Henry Purcell, Dido & Aeneas - Staatsoper im Schillertheater Berlin

Performance 27th February

When I saw the performance of Purcell's famous opera in combination with dance I thought that it was a brilliant idea to combine the different art forms in order to intensify the effect of the heart-
breaking story of Dido and Aeneas. It could have been such a lovely evening...
Everyone who has at least a bit of knowledge about dance has heard of Sasha Waltz. The German choreographer is probably the most important figure in contemporary dance theatre since the great Pina Bausch and works a lot with dance and opera. However the production of Dido and Aeneas was quite disappointing and did not really convince me.
The two most important things of this marvelous piece were just not elaborated well enough in this performance: first the clear and plain musical performance and secondly the immediate dramatic power of Purcell's masterpiece.
The main problem was that the added dance sequences did interrupt the plot and not support it. It was as if there were two pieces on the stage at the same time. The whole production tried so hard to be progressive that the spirit of the work became totally secondary. It all started so well. During the first scene the dancers jumped into some sort of glass pool filled with water. The highly aestatic movements of the dancers looked even more elegantly in the water. The intensive expressivity of this water ballet was really nice but was the most interesting part of the whole evening (when it comes to dance). Some of the later dance scenes were also very beautiful and expressive but most of it lacked of dramatic content and even though you could tell the high professionalism of the dance company it just failed to convince. If it had been two seperate pieces it would probably have been more interesting but the attempt to blend them together just failed epicly.
The musical part was more satisfying but also not what I expected. Christopher Moulds and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin just did not carry away the audience. There was a lack of passion and solemnity throughout the whole performance. Knowing the score very well I really was surprised of some passages that I know very differently. Very often I missed the immediate simplicity of Purcell's great score due to the extensive use of ornaments and overfilled basso continuo parts. The Vocalconsort Berlin probably was the most convincing part of the evening with delicate singing during the many lovely choir scenes.
The vocal soloists mostly gave a solid performance but not more. The sorceress and her two fellow witches (Fabrice Mantegna with Sebastian Lipp and Michael Bennett) were casted with male singers which was disturbing at first. They managed their part fine and party with comedic irony but stayed a little bit colourless.
Same is valid for the singers of the second woman and Belinda. Céline Ricci and Deborah York sang their part without any issues but there was no thrill in their performance. York, not having a very big voice (which is also not necessary for this repertoire) seemed to have some intonation issues but showed her very flexible light soprano voice.
Reuben Willcox's Aeneas would probably have been better if he did not have to be dancing around during his performance. Being busy dancing and singing at once his performance just did not really convince me and seemed one-dimensional.
Probably the best vocal performance was made by Aurore Ugolin as Dido. Her dark soft voice suited this role well even though her performance could have been a little bit more intensive. She sometimes seemed a bit emotionless and lacked the passion of this tragic role.
Alltogether I have to say that I was really disappointed by the performance which I was really looking forward to. As I already said it could have been interesting if the two spheres (dance sequences and opera) did not interfere so distinctively all the time. Like that I would give 6 stars to the performance.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Richard Wagner, Rienzi - Deutsche Oper Berlin

Performance 26th February

Another weekend in Berlin, another Wagner opera at the DOB. This time his early work Rienzi, which is a very special piece combining strong Italian and French influences, but also already showing Wagner's personal composing style. Having written the opera at a quite early age the demands of the protagonists are extreme and require exceptional singers to master them appropriately.
But not only the vocal requirements make this piece difficult, also the plot is not an easy one to produce. The production of the DOB however did a great job with choosing Philipp Stölzl as director of the production (co-direction: Mara Kurotschka). Using videos and live broadcasts on stage as a medium of intensification the production shows clear parallels to the Nazi dictatorship. The staging (Ulrike Siegrist & Philipp Stölzl) and the costumes (Kathi Maurer & Ursula Kudma) had an impressive impact together with the many video projections (video: fettfilm, Momme Hinrichs & Torge Møller). The similarity to documents from the second world war was just horrifyingly realistic and had a strong effect. Especially Rienzi's speeches reached a higher dramatic intensity thanks to the projections. But of course there was also space for some comedy. That is why I just have to mention the really funny opening scene during the ouverture when Rienzi-double Gernot Frischling danced around like a crazy dictator. It somehow reminded me of the earthball-scene in Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" (and I think that is definitely a compliment).
But not just the production, also the musical performance was really intensive and very enjoyable. Evan Rogister was able to bring out the Italian and French influences without loosing the Wagnerian sound out of sight. He carved out the beautiful catchy melodies and was able to capture the spirit of the monumental parts of the score. The Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin followed his lead wonderfully and sounded brilliantly. Especially during the ouverture the string and brass sections sounded so focused and accurately that this was already a first great highlight of the evening.
The Chor ( and the Extra-Chor) der Deutschen Oper Berlin performed the very important choir parts of the opera really well. This whole opera would not be the same without the famous big choir scenes which sounded lovely this evening. Especially the finali of the first two acts were real highlights for me!
But now to the soloists of the evening: Stephen Bronk and Clemens Bieber sang the ambivalent roles of Cecco and Baroncelli. I already heard Bronk as a wonderful Rocco in Salzburg and he did not fail to convince me this time as well. Also Bieber gave a good performance with a very clear tenor voice. Noel Bouley's cardinal Orvieto was solid but could have been a little more intense and dignified. Dong-Hwan Lee also gave a solid performance as Paolo Orsini, but was unlucky to have Tobias Kehrer as partner / opponent during his scenes. Kehrer (as Steffano Colonna) is a force of nature with a powerful dark bass voice that really suited his malicious evil character. His performance was intense, exciting and dramatic.
The first of the three main protagonists, Rienzi's sister Irene, was performed by German soprano Martina Welschenbach who looked stunningly and made it understandable to fall in love with her character. Her soprano has a very beautiful timbre and definitely will be a good Wagner voice in the future but for the moment it just seems a bit early. She does not have the power that is neccessary to float over the huge orchestra. I think her voice is just not ready for this role yet but definitely on the way there. A few more years and the power will come naturally and then I would be happy to see her again.
My personal highlight of the evening was Daniela Sindram as Adriano. Sindram's vocie is strong and flexible with a very expressive timbre that can deliver dramatic content marvelously. Her scenes showed great acting talent combined with great musicality and a wonderful voice. Her dramatic outbursts gave me goosebumps. Especially her final desperate appearance finding Irene before the last climax was magnificent.
The title hero Rienzi was sung by tenor Torsten Kerl who has a very interesting voice. While having a clear and bright upper register his lower register sounds almost like a baritone with its very dark timbre. He held some of the high notes (and there are many of them) really long and showed that he does not have a problem with the high tessitura of this role. During the famous prayer he seemed a bit tired but during the great finale he gave everyhing he got. The audience forgave the signs of tiredness during the prayer and rewarded him great applause and appreciation in the end.
The whole performance was very enjoyable with a good cast. The only thing that I did not like was that they used really many cuts and gave us only a very shortened version of this wonderful opera. Anyway I would still give 8 stars to the great production of Rienzi at the DOB.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Richard Wagner, Die Walküre - Semperoper Dresden

Performance 23rd February

Dresden always had a close connection with Wagner. Not online did he himself work at the house, also several works composed by him premiered here. He called the orchestra his "Wunderharfe" (miraculous harp) and the orchestra has a long history of Wagner performance. If now the current chief conductor (or Kapellmeister) Christian Thielemann leads one of his operas the audience comes to Dresden from far and wide. From the four Ring operas Walküre has always been the most popular one due to its famous tunes, its highly authentic characters and of course its magnificent music. The difficulties of the piece are to have a proper production (which of course is important for any other opera as well) and a cast that is able to not only sing but also act the roles appropriately.
The Dresden production (which premiered in 2001) was directed by Willy Decker who was also responsible for the legendary La traviata production in Salzburg 2005. Optically the production is very appealing with big impressive stage sets and nice costumes (staging: Wolfgang Gussmann, costumes: Wolfgang Gussmann & Frauke Schernau). Especially the second act looked marvelously with the white miniature buildings and figures, not to mention the really elegant costume of Fricka. Unfortunately the management of the characters sometimes really did not seem authentic and overacted. Many movements just looked mannered and not really convincing. Nevertheless the whole look of the production excused that.
Of course the main interest of the evening was the musical part anyway. Christian Thielemann, currently probably the most dedicated conductor for Wagner, did not fail to satisfy with a highly passionate and clean interpretation with a masterfully focus on the thematic diversity of the score. The dynamic range between chamber music-like parts and massive outbreaks was really impressive and also the elegant way how he supported the singers throughout the whole evening showed his high professionalism. His orchestra, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, also did a good job following his instructions and especially the string section sounded incredibly bright and clear. Only some minor issues in the brass section leave some room for improvement, especially during calm passages.
The range of the soloists also reached from only satisfying to exceptional. The valkyries (Christiane Kohl, Sonja Mühleck, Irmgard Vilsmaier, Christina Bock, Julia Rutigliano, Simone Schröder, Constance Heller and Nadine Weissmann) were not really a homogenous group. Some voices were just not powerful enough while others definitely had enough power to sing over the heavy orchestration of the first scene of the third act.
Very solid on the other hand was Georg Zeppenfeld as Hunding. His dark sonorous bass voice has quite some power but is always controlled and flexible. He seemed to have internalised this role perfectly and it earned him much applause.
A highlight for me was Christa Mayer as Fricka. Both, her acting and her singing culminated in a performance that was pretty close to perfect. She portrayed the nagging wife of Wotan with a strong mezzo voice that has a very warm timbre.
Petra Lang as Sieglinde unfortunately did not really convince me in this role. Interestingly it was neither good nor bad. Of course Sieglinde is appealing for high mezzos but Lang does just not have the right voice for it. Her timbre is not youthful enough and tends to be edgy with quite strong portamenti. As I said she managed the part but did not really convince except with her immense power and the clarity of her high notes.
Her brother and lover Siegmund was sung by Christopher Ventris who does have a very good voice for this role. His timbre is not only heroic but also has a very youthful component. His phrasing is very lyric but does also show a very powerful instrument that can compete with the orchestra.
Markus Marquardt sang the role of Wotan very well with a really smart and sophisticated interpretation. He used the full power of his voice only for a few selected moments while most of his part was sung very intimately and lyrically. Especially during the climatic third act he changed between dramatic outbursts and very soft passages.
However, the vocal highlight of the evening was Nina Stemme in the title role of Brünnhilde. Stemme is one of those singers who sound way better in a real performance. The immense power of her voice is joined by a great ability to keep the voice very lyrical and soft. Of course the important outbursts were great but also the soft and intimate parts sounded magnificently. Moreover I got the impression that she really internalised this role because her acting was really convincing and showed her intensive understanding of the character. She proved that she really is one of the leading singers for this repertoire.
The whole performance was a huge success even though some parts still leave room for improvement. Nevertheless I would say that it was definitely a top performance compared to other current productions and the great international interest proved that beyond doubt. I would give 8 stars out of ten to this performance and I am looking forward to see the other parts of the Ring here under the baton of Christian Thielemann.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Giuseppe Verdi, Don Carlo - Semperoper Dresden

Performance 18th February

The first performance of the revival of Verdi's masterpiece at the Semperoper showed that Verdi definitely was the giant genius of Italian opera during the second half of the 19th century. One famous tune after another and in between sheer dramatic tension. Don Carlo is surely one of his greatest works and quite a difficult one to cast appropriately. You need 5 top protagonists and several other smaller supporting characters that manage the musically and theatrically demanding roles. The Production led by Eike Gramms (who passed away last year) created a production that centres around the questions of human relation and still also impresses with great staging and beautiful costumes (both by Gottfried Pilz). A huge wall (some sort of shelf) filled with skulls that acts as wall and floor throughout the evening shows from the very beginning that this whole story will not finish with a happy end. Impressively they use the different levels of the stage to creat space and position the protagonists and the choir.
Musically the performance was as least as impressive as optically. Paolo Arrivabeni jumped in for Myung-Whun Chung who was ill. Arrivabeni showed great Italian passion and great controll over the orchestra during the whole performance. The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden did a wonderful job following his instructions and played so ravishingly and passionately that also the orchestral parts were a real pleasure to hear. The two choirs (Sächsischer Staatsopernchor and Sinfoniechor Dresden e.V.) also gave a marvelous performance and gave me chills especially during the finale of the second act (not to mention the monks at the very beginning).
Peter Lobert as the Monk did not have much to sing during the evening but his two appearances (at least vocally twice) were great with a reverential dark voice that is able to deliver shivery respect.
Michael Eder was an evil grand inquisitor through and through. His low and heavy bass sounded really viciously and he managed to increase the intensity of his main appearance during the third act gradually before leaving with a nasty "forse!".
The role of Filipo II was sung by René Pape who still convinces with a such a powerful and dark voice that seems not to age at all. After decades he still a reliable force of nature when it comes to great bass roles. He totally convinced again with a great voices and impeccable acting skills.
Another great performance of the evening was done by Christoph Pohl as Rodrigo. Already having a very powerful and nice sounding entrance he managed to gradually raise up the level of his performance. By the end one was sadder about Pohl not singing anything anymore than Rodrigo dying for his friend. His youthful heroic voice with the beautiful timbre was definitely a highlight of the evening.
My personal highlight of the evening however was Ekaterina Gubanova as Eboli. A role that really calls for a force of nature with a huge range, great power and ideally a good-looking exterior. Gubanova unified all these things in her performance. Her Eboli was powerful, sexy and did not have a problem with the vocal range of the role. Her final aria was immense and earned her a huge wave of applause.
Also Barbara Haveman was able to impress the audience in the role of Elisabetta di Valois. Not just gifted with a big voice that can fill the whole theatre hers was also equipped with a very intimate timbre that depicted the sufferings of her character very appropriately. Her big aria in the final act was a real gem and was rewarded with a storm of enthusiasm.
The title role was sung by Massimo Giordano who has a very interesting voice. Apart from sounding very natural generally his voice tends to have somewhat of a sighing sound. I do not know if this was part of his interpretation, anyway, I did enjoy his portrayal due to the power and the lightness of his voice even though some of the higher notes seemed not really comfortable. However he did a pretty good job in this role and portrayed it really well.
Alltogether I really enjoyed the whole performance and liked every minute of it. I was actually thinking about getting a ticket for another performance to see it again. Who knows. However I would give 9 stars to this great performance I already saw.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Richard Wagner, Lohengrin - Deutsche Oper Berlin

Performance 14th February

It is always difficult to stage Lohengrin due to its hilariously pathetic plot. Some parts really seem totally inappropriate and totally over the top. So it is quite hard to create a production that really finds a way to make everything seems reasonable. Kaspar Holten definitely did a great job with his production at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Together with Steffen Aarfing (stage and costumes) he created a production that shows Lohengrin as politician who proclaims to be a hero that is sent by god. In this interpretation Elsa is becoming the real hero by not trusting a man who just searches a way to the top. All this might sound difficult to convert into a proper production but Holten and Aarfing kept close to the libretto which sometimes really convincingly agrees to their interpretation. The great scenery and the costumes from several eras looked marvelously and supported the plot very well. This really is a production that shows intellect and appreciation by the creative team.
Musically Donald Runnicles also did a great job leading the Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin. He found the perfect balance between delicate parts and dramatic outbursts. The orchestra was in top form and especially the interlude in the third act with trumpets and snares divided within the auditorium was incredibly impressive. What a huge wall of sound!!
The Chor (und Extra-Chor) der Deutschen Oper Berlin sometimes seemed to be not totally synchronous but gave a solid performance during the whole evening. Especially the final act was performed really well.
Vocally the cast was just magnificent. Bastiaan Everink sang the role of the Heerrufer and showed a very strong heroic but still youthful baritone voice. I'm pretty sure that he will sing some proper main roles very soon with this beautiful voice.
Albert Pesendorfer was called indisposed but sounded lovely. If that is how he sounds ill I really want to know how he sounds when he is totally healthy. Such a powerful dignified voice that sounds heroic without having a rough unfriendly timbre.
Thomas Johannes Mayer's Telramund is not new to me because I already heard him singing this role in Bayreuth in 2014. He still does a very good job though I personally would wish for a darker lower voice for this role. Anyway he is a marvelous singer and as I said he did a great job.
Due to the fact that Anna Smirnova had some issues at the airport Petra Lang (rehearsing Sieglinde in Dresden at the moment) jumped in as Ortrud. Also not new to me in this role she did not fail to impress me once again. I heard her as Brünnhilde in december which was not really her role in my opinion but her Ortrud is a force of nature. The power, the dramatic feeling and her stage presence are incredible and this role totally hers.
Nevertheless my personal highlight was Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Elsa. I was genuinely blown away by her flawless performance. Her soprano is very dark but shiny and bright in the top register. The power is immense and still she has an incredible beauty of tone. I really cannot name any deficits because her voice obviously was made to sing Elsa and other Wagner roles.
Another great performance was done by Michael Weinius as the title hero Lohengrin. He also has a powerful Wagnerian voice with a very heroic timbre but is still able to manage the very soft parts that Lohengrin also has to sing. Interestingly in his lower register his voice totally reminded me of Siegfried Jerusalem. His performance was really good, only some of the top notes could have been a little longer. Anyway he seems to be one of the best performers of this role nowadays I would say.
As I already wrote this whole performance was a real eye-(and ear-)opener and I was extremely happy that I decided to see it because it was totally worth it. And therefor I give full 10 stars to this great performance.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Ludwig van Beethoven, Missa Solemnis - Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Semperoper

Performance 13th February

As every year since 1951 the Staatskapelle Dresden is dedicating one of their symphonic concerts to the victims of the bombardment on Dresden in february 1943. This year Kapellmeister Christian Thielemann conducted Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in two concerts (one on the memorial day - 13th and another one the following day). I was lucky enough to attend the memorial concert which was a very touching experience. Neither before nor after the performance the audience applauded but stayed silent for a minute of silence and remembrance.
Thieleman conducted the Staatskapelle Dresden masterfully and shaped this epic work magnificently. The dynamic variations and accurate cues led to a marvelous performance of the orchestra which easily followed Thielemann's instructions. The Sächsische Staatsopernchor also gave a wonderful performance and convinced with a huge wall of sound on one hand and delicate calm parts on the other hand. Especially during the Benedictus (with an impressive violin solo by Matthias Wollong) everything matched just perfectly.
The solo parts were sung by Camilla Nylund, Elisabeth Kulman, Daniel Behle and Georg Zeppenfeld. Camilla Nylund's beautiful floating voice sounded great and powerful throughout the range. Especially her higher register sounded just heavenly smooth.
Elisabeth Kulman's dark mezzo voice on the other hand has a very attractive warm timbre and the sheer power of her voice is really impressive. It is really a pity that she decided not to sing opera onstage anymore.
Daniel Behle is definitely one of the most interesting tenor voices of the younger generation. His timbre is noble and youthful but at the same time powerful and flexible. I can't wait to see him singing Wagner (his Lohengrin would surely sound marvelously).
Georg Zeppenfeld always gives a solid performance with his dark bass voice. The timbre of his voice is very balanced and radiates dignity and warmth. He never disappoints and always manages to keep his üerformance standards high.
Alltogether I would give the touching performance 9 stars
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Ludwig van Beethoven, Fidelio - Bayerische Staatsoper, Nationaltheater 

Performance 10th February 

Because the production of Fidelio at the Bavarian State Opera is more than five years old, this review should not be focused on the staging or the scenery, but I still feel like passing my opinion about it. Calixto Bieito’s concept is a very abstract one and even if there is no real prison on the stage, everybody is kind of trapped in a big maze of iron bars with horizontal and vertical fixed plates of glass between them at some places. Expect for Leonore and Florestan at the end of the opera, everybody has to stay in this huge scaffolding that was brought on the stage by Rebecca Ringst. The problem that I see in this attempt of bringing the basic principle of Beethovens opera, the ideals of freedom embodied by the revolting against despotism, in our time, is that the subject matter of Fidelio is shifted on a psychological level and the whole plot gets lost. Bieito’s concept that is too much focused on the individual unfreedom of every character in the opera sacrifices almost all interactions between them.
The two small male parts of Jaquino (Dean Power) and Don Fernando (Steven Humes) were delivered reliably. But even if Don Fernando’s arrival was staged quite spectacularly from a loge above the stage, where he appeared being dressed just like the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movie, I felt like making Don Fernandos act of releasing Florestan to an anarchistic one (because that is what the Joker embodies in the movie) was far-fetched.
Hanna-Elisabeth Müller as Marzelline was one of the highlights of this throughout magnificent cast. She owns a beautiful lyric voice and always phrased her tones through all registers just perfectly while you could understand every single word very distinctly.
The sound of Franz-Josef Selig’s voice is very noble and while singing alone with the orchestra I really enjoyed his Rocco, but unfortunately he could not assert hisself during trios or quartets because of too less volume in his voice or just not singing loud enough.
Don Pizarro was performed very convincing by Tomasz Konieczny who made his status as the arbitrary ruling tyrant very clear by a mighty bass voice with a dark and unique timbre. Because of his vivid presence on the stage and the diversely presentation of his voice, whose strength surpassed all other voices of the evening in volume, he fitted the role of Don Pizarro in a complete way
It is just incredible that Peter Seiffert has still got such a strong voice and the power to perform Florestan like this. Right at the beginning of his big scene after the intermission his „Gott“ shout pervaded the air of the stage and the whole house with an amazing intensity. Over the ten minutes of his recitative and his aria he managed to increase the atmosphere of his performance by his clear tenor voice without any hearable struggle.
Anja Kampe is an outstanding soprano and she performed a solid Leonore in general, but she had some issues in the high register and was compelled to accelerate the very high tones. At parts like these she seemed kind of strained, even if it did not happen too often during the performance. She still raised the biggest cheer under the singers for her efforts.
The way how the audience welcomed Zubin Mehta, the former chief conductor of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, was thrilling. Even before the first performed bar of the opera the audience cheered for the incoming conductor. Through the evening it appeared that this loudly making known of trust in Mehta even before the opera by the audience happened correctly. He led the orchestra very sovereign and with a subtle intuition for the singers. The parts together with the choir in the prison and at the end of the opera in which the human liberty is extolled were performed greatly moving. The applause for the orchestra and especially Mehta at the end of the evening was tremendous.
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Reviewed by Lukas Leipfinger