A Glimpse of the Future? New season speculation......

So Christmas is officially over, the dark and dreary days of winter are here, and opera lovers' thoughts turn to....the 2015/16 opera season of course.  Yes, before we know where we are, opera houses will be announcing their selections for the 2015/16 season.  Of course, we don't have to wait until the official announcement.  Some fun is to be had by speculating about what the new season might bring....will La Gheorghiu sing at the Met again?  Why on earth is Jonas singing that when he could be singing  Wagner/Verdi/Puccini (insert composer of choice)? 

Luckily we don't have to wait!  Or at least, we can have a bit of fun while we do. There are a couple of internet sites out there that have a fair stab at predicting what might be happening at the Met and the Royal Opera House in the not so distant future.  There has been a small twitterstorm today following speculation that Jonas Kaufmann will be singing Otello at ROH in the not too distant future (2017) so I thought I'd make life easier and post some links and information.

Just remember these sites post speculation and not necessarily fact!  There will be speculation, guesses and pure wishful thinking no doubt.  Until the season is actually published by the opera house all bets are off...or as they say around these parts "it ain't over until the fat lady (or tenor) sings".

Metropolitan Opera House New York

The Future Met Wiki has a fairly comprehensive list of future seasons at the Met, going right up to 2019/20...although admittedly detail is sketchy for that particular season! For 2015/16 they currently (as of 13 Jan 2015) have the following listed:

New Productions 2015/16

Verdi's Otello
Dates: Opening Night
Conductor: Yannick Nezet-Seguin
Production: Bart Sher
Designer: Catherine Zuber (costumes)
Otello: Aleksandrs Antonenko
Desdemona: Hibla Gerzmava / Sonya Yoncheva / Angela Meade (?)
Iago: Zeljko Lucic / Dmitri Hvorostovsky


Berg's Lulu
Dates: Nov / December 2015
Production: William Kentridge
Conductor: James Levine
Lulu: Marlis Petersen
Geschwitz: Susan Graham
Alwa: Daniel Brenna
Dr. Schon / Jack the Ripper: Johan Reuter
Animal Trainer / Athlete: Martin Winkler
(Co-production with the Dutch National Opera, English National Opera, & Canadian Opera Company)

Puccini's Manon Lescaut
Production: Sir Richard Eyre
Manon: Kristine Opolais
Des Grieux: Jonas Kaufmann
(Co-production with the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden)

Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles [The Pearl Fishers]
Production: Penny Woolcock
Leila: Diana Damrau
Nadir: Vittorio Grigolo / Matthew Polenzani (?)
(Co-production with the English National Opera)

Donizetti's Roberto Devereux
Production: David McVicar (?)
Elisabetta: Sondra Radvanovsky
Roberto Devereux: Matthew Polenzani

Strauss's Elektra
Production: Patrice Chéreau
Dates: April 14 to May 7
Elektra: Nina Stemme
Klytemnestra: Waltraud Meier
Chrysothemis: Adrianne Pieczonka
(Co-production with the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Teatro alla Scala, Finnish National Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, & Berlin Staatsoper)

Revivals 2015/16

Donizetti's Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena: Sondra Radvanovsky

Rossini's The Barber of Seville
Holiday abridged version in English

Puccini's La Bohème
Rodolfo: Piotr Beczala
Mimi: Maria Agresta
Musetta: Marina Rebeka / Ana Maria Martinez?
Marcello: Levente Molnar / Quinn Kelsey

Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo's Pagliacci
Nedda: Barbara Frittoli
Canio: Roberto Alagna
Santuzza: Lyudmila Monastyrska

Rossini's La Donna del Lago
Malcolm: Daniela Barcellona

Donizetti's Don Pasquale
Ernesto: Javier Camarena
Norina: Angela Gheorghiu/Eleonora Buratto
Don Pasquale: Ambrogio Maestri

Donizetti's L'Elisir d’Amore
Adina: Aleksandra Kurzak
Nemorino: Vittorio Grigolo / Roberto Alagna

Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Conductor: James Levine

J. Strauss's Die Fledermaus
Adele: Lucy Crowe

Puccini's Madama Butterfly
Sharpless: Artur Rucinski
Conductor: Karel Mark Chichon

Donizetti's Maria Stuarda
Maria Stuarda: Sondra Radvanovsky
Elisabetta: Elza van den Heever / Angela Meade

Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro

Verdi's Rigoletto
Duke of Mantua: Stephen Costello/Piotr Beczala
Gilda: Olga Peretyatko

Verdi's Simon Boccanegra
Simon: Placido Domingo
Amelia Grimaldi: Angela Gheorghiu/Barbara Frittoli
Gabriele: Joseph Calleja

Wagner's Tannhauser
Tannhauser: Johan Botha
Elisabeth: Eva Maria Westbroek

Puccini's Tosca
Tosca: Maria Guleghina
Scarpia: Bryn Terfel

Verdi's Il Trovatore
Leonora: Anna Netrebko/Angela Meade
c. Marco Armiliato

Puccini's Turandot
Turandot: Lise Lindstrom / Christine Goerke
Calàf: Marcelo Alvarez
Liu: Hibla Gerzmava/Leah Crocetto


Just remember, all are subject to change. I seem to remember Jonas Kaufmann slated for Don Carlos (French) at the Met until relatively late in the day for 2014/15. Ended up being re-run of the Italian version and no Jonas!

Royal Opera House Covent Garden

A similar site for the Future Royal Opera House Wiki has less listed but still makes interesting reading and who knows - you may be able to add something! Both Wiki's are editable so if you know something then join in the fun! Anyway, the Royal Opera 2015/16 wiki has this so far:

(amended 14th Jan 2015)

New Productions 2015/16

Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) and Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Canio - Aleksanders Antonenko
Tonio/Alfio - Dimitrias Platanias

Orphee et Euridice (Gluck) Autumn 2015
Director: John Fulljames
Orphee - Juan Diego Forez


Carmen (Bizet) Autumn 2015
Don Jose - Bryan Hymel

Lucia di Lammamoor (Donizetti)
Lucia - Diana Damrau
Enrico - Artur Rucinski
Edgardo - Stephen Costello

Il Trovatore (Verdi)
Conductor - Antonio Pappano
Manrico - Gregory Kunde
Leonora - Carmen Gianattasio
Azuncena - Ekaterina Semenchuk

L'Etoile (Chabrier)
Director - Mariame Clement
Set/Costume Designe - Julia Hansen

Mitridate, Re di Ponto (Mozart)
Conductor: Christophe Rousset

Werther (Massenet) ?Revival
Conductor - Antonio Pappano
Werther - Vittorio Grigolo
Charlotte - Joyce DiDonato

Revivals 2015/16

Il Nozze di Figaro (Mozart)
Il Conte - Stephane Degout

Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss) October 2015
Ariadne - Renee Fleming/Elizabeth Meister

Tannhauser (Wagner)
Original direction: Tim Albery
Costume designer: John Morrell
Elizabeth - Emma Bell

Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)
Director - Kasper Holten
Conductor - Semyon Bychkov
Tatiana - ?Anna Netrebko
Lensky - Michael Fabiano

Il Trittico (Puccini) Feb/March 2016
Suor Angelica - Ermonela Jaho

That's all for now but feel free to comment or join in the speculation!

A Fright at the Opera! Ballo in Maschera 2nd January 2015

Copyright Catherine Ashmore

Oh dear!  I had hoped that my first opera excursion of 2015 would be something to inspire and kick the year off in fine style!  Despite the dark rumblings of discontent following the first (and subsequent) nights, I hoped that inspiration and a Christmas miracle might have intervened.  Alas, and sad to say, it has not.

Un Ballo in Maschera (to give the opera its full title) is fabulous middle-period Verdi and full of wonderful if tricky arias, duets and ensembles.  Verdi's original version was set in Sweden with the story portraying King Gustav III's assassination at a masked ball,  Of course, the censors would not allow this on stage and so he was forced to change both character and location - Gustavo eventually became Riccardo the Governor of Boston.  In this latest production however, all is a bit more vague.  While the Boston version names are retained, the location appears to be some Ruritanian middle-European location prior to World War 1 - none of which really has any impact on the story telling.

I really have nothing positive at all to say about the physical production and direction on display. The sets and costumes looked cheap and old-fashioned, the choreography dismal and singer-direction non-existant.  My initial tweeted reaction was to use the word inept.  Today I would add amateurish - except that would be an insult to some fine amateur performances I have seen.

There was conversely too much action in places and yet not enough in others.  Focus was constantly pulled from the lead singers by distracting stage business going on around them.  The overture was of course staged - to no real effect.  More annoyingly there was a side-show with Amelia's little boy constantly in and out of bed and Oscar (the page) having a bit of hanky-panky with the maid - all while the lead singers attempted to focus audience attention - and failed for the most part.  It really looked as though the director Katherine Thoma, had concentrated her attention on the peripheries and totally abandoned any attempt to direct the lead singers.

On paper the cast certainly appeared to have the vocal goods, although in my pre-season round up I did express doubts about their dramatic abilities.  Joseph Calleja, Liudmyla Monastyrska and Dmitri Hvorostovsky are very fine singers - great actors they are not.  Casting all three in the same production is unfortunate as even one great acting performance might have enlivened the evening. But it was not to be and unfortunately they received no help at all from the director.  They were all at their best when left alone singing solo arias and the audience rewarded those efforts appropriately.

Joseph Calleja is a fine tenor but his vibrato heavy voice is an acquired taste and I haven't really acquired it.  I don't think he's quite got the measure of this particular role but that may come in time and with better direction may well be a success.  I don't think pairing him with uber-dramatic soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska particularly helped his cause.  She has a magnificent voice it has to be said, although I did feel at times that her lowest notes were completely disconnected from the rest of her voice.  I've now seen her in three roles including a previous Lady Macbeth and Abigaille and unfortunately I've seen no dramatic engagement on any of those occasions. She faired slightly better here it has to be said but only slightly.  Hvorostovsky is pretty much a known quantity at this stage in his career and there were no surprises pleasant or unpleasant.   

Real dramatic engagement and some vocal allure was provided by both Serena Gamberoni as Oscar and Marianne Cornetti as Ulrica the fortune teller.  The conspirators as played by Anatoli Sivko and Jihoon Kim were also well within their roles dramatically and vocally.

Daniel Oren in the pit managed to suck the life out of what should be music of sparkling wit and hidden depths.  Combined with the directorial ineptitude of Katherine Thoma this Ballo really had no chance at all.

Best and Worst of 2014

Oh dear!  Its been a long time since my last post hasn't it?  Unfortunately I was laid low for quite a while with a persistent chest infection which meant that not only did I feel pretty rough, I had to cancel quite a lot of my planned opera and concert going.

But enough of that!  Now restored to relative full health, though I'd start the year with a look back at what I did manage to see!


Outstanding New Production

Surprisingly (or perhaps not!) my outstanding production of 2014 comes not from ROH but from ENO.  The Girl of the Golden West was a delight from start to finish.  A sympathetic, singable translation ensure that this opera was the deserved success it should be.  All of the lead singers nailed their characters and if their voices weren't quite 'perfect' they more than made up for that with dramatic commitment.  Why can't all opera be like this?

Runner up for this category - Manon Lescaut at the Royal Opera.  Again, not quite perfect by any means but the cast almost convinced you that it was!


Best Revival

Once again there was so much choice for Best Revival but this performance of La Boheme with Ermonela Jaho and Charles Castronovo just stood out from the crowd.  Great singing of course, but what impressed and moved me were their performances - they simply became Mimi and Rodolfo.  As I said in my end of term report - mesmerising and magical.

Highly commended in this category was a surprisingly good Barbiere di Siviglia and a deeply emotional Diaglogues des Carmelites (classed here as a revival as its been around for so long!).


Best Male Performance

Yes I know, but honest I couldn't resist this year!  Jonas Kaufmann is simply a force of nature!  Put him in the right role and he simply overcomes resistance...at least for me!  I think his most impressive performance came from the new Met production of Werther - which I managed to catch in the HD broadcast.  He really does suit the more brooding and introspective characters.  Also impressive was his assumption of Des Grieux in the ROH Manon Lescaut, even if the production didn't quite fire on all cylinders.  But most memorable for me was his performance of Wintereisse also in the hallowed halls of ROH. This has led to the purchase of many lieder CD's (not just his) and also many tickets to Wigmore Hall!

Honorable mentions for Best Male Performance go to Charles Castronovo for La Boheme and Michele Angelini in his ROH debut as Count Almaviva in Barbiere di Siviglia



Best Female Performance

So many riches to choose from, but if I'm honest the performance which simply blew me away in 2014 was Sondra Radvanovsky in Tosca.  This was my first chance to hear this artist in person and oh my word...what a stunning voice!  I simply left the auditorium open mouthed with wonder. Stunning.  Please, please can she come back?

Other outstanding female performances were Joyce DiDonato (Met HD Cenerentola), Karita Mattila for a stunning Ariadne auf Naxos, Susan Bullock for a resplendent Minnie in Girl of the Golden West and Kristine Opolais - her dramatic commitment to Manon Lescaut was impressive indeed.

Biggest Disappointment

Once again I suppose it was the quality of the new productions.  Don Giovanni was the biggest disappointment for me.  While the singing was for the most part top notch, dramatic invention was replaced by overused projections and a spinning set.  Add a touch of misogyny to the female portrayals and a bizarre ending for a most unedifying experience!

So there we have my selections for 2014.

Have a Happy New Year everyone and I wish you many new musical highlights for 2015.

This Cowboy Song...Girl of the Golden West, ENO 18th October 2014

Photo copyright Robert Workman

Although I have a soft spot for Puccini's 'horse opera' I booked my ticket with slight feelings of trepidation  - but once again only because of the English language issues.  Given my recent experience of ENO's Otello, where the translation let the production down I felt, I wasn't really expecting The Girl of the Golden West to be much better.    But bolstered by positive first night reaction from Twitter friends, loins were girded and off I went.

La Fanciulla del West (as this opera is better known) is a strange beast among the Puccini canon of works. Puccini was drawn towards the unusual and exotic for his plots and to an Italian I suppose you don't get much more exotic that the wild, wild West of the US goldrush period.  The libretto is based on David Belasco's play and as usual Puccini has consigned huge chunks to the dustbin, including Minnie and Dick Johnson/Rammerez first meeting.  Its worth a read if you like digging into the background of this opera.

The musical structure too is advanced with very few standalone set pieces (a couple of tenor arias apart) and even those are skillfully woven into the fabric of the opera.  The whole opera moves at a brisk pace with scene after scene flowing quite naturally without disruptive breaks for applause.

As with quite a lot of my experiences, my first encounter with Fanciulla was via a video recording featuring Placido Domingo in the monumental ultra-traditional Pierro Faggioni production at the Royal Opera House.  I finally managed to catch up with this production live in 2005 with Jose Cura - and that was the last time I saw Fanciulla live on stage....until now.

This new production by Richard Jones is very clear and uncluttered and does the job of telling the story well.  Slightly updated - The Polka now has electric lighting - but it still highlights a group men mining for gold, with Minnie as the only (good) girl in town.  I liked this production although I had a couple of issues with some of the directorial decisions - especially in the second act.  I thought the slap/coffee throwing incident between Minnie and Johnson could have been staged better - or perhaps it was just the view from my seat.  Nothing worse than a fake slap that doesn't quite come off!  The second act set didn't really leave Johnson many places to hide so he ended up under the bed!  Now really, hiding under the bed - isn't that the first place anyone would look?  And rather then letting the poor wounded tenor faint and have a lie down, he seemed to be propped up against the wall while Minne and Rance gambled for his life.  But honestly, these are minor quibbles and certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment.  I found the final scene especially touching - and where Minnie & Johnson normally ride off into the sunset, here the miners are standing on the set start which receded slowly away. Very effective.

Vocally things were competent rather than outstanding although again that is probably just me being picky. I do like Susan Bullock a lot and as Minnie she certainly convinced with her acting.  Her singing was fine and its a tricky part but I did miss a more typical Puccini voice in the role.  These days the casting tends towards Wagnarian sopranos but I did miss a bit of warmth and plushness in the voice. The same could probably be said for Peter Auty who was a sympathetic Dick Johnson but whose voice I found slightly constricted in the upper reaches - and there are plenty of upper reaches in this role.  Craig Colclough as Jack Rance grew on me - again more because of his overall portrayal than having a stunning voice.  He was more than a one-dimensional villain and that greatly added to the drama.

All of the other parts were taken well and the cast made their roles into real individual characters - always a plus when so many of them are on stage at once.  It's hard to know what to do with the Native American Indian characters of Wowkle and Billy.  As written they can come across as horrible stereotypes with lots of "Ugh's" and other nonsense.  On the other hand turning them into dramatic ciphers with no character as here didn't really work either.

Ah and what about the English translation I hear you say?  Well, to my great surprise it actually worked in English.  Somewhere a decision was made down the line to incorporate American accents. I thought this would be distracting but actually I think it helped with the text and translation and the translator Kelley Rourke was very skilled in producing a very singable and yet understandable translation.

If you haven't had a chance to see this opera, do go!  I heartily recommend it and you will leave the theatre will a smile on your face.  I'll leave you with this clip from the Met production of Fanciulla with Placido Domingo and Barbara Daniels.  This is the scene were Dick Johnson has been revealed as the bandit Ramerrez and Minnie confronts him.  It has Spanish subtitles but its very clear I think.  And a particularly good example of a stage slap!

"But yet the pity of it..." Otello, English National Opera 11 October 2014

No, not a 'Night at the Garden' this time but a 'Night at the Coliseum'.  Not that it's my first venture to ENO but it's rare enough to warrant mention.  One of the main reasons I don't venture to ENO more often is their blanket  'opera in English' language policy.  I was lucky enough to grow up listening to opera in the original language as background music in my home as my Mum loved opera.  So that by the time I came to re-discover opera in the early 90's the foreign language issue didn't bother me - especially as the Royal Opera thoughtfully provided surtitles.  So opera in English isn't a great pull for me - especially in the standard Italian repertory as frankly in English just sounds odd!

So there has to be a compelling reason for a visit to ENO; a great singer, a great non-standard opera or a particular production I want to see.  While Otello can hardly be called non-standard, I haven't seen so many live performances that I could afford to let one slip by!  Especially with Stuart Skelton taking on the herculean title role.  With bargain Secret Seat ticket in hand and not without a little trepidation I settled into my seat.

Strangely enough, Otello was one of the very first opera's I came to know and love, rather than one of any number of 'easier' works such as La Boheme, Rigoletto or Tosca.  Falling in love with opera in the early 90's I used to raid the local library for CD recordings and snapped this up.  Readers, it was love at first listen! I haven't looked back since!

But what about this production?

Let's get the somewhat controversial element out of the way first.  Generally speaking (and certainly in all of the productions I've seen) Otello is portrayed as a black man and this usually means the white tenor 'blacking up' to a greater or lesser degree.  Quite rightly, this is no longer an option but given the dearth of tenors who can actually sing this highly dramatic role, what is the solution?  ENO doesn't really come up with one to be honest and simply ignores the issue.  Which I think was wrong. Don't get me wrong, I was quite happy to see Stuart Skelton sans blackface, but I do think that the production has to compensate for this somehow, otherwise Otello ends up just being like everyone else.  Where is the sense of isolation, inferiority, 'different-ness' that is implied in both Shakespeare's play and in Verdi's opera.  Where is Desdemona's daring in marrying someone not of her kind, her rank or her age?  If Otello is reduced to just being another stock jealous 'Italian tenor' figure then the production has failed.

It can be done.  In another Verdi opera, La Forza del Destino, the tenor character is also a foreigner, an outsider or as the libretto has it , half-breed or 'mulatto'. Yes, the racial insults fly just as much in this opera as in Otello!  And yes, in the past, the tenor has nearly always had a suspiciously deep tan to mark him as 'foreign' and not worthy of his lady-love.  However, the times they are a-changing and in the recent Munich production the tenor was outfitted and bewigged in such a way as to mark him out as 'different' without resorting to a change of skin colour.

The production itself was a one-set fits all affair, dark, spare and minimalist with little furniture cluttering the stage.  What furniture did appear was subject to some violent abuse by various characters, chairs being thrown around the stage at moments of high tension.  Unfortunately this has become something of a cliche so perhaps didn't have the dramatic effect it might have done.  At this particular performance Stuart Skelton also (unintentionally) threw himself off a tower of chairs, but luckily was uninjured and carried on as though this was all part of the stage business!

While the set more or less worked for the first three acts, the lack of a separate bedchamber, or even a bed, for the vital last act murder, made it all a bit silly and the murder of Desdemona a bit anti-climactic.  Could the budget not stretch to a bed?  This all sounds very caviling and I did quite like the overall design and look of the set but it somehow needed more.

Now to the good bits.

Otello is a chorus heavy opera and ENO's chorus were in fantastic form.  The sound they produced was awesome in its power and use of  dynamics. However I do like to see my chorus have defined characters and here they didn't.  I'm sure this was the intention of the director but they just looked like an anonymous amorphous lump.  The less said about the flower strewing episode the better!

In the title role Stuart Skelton was anguished, brutal and heartrending in places.  While not having a typical Italianate sound, there was glorious compensation in the secure focused tone and the knowledge that there would be no cracking under pressure.  This is an interpretation that will grow with time and I look forward to seeing and hearing him in another production - preferably in Italian.

Leah Crocetto was a voice new to me and she has a lovely dark spinto tone, gloriously lyrical and yet able to meet the demands of Otello's anguished spouse.  Dignified in approach, she nevertheless conveyed strength of character in a role that can all to easily come over as somewhat wimpy.

Allan Clayton as Cassio is another superb tenor voice, his lighter but still ringing tenor contrasting nicely with Skelton's more hefty anguished tones.  While he plays a convincing drunkard, I do think that it was a mistake to play him drunk from start to finish.

As all good Iago's do, Jonathan Summers almost stole the show.  Verdi was tempted  to name this opera 'Iago' and you can understand why why you have as good an actor as Summers.  He was truly convincing as a two-faced manipulator who directs events with the skill of a master. His English diction was also exemplary.

So all in all a bit of a mixed bag.  Whilst I enjoyed the singing and music-making very much, the lack of defined direction in the production was a disappointment and my emotions were not engaged - somewhat of a first for me with this opera.

Also disappointing were the swathes of empty seats in the dress circle.  If ENO cannot shift tickets with great singers and a well reviewed classic Verdi opera, then I'm not sure I know what the solution is!  Certainly I cannot see how they can go on with the constant discounting of tickets especially not that their Arts Council grant has been severely curtailed!

Rigoletto, Royal Opera House 20 September 2014

Copyright Donald Cooper/PR

My Royal Opera House season got off to a great start with a double whammy of contrasting operas - Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia on Friday evening, rapidly followed by Verdi's dark drama Rigoletto at the matinee performance the next day.  If this blog concentrates on the Verdi, that's no slight to Rossini's sparkling comedy which was everything I hoped it would be - hugely enjoyable fun with some fabulous singing to boot.  Go see!

It's very easy to take middle-period Verdi for granted at times and among the twittersphere there was a definite sense of ho-hum about Royal Opera's autumn season offerings - a lack of star singers in some cases or just a lack of excitement about the operas scheduled. To a certain extent I can definitely sympathise - on paper certainly there seemed little to get the operatic juices flowing - at least compared to the upcoming Winter season.  First night reports of this Rigoletto did not ease misgivings as singers were reported as being out of sorts and the conducting somewhat erratic.  One of the reasons why I mainly give first nights a miss!

This David McVicar production from 2001 is no romantic costume drama rather a bleak dystopian nightmare - the first scene especially is stuffed to the gills with debauchery and copulation of all varieties - not a production for your granny or any small children!  While not a prude in the slightest (even if the boob count was on the high side) it was all a bit too hectic, with too much going on and I found my attention wandering and not concentrating on the music - toning down the manic element a little  wouldn't harm the depiction of the overall licentiousness of the court of Mantua.   But overall this is a very dark portrayal of the opera indeed - there is no light at the end of the tunnel and the only truly sympathetic character is Gilda - and look what happens to her! 

The set is essentially a huge dark edifice set on a revolve which serves as the set for all acts.  It works as most of the opera is set in dark gloom but there were some pauses between scene changes didn't aid the flow of the drama.  Luckily the singers compensated for that.

Saimir Pirgu as the Duke is a fine tenor although I'm not really sure that he captured the essential character of the Duke - there seemed to be little differential between his romantic 'Gualtier Malde' interactions with Gilda, and his altogether more nasty alter-ego.  Not that I've seen many other tenors get to grip with this conundrum - they all seem rather more keen on the romantic side of the role than the real meat of the character - a reluctance to play nasty perhaps? For me, this character should have the face and voice of an angel...but the morals of a tom-cat.   Of the more recent tenors I've seen in this role only Vittorio Grigolo has convinced me as truly despicable....make of that what you will!  Vocally Pirgu took a while to warm up and the voice was a little 'one-note' to start with but things improved by the second act and the money notes were all there. I'd just like a bit more acting and more honey in the voice.

Aleksandra Kurzak is a new voice to me although pretty much established at the Royal Opera, having made her debut in 2005.  Again, her voice took a while to warm up but when it did I found it extremely beautiful and perhaps with a little more heft to it than most Gilda's - more lyric soprano than true coloratura. She returns to ROH later in the season as Fiorilla in Il Turco in Italia something I will definitely look forward to.  Her acting here was touching  and convincing - which can sometimes be difficult in a plot that is, to say the least, far-fetched in places.  Her scenes with Simon Keenlyside were especially convincing.

Ah yes,  Perhaps I'd better admit that besides my abiding love for Verdi, the main reason for booking this opera is that I was intrigued to see and hear how one of my favorite baritones would fare in this most taxing of Verdi baritone roles. This was a house role debut for Simon so I'm guessing a lot of the critics and regular audience were also wondering how he would fare.  Despite dark rumblings after the first night performance, I found his performance mesmerising and in the end deeply touching.  Vocally he may not command the typical Verdian heft but I found nothing wanting in the overall tone and technical accomplishment.  He managed the transitions from snarling, cynical jester at the Duke's court, to loving, over-protective Father in his duets with Gilda magnificently.  Physically too he gives it his all, staggering, crawling and generally heaving himself around on two sticks as the situation demands - I have no idea how you actually sing while doing that!  Rigoletto is one of the few operas where I don't actually cry at the end - not sure sure.   But on this occasion there was a definite lump in the throat.  Just superb.

The smaller roles were none too shabby either with fine contributions from Brindley Sherratt as a cavernous voiced Sparafucile and Justina Gringyte as a wonderfully convincing Maddalena. Now, I've never really had cause to notice Monterone in this opera before but Sebastian Holecek  brought a real character to the stage along with a commanding baritone voice.  Is this a future Rigoletto perhaps?

So then a dark and interesting start to the season and a useful reminder for me that even when you think you know an opera very well - and this is very familiar music to me - even I can be surprised at Verdi's achievements.  The conventions are still there (cabalettas and slightly improbable plots combine for inadvertent amusement) but at the heart of it there is a dark tale to be told and I'm betting that baritones give thanks to Verdi for such an amazing title role to play!

The Shape of Things to Come! Royal Opera House 2014/15 season.

As the days get shorter and the nights longer, it’s time to anticipate the coming attractions of the ROH 2014-15 season.

A quick overview reveals a pretty even-handed distribution of composers this season.  Verdi leads the way with five productions followed by Mozart with three.  No Richard Strauss this year and French opera almost entirely absent – I presume making up for last season’s superabundance of French opera.  Instead we get a fairly even distribution including Rossini, Donizetti, Giordano as well as a bit of Wagner and Weill.  Hopefully something for everyone.

While not having quite the same appeal as last year’s programme, I still think it’s quite an exciting season and there are lots of things I want to see – as well as a few things I’ll probably be giving a miss.

All the details of the 2014/15 upcoming season are here

I’m concentrating on opera in the main house but there are also some interesting productions coming to the Linbury which you might like to investigate

New Productions

I due Foscari (Verdi)

Placido Domingo brings his Papa Foscari to Covent Garden and I will be there for two reasons.  One – I’ve never seen this Verdi opera before and two…it's Domingo!  Yes, I know there are mixed opinions regarding his ‘baritenor’ outings (to say the least) but I have a feeling this is a good role for him. And as ever he will bring his exceptional stage presence and musicality to this endeavour which is never a bad thing.

Idomeneo (Mozart)

A new Mozart opera for me and a pretty rare outing for ROH – last seen here in 1989. The UK directorial debut of Martin Kusej should ensure press and public interest and a cast including Matthew Polenzani, Franco Fagioli and Malin Byström should ensure high vocal standards.

Un ballo in maschera(Verdi)

Another new Verdi production and one of my very favourites.  This is an opera full of wit and humour and yet equally dark and brooding – typical Verdi in many ways.  But this is also Verdi at his most brilliant and complex.  I’m looking forward to seeing the production by Katherina Thoma and hearing Joseph Calleja, Liudmyla Monastryka and Dmitri Hvorotovsky  in the lead roles – vocal values will be high although I’m slightly less optimistic about dramatic ones!

Andrea Chenier (Giordano)

Obviously this is THE hot ticket of the ROH 2014/15 season – ticket prices are high and availability restricted due to the presence of Jonas Kaufmann in the title role.  Yes, Jonas takes another bite out of Placido’s repertory, resurrecting an opera last seen in the house in 1985 with Domingo in the title role.  Eva-Maria Westbroek is Maddalena, David McVicar directs and Antonio Pappano conducts. What more could you ask for?

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogonney (Weil)

I will have to do my homework for this opera as not only have I never seen it before, I've also never heard it before.  Undaunted, I'm planning to be there and I'm looking forward to hearing Anne Sofie von Otter, Willard White and Christine Rice.  The director is John Fulljames whose Donna del Lago I wasn't particularly enthralled with, so I'm hoping for better things.

Krol Roger (Szymanowskii)

More homework required as another opera new to me (and I suspect a lot of the ROH audience) makes its debut at Covent Garden. I've heard very good reports from productions elsewhere so I'm suitably intrigued.  With the added incentive of Mariusz Kwecien and Samir Pirgu in the cast, Pappano conducting and Kasper Holten directing, this could be the dark horse hit of the season.

Guillaume Tell (Rossini)

What?  More homework?  Okay, I vaguely know the music but this is anotther comparative rarity at Covent Garden.  However with a cast led by Gerald Finley and conducted by Antonio Pappano, the audience should be in for a good time.

Revivals

Anna Nicole (Turnage)

This is the revival chosen to kick off the ROH 2014-15 season and rather commendably, the very first performance is a student only affair.  I’m still debating whether to attend this opera as my tolerance for good-girl gone wrong stories may have peaked with last season’s Manon Lescaut!  But ticket sales are looking rather slow at the moment so still time to grab a bargain.  Eva-Maria Westbroek returns to the role she created in 2011.

Rigoletto (Verdi)

A reliable staple of many an opera company there are two great casts here to tempt – I’ve plumped for Simon Keenlyside as the poisonous court jester, Samir Pirgu as the Duke and Aleksandra Kurzak as the innocent Gilda.  Alternatively you could have Dimitri Platanias, Piero Pretti and Eri Nakamura.  David McVicar’s production is dark-toned – Verdi’s music is glorious. 

Il barbiere diSiviglia (Rossini)

This Leiser and Caurier production passed into operatic legend when Joyce DiDonato broke her leg on opening night…and carried on with the performance, not only on this night, but in all subsequent performances.  Hopefully nothing quite so dramatic will happen with this run!  I’m not the world’s biggest comic opera fan but the music should fizz along nicely with Mark Elder at the helm.  Serena Malfi makes her ROH debut as Rosina along with fellow debutant Michele Angelini as Almaviva.  The eponymous barber is Lucas Meacham.

L’elisir d’amore(Donizetti)

More hijinks as Donizetti’s comic opera is rolled out for yet another revival. I missed the last outing with Roberto Alagna as Nemorino – this revival has Vittorio Grigolo who will no doubt ham it up for all he’s worth! Lucy Crowe as Adina will be worth a visit as will Bryn Terfel as Dulcamara.

Tristan und Isolde (Wagner)

Christoph Loy’s production came in for quite a lot of criticism when it was first presented and sight lines were ‘challenging’ to say the least.  ROH have said that some of these issues have been addressed and restricted sightlines will be reflected in the pricing – we’ll see.  Tony Pappano conducts a fine cast lead by Nina Stemme as Isolde, Stephen Gould as Tristan, backed up by Sarah Connolly as Brangane and John Tomlinson as King Marke.  Highly recommended.

Der fliegendeHollander (Wagner)

More Wagner but for once I’m not really complaining.  Bryn Terfel returns as the Dutchman with acclaimed Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka as Senta. Throw in Andris Nelsons conducting and well you can’t really say no!

Madama Butterfly (Puccini)

Hand on heart, I’m not the world’s biggest Butterfly fan…although I do love Puccini. But with Kristine Opolais returning in the title role I’m hardly likely to resist.  Brian Jagde makes his house debut as Pinkerton and the flamboyant Nicola Luisotti leads the ROH orchestra.  Bring a handkerchief.

Die Zauberflote (Mozart)

There are nine performances of this David McVicar production, shared between two casts.  I may give this one a miss as I saw two performances at the most recent revival.  Casts are very good if not ‘starry’ – Toby Spence and Janai Brugger, alternate with Pavol Breslik and Christiane Karg.  It’s a very enjoyable production and if I do give in and buy a ticket I may be swayed by the Breslik/Karg combination.

Il turco in Italia (Rossini)

Oh Lord!  What is it about comic operas this season?  Anyway, that notwithstanding I’ll probably attend as I’ve never seen this on stage before. Another colourful production by Leiser and Caurier, and with a cast led by Ildebrando d’Arcangelo and Aleksandra Kurzak it should be enough to make the evening go with a swing!

La Traviata (Verdi)

Yet another batch of performances for this ROH and audience favourite. There are 16 performances in total so if you miss one performance there’ll be another along shortly!  Two casts share the honours; Sonya Yoncheva, Ismail Jordi and Franco Vassalo kick off the run with Marina Rebeka, Dmytro Popov and George Petean picking up the baton later.  And if that wasn’t enough excitement, Domingo jets in to give two performances as Giorgio Germont.  Personally I’d probably go with the Yoncheva cast and I wouldn’t mind catching Domingo as this is one of his better ‘baritenor’ assumptions.

La Boheme (Puccini)

Yet another audience favourite and another excuse to schedule 11 performances. However, this is the very last chance (honest!) to see this venerable John Copley production as we are assured a new production is forthcoming.  In the meantime, this last outing has been very starrily cast indeed – Anna Netrebko and Joseph Calleja are down to lead off as Mimi and Rodolfo with Lianna Haroutounian and Piotr Beczala very respectable alternatives.  Personal preference draws me towards the second cast but also the very real suspicion that Ms Netrebko won’t actually turn up!  Given that her current roles now include Lady Macbeth, Manon Lescaut and Leonora in Trovatore, I find it difficult to believe that she’ll be singing Mimi next year. We’ll see.

Don Giovanni (Mozart)

A quick revival for Kasper Holten’s somewhat controversial take on Don Giovanni.  You can read my opinion here so I can’t see myself making a return visit despite the attractions of Christopher Maltman’s Don,  The rest of the cast are decent enough too with Alex Esposito returning as Leporello and Rolando Villazon appearing in his new guise as a Mozart tenor.  Alain Altinoglu conducting should also provide some fireworks.

Falstaff (Verdi)

I wish I loved this opera.  I like it….but I just don’t love it.  I certainly don’t love it enough to go and see it again in this production.  It’s a good production but it's just okay and the final act doesn’t really work as it should.  But it's okay. Ambrogio Maestri returns to the production as Falstaff with Marina Poplavskaya currently down to sing Alice Ford – but don’t hold your breath!  Unfortunately Popsy has been cancelling assignments left, right and centre so unless she has sorted out her problems by next year then expect a replacement to be announced.

Happy opera going!