Franz Schubert, Lazarus - Wiener Philharmoniker, Festspielhaus St. Pölten

Performance 24th October

Another rarity I was able to hear now is Schubert's fragmental oratory Lazarus. Conductor Ingo Metzmacher decided to perform this interesting work in a concert series with the Wiener Philharmoniker (they are performing it inter alia in Rome, Vienna and in St. Pölten). The music sounds very modern for Schubert and reminds of Weber and even shows perspectives of early Wagner. The dramatic action happens through the recitatives which really show Schubert's dramatic skills. Unfortunately the whole piece stops after a ravishing dramatic outbreak of Lazarus' sister Martha.
Metzmacher and the Orchestra showed a very clear and accurate interpretation with intimate quiet moments as well as dramatic outbursts that remind of the wolf's glen scene (Wolfsschluchtszene) from Weber's Freischütz. Also the choir (Wiener Singverein) was very good and sang very reverent and pious.
The baritone Daniel Schmutzhard sang the role of Simon who only has a big monologue in the beginning of the fragmental second part. This extraordinary monologue can easily be compared to the Florestan scene of Fidelio or other big dramatic scenes like that. The mood always changes within a few beats and the dramatic singing really shows directions to Wagner. Schmutzhard did a great job here with his strong and dramatic baritone which also convinces with fine diction.
Jemina was sung by Sophie Karthäuser who has a lovely light lyric soprano with a very beautiful tone and good stamina. She would be a very good Freischütz Ännchen in my opinion. Her "songs" had something very dance-like even though the matter was very serious.
Werner Güra performed the role of Lazarus' friend Nathanael and also did a fine job. His lyric tenor has some dramatic aspects which help him giving a very heroic impression. He has a great Mozart voice with ease and finesse.
Maria, one of Lazarus' sisters, was sung by soprano Rachel Harnisch who has a beautiful soprano which might be an early state of a lyric dramatic soprano. Her voice is strong with great stamina and still very beautiful with very tasteful long phrasing.
Lazarus' other sister, Martha, was performed by Christiane Libor who did a great job once again. I just can't get enough of her great voice. The perfect symbiosis of beauty and power. During the great outbreaks she showed her Wagner proven power while she convinced with delicate pianissimi during the calm moments.
Steve Davislim performed Lazarus and had the difficult task to find a middle between heroic singing and a continuous morendo until he dies. In my opinion he totally delivered that with his strong heroic voice which is able to totally take itself back. I actually was also very surprised that his diction (he is Australian) was totally flawless and showed no signs of any error. All in all I really liked his singing and his interpretation.
Finally I am very happy that I saw this interesting work which would change the minds about Schubert a lot if it was performed more regularly. Lazarus earns 8 stars.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- -

Astor Piazzolla, María de Buenos Aires - Salzburger Kulturvereinigung, Universitätsaula

Performance 23rd October

Yesterday I was able to see a rarity which I only knew before de to the fact that I wrote a paper about it once: Astor Piazzolla's María de Buenos Aires. As a so called Tango Operita it features a lot of typical Piazzolla tango music and great rousing rhythms. The production is a cooperation between the Kulturvereinigung Salzburg and the dance organisation Tango Salzburg. Elisabeth Fuchs conducted her Philharmonie Salzburg and the dancers were members of Tango Salzburg. Unfortunately they were not able to catch the work's ravishing aura. The orchestra lacked of clarity and richness of tone. The great rhythmic power of Piazzolla's music was not noticable and Fuchs interpreted it like a bad school ensemble arrangement of a Mozart or Vivaldi. Already the opening bars were a big disaster due to the fact that the bandoneon (whose player was a disaster himself), which has such an important role throughout the piece, had serious issues to fit in. Fuchs obviously did not get the importance of this instrument and covered it constantly instead of pointing it out.
Another unintelligibility was the casting of the speaker. Robert Pienz might have had spanish in school or anywhere else and his diction is surely better than average, but even I could tell that this is not his mother tongue. He was so busy pronouncing everything correctly that there was no interpretation of the text at all (it seemed more like a reading). I really don't understand why they did not cast a native spanish speaker or at least someone who can recite the text appropriately.
Oscar Ovejero, who is a born south american, performed the role of the male singer. His voice might not be perfect, but he gave a satisfying performance although his microphone was adjusted way to loud.
The main protagonist, María, was sung by Mya Fracassini who gave a good performance all in all. Her voice might not be very strong but she delivered the character very well and had no major vocal issues. In the beginning she seemed a little restrained but opened up herself more throughout the performance
The additional characters (Theater(Off)ensive Sprechchor and members of Tango Salzburg) made the performance more bearable and supported the protagonists. The staging (Elisabeth Fuchs) and the costumes (Sven Jungclaus) were fine and helped the complicated plot quite well.
So finally I was happy to have seen it even though the whole performance lacked of professionality and quality. The performance gets 5 stars (which, in my opinion, is already quite kind and merciful).
✰✰✰✰✰- - - - -

Ludwig van Beethoven, Fidelio - Semperoper Dresden

Performance 16th October

This season I went to Dresden for the first time. For a long time I was wishing to go there and now I took the chance for a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio. The very old production (premiere 1989) of Christine Mielitz (staging and costumes: Peter Heilein) treats subjects of the cold war and transfers the plot into a prison during this time. Although you could tell that it is a very old production it looked fine and worked out really well.
The orchestra (Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) was really tremendous under the Rainer Mühlbach as conductor. Every single note and phrase was so clear and delicate that I heard details like never before. The orchestra never covered the singers but always supported them very appropriately.
Don Fernando, sung by Alexander Hajek, did a good job during his short appearance. His voice sounded very noble and warm. Don Pizarro was sung by Matthias Henneberg, who I just saw in Strauss' Die Schweigsame Frau in Munich. I liked him better in Munich, but still he gave a good performance with great dramatic sense and a lot of evilness. Simeon Esper sang Jaquino with a nice and very youthful tenor voice. Unfortunately Jaquino is quite unlikeable in this production which was a pity because Esper's singing was really lovely and way better than his character.
Carolina Ullrich from Chile portrayed the role of Marzelline. She sounded quite strong for this role but did not have any problems to perform it appropriately. She sang very delicate during the soft passages and strong during the ensemble scenes.
Georg Zeppenfeld was singing her father Rocco. His voice is quite strong and profound although I would have casted a singer with a stronger and more profound voice. Sometimes his phrasing seemed a little bit stressed in order to sing every single note. In the end his performance was good but mabye not totally perfect for this certain role.
Stephen Gould must have had a very bad evening. While I was very impressed by the dark and strong timbre of his tenor voice he was very disappointing in respect of phrasing and the higher register which is very important for the role of Florestan. He had great issues with the higher notes and was out of tune several times during his opening monologue during act 2. I was quite disappointed because I was really looking forward to see him.
However Christiane Libor as Leonore once again totally blew my mind. Her really strong and still beautiful lyrical soprano suits this role perfectly. Her dramatic outbursts were impressive and her delicate singing very touching. Although I had the feeling that sometimes she had some minor inaccuriacies it did not affect the overall impression. She definitely is one of the leading singers in terms of German repertory and I am looking forward to see her again soon.
The whole production gave me a very pleasent evening and therefore gets 8 stars of me.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- -

Richard Strauss, Die Schweigsame Frau - Bayerische Staatsoper München

Performance 11th October

My first opera of the new season was Strauss' and Stefan Zweig's first collaboration: Die Schweigsame Frau. An actually quite rarely performed piece which has lovely parts and very high requirements for both, singers and instrumentalists. The production of Barry Kosky (staging and costumes: Esther Bialas) does not feature a lot of stuff on stage except of the very important things. You never had the feeling that there are too many things on the stage and the whole production really supported the plot in a way you would wish to see more often.
The orchestra of the opera house was leaded by Pedro Halffter who conducted a very clear and clean score with many different details.
As the three men of Henry's company, Farfallo, Vanuzzi and Morbio: Tareq Nazmi, Christoph Stephinger and Matthias Henneberg. All three had very fine voices with great power and clear diction. Especially Henneberg was a very pleasing character due to the fact that he jumped in for another singer although his schedule in Dresden (where he is rehearsing for two productions at the moment) is very tight. I think for this reason he had a big bonus compared to the other singers. As the two ladies from the company, Isotta and Carlotta, we heard Elsa Benoit and Tara Erraught who was the subject of this year's Glyndebourne scandal. Benoit has a fine coloratura soprano which sometimes sound quite shrill in the higher register. Nevertheless her performance in that little role was good anyway. However Erraught really impressed me a lot. Her voice has a really beautiful timbre and great power. She filled the auditorium with her voice so easily that it was very delightful to listen to her. And to say something about her physique: she really looked lovely in her victorian dress and the curly hair. Of course the costume was totally overdone, but that was intented like that. One can just hope that she will stay a long time in the ensemble so that we can hear more of her lovely voice.
Another nice singer was Okka von der Damerau as the house maid. Damerau, who is everybody's darling here in Munich, has a nice alto voice with a very velvet-like dark timbre. She also convinced with a great sense of humor and comedic playing.
Sir Morosus was sung by Franz Hawlata who also gave a good performance. Although his voice does not have the same power as other great basses of our time he gave a very convincing and nice portrayal of the poor old guy. His impersonation of the old sensitive and stubborn captain is really great and the role fits him quite well.
Now to the young pair. Daniel Behle sang the role of Henry Morosus and also did a fine job. I already heard him at the easter festival Salzburg as Arabella's Matteo where I really liked him a lot. This time I didn't like him that much. He was singing good but some higher passages sounded a little bit strained and uncomfortable. He surely did a fine job, but could have done better. Nevertheless I am sure that Behle is maybe the best tenor of the younger generation at the moment. Let's see how he'll do in the future.
The real star of the evening was Brenda Rae as Aminta alias the silent woman a.k.a. Timidia. The very difficult coloratura role is very demanding and contains very dramatic and very lyrical requirements. The finale of the second act calls for beautiful singing with long phrases in very high registers and still the main part of the act is very dramatic with singing like a fury. Nevertheless she performed a great Aminta and did not disappoint in any way. Her high notes were very clear, delicate and still powerful. Also her acting was very nice and helped her to stand up to the original Aminta of the production, Diana Damrau.
Finally it was a lovely evening with many laughter, nice moments and great singing. I give the performane 7 stars.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- - - 

Sonntagsmatinee 1, Mozarteum Orchester - Großes Festspielhaus Salzburg

Performance 5th October

After my well-deserved holiday in september I attended the first sunday's matinee of the Mozarteum Orchester. On the programme: Mozart's symphony no. 39 in e-flat major, Strauss' four last songs and Don Quixotte. During the Mozart symphony the conductor, Ivor Bolton, managed to show many different aspects of the score with great finesse and taste. Same can be said for the Strauss tone poem. The different themes were played very clearly and the dynamics were really impressing. Unfortunately the songs were a little bit disappointing due to the loud orchestra. Soprano Genia Kühmeier sang very beautifully and started with maybe the best rendition of Frühling I ever heard LIVE. Her warm timbre and her flawless phrases matched perfectly with the vocal line and gave a really tremendous impression. From the louder parts to the delicate pianissimi in the score Kühmeier sang everything very sublimely and with great atmosphere. Unfortunately Bolton was not able to keep the orchestra under control and so Kühmeier was covered several times during soft passages (which was definitely not because she couldn't sing louder, but because of the loud orchestra). It was really a pity because she genuinely sang marvellous. Nevertheless I liked the performance a lot because of the sheer beauty of Kühmeier's rendition. Her Beim Schlafengehen was melancholic and mature, her Im Abendrot touching and noble. I can clearly say that I liked Kühmeier's interpretation more than the other renditions I heard LIVE (Mattila, Harteros, Tilling).
The whole performance obtains 7 stars.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- - - 

Franz Schubert, Fierrabras - Salzburger Festspiele

Performance 27th August

My last visit of this year's festival was the rarely performed Schubert opera Fierrabras. Schubert, who might be the king of Lieder, was not really lucky with his operatic works. The bad librettos and the sometimes complicated plots are reasons why Schubert's operas are not really known nowadays. That is really a pity because his music is really great and has dramatic outbursts that I would never have expected by Schubert. His music reminds me of a mixture of Mozart and Weber.
The festival did a great job performing a rarity like that and showed that Schubert's operas are worth being rediscovered. The big problems with the production was the production itself. Peter Stein directed a Production that reminded me of an old bad knight saga for children. The costumes (Annamarie Heinreich) and the staging (Ferdinand Wögerbauer), although beautifully designed, just gave a very cheesy impression and together with Stein's directing some hilarious moments were created where hilarity should not happen.
At least the musical execution was great and showed the charms of the opera composer Schubert. Ingo Metzmacher conducted the Wiener Philharmoniker with great finesse, delicate taste and enough dramatic power. Also the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor convinced me once again with very tasteful singing.
The singers gave a great performance and sang on a very high level. Manuel Walser, a protegé of Brigitte Fassbaender and contestant of the YSP, sang the role of Brutamonte. His baritone is very good and it is incredible how well he conducts it if you think of his young age. He should have had a bigger role than that to show off his talent appropriately. Marie-Claude Chappuis sang the role of Maragond which was also very little for this beautiful voice. She sang a very beautiful duet with Florinda, but had no chance to let us hear her beautiful mezzo more afterwards. The also quite small role of Boland was performed by Peter Kálmán. He also did a good job. Unfortunately at bigger ensemble scenes he had some issues to be heard over the other musicians.
Georg Zeppenfeld also gave a great performance as a very noble and graceful King Karl. His profound bass sounds very elegant and his diction is very exemplary. His portrayal was very convincing and showed a great sense of acting.
Roland (not to change with Boland) was sung by Markus Werba, who has a light voice that seems to be more appropriate for more comedic roles like Papageno or Beckmesser. He surely did a good job but seemed a little bit wrong for a heroic role like that. Nevertheless his voice was able to perform this role without big problems.
Dorothea Röschmann sang Roland's big love and sister of Fierrabras, Florinda. Her voice has grown even bigger and more dramatic since her triumph as Countess Almaviva in 2006. She convinces with a strong lower and middle register which sounds very characteristic and velvet-like. Her dramatic outbursts were really impressive and her phrasing very tasteful. Also her acting is very good and shows a great dramatic feeling.
Eginhard was sung by Benjamin Bernheim, who I never heard of before. His tenor sounds very youthful but already quite heroic which fits this role perfectly. He understood to hold the balance between heroic and light lyric singing. Also the duets with Emma were highlights of the whole performance.
His counterpart was Emma, daughter of King Karl, and was sung by German soprano Julia Kleiter. She has a lovely lyric soprano voice with beautiful phrasing and a great sense of musical form. She did quite well in this role with all its lovely songs, duets and ensemble scenes. The smooth transitions and the clear sound of her voice were really great. She was definitely one of the highlights for me.
Finally the main protagonist, Fierrabras, was performed by Michael Schade, who is known mainly for his Mozart singing. His performance is probably summarized best by one word: vanity. He is quite famous and although his voice has nothing special he seems to think he is the king of all tenors. The moment he comes on stage you can clearly tell that he thinks of himself as the great star of the production which was quite annoying. Anyway his singing was ok and I really mean ok. His sound is, as I said, not really special and has a very nasal timbre. Sometimes he tries to sound more heroic which ends in a very strained sound that does not really help his nasal timbre.
Anyway the whole production gets 8 stars (just because of the musical part) due the bad production and the even worse libretto.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- -

Giuseppe Verdi, Il Trovatore - Salzburger Festspiele

Performance 24th August

Lucky as I am, I finally managed to see this years main production of our festival for its last performance: Il Trovatore. Verdi's opera with the crazy and confusing story / libretto, but also with the many famous hits is a huge opus with enormously demanding roles and various difficulties for the producers.
The production of Alvis Hermanis transfers the plot into a museum where the museum guide dream themselves into the plot of the pictures on the walls. What sounds like a cheap copy of a Ben Stiller movie looked very beautiful on stage, but did not really help the complicated story. After a while it was just boring and annoying when the walls with the pictures moved around and showed new perspectives all the time. The costumes of Eva Dessecker were nice but sometimes not really flattering.
Daniele Gatti was conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor acceptable (at least not a disaster like last year's Meistersinger) but not really delicate and thrilling as a Trovatore should be. The orchestra was better than in Rosenkavalier and probably would have been even better with a better conductor. The choir was a highlight of the evening and showed that the Wiener Staatsopernchor can easily compete with other big choirs.
Another big highlight was Diana Haller - a contestant of the Young Singer's Project - as Leonora's confidant Ines. Her mezzo soprano has a very nice timbre and her stamina is on a good way. I had the pleasure to see her in a masterclass with Christa Ludwig at the beginning of the festival where she performed a Hugo Wolf song and showed great musical and dramatic talent.
Riccardo Zanellato as Ferrando had a very big profound voice which allowed him to give a very grim and fierce portrayal of this role. He transmitted great seriousness throughout the whole performance.
Artur Rucinski replaced Placido Domingo as Luna and gave a great performance. He has a very powerful and also very beautiful baritone voice which he conducts very secure and sophisticated. He is way better in this role than Domingo could ever be, because an old tenor is an old tenor and not a baritone. I hope that Domingo retires soon, for his own sake. Taking up new roles is totally immature and does not serve anyone but his ego.
Marie-Nicole Lemieux was a very powerful Azucena and totally fulfilled my expectations. Her lower register is very dark and has a very characteristic sound. Her higher register also shows a good stamina and a nice balance of dramatic and delicate sound. The only criticism I could do is that her final line (Sei vendicata, o Madre) ran a little short during the highnote, but as another critic wrote: noone falls down like Ms: Lemieux.
The role of the Trovatore Manrico was sung by Francesco Meli who I already saw last year in Giovanna d'Arco where I really liked him a lot. Unfortunately he could not do the same in this role. Throughout the whole performance he seemed to be enormously strained. Especially in the high parts of this role he was quite pitchy sometimes. The famous cabaletta during the 3rd act " Di quella pira" was a little disaster. The high notes were totally bad (if he reached the right notes) and you could tell that he feels really insecure and uncomfortable. Maybe this role is too dramatic for him and he should stick to lighter roles.
Anyway the star of the evening, of course, was Anna Netrebko as Leonora. She once again showed that her fame is totally comprehensible. Throughout the last years her voice gained power, depth and dramatic sound. Her stamina and her velvet-like sound make her one of the most beautiful soprano voices of our time. Even during the big orchestral passages her voice was able to be heard without any problems. Even her enormously delicate pianissimi are powerful enough not to be covered by the orchestra. The dynamic range of her voice is really impressive and allows her to show various emotional facets. Her coloraturas are also very impressive if you think of the size of her voice. Of course her coloraturas might not be the best ones but they are better than most I've ever heard. The role of Leonora fits her voice like a glove and she fills the role with great dramatic competence. Her acting is just phenomenal and is more authentic than most other singers. She totally knows how to deliver a role psyche and emotional life. The only thing that I missed was the final high d flat in the final terzet of the first act. I was quite sure that she would give us the pleasure of that note, but obviously she did sing it during this run.
Anyway, the performance was great with small deficits. I give Salzburg's Trovatore 9 stars.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰-