End of term report! Royal Opera Season 2013-14

Wow!  What a season that was...and how quickly time has gone by.  Doesn't seem five minutes since I was compiling the 2012/13 highlights but here we are again.  For me this has been a very positive season at ROH where the highs have definitely outweighed the lows.  Of course live theatre isn't perfect but I really feel that this has been such a great season - great singers, interesting productions and a good mix of new experiences and revisiting old favourites.  Here's what I saw at ROH this season:

Turandot (rehearsal)
Le Nozze di Figaro (rehearsal and 1 performance)
Les Vepres Siciliennes (twice) New Production
Wozzeck
Parsifal (rehearsal) New Production
Carmen
Manon (rehearsal and 2 performances)
Don Giovanni New Production
Faust
Jonas Kaufmann - Wintereisse
La Traviata - twice
Dialogues des Carmelites (new to Royal Opera but I have classed this as a revival)
Tosca
Manon Lescaut - (rehearsal and 2 performances)  New Production
La Boheme - twice
Ariadne auf Naxos
Maria Stuarda  New Production
JPYA Summer Performance

Productions I missed this season in the main house were La Fille du Regiment and Die Frau ohne Schatten - which isn't bad going really.


Best New Production
Once again this was a really hard decision. I find new productions quite frustrating for the most part.  Quite often they are so nearly perfect (Manon Lescaut) but then something goes awry.  In other cases I am baffled and sometimes quite angry (Don Giovanni).  But in the end I have to make a decision and its probably not the one you think...

Yes, considering the Wagner-phobe I claim myself to be, Parsifal won me over to such an extent that even my love for tenors and Jonas Kaufmann couldn't sway me!  The combination of production and Wagner's music completely transformed my opinion. Not saying I love everything about Wagner (I don't) but for some reason this particular opera hits the spot.  Now, if ROH would only entice Mr Kaufmann to come sing it, I'd be an even happier woman!


Worst New Production.
Sigh.  For some reason this category is one of the easiest to judge although I have to say that on balance, the new productions this year were slightly less annoying than last seasons but there is a clear winner for me....

Yes, I'm afraid Kasper Holten's production of Don Giovanni left me less than impressed.  The combination of whirling set, constantly flashing lights and borderline misogynistic concept meant that although I wanted to like this production, I didn't.  At all.

Best Production Revival
Once again, spoilt for choice amongst the many commendable revivals.  Some great performances from singers enlivened even the most venerable and staid of productions.  Honourable mentions go to Faust, Manon and Ariadne auf Naxos.  But, the surprise winner is.....

La Boheme.  I know!  All the more surprising as this time last year I chose this opera (reluctantly) as my 'worst production revival'.  Well all I can say is, what a difference a year makes.  John Copley once again returned to breath new life into this veteran production, but it was the casting of Ermonela Jaho and Charles Castronovo which made all of the difference.  Subtle and believable actors, they instantly convinced as star-crossed lovers Mimi and Rodolfo.  And not only that, their musicality and willingness to live the drama on stage totally convinced. Mesmerising and magical.


Worst Production Revival
Once again this category was very hard to pick. Most of the revivals I have seen these season have had their  merits, be it in individual performances (Tosca) or the production itself (Nozze di Figaro).  But for better or worse the winner is....

Carmen. It wasn't bad.  But it wasn't really a stand out either.  Individual performances were okay but frankly this just seemed like another routine revival of an old warhorse.  The production now seems tired and lacking in verve.  Alagna was good but brought no special insights into Don Jose.  Next!

Best Male Singer Performance
Ah. Now I know what you think.  She's going to pick that tenor again.  You're right but quite frankly when you have a tenor who is currently performing at the very top of his game, then there is no choice.  The winner is....

Yes, its that man again.  Jonas Kaufmann.  Although as you may gather from the picture, I'm actually choosing him for his magnificent performance of Wintereisse, rather than his performance in Manon Lescaut. Not that his Des Grieux wasn't good - it was fantastic.  But it is rather his ability to totally entrance in lieder and then switch to full-blooded and passionate operatic singing that has me hooked.

Very honourable mentions go to Charles Castronovo, Gerald Finley and Bryn Terfel.


Best Female Singer Performance.
This has been the season of some very great and wonderful soprano singing.  I've encountered voices new to me and revisited some favourites.  Honourable mentions to Lise Lindstrom, Ailyn Perez, Joyce di Donato and Karita Mattila.  But my winner for this season is....

Wow!  Just wow!  I was almost left speechless by my first encounter with the Tosca of Sondra Radvanovsky.  Where has this soprano been all of my life?  Well not at ROH very often to be sure.  This voice is the real deal.  And her assumption of the role of diva of all diva's was just perfection.  Brava Sondra - please come back soon.

And finally...

Operatic Highlight of the Season.
I've had so many highlights this season that I really consider myself very lucky to live near London and have the opportunity to see and hear some wonderful opera.  There were many highlights for me, not least Manon Lescaut which was wonderful and frustrating at the same time. Mentions must also go to Ariadne auf Naxos, Faust and Turandot.  But my highlight of the season was....

Yes it was actually Dialogues des Carmelites.  I have waited so many years to see this opera but it was worth the wait.  Musically and dramatically satisfying and emotionally overwhelming.  Just wonderful.

So that's it for another season and I'm already missing the place already!  My next scheduled visit is in September to see Barbiere di Siviglia...here's a little taster of what lies ahead...

Tu es le diable, Carmen.

While hardly festive fair, the Royal Opera's reliable production of Carmen has been playing to packed houses over the Christmas period and I managed to catch a performance on 3rd January to get my opera-going New Year off to a tuneful if predictable start.

As my regular readers may recall, this blog started with a DVD review of the very same production starring Jonas Kaufmann and Anna Caterina Antonacci, so I was especially pleased to see the return of the Anna Caterina who replaced the originally scheduled Elina Garanca, who withdrew when she became pregnant.  The initial attraction for me was actually the chance to catch up with Roberto Alagna who I have not seen perform live for quite some time. A chance to see him in last year's L'Elisir d'Amore had to be abandoned so I was even more keen to see how the passage of time had treated him...or more specifically his voice.

I'll preface my review by saying that I actually like Roberto Alagna quite a lot. I remember being overwhelmed by his performance in Romeo et Juliette at Covent Garden way back in 1994 and thinking that this was definitely a star in the making.  And so it proved although I think it would be fair to say that there have been some ups and downs along the way.

Luckily, Don Jose is I think, one of his most congenial roles and it was for the most part well sung and reasonably acted.  I wouldn't say it was one of the most dramatically intense performances I have ever seen, but within his limits he creates a believable character and carries it through to the end.  I would say that his portrayal of Jose here is of the more conventional 'romantic hero' type but whether that is down to choice, or lack of rehearsal time I don't really know. His Jose, is the good guy led astray by a 'wicked' woman who then tires of him, leading him to the final desperate act of this opera.  Actually the final act duo was very well done as it slowly built from Jose's low key remorse and desperation up to his final terrible act of violence.

Anna Caterina Antonacci's Carmen is well known from the DVD and she didn't disappoint here, with her very earthy, sensual, sexual portrayal of Carmen. The voice is an unusual one, seemingly lacking the obvious dark sultry chest tones of a 'typical' mezzo and yet still utterly convincing. The chemistry with Alagna also worked well...I'm not sure how much rehearsal time they had together but they gave a game, professional performance.  Carmen can be many things to many people, but once again I came away with the slightly disconcerting feeling that I didn't really know who Carmen was.  One thing I did pick up on was the fact that (at least in this performance) Carmen did still seem to harbour some real affection for Jose even in the final act.  That fitted in well with Alagna's more restrained, less demented portrayal of Jose.

The rest of the cast were acceptable but probably that's the most that can be said. Veronica Cangemi as Micaela managed not to annoy too much (more the character's fault than hers) but Escamillo as played by Vito Priante was a charisma-free zone both in characterisation and voice.  Would it hurt to get actually get someone in to play Escamillo who can actually act and/or sing? Doesn't have to be a big name (although I wouldn't say no) just someone who can inject a bit of life into the part.

I'm not going to say that much about the actual production itself as it was pretty standard stuff.  I have to say though that it looks a lot better in close-up on DVD.  And while having Escamillo enter on horseback sounds like a good idea - it very rarely is.

So, all in in all, it was an enjoyable experience, even though in many ways this was a routine performance of a repertory standard.  Alagna is still in pretty good voice - even if he does lapse into some tenorial showing off.  Anna Caterina totally convinces as Carmen and brought the whole production to life - as every good Carmen should.

For those wondering what Alagna might be like in a less conventional production of Carmen, I see that Sky Arts2 are showing the Bieto production on Monday 6th January at 8pm,  which also features Beatrice Uria-Monzon as Carmen and Marina Poplavskya as Micaela.  Should be interesting