middle aged, then you are ‘wonderful’ - thank you all very, very much!”).

The entire stage was ‘wrapped’ in a metre of red satin ‘ribbon’ including a huge bow/rose. Each number had original lighting projections below the red giving a festive feel to the venue. The concert was professionally and tastefully arranged with split second timing.

It was one of the most moving concerts I have attended with many of the greats of Broadway performing on the platform with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra hosted by David Hyde Pierce who also sang. Despite over a dozen sterling performances from Broadway stars, the night was probably stolen by old-timer Elaine Strich along with Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin, George Hearne, Bernadette Peters and about a dozen others.

Before Sondheim made his name musically, he wrote lyrics for Leonard Bernstein and so we first heard “I want to be in America” from West Side Story sung by six Musical first-ladies. Then we heard an ‘ordinary mother’ from Little Night Music followed by a number of solos and duets, some from performers who created the roles.

The second half started with a ‘sweet parting’ pas-de-deux based on the movie ‘Reds’ for which Sondheim wrote the music. It was beautifully danced by Blaine Hoven and partner Maria Riccetto. The finale consisted of six Broadway divas dressed in red seated in a semi-circle singing in turn. Finally to an enraptured house Ms Strich sang “I’m still here”. LuPone had sung “The ladies who lunch” as well as a complex and clever duet/trio from Sweeney Todd “Have a little … priest!” with Michael Cerveris and George Hearne (who had each played the demon barber of Fleet Street with LuPone). Nobody sang ‘Bring in the clowns’ (probably everyone would have like to have done it).

Perhaps the most moving part of the night was towards the end of the night when the host announced that ‘a few friends’ from Broadway had agreed to come up-town to join the birthday celebration - being Monday much of Broadway was closed. At that point about 300 black clad singers/actors filed into the Avery Fisher auditorium from each and every entrance. About a hundred of them filed onto the stage with the rest singing a Sondheim excerpt (‘Sunday’) from the aisles and entrances to the hall as the orchestra played on. Hence everyone in the theatre could hear both singers close up as well as the glorious ensemble.

Sweeney Todd is the only Sondheim work I am really familiar with but other pieces rang bells of course. It was indeed a gala night and a broadcast and DVD can be expected with eager anticipation.

Comments by Broadway novice, Andrew Byrne (visiting from Sydney, Australia).


http://www.playbill.com/features/article/137906-The-Glamorous-Life-Stars-Come-Out-for-Sondheim-at-Philharmonic-

Barber of Seville at the Met Thurs 4th March 2010

Barber of Seville - Metropolitan Opera Thurs 4th March 2010


This performance reminded me that Barber is a comic masterpiece - a fact which had almost eluded me after some recent second rate performances. This Met performance was like any human endeavour at its highest level: being based on a good formula, it should be exciting, appear easy and have elements of the Olympic Games and Guinness Book of Records all rolled into one. And that is what the capacity audience got at this performance, the last in a run beset by illness and replacements. It may have been the first performance when everything (well, almost everything) went according to plan.

This production by Bartlett Sher breaks with many prevailing traditions. He utilised a wooden plank stage extension going right around the orchestra. The stage itself was bare apart from sporting numerous mobile double doors, each in its own architrave. One was surmounted with a balcony with rear ladder as required by the story, like Romeo and Juliet.

This production premiered a couple of years ago with Juan Diego Florez as a sensational Almaviva … but Lawrence Brownlee was a fine artistic force in the current production (Barry Banks did the previous performance due to illness). Brownlee's Ecco ridente was marvellous, ending on the high tonic to rousing applause. This was just one of many, many optional extras put in by almost all of the principal singers in the true original spirit of bel canto. Even Berta’s aria was ornamented by Claudia Waite. It is a great shame that this was not a scheduled national radio broadcast.

Diana Damrau is a glorious ‘high octane’ soprano with a few extended high notes which she can make sound like a glass harmonica. She is beautiful and a fine comic actress to boot. Her ‘Una voce poco fa’ came without a break as she simply walked through one of the many doors for her entrance.

Franco Vassallo is also singing Figaro this season at La Scala and it is obvious why. He took complete control with his ‘Largo al factotum’ and ensuing famous duet with the tenor.

The patter song of the guardian Dr Bartolo (Maurizio Muraro) admonishing Rosina for her excuses was little short of amazing, ending as it did in front of the conductor. Many ensembles and duets took place, at least in part, on this platform, changing the acoustics significantly - and for the better. Obviously, the closer one is to a singer the more powerful the voice will sound. In addition, the orchestra was partially obscured and it seems somewhat reduced in size as well.

In the same way, as Don Basilio, Samuel Ramey demonstrated everything that it is to be a professional (and many decades at that!). He must be one of the few singers left standing from the last “golden age” which included Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Beverley Sills, Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Leontyne Price and the rest.

There was careful appreciation of the libretto throughout the performance. We were presented with numerous major stage ‘gags’, some straight out of the text like the crash in Dr Bartolo’s larder as the shaving equipment is being sought - indeed it became an explosion with sparks, noise and smoke to prove it. Inevitably Ambroglio, played by actor Rob Besserer, was the butt of the joke. Other gags, large and small, seemed to come from both the text but some from the vivid imagination of the production team. An oddity ended Act I in which the rear scrim slowly rose to reveal a blinding white backdrop and an ever-so-slowly descending enormous anvil above the rear of the stage. As our protagonists sang the complex concluding piece at the front of the stage, Ambroglio tries to deal with a cart of giant pumpkin gourds which was dragged on by a donkey. With the animal and driver departing, we saw a dishevelled and panicking Ambrogio trying to warn of the impending doom which finally occurred on the last note of the act as the enormous weight above dropped and crushed the entire cart with bits of pumpkin, spoked wheels, etc flung asunder. Weird! It did not add to the drama to my mind.

Another gag involved Mr Brownlee seriously drunk in the second act wielding a large soldier’s sword which chopped the trunk of a large ornamental orange tree. After a little encouragement the tree fell, pinning a screaming Ambroglio to the floor. Not to be outdone by Juan Diego Florez, Mr Brownlee sang the “Cessa di piu resistere” scene which is familiar from the end of La Cenerentola. He ended on a sustained B flat according to a man sitting next to me, a concertmaster who had his own tuning fork. It was a sensational end to a glorious scena leading to the happy finale.

All in all a very, very satisfying night at the opera. Maurizio Benini conducted. Sets by Michael Yeargan.

Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

All casts can be found on the Metropolitan Opera web site http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/index.aspx


Boheme with Netrebko on this Saturday night in Zeffirelli’s gigantean Met production.

La Traviata, Sydney Opera House

La Traviata, Sydney Opera House, Fri 22nd January 2010

Violetta Valéry - Elvira Fatykhova
Alfredo Germont - Aldo De Toro
Giorgio Germont - Jonathan Summers
Marquis - Andrew Jones
Baron Douphol - Shane Lawrencev
Flora - Domenica Matthews
Gastone - Andrew Brunsdon
Doctor Grenvil - Stephen Bennett
Conductor - Phillipe Auguin
Director - Elijah Moshinsky (rehearsed by Richard Jones)
Designer - Michael Yeargan


Dear Colleagues,

You can hear the two famous Traviata duets on a brilliant skit on YouTube choreographed and filmed at the city markets in Valencia in Spain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ryWd5aFw.  It is almost as much fun as the real thing in the opera house!

In its turn, the Friday night Sydney Opera House opening of La Traviata with Elvira Fatykhova, Aldo di Toro and Jonathan Summers was a magnificent spectacle.  I heard Sherrill Milnes sing Papa Germont in the early 1990s and he showed why he was then in a class of his own.  Also a class act is Mr Summers who pulled it out of the bag to give a voluble display of warmth and balance in his portrayal of the manipulative father without whose input the story would be boring indeed. 

Ms Fatykhova started somewhat weakly but rose to the occasion for her big numbers with just enough heft to be heard in the relatively small Sydney Opera House.  She is a fine actress.  There seemed to be something odd towards the end of the Sempre Libera cabaletta whereby she sang momentarily without orchestra but when they came in again it seemed to be in another key - perhaps I was dreaming.  She held a more-than-respectable E flat (if it was an E flat) topping off a creamy act and to great applause. 

Mr Di Toro sang well but wisely omitted the (very) high note while running off stage at the end of O mio rimoso, o infamia.  I think it would be a D. 

Chorus and orchestra were up to their usual high standards and the crowds were satisfied at this the third Friday night opening in as many weeks. 

There was a time when opening nights were usually sold out but this is no longer the case.  It is my view that unsold seats should be granted to conservatorium students, musical people, retired opera singers and/or underprivileged people rather than simply giving them to company employees and their families.  One administration employee was seated with his party in the centre of the front of the dress circle which hardly sends the right ‘message’. Yet again, one senses that the company has put on a good quality opera in spite of the management and not because of it.  I earnestly hope that I am wrong in these concerns. 

Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

Manon Gala Sydney Opera House Fri 22 Jan 2010

Manon - Jules Massenet - Sydney Opera House Friday 15th Jan 2010


This opera gala was another success in nearly every respect. For reasons known only to the current management, five acts and six scenes were only broken by one long interval, not two, for this revival of Stuart Maunder's traditional and rather beautiful production. The continuous action can be torture on the singers' vocal cords. It is also tough for the orchestra/chorus, difficult for the audience and a profit-buster for the house bar and caterers. While it shortens a long night at the opera, it does so at an unacceptable price in my view. Massenet apparently intended four breaks! But what would HE know?

Amelia Farrugia shows that she has what it takes - and that is a whopping big talent, voice and presence to carry off this enormous role. Her town square gavotte song drew a great ovation from those on stage and in the theatre. She spanned the gamut of emotions from teenage adventure, intimate love to public adulation and beyond with her own death scene.

Julian Gavin is possessed of a warm, natural tenor voice and was magnificent, especially from the St Suplice scene onwards. His 'En fermant les yeux' (The dream) seemed somewhat 'studied' but by the time he sang 'Ah fuyez, douce image' in the church scene he was incomparable, as he was in the tragic finale.

Stephen Bennett was an excellent father figure. It is hard to understand why he was not seen or heard for so long but gratifying his substantial talents are now being used again, albeit in some smaller roles such as the doctor in Traviata (which could well be played by an aspiring newcomer).

Possibly Australia's pre-eminent young baritone Jose Carbo likewise is 'under-parted' as the eligible Lescaut, cousin of Manon. Both Bennett and Carbo should be singing big roles, title roles and be 'stars' of the opera, yet neither has been given a significant challenge in some years. Carbo did a superlative Barber of Seville in 2004. It is hard to understand why someone who has a contract with La Scala is currently only singing secondary (if still substantial) roles in Sydney. Much more common, sadly, is the reverse where less capable singers are given tasks beyond their abilities as part of casting mysteries which happen in the national company.

This production has Kanen Breen portraying Guillot de Monfontaine as a campy calculating and unpleasant 'dirty old man'. This seems unnecessary when the character can, at least initially, be portrayed as a sympathetic if slightly pathetic sexed-up old man, only later to become the litigious protagonist. While we can never know exactly what Massenet and his librettist wanted, I doubt if it was the caricature played by Breen. The director has him drawing attention to himself rather than the opera's story line in my view.

I still find that Manon can be long and difficult - unless it is done to perfection - I recommend the Netrebko and Villazon DVD from Berlin. Apparently Sir Thomas Beecham is quoted as saying that Manon by Massenet would take precedence over JS Bach's Brandenburg Concertos if there were ever a choice to be had.

We should never lose sight of the fact that the orchestra and chorus performing with our national opera company in Sydney are of a high standard. Maestro Emmanuel Plasson conducted inconspicuously and with appropriate aplomb.

Throughout the hall on two Fridays in a row there were company members sitting in good seats, presumably free or at reduced prices, showing that even on a Friday night in high tourist season with one of the best known operas in the canon there seems to be a problem with the opera company's marketing. The previous Friday's Tosca opening was a full house but this Manon I estimate was only 85% sold and many seats clearly were 'papered'.

It is gratifying to have experienced two successful openings in a fortnight but this needs to be followed up with continued high quality opera and good marketing. Too often in recent years performances have been marred by replacements, ill-prepared singers and even absent understudies. Furthermore, the best seats are now $297 which is more than the best 'orchestra' seats at the Met in New York. Yet "rush" seats are sold for $50! While this is a bargain, it is also a slap in the face for regular subscribers who are the main supporters of the company.

Comments by Andrew Byrne.

Opera blog: http://www.redfernclinic.com/opera/critique/blog/

New York, restaurants, recipes: http://ajbtravels.blogspot.com/

Tosca at the Sydney Opera House directed by Christopher Alden.

Tosca - Friday, 8 January 2010 - Sydney Opera House.

Dear Colleagues,

Despite all the critical hoopla over this updated production I enjoyed it and would rather like to see it again. The solo voices were magnificent, orchestra in fine form under Andrea Licata and company chorus singers doing their usual professional job.

The mod-drab production would take several pages - even to describe the essentials - and others will do that I dare say. Tosca does not jump in front of the A-Train in Act III but she does not jump off the Castel Sant’Angelo either! You will have to go along to see how the ending of this ‘shabby little shocker’ has been made - certainly more shabby and in some respects more shocking.

We saw the clever arrival in church (actually the vestry) of the Marchese Attavanti in Act I during the Te Deum commotion (the Te Deum has become a parish raffle). Played by Sian Pendry, the beautiful blue-eyed blonde of the story, normally only seen in her portrait, manages to hide in, behind and then atop the confessional box which also serves as the family capella. She responds mutely to the various pieces of news about her brother, the Napoleonic advances and Scarpia’s bad behaviour. Act III is run straight from the end of Act II and it all seems to ‘work’ somehow with the Marchese singing the sad shepherd boy’s song (in tune, unlike some boy sopranos). Her brother’s ‘body’ is brought in, obviously a rag-doll mock-up, and strung up as demanded in the libretto but not normally seen on stage (and to the sister’s mute horror).

There were innumerable other details to this production, many stemming from the story (like the electrocution used for torture) and others seemingly out of nowhere. All were thought provoking and some were quite humorous. Spoletta and Sciarrone were presented as disinterested henchmen who despised Scarpia, just like everyone else. They even conspire to facilitate his stabbing. Surprisingly, each gets a laugh at times in this otherwise grisly thriller.

The death of Cavaradossi remained a mystery to me, as if he just died of delayed electric shock and somehow Tosca could tell as much from the other side of the stage: ‘Presto su, Mario’. There were a few other incongruities - such as how did Cavaradossi ‘fail to recognise’ Angelotti when he was still in the next room (or confessional)?

Rosario La Spina sang brilliantly. His high notes were ringing, his low register secure but with a few glottals and possibly phlegm briefly present. His acting was just fine and compared to Pavarotti he was academy award material. He even youthfully bounded up a tall window frame with Angelotti to make their escape from Scarpia and his hounds in Act I.

Ms Takesha Meshé Kizart gave a sensuous and sensational performance. In contemporary dress and literally ‘to kill’, she was jealous, loving, superior and finally stoic in the face of death. Boots, dress, Ray-Bans and gossamer hair. Her Vissi d’arte was a triumph and the ovation she received ecstatic. The final audience applause included a huge and prolonged standing ovation by a large majority of the stalls patrons but also with a small number with prominent boo’s, largely when the design team finally came out for their own curtain call.

John Wegner, like his stage colleagues, rose to great heights with his portrayal of Scarpia. He had to eat pizza, assault numerous males and rape the heroine and all while belting out a grand velvet tsunami of vocalism. Accolades in anybody’s language.

It must be rare to fine a Sacristan with a louder voice than the other principal singers. Warwick Fyfe did a sterling if coarse and unsubtle job in the minor clerical part … also doubling as jailer in Act III which took place as a continuum from Act II without a break still in the vestry of the church on (or off) the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Fyfe smoked, coughed, grumbled, genuflected and lit the 12-volt miniature of Jesus … while also doing the gaoler’s bidding in Act III.

Full marks also to Maestro Michael Black and his chorus who provided an excellent and original Te Deum scene and then the off-stage cantata in Act II. Puccini called for an off stage chorus in numerous operas including Madam Butterfly. The chorus appreciate this as they can scrub up, do their last scene and go home early. Puccini also knew the benefits both in drama and practicalities of having his soprano sing initially off stage, a device he does not only use in Tosca. ‘Mario, Mario, Mario’ (shades of ‘Maria, Maria, Maria’ by Bernstein).

The opera finished early, allowing us to take a full and wholesome supper along with the inevitable operatic autopsy.

Unanswerable questions will arise about whether it is appropriate to do anything with this opera after the glorious authentic enstagements of Copley, Zeffirelli and others. If your answer is ‘no thanks’ you need to stay home. Otherwise, with great singing and Puccini’s immortal score this will not fail to exotically entertain.

Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

Opera blog:
http://www.redfernclinic.com/opera/critique/blog/

Australia's national "opera company". Is it a joke?

Dear Colleagues,

At last there is a ray of hope from our national opera company with the last minute engagement of Ms Kizart to sing the role of Tosca following the withdrawal of Cheryl Barker. Ms Kizart’s YouTube clip of ‘Tu che le vanita’ from Don Carlos is very impressive and she should make a fine Tosca in this new, updated production. John Wegner as Scarpia and Rosario La Spina as Cavaradossi should combine to make a marvellous first cast.

There seems to have been nothing but bad news from the national company in recent months and now, due to the expense of building the new Benedict Andrews production and the ‘financial risk’ involved, the company has regretfully decided to re-present the Neil Armfield production instead this season.

Lisa Gasteen, who was billed to sing Fanciulla del West, has also unfortunately withdrawn, as she did from last season’s Fidelio.

The impeccable Emma Matthews was unwell for much of the Sydney season of Montagues and Capulets but we look forward to hearing her again in Candide in the Parks Concert in January with David Hobson who is finally making a welcomed return to opera in Sydney with the national company. NOT TO BE MISSED! I hope it is televised.

Wishing all readers a safe and sound holiday season,

Andrew Byrne ..

See tides and tidings posting on web site: http://ajbtravels.blogspot.com/2009/12/king-tides-and-kind-tidings.html

Tosca and Rome - both immortal.

Tosca and Rome - both immortal.

It is worthwhile spending some time with this opera before moving on to the Wagner.

Tosca is rare in the field of opera regarding its ‘realism’. The events of the opera mean that its date is exact. Napoleon was then conquering areas well beyond France. You might say it was one of the many attempts to unify Europe which has now happened peacefully with the same currency, foreign policy and trade laws for most of the countries. The Battle of Marengo is mentioned in the text somewhere and 1799 was the year. He had already tried to conquer Egypt!

Further, each act takes place in a location which actually exists … and most tourists to Rome will see at least one of these either on purpose or just because they run into it. Opera fans will make a point of seeing all three! The church of Saint Andrea del Vallé is in the Corso Vittorio Emannule II and is magnificent … but no more magnificent than a dozen or more churches in Rome. The Farnese Palace became the French embassy. The Castel St Angelo has a long history and it is said that whoever holds this castle ‘will hold Rome’. It was originally a tumulus burial monument for Nero I believe and has since been built on, used as a prison, palace and tourist attraction. While it is not far from the Vatican itself, I believe there used to be tiny, narrow streets which Mussolini bulldozed to create the now magnificent avenue leading to St Peter’s square. It had been hemmed in for hundreds of years and pilgrims had to weave their way past the poor district to get to see the ONLY completed cathedral in the entire country (I kid you not). The Pope now owns the Castel St Angelo and he apparently has a small apartment there. Although it is huge, most is just firmament with ramps, stairs, tunnels, etc within. Its fenestrated battlements are recognisable for miles around and it is literally on the Tiber River, with only a small but busy two lane road in between, not to mention a little bridge directly in front … called (naturally!) the Ponto St Angelo.

So this opera is very popular, perhaps the 6 or 7th most popular of all operas at a guess, slightly after the famous 1,2,3 or “ABC” (Aida, Boheme, Carmen) of opera which no company can ignore in ANY season without risking bankruptcy.

Maria Callas was the most famous exponent of the part but Monserrat Caballé made by far the most impressive recordings of ‘Vissi d’arte’, the very famous soprano aria (act 2). Apart from this, the opera is famous for not one but two immortal tenor arias, ‘Recondita armonia’ (act 1) and ‘E lucevan le stelle’ (act 3). Pavarotti (and most famous tenors) often sang one or even both of these two in their concerts.

This is also a good demonstration of the difference between a coloratura soprano and the dramatic soprano. The former, ‘a big canary’ would be taking big risk in attempting this role while the latter is more like a vocal locomotive for whom it is a gift.

So, get with the strength and vote number one: “TOSCA!!”

Peter Grimes at Sydney Opera House.

Peter Grimes: Britten. Sydney Opera House 2009 Thursday 15th October 2009

Dear Colleagues,

This was an extraordinary night at the opera, honour being had by all. Even the fussiest Britten fan should not be disappointed by the overall effect of this production. It was set in a classic 20th century British community hall, complete with angled windows, swinging double doors, wall clock, hanging fluorescent lights and curtained stage with central steps for prize recipients. Only the portrait of ‘her maj’ was missing.

Maestro Mark Wigglesworth was the hero of the evening as he conducted an experienced and well placed orchestra with flair and knowing enthusiasm. Full-throated Australian international tenor Stuart Skelton played the title role with sufficient ambiguity to be sympathetic, despite the obvious negatives. He sang Grimes to the cleaners with extended, exciting high and mighty vocalising. He also managed to often appear shy and insipid dramatically to augment the uncertainty about his motives and circumstances.

Ms Susan Gritton played a fine Ellen Orford with an incising and substantial soprano voice. I note that she has recorded with Pamela Helen Stephens under Richard Hickox. While her portrayal was marvellous it is hard to imagine that there is no Australian soprano available, despite the challenges of this role.

Peter Coleman-Wright was an effective (retired) Captain Balstrode. The two chirpy nieces were played well by Lorina Gore and Taryn Fiebig. Kanen Breen was appropriately cast as the clergyman.

Along with the solo village characters (David Corcoran, Richard Anderson, Elizabeth Campbell, Andrew Moran, Peter Carroll and Catherine Carby) the chorus was excellent. They acted separately and then in concert, unity and purpose when required.

The opera is meant to take place in numerous locations from the seashore to boat house to village court house. With ubiquitous modern economies we see almost the entire opera take place in the village hall. Ropes, tackle and nets are carted through the hall as if it were the marine seaside. A boat is even dragged through the building which is beyond bizarre. Lightning occurs inside and a storm is quite cleverly mimicked within. Such is modern opera. At one point the rear proscenium is pushed forward to become the fisherman’s cliff-top hang-out for the death scene.

As in the excellent old John Copley production in 2001 we were presented with apprentices who were very young pre-pubertal boys rather than the mid-teenagers one might glean from Crabbe’s source poem - and its libretto by Montagu Slater. I find Slater’s constant scrambling of English grammar to be tiresome, despite its initial cleverness. Peter Grimes is a 20th century masterpiece but it is clearly not everybody’s cup of tea as the theatre was far from full, even with large numbers of free tickets given away. This may be one of the company’s best efforts this year. The audience literally screamed at the end with cheers for all those involved.

For those who enjoy Benjamin Britten (I exclude myself) this opera is a ‘must-see’ … and there are only 5 more performances (one being on Saturday night, after only one day’s break!).

It seems unbalanced and unfair that most operas billed to be conducted by the musical director in recent years had internationally acclaimed casts singing with the best of Australia’s resident opera singers. Peter Grimes has five artists who have reputations at a high international level (Wigglesworth, Armfield, Skelton, Gritton, Coleman-Wright). At the same time most of our other operas this year have had only one or two who might fit this category - some had none. While less notable productions of La Boheme and Cosi fan tutte were televised by the ABC, the operas with world-class casts and productions were passed over for mere audio recordings with an English record company, denying posterity the sight of such unique performances from down-under.

It is sad to see such a poor quality televised production of Cosi fan tutte recently on the ABC. While it was not as bad as last year’s La Boheme, there is still a major contrast with previous video efforts of this company as well as with modern high definition broadcasts from New York and elsewhere. There were no sub-titles. The commentary was excruciating. Jennifer Byrne’s cues (no relation) were visible written on the palm of her hand! While there was some fine singing, the production and camera work did not compliment it. I have just watched the second half of Les Huguenots from 1990 and it is superior in every way.

Comments by Andrew Byrne ..

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