Last week The Royal Opera announced a rude awakening for Friends who want to nab those choice tickets. They have moved the opening of the summer season booking on 4th March from a reasonable and sedate 10.00am to a mind-boggling 8.00am! Not so bad I suppose if you have no need to earn a crust and get into work or have some lackey do the booking for you. But for a lot of London and outer-London based Friends 8am is prime commuting time. And in my case that means being stuck on a train, usually standing up and with no hint of a wi-fi signal. What with that and the ROH's recommendation that I log in to the computer in good time, basically means I have to drag myself out of bed at around 5.30 to ensure I'm at my desk, logged in and ready to go by 8.00 am,
The revered and much loved John Copley production starts its final run before being retired for good. There are 11 performances and two casts to choose from. First cast offers the delights of Anna Netrebko gracing London with a rare visit....possibly. I wouldn't lay odds on her actually turning up as the role of Mimi doesn't really seem to fit in with the rest of her current repertoire of Lady Macbeth, Leonora (Trovatore), Manon Lescaut, and Anna Bolena. She last sang Mimi around two years ago so there's every chance she will....and equally every chance she won't. However her colleagues are not to be sniffed at with Joseph Calleja as Rodolfo and Jennifer Rowley making her much anticipated (by me) ROH debut as Musetta.
The second cast is actually my preferred - especially if I could do a bit of swapping around. Lianna Haroutounian, who made a big impression here as Elisabetta in Don Carlo and Helene in Les Vespres siciliennes, sings Mimi, Piotr Beczala is Rodolfo. For the final performance Placido Domingo takes up the conductors baton - very apt as he was this production's very first Rodolfo. Tears will be shed!
Kasper Holten's production of Don Giovanni makes a speedy return to the stage with a brand new cast. Can't say that I'm overly keen to reacquaint myself with this production as I found it misogynistic and hard to take. However the cast assembled for this revival is very good indeed. Christopher Maltman is the Don, while Alex Esposito returns as his sidekick Leporello. Albina Shagimuratova, Dorothea Roschmann and Julia Lezhneva are Anna, Elvira and Zerlina while Rolando Villazon essays Don Ottavio - sharing the role with the fantastic Michele Angelini. Alain Altinoglu conducts what should be a musically fabulous revival - if only the production were better.
Finally a new production! Damiano Michieletto makes his Royal Opera House debut with Rossini's opera - the one with the famous overture! Antonio Pappano will conduct a strong cast with Gerald Finley in the title role, Malin Bystrom as Mathilde and American tenor John Osborne as Arnold. One to watch!
Verdi's final opera makes a welcome return in Robert Carsen's very amiable production, updated to the 1950's. The updating doesn't really work but doesn't really jar either so definitely worth seeing if you haven't seen it before. Casting is fine without being star-driven - but then its not that sort of opera. Ambrogio Maestri returns as the corpulent knight, Spanish soprano Ainhoa Arteta is Alice Ford (replacing a previously announced Marina Poplavskya) and Roland Wood (who I enjoyed as Roucher in Andrea Chenier) is Ford.
And that's it for opera performances for the 2014/15 season. There are a couple of extras to round off the season. The Jette Parker Young Artists have their 'end of term' concert on 18th July which will include excerpts from Simon Boccanegra, Adriana Lecouvreur, Les pecheurs des perles, Romeo et Juliette and others.
While on 19th July Placido Domingo's Operalia competition comes to London for the first time. A great chance to do spot possible stars of the future.
So that's it! But what does next season hold? No one quite knows - or at least they're not telling. A season announcement is not expected until early April so until then why not visit the Future Royal Opera Wiki to keep abreast of matters - or even add some inside information!
I'll leave you with my bit of wishful thinking for next season:
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:
Before I review this performance I thought I'd better give you a little insight into my operatic adventures to date. I suppose I grew up listening to operatic music in the home on a fairly regular basis. My late Mum loved the opera and listened to singers ranging from Mario Lanza to Placido Domingo and Pavarotti and most singers in between - but she never really had the opportunity to see live opera on a regular basis - due to geographical location and lack of funds. So for me the music was there in the background and something that over time I came to love myself. However, again due to geography and funds, I let my live performance going slide and contented myself with DVD's and recordings....until a couple of years ago I found my enthusiasm renewed - and lo and behold I was in the right place (just outside of London) and with just enough disposable income to indulge my love for all things operatic.
I write this as quite a lot of my reviews will undoubtedly start with the words 'this is my first performance of....etc etc'. So let's just say that I'm making up for lost time when it comes to live operatic performance.
So, taking the above into consideration let me start by saying that this was my first experience of Zauberflote (Magic Flute) in the theatre and it was with a little trepidation that I settled myself into my seat and waited for the music to start. Don't get me wrong, I love Mozart although mainly his orchestral works it has to be said. For me, as with Wagner, there are some unacceptable dramatic longueurs in Mozart opera even though the music is sublime. Luckily my slight misgivings evaporated almost as soon as the overture sprang into life in the capable hands of Julia Jones, our conductor for the evening. Sometimes you can just tell from the overture when the performance is going to be a good one and that was the case here.
It's almost impossible for me to single out any of the performers as they were pretty much all equally good. Charles Castronovo as Tamino brought a rich lyric Italianate tone to the role and some pretty convincing acting to what could be a stock 'romantic fairy tale prince' sort of role. Tenors are not on the whole the most interesting roles in Mozart opera - he had most fun with sopranos and baritones, but Castronovo almost convinced me that Mozart tenors aren't such a bad lot really. I now look forward to seeing him in Puccini's La Rondine in July.
But as I said, all of the cast were equally good - Ekaterina Siurina in gorgeously lyrical voice as Pamina, Brindley Sherratt noble and persuasive as Sarastro and a special mention to Albina Shagimuratova as the glacial Queen of the Night who threw off the stratospheric high notes and coloratura with ease. I've never encountered Christopher Maltman before (my loss) but as Papageno the delightfully dumb bird catcher, he gave us a funny but still touching portrayal of a man looking for love in all the wrong places and his bewilderment in being caught up in events beyond his control was evident.
David McVicar's production is colourful and magical with some now iconic images of the Queen of Night, the serpent and the Three Boys who fly over the stage in a wooden go-kart. I was pleased to see a fair scattering of children in the audience as this is an opera entirely suitable for younger opera lovers as well as older one's.
However, there is one thing about the production that does does give me pause for thought. The character of Monostatos, portrayed here as a rather silly pantomime-ish villain who lusts after Pamina has been subjected to the politically correct whitewash treatment - for in the original libretto Monostatos is in fact a Moor and there are references to this scattered throughout the libretto - all of which have been removed for this production. I find this rather bizarre although alas not surprising. For while it seems we can deal with the sexism prevalent in the text of the opera - the audience (including the women) laughing ironically at such old fashioned ideas, it seems that we can't yet deal with the implied racism portrayed and have to quite literally whitewash it out of existence - easily done as I presume the majority of the audience like me, can't speak German and therefore rely on the super-titles above the stage for the translation. How easy then just to brush the racism out as if it never existed. But why do it just because you can? Would you make Shakespeare's Othello a white man? Or Shylock a Gentile Of course not. It would make a mockery of the whole play. So why brush racism under the carpet? Why not find a way to deal with it in the opera?
Rant over.
This is still an opera that can be seen and enjoyed on many levels - for the music obviously. But also it is an opera about fairy tales and rituals, right and wrong, it is an opera about magic, theatre and music - and that's without acknowledging the undoubted Masonic influences liberally scattered throughout.
This was a highly enjoyable and uplifting night at the opera. Mozart really is magic.
