Thursday 26 June 2014

"Donna non vidi mai" - Manon Lescaut, Royal Opera House, July 2014

I love this opera. Thought I'd better get that out in the open before we go much further.  And I have a pretty long history with it, as bizarrely (given its comparative scarcity) it was one of the first full length operas I watched back in the early 1990's when I was first getting into opera in a big way.  Placido Domingo was really my way into opera - I loved his voice (still do) and I loved that he could act and make me believe in the character he was playing.  So when I investigated his video catalogue and found Manon Lescaut (which I'd never heard of) it didn't faze me one bit...and as a bonus it also starred Kiri te Kanawa and Thomas Allen.



I think its safe to say it was love at first sight...or first listen.  I just fell in love with the romance, passion and desperation it portrays.  And even in a traditional no-surprises sort of production, the plot is clear and concise, the singing soaring and melodic (even if Kiri was having an off night due to illness) and the music simply sublime.  Yes, I love Tosca and Fanciulla, but if I'm honest Manon Lescaut is my first love.  But since 1983 there have been no performances of Puccini's first great success at the Royal Opera...until now.

You can imagine then my excitement when it was announced that Jonas Kaufmann would be taking over the mantel of the lovelorn Chevalier Des Grieux opposite Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais as Manon Lescaut. Jonathan Kent was announced as director and Antonio Pappano conductor.  I had no qualms at all about Tony P at the helm. He is such a great Puccni conductor, almost feeling the music in his blood.  And he has such a magnetic and enthusiastic personality - I just love to watch him talk about music and especially Italian opera.

Jonathan Kent is a slightly different proposition, although it has to be said I have only had two previous experiences with his productions, one of which I love, the other, well I pretty much hated it.  I loved the ROH Tosca production, although I don't think you can really go far wrong with Tosca.  The other was a Flying Dutchman for ENO which started well but then deteriorated badly and changed Wagner's passionate opera of redemption into something else entirely.  So its fair to say I wasn't entirely sure which side of the fence Manon Lescaut would finally rest.  As it turns out, it was somewhere in between.

But lets get the good stuff out of the way first.  The most important question for me is 'is the singing any good?'. Kaufmann is a very well known quantity for me now so I had no doubts about his ability in the vocal department.  And sure enough he was outstanding as a lovelorn student forever in thrall to Manon, singing with a desperate passion that I have not heard from him before.  The voice seemed to soar effortlessly even in the dark and heart-rending scenes of Acts 3 and 4. Make no bones about it, Manon Lescaut is not an easy opera for singers and this is one of Puccini's most difficult tenor roles.  There were definite hints of Otello in his passionate Act 3 pleas and in the total desperation of Act 4.   There is such drama in the self-loathing and debasement the character feels, and Jonas gives it his considerable all. This part fits him like a glove and I'd go far as to say its one of his best roles.  Yes, perhaps you could say that the Act 1 arias could be lighter and more flirtatious, but that's a minor quibble and I thought he sang them well.  This is his début as Des Grieux and already he has scheduled two more new productions - one in Munich later this year with Anna Netrebko, and a rumoured production at the Met in New York, a co-production with Baden-Baden. Make no mistake, Kaufmann and Puccini are a match made in heaven.

Kristine Opolais comes to the part of Manon Lescaut with a pretty good track record in Puccini and a fast growing reputation as a singer to watch.  I caught her in Tosca last year and whilst I enjoyed her performance I didn't find her as exciting as everyone had told me she was.  I did enjoy her characterisation of Tosca which went a long way, but vocally I thought she was good but not extraordinary.  After now hearing her in Manon Lescaut, I still feel much the same way, although I think the part of Manon suits her much better.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the total performance and her chemistry with Kaufmann was extraordinary.  She's an effective actress and this was a great début in a difficult role (and a difficult production...more later) but take away the stage and the acting and the set and what do you have?  A very good voice to be sure but not one that I could pick out of a crowd. And that readily identifiable quality is what I miss in her voice - something special that marks her out from the crowd.  I also heard her sing Desdemona's aria at the Proms last year and on balance I actually think I prefer her Verdi.  But I'd definitely go to see her again - she's doing Butterfly next season and I will be there no doubt about it.

Christopher Maltman as Manon's brother Lescaut (another role début) was in very good voice indeed, in what is quite an ungrateful part for a baritone...but then Puccini wasn't really that interested in baritones as a rule.  As a result his part tapers off in Act 3 and he is never seen again.  I think an ounce more charm would make this character even more of a success, but Chris did what the director asked of him and it came off pretty well I thought.

If I've been cagey so far about the production there's a very good reason for that...its because basically I'm feeling a bit schizophrenic about it!  I loved half of it but then.....

But I'm rushing ahead.

Jonathan Kent made no bones about it in the lead up to the production that this was to be a modern contemporary version. If I was nervous about that, it was only because I'd already seen the Welsh National Opera 'contemporary' updating recently and was less than impressed.  I was so not impressed by it that I couldn't even blog about it - that's how much I disliked it.  I don't mind updatings and enjoy quite a lot of them, but I do hate it when directors change the story on me, to give me their own version or tell a completely different story to the one the composer is telling.  I have a particular problem when they do this with Puccini as his music is so specific and so theatrical that if you try to tell a different story, it doesn't match the music.  For me, the WNO production of Manon Lescaut had the same affect as nails down a blackboard.  Great directors work with the music, not against it.

I've now seen the new ROH production twice, once on stage and once on the big screen HD broadcast so I've had a chance to think about it and see what worked for me and what didn't.  Broadly speaking Acts 1 and 2 worked dramatically and Acts 3 and 4 were less successful.  Not helpful in the house were the restricted sight-lines experienced in some areas.  I notice that ROH Director of Opera Kasper Holten has now apologised for this with a promise to do better next time.

Apart from sight-line problems most of the directorial ideas worked well in the first act, although I found the slightly self-concious waving around of iPads amusing.  The gaming tables/casino set up on stage were a little odd and would it have hurt to put the supposed soldier Lescaut, into a uniform - at least for his introduction? Otherwise all was colourful enjoyment, even if there was a little too much running up and down stairs on this multi-layered set.

Act 2 was possibly my favourite although it appears I may be in the minority.  This is the act where Manon has left her young lover for the abundant riches of Geronte, here played as some high-level, filthy rich banker. She is comfortably ensconced in a Barbie-pink gilded cage of a boudoir, platinum blonde wig and minuscule dress, her dancing lessons transformed into some sort of soft-porn movie shoot, watched by Geronte and his hangers-on.  As bizarre as this sounds it works very well  and at no point do you ever feel that Manon is there against her will.  No.  This is the price she is willing to pay for the riches, jewels and fame that come her way.  Although the music provided by Puccini is faux- 18th century (including an elegant minuet at one point) this still works for the most part.  Where Jonathan Kent has got it absolutely right, is the depiction of sex - both successful and not quite so successful.  (Avert your eyes now if you're squeamish).

Manon Lescaut is about sex, passion, power, lust and desperate devotion.  No where is this more evocatively portrayed than in the music of Act 2 which musically describes not only the overwhelming physical passion of Manon and Des Grieux but a slightly less successful encounter between Manon and Geronte.  In traditional productions these two encounters are slightly less obvious, usually involving a dance for Manon and Geronte and then a passionate embrace for Manon and Des Grieux.  Listen again.  The music accompanying the 'dance'  builds in a slow but steady rhythm, the music rising higher and higher with suitable vocal encouragement from the hangers on, until suddenly the music suddenly skitters out of control, as Manon's more mature admirer suffers a bad case of errr...getting overexcited shall we say?  While not explicitly shown in this modern production, Manon was straddling her aged protector on the bed at this point, so I think the director knew exactly what he was doing.

As he was when he finally had Des Grieux burst onto the scene, once Manon's other admirers had left her bedroom.  After the usual recriminations Des Grieux capitulates to Manon's charms, allowing himself to be seduced...although in this production he is by no means passive in the seduction!  "I can fight no longer" he says, and the love duet proper begins.  The ensuing duet is a musical depiction of sex - passionate loving sex to be sure, but sex all the same, and the singers throw themselves into the action as required, culminating in a musical orgasm, complete with whispered sweet-nothings muttered in the post-coital glow.  When Des Grieux mutters "Manon, mi fai morire" (you make me want to die or you bring me close to death), he's not talking about actual death, but rather the more pleasant 'le petite mort' - an orgasm. And nothing wrong with that at all.  Unsurprisingly, when Geronte unexpectedly reappears there is consternation all around - lets face it, he has just walked in on them, in bed, basking in the sexual afterglow and while no  nudity is involved, I think this production leaves no doubt as to what as happened.  As an aside, I thought it was slightly  more 'passionate' in the dress rehearsal and slightly, only slightly, toned down for the HD broadcast.  Not sure if this was due to the inclination of the singers, director, opera house or possible DVD censors!  It still works but I'm intrigued.

Photograph Copyright Bill Cooper


And alas this is where my praise for the physical production more or less ends.  In Act 3, the original story has Manon (after Geronte has her locked up for being an 'immoral woman') sentenced to exile to the American colonies.  In this production Manon is sentenced to....I'm not really sure!  When Des Grieux and Lescaut arrive to rescue Manon, she seems pretty much able to wander about as she wants!  No ship awaiting to take her to exile, in fact no mode of transport at all.  It seems to be some sort of game show set up, although everyone looks to be a loser and their fate is to step through a ripped poster.  Now, call me old-fashioned but that doesn't really work for me.  The music and singing was as sublime, passionate and heartfelt as ever (especially from Jonas) but there was no sense of drama in the setting, no sense that he was about to be separated for ever from his love, that she would be exiled and never seen again. Luckily the two principles managed to overcome the lack of coherent drama, providing it all with their acting and singing -but what a let down!

The very short Act 4 (which basically consists of one long duet interspersed by a solo aria for Manon) was also scenically not ideal.  For a start, the action basically continued on without pause from Act 3, Manon still dressed in her tattered and now faded pink Barbie dress.  In the novel on which this is based, some time has passed and Manon and Des Grieux have settled happily in the colonies until once again trouble ensues, Des Griuex kills the Governor's nephew who had desired Manon, and they had to flee, ending up in some deserted wasteland far from civilisation.   Although Puccini didn't set any of this to music, I think it important to note that once again they are in trouble and its not just a continuation of the previous act.  The production here sets this on a half destroyed flyover/highway leading nowhere.  Honestly, if this is literally just supposed to depict 'the end of the road' then I'm disappointed and slightly miffed to be honest.   While I don't like to over-intellectualise at the opera, I don't like being treated as stupid either.  I presume the director wasn't aiming for stupid but that's what it felt like.  Anyway, this worked a lot better in the broadcast than it did in the theatre. The singers were placed precariously high up on the highway, resulting in a lot of sight-line problems in the house.  The singing was of course sublime and in many ways, made up for the lack of imagination and clear plot narrative displayed.  Here I thought, Opolais came into her own, as Manon finally realises how much she loves the man beside her.  "My faults will be forgotten, but my love will never die."  Frankly, if you're not in tears by this point, you've a harder heart than me!

So in all it was a mixed bag and yet I actually do like this production and I will buy it if it comes out on DVD. Somehow the singing and orchestral playing overwhelm any faults in the production - and the faults are not so huge that the piece as a whole is not worth seeing.  But I do also wonder if this production will be revived in the near future - and how revivable it is.  Exactly how good would this production have been without the combined vocal and dramatic talents of Kaufmann, Opolais, Maltman and Pappano in the pit?  How many top class sopranos do we have who can also pull off the skimpy Act 2 costume.  How many tenors can match not only the excessive vocal demands, but also the shimmying up and down staircases and ladders?  I don't know the answer, but I do know that this will be a hard cast to follow.  That plus the fact that contemporary productions date rather quickly.  Jonathan Kent commented that his Tosca for ROH had to be traditional to accommodate frequent revival with a variety of singers.  Does he then not expect the same for his Manon Lescaut?

At this point I must also praise Tony Pappano and the ROH orchestra. What a master of Italian opera and Puccini in particular Pappano is.  The famous Intermezzo was so richly played, the narrative so clear, the emotion so apparent, that I was almost in tears just listening to this piece.  I'm looking forward to the rumoured collaboration between the Maestro and Kaufmann in a recording of Puccini arias. I'll leave you with Pappano and the Intermezzo:









Sunday 8 June 2014

Dialogues des Carmélites - Royal Opera House 7th June 2014

I remember with utter clarity the very first time I heard a snippet of music from this opera.  It was way back in the mists of time (around 1992/3) when I was just starting to really explore opera and classical music in earnest. So I'd buy one of those magazines with a free CD featuring snippets of classical music and just listen. Some of the tracks I already knew, some I didn't like and some I really enjoyed wanted to know more about - it was a really good way of exploring music on the cheap!  Lo and behold one day a track from Carmelites blasted from the speakers and it stopped me in my tracks.  What the hell was this?  Singing nuns getting their heads chopped off?  Baldly stated it sounds bizarre but what I had stumbled across was the Salve Regina, perhaps the most famous 'piece' of the opera and its utterly devastating conclusion.  I didn't know the opera at all but it was love at first listen.  Unfortunately I never got a chance to see a live performance....until now.



And I have to say that it was worth the very long wait.  Much has already been said about this production by Robert Carsen. This is not a new production by any means, having originated in 1997 and has been travelling around the various opera houses since then.  Still, better late than never.  I've only seen two Carsen productions before and neither was a completely satisfactory experience.  Most recent was the Falstaff which I saw live at ROH.  An updating to the 1950's there seemed to be more surface than substance and the final act didn't really work.  His Zurich Tosca (seen on DVD) was also a 1950's based production, although this one taking its cue from film noir and Hitchock themes.  This had the novel idea of removing religion from the opera all together - the first act taking place in a theatre and not a church.  There were some good moments but this was mainly due to the performers and not to the concept. So I was still a little bit wary of what was to come.

In Carmelites, Carsen quite wisely lets the story and the music do the talking.  While the costumes evoke the period of the story, the stage is mostly bare.  Carsen uses the very evocative and clever lighting (designed by Jean Kalman) to great effect.  Combined with the use of the chorus and actors who fill the stage when required this is a simple tale, simply told.  There were no real jarring moments in terms of production although the finale has divided opinion.  As the nuns are gathered to meet their fate they indulge in some gentle almost tai chi like movements before falling gently to the ground one by one.  I think it would have been just as effective to have them stand utterly still but by this time I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't see anyway.

Its very hard to highlight individual performances as this is very much an ensemble - no diva turns here!  Of note to me was the cameo of Thomas Allen as the Marquis de la Force, surely now in the winter of his career...but what a winter.  Richly characterised as always, he made the most of this small role and was warmly applauded at the end for his efforts.  Yann Beuron as his son made a good impression but this opera is not really about the men.  Sally Matthews as Blanche, the novitiate nun who is pretty much afraid of everything, was outstanding as was Anna Prohaska as the perky Sister Constance.  I'm a big fan of Sophie Koch (especially in French opera) and I wasn't disappointed here.  Another standout was Deborah Polaski as the aged and dying Mother Prioress.  She really threw herself into the agonies of the dying nun and you can imagine poor Blanche being terrified.  If Emma Bell was less notable than the rest of the cast, it was only because she had little enough time to establish her character.  Quite honestly there was no weak link in the cast.

So what was it all about?  I suppose on the surface it was about a group of nuns who succumbed to the zeal of the French Revolution.  Others have said it is about the transference of faith - that the faith shown by Constance and the other nuns is somehow transferred to Blanche, enabling her to return to the nuns and die with them. For me personally, it was about overcoming fear, or rather overcoming the fear of fear and thus being able to move on.

In many ways, I had a very similar experience with this opera as I did when I saw Parsifal for the first time and I approached it in much the same way.  This opera is a journey and you have to slow down and let the composer take you on that journey and not want to rush ahead - the conclusion is all the more devastating for the slow pace in getting there.

I have only one criticism and that is a technical one.  The sounds of the guillotine, while still devastating, were greatly over-amplified in the theatre -  at least in the lower amphitheatre where I was sitting.  It just brought a slightly false-note to an otherwise perfect night at the opera.  I'll  leave you with that devastating final scene.