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...

Jonas Kaufmann - Wintereisse at the Royal Opera House, 6th April 2014

Jonas Kaufmann is something of a modern-day operatic phenomenon and unarguably one of the best singers on the operatic stage today.  He also happens to be an enthusiastic proponent of the art of lieder, art songs with piano accompaniment, and it was a lieder recital which brought him back to the Royal Opera House on a wet Sunday evening in April.

Lieder is something of an acquired taste and one which I'm currently working on acquiring, so this was an ideal opportunity to catch up with my current favourite tenor and advance my knowledge and experience of lieder and of Winterreise in particular. I will freely admit up front, that I'm spectacularly unqualified to comment on the nuances of lieder, so this is not a technical review, merely impressions from someone who loves singers.  I'll admit to feeling a certain amount of apprehension as the house lights dimmed, wondering what on earth I had let myself in for!  I've been to a few recitals before but never a song-cycle in German - surely this would demand fierce concentration and musical intelligence?  Still, safe in the familiar surroundings of the Royal Opera House and with a tenor whose voice I already know and love, I was ready for anything....

....except I wasn't really for the set from Act 3 of La Traviata, which is what greeted the audience as the curtain slowly rose.  Actually this isn't as bizarre as it sounds, and the neutral and somewhat desolate set provided the perfect background for this recital about lost love and unbearable grief.

The opera house is probably far too large a venue for this sort of recital and yet it worked incredibly well...mainly due to the artistry of Kaufman and Helmut Deutsch, his long-term collaborator. Very cleverly, Kaufmann started softly, quietly, settling the audience and inviting them to listen rather than expanding his sound to fit the venue.  It worked for me as I settled in my seat and paid attention.  The surtitles helped of course, although by the end of the evening they were almost superfluous as the singer had woven such as spell that the meaning was quite clear. I was quite taken aback by the sheer tonal beauty of the voice.  I know this probably sounds ridiculous but I'd forgotten (or never realised) what a simply beautiful voice he has.  With orchestra, costumes and other peripheries stripped away it was like hearing the voice for the first time.  Recordings simply do not do him justice.  However, it has to be said, that for all the gorgeous meza-voce singing, when he occasionally let the voice off the leash, you understood why he is one of the best opera singers today.  It also occurred to me, that this was probably the first time he has sung in his own native tongue on the stage of Covent Garden.  I do hope it won't  be the last time.

I can't analyse every song but suffice to say, I was swept unerringly along towards the devastating conclusion...at least it was devastating in the hands of Kaufmann and Deutsch, so devastating in fact that the audience was left in stunned silence, hardly daring to breath, until at last, Kaufmann himself took a deep breath and came back from the brink.  Just amazing.  I may have shed a tear or two then.  I can only compare it to a similar emotional experience I had when watching Parsifal a few months ago.  Quite, quite breathtaking.  The audience finally erupted with applause, calling the pair to the stage four or five times before they were permitted to leave.  Kaufmann in particular seemed stunned and out of it for a while, although both he and Deutsch had quickly wiped away a tear on conclusion.  I know how they feel.

Reading reviews and Twitter reaction today, there seem to be several criticisms....most of audience behaviour it has to be said, but also other elements such as location, marketing ploys etc etc.  I wouldn't normally bother responding but I had such an emotional reaction to the recital that I feel moved to put forward a few comments of my own.

The following rants are my own views and not aimed at anyone in particular.

Firstly, the audience.  There has been much comment on coughing between songs.  Frankly it didn't really bother me that much - I'd much rather they coughed in the pauses, then when the singer is actually singing.  Not sure what singers think about this but I'd be interested to know.  Unfortunately, the pauses almost seem to invite a clearing of throats and I'm not sure what else can be done.  Make an announcement beforehand?  Anyway, with an audience of almost 3,000 people, it is unreasonable to expect total silence. No one around me had a coughing fit but perhaps I was lucky. Although I could have done without the hearing aid feedback at the beginning!

Location.  Yes the opera house is big, but as described above Jonas totally made it work.  Not sure what the sound was like at the back of the auditorium was like, but again I'd be interested to know.  In my experience with opera, the auditorium is usually where the best sound is.  Given Mr Kaufmann's current level of fame, I'm not sure that there is any other solution in London.  The Wigmore Hall holds around 600 at best so getting a ticket for a Kaufmann recital is virtually impossible there...unless he had a week long residency (totally impracticable given his hectic diary and I don't suppose the Wigmore's coffers can stretch to that) then I'm not sure what the solution is.  If they held more suitable recitals or orchestral concerts at ROH I'd definitely go.

Marketing.  Here's the thing.  All opera singers with a high enough public profile record an album and then tour to promote it, whether that album is opera, lieder or Mario Lanza tributes.  Not every single album, and not all the time, but like every artist of whatever genre, they've got to get out there and sell it - that's why record companies sign them up in the first place. Recent examples; Rolando Villazon, Joyce DiDonato, Joseph Calleja and yes, Jonas Kaufmann.  And the problem is?

Kaufmann Fans.  Yes, guess what, there were a lot of Kaufmann fans in the audience.  Funny that.  And yes, perhaps many of them had never been to a lieder recital before (although I'm sure a lot had).  What a great opportunity then for them to experience another facet of Kaufmann's artistry and yes, maybe even venture into exploring further. Even if only one or two go to another recital or buy a lieder CD, isn't that worth it? Isn't that a result of some sort? Rather than bemoaning the fact that its taken the appearance of Kaufmann to get them into a recital, why don't we celebrate the fact that they're here?

I could go on but I think I've ranted enough.  I was going to comment on perceived elitism and lieder but perhaps I'll leave that for another day.   Suffice to say that for the moment at least, I feel more comfortable attending a recital in the vast space of the opera house, whatever its faults, than the smaller confines of say Wigmore Hall.  Maybe one day that will change - I hope so.

Anyway, to end on a positive note, I thoroughly 'enjoyed' my first Winterreise...not quite the right word but you know what I mean. Jonas Kaufmann is currently on top vocal form, singing with gorgeous tone and musical intelligence.  Long may it continue.