The Best and the Worst of 2013

Following in the footsteps of so many bloggers, tweeters and opera critics I offer my own thoughts on the highs and lows of the live performances I attended in the year 2013.  I've restricted myself to five categories - as inspired by Opera Britannia's own review of the year.

Outstanding New Production

Amongst some lean pickings, my very first experience of a staged Parsifal won by a long margin. Apparently I may be going against the grain, but for a Parsifal virgin such as I, this was the ideal production to start with. It wasn't perfect by any means...but then I don't seek perfection in live performances.  Amongst the many glories was Gerald Finley as Amfortas, surely one of the greatest singing actors we currently have.

Best Revival

Of course it must be Don Carlo -  hardly surprising I hear you cry.  But quite apart from my predilection for Jonas Kaufmann, I must admit that Don Carlo is rapidly becoming my favourite Verdi opera. This revival, with a top notch cast was a real treat - if only the production itself was a little more inspiring but that is a minor cavil when you have such superb musical values on display.

Best Male Performance

All things considered this has to be Gerald Finley for his amazing performance as Amfortas in Parsifal. Simply stunning.  Close contenders were Erwin Schrott in Les Vepres Siciliennes (almost clinched by the infamous black dress) and Jonas Kaufmann in Don Carlo.

Best Female Performance

Another difficult choice but in the end I was so blown away by Lise Lindstrom's performance as Turandot that she emerged as the outright winner.  While I found the production itself a little disappointing (surely time for a new one?) she took the role by the throat and made her house debut in very fine style indeed.  I can't wait until I get the chance to see her again.

Honourable mention must go to Joyce di Donato in La Donna del Lago - again while I didn't love the production, she could do no wrong in my eyes.

Biggest Disappointment

Oh dear - where to start?  I suppose my biggest disappointments (apart from Anja Harteros cancellations) have been with most of the new productions I have seen at ROH - especially Nabucco and Eugene Onegin. Uninspiring, dreary and sometimes just plain weird, I have had some of my most disappointing evenings when attending a new production - with the honourable exception of the new Parsifal and I do hope that is an encouraging start to the 2013-14 rosta of new productions.  I'm certainly looking forward to Don Giovanni, Manon Lescaut and Maria Stuarda and Die Frau ohne Schatten but only time will tell if there has been an improvement.

So there it is - my highlights and lowlights of 2013.  It only remains for me to wish you a very Happy New Year and to wish you happy opera-going wherever you may be.

Turandot Dress Rehearsal - Royal Opera House 7th September 2013

And we're back!  After a brief summer hiatus the 2013-14 season at the Royal Opera House kicks off with Puccini's Turandot and I managed to snag a ticket to the general dress rehearsal on Saturday.

This is only my second experience of attending a dress rehearsal but I'm starting to pinpoint the subtle differences between this and a performance. Of course its less informal - the orchestra and conductor are dressed casually, the house isn't packed to capacity and there are lots of official photographers clicking away.  The audience are also dressed casually for the main, although I've never really noticed a dress code even on normal performances and I tend to dress as the mood takes me.  But for me the real difference is the mix of people in the audience, and a real willingness to engage your neighbour in conversation.  I found myself sitting next to a couple whose young son was in the chorus.  They had never been to the opera house before and had never seen or heard Turandot before and it was lovely to chat at the intervals about their growing enthusiasm and at the end my neighbour was converted stating that she could quite happily watch it all again.

Now, being a dress rehearsal I don't really want to go into too much detail about the singers, even though they were singing out full voice and gave every evidence of treating this as an actual performance.  I guess one of main reasons for this revival could be the thrilling soprano of Lise Lindstrom.  Turandot doesn't actually sing until the beginning of the second act but boy was that worth waiting for.  It's not the hugest voice but it is totally secure in the upper reaches and has a thrilling steely tone that this part demands. I've heard other Turandot's on stage, CD and DVD but when I heard Ms Lindstrom sing I knew this was the singer I'd been waiting for. When she sings you immediately know that this part holds no terrors for her and you can sit back and relax and enjoy.

While Ms Lindstrom was outstanding, the other singers in the cast were by no means shabby. Marco Berti as Calaf is a 'typical' Italian tenor in both good and bad ways.  He is a 'strapping lad' as they say in my parts and his acting looked to be pretty rudimentary but I've seen worse and the fact that his voice was firing on all cylinders was compensation enough in this part.  He certainly held his own against Ms Lindstrom in the all important confrontation scenes. This is the first time I've heard him sing so I'm no expert but I think this may be a good part for him, requiring less subtlety than perhaps some other roles.

Eri Nakamura as Liu almost stole the show and was certainly the audience favourite when she took her bows at the end.

My only disappointment was the production itself. This is a revival of a now veteran production by Andrei Serban  first staged in 1984 and to be honest its beginning to show its age.  I last saw this production in 1997 (Grace Bumbry as Turandot) and it now seems to be a shadow of its former self.  I'm not sure if its the direction (or lack of) or just that the production is old and needs replacing but there is definitely something missing, a sense of drama, danger....something.  In a way it resembles a product of its times - gaudy and garish but slightly empty at the centre.

Which makes it even more surprising that (according to the cast sheet given out) this set of performances is being filmed for DVD release in Spring 2014!  In my honest opinion, perhaps a little late in the day to be recording a 30 year old production for release on DVD without the benefit of any 'star' singers.  Lise Lindstrom is excellent but I'm not sure how many DVD's would be sold on her name alone.

Still, there is much here to enjoy and I'd certainly recommend it for the singing alone and of course for Puccini's gorgeous music.