Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt - Oper Graz

Premiere performance 19th November

As first part of my intensive pre-christmas weeks I spent a weekend in Graz attending a very special concert that was dedicated to the glorious incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's epic story of Peer Gynt. The wonderful music of Edvard Grieg is supporting the drama of the truly touching plot. Of course the Oper Graz did not perform the full play, but some sort of concert version for a use in combination with the full incidental music. This performance, based on the version created by Alain Perroux, lacked the fantastic intensity of the play, but basically told the story quite well except of a few complications. While the singing parts were cast as usual this version calls only for two different actors, a male actor for the title role and a female one for most other roles that appear during the evening (most notably Solveig, Peer's mother and Anitra). Knowing Ibsen's wonderful drama very well I was a bit disappointed by the delivery of the text. I personally thought it lost the drive that Ibsen's original Version contains. However it is a great idea to such a version at all. I wonder why there are so few performances of the full incidental music with a montage of the text. That is why I am very grateful that the Oper Graz decided to do such a thing.
The whole evening took place under the musical lead of Dirk Kaftan who conducted a very energetic and explosive, but also very touching interpretation. He did a good job to hold the many different parties of the piece together and showed great understanding of Grieg's music. The Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester did its best to follow his lead with elegant and passionate playing. Only sometimes there were some minor inaccuracies which did not affect the overall impression in the end. Also the Chor der Oper Graz gave a very intensive performance with strong accentuated singing and very good Norwegian diction (which is quite tough). Also most of the vocal soloists sang very clearly and it was able to understand most of the Norwegian lyrics (provided that you can understand it of course). Neven Crnić and Martin Simonovski sang the roles of the fence and the thief with their intimidating dark voices. Both succeded to give a strong impression during their really short appearance in the second part. Also the three herdswomen sung by Sieglinde Feldhofer, Sonja Sarić and Yuan Zhang were beautifully to listen at. All three of them had very pleasing balanced voices with beautiful timbres which blended together marvelously during their short scene. Dshamilja Kaiser as Anitra probably gave the most impressing vocal performance of the evening. With a very seductive dark timbre her beautiful mezzo voice suited the role of the exotic beauty perfectly. With great musicality and erotic radiance she impressed me a lot. The female lead, Solveig, was sung by Tatjana Miyus who also has a gorgeous voice with a lovely light timbre clear like a bell. Except of some top notes that ended up a bit flat she gave a beautiful and touching performance and looked wonderful in her turquoise dress. The male lead, only having one little song, was sung by Dariusz Perczak whose voice sounded very appropriate and well trained. Unfortunately his diction seemed a bit unclear and could have been more elaborated. However he did a decent job and earned his applause.
The two main performers were the two actors for the speaking parts. Famous theatre actress Sunnyi Melles performed the role called "The woman" including the female parts of the play as well as the many small roles that are crossing Peer's way. Melles was probably the most problematic part of the whole evening. Most of the time she seemed as if she had seen her text for the first time ever and spoke in an extremely mannered way most of the time (why on earth would the mountain king have a strange swiss accent??). More than once she stopped the dramatic flow and even switched a scene (by accident I guess). Alltogether I thought that her performance was disappointingly unprepared and did not match the niveau of the evening.
Cornelius Obonya on the other hand did much better in the title role. His recitation and his acting are highly elegant and convincing. The way he uses breaks and the speed of talking are really effective and supported the drama of the plot very well. Personally I though that his Peer was a bit too much of a macho and to little of a simple naive boy who does not do anything bad on purpose. However he did an excellent job and was definitely the right choice for this performance.
Alltogether it was a very enjoyable evening that carried the audience off to the far lands of Norway, the Sahara and other fantastic places. I hope that other houses take those performances at the Oper Graz as an example and are also establishing productions of this wonderful drama with its magnificent music. Therefor I give 8 starts to the Peer Gynt production in Graz.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Engelbert Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel - Salzburger Landestheater, Felsenreitschule

Premiere performance 30th October

After almost two months of operatic abstinence I attended the first operatic premiere of the new season at the Salzburger Landestheater with a work that I know quite well. The fairy-tale opera about the two silblings who get lost in the woods is one of the most successful German operas after Wagner which are still performed regularly. Unfortunately it is not treated as such very often and is seen as a children's opera instead.
The production led by Johannes Reitmeier makes the same mistake and creates a very naive and predictable rendition of the work. Extremely mannered and exaggerated ideas dominated the evening and reminded me more of a children's performance. I generally felt like every decent conservatory could have done the whole thing at least as well. The beautiful but also very plain and conservative stage and costumes created by Court Watson did not really help to change that impression.
Musically it also was quite a ambivalent evening. While the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg played very passionately and with impressive balance, conductor Adrian Kelly seemed not to have everything (or everyone) under full control. Too often the singers and the orchestra were not exactly on time and several cues went wrong.
The two small roles of the Sandmännchen and the Taumännchen were sung by Rowan Hellier and Tamara Invaniš. While Hellier seemed not totally comfortable with her role and strangely unflexible, Ivaniš sounded lovely with a beautiful light and flexible voice.
As father and mother we heard Jukka Rasilainen and Anna Maria Dur. Both did a good job but could have done better alltogether. Rasilainen sounded a bit weak from time to time and his phrasing was a bit rough sometimes. Dur also struggled with the size of the auditorium and the loudness of the orchestra, even though her upper register sounded strong enough. Only the middle register was covered at some moments.
Probably the most satisfying performance was given by Franz Supper as the witch. His clear and focused tenor has a very characteristical timbre and was able to sing over the orchestra without problems. He really filled the role with life and gave a very pleasing performance.
The two main characters were a bit of disappointment and make me question the casting policy of the Landestheater. Elisabeth Jansson as Hänsel had a very beautiful soft and dark timbre but her voice lacked the necessary flexibility and her diction was not really satisfactory. She also struggled with the power of the orchestra and the huge auditorium. So did Athanasia Zöhrer who has a very beautiful instrument as well, but is simply not ready to fill a stage like the Felsenreitschule. Apart of her power she also seemed an odd choice for this role which should be sung by a very light and clear soprano. Zöhrer's fuller lyrical voice (as beautiful as it is) was a bit too motionless and this role definitely too early on a big stage like that.
Alltogether a rather inglorious performance that showed a lack of seriousness and some serious problems in the casting department. If one takes the challenge to do a production on a big stage like the Felsenreitschule, one must not underestimate the difficulties of proper casting. Therefor the production will only get 6 stars unfortunately.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Richard Strauss, Salome - Stadttheater Klagenfurt

Performance 24th September

After a well-deserved little break I started the new season with Strauss' Salome at an operahouse I've not visited before. The Stadttheater Klagenfurt is one of Austria's city theatres and opened their season with Strauss extremely complex opera about the femme fatale from the biblical story. Already quite progressive during its time of origin it still does not fail to captivate the audience with its sheer brutality and decandence. The Klagenfurt production was led by Michael Sturminger and convinced with a very coherent concept. He brought the plot into the present without creating great ambiguity and showed a very intimate and yet thrilling direction. Especially the conduct of the characters seemed very naturally and not as mannered as in many other productions. The stage and the costumes were made by Renate Martin & Andreas Donhauser and also supported the plot very well without being to obstrusive.
Musically conductor Alexander Soddy did a great job leading the Kärntner Sinfonieorchester with great passion, accuracy and musicality. Despite of some smaller inaccuracies the orchestra managed the highly comlex and difficult score very well. Also the volume level was very appropriate and they did not cover the singers. The extremely opulent Dance of the seven veils went very smoothly and was probably one of the highlights of the evening.
The many small roles were cast quite ambivalent with some very good performances and some a bit boring ones. However the overall impression was still positive.
Christiane Döcker as Page had the chance to show her sensual dark mezzo voice that has a very soft and warm timbre. Also Mathias Frey convinced with a very young tenor voice with a bright youthful timbre and a very even tone.
The Herodias of Ursula Hesse von den Steinen was very expressive with a very dramatic voice. Sometimes there could have been a bit more balance, but alltogether her performance was fine and satisfying. As her husband Herodes we heard Jörg Schneider who gave a brilliant performance even though the audience was told that he might be a bit sick. However he sang this difficult tenor role with a powerful, bright and clear voice. His top notes came so easily that it was really impressive and it was definitely one of the best performances this evening.
Same is valid for Michael Kupfer-Radecky as Jochanaan. Though he was singing from under the stage during his first lines his powerful baritone voice filled the whole auditorium. His voice is definitely Wagner proven and probably best described as heroic, warm and sonorous at once. Without problems he managed the sometimes very high tessitura of this role and gave a wonderful performance.
Finally the title role was sung by German soprano Anna Gabler who also did a very good job. While having a very dark soprano voice in the middle register her upper register is bright and clear. Some of the top notes could have been a bit more relaxed but alltogether she gave a great performance. Not only musical but also acting-wise she convinced as the spoiled young princess and showed that this role suits her voice very well.
Alltogether it was a very enjoyable evening (if you can call Salome enjoyable) and the Stadttheater Klagenfurt showed a good performance. They did the best they can with their possibilities and succeeded with a ravishing thrilling evening full of opulent decandence. Therefor I give 8 stars to the Salome production in Klagenfurt.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Otto Nicolai, Il Templario - Salzburger Festspiele, Großes Festspielhaus

Concert performance 30th August

As glorious final of this year's festival I went to see the rarity Il Templario by Otto Nicolai who is known to basically be the founder of the Wiener Philharmoniker. The piece is a very interesting example of the combination of Italian Belcanto and Germanic instrumentation with ravishing ensemble scenes and captivating dramatic flow. While the story is rather complicated the melodies are very catchy and show that Nicolai is one of the many underestimated composers.
The Wiener Philharmoniker played the piece of their founder with great passion and showed that they really want people to discover this wonderful music. The dramatic drive and the soft elegance of the orchestra were impressive and thanks to conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada everything sounded very much in balance. He worked out the dramatic outbursts with great energy and was also able to support the singers more than appropriately. The Salzburger Bachchor did a great job during the several choir parts with a balanced sound and highly tasteful phrasing.
In the smaller roles of Isacco di York and Luca di Beaumanoir we heard Franz Supper and Armando Piña who both gave solid performances. Supper sometimes seemed to have some difficulties with intonation, but without any serious issues. Adrian Sâmpetrean as Cedrico il Sassone showed that he has a very beautiful voice with a warm pleasant timbre that has a lovely balance between dramatic skills and lyric abilities.
Kristiane Kaiser as Rovena seemed a bit uncomfortable even though she did a good job overall. Sometimes her soprano could have been a bit more flexible and sound more relaxed. Nevertheless she gave a very elegant and passionate performance.
Briano, the plot's antagonist, was sung by Luca Salsi, who also sang excellently. His powerful dark baritone voice with its threating timbre suited the role perfectly and he showed great abilites with his elegant Belcanto phrasing.
My personal highlight was mezzo soprano Clémentine Margaine as Rebecca. Margaine's voice is sensual, her timbre is warm and tender and she has the dramatic power that is also important for that role. She probably gave the performance of the evening and is definitely a name to remember.
Last but not least, Juan Diego Flórez also gave a great performance as male lead, Vilfredo d'Ivanhoe and mastered the many high notes without any problems. His piercing bright tenor voice gained some dramatic power over the few last years and it sounds pretty good.
Alltogether it was a brilliant night with a great re-discovery and hopefully the festival will go on with its rarity policy and give us many more rarely performed operas that are worth being performed again. Therefor I give 8 stars to the marvelous performance of Il Templario.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Gustav Mahler, Der Abschied & Symphony No. 9 - Salzburger Festspiele, Felsenreitschule

Performance 24th August

On Wednesday evening, the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester treated its concert goers to not only a powerfully captivating performance of Mahler’s infamous Ninth Symphony, but they coupled the work with the spellbinding ‘Der Abschied’ from Mahler’s Lied von der Erde cycle. The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester were led by renowned conductor Philippe Jordan and joined by baritone Christian Gerhaher for the first half of this concert. ‘Der Abschied’ [The Farewell] features as the last song of the Das Lied von der Erde cycle, and although one of six songs in the cycle, this work alone makes up nearly half of the length of the entire cycle. By combining these two works, it is clear to see that the intention was to parallel the farewell story to the often critically presumed ‘farewell story’ of Mahler’s Ninth symphony. While critically, much debate still stands regarding the role of the farewell and the preparation for death from Mahler himself in this symphony, the Jugendorchester’s interpretation certainly captured the essence of the work and the incorporation of ‘Der Abschied’ provided a subtle enhancement of the ‘farewell’ features that the symphony maintains. In both these works, death lingers in the air and haunts the listener with a glimpse of a world beyond, and Wednesday’s performance certainly did justice to the tender interpretation of both works.

The Jugendorchester provided a flawlessly professional performance, and although made up of young musicians up to the ages of 26, the quality, precision and expressive maturity of this group is certainly enough to rival that of any professional orchestra. Their darkly expressive interpretation of the opening of ‘Der Abschied’ set the tone for the high quality of music making to follow, demonstrating exceptional technical precision and emotional sensitivity. The obbligato solos of the oboe and flute sang out over the orchestral texture with vibrant colour and warmth, creating a tender interplay between instruments and voice, as these exceptional performers accurately captured the tone of the text and played out as stunning solo voices in their own right.
    Gerhaher’s performance was tender and reflective, and the gentle, rounded nature of his voice aptly lent itself to this evening’s softer interpretation of the work. It was an elegant and modest rendition that despite its light and tender surface still maintained a rich, warm vocal quality creating a very emotionally authentic and captivating performance. The sighing melodic lines were sung with grace and precision, and Gerhaher skilfully deployed heightened accentuation of the phrases enabling the rhythm of the text to shine through the work. Equally, he demonstrated the sheer power, versatility and control over of his instrument in the contrasting forte passages, which showcased his upper range with all its wealth and warmth of tone, a flawless richness that appeared physically effortless and vastly emotive. Yet, without doubt, it was the last few minutes of the work that were the most transcendental. Gerhaher’s sighing ‘ewige’ phrases leading us out of the work were pure, heartfelt and captivating; gently moving and full of promise and hope for what lies ahead. Jordan held a long, and much needed, silence following the work, a moment of repose and compassionate reflection.

It is hard to know where to begin describing the Jugendorchester’s captivating rendition of Mahler’s Ninth. This exceptional group of young instrumentalists performed with emotional maturity far beyond their years, indulging in Mahler’s captivating melodies and did not shy away from producing a vibrant and bold sound, enabling the progressive harmonies, and orchestral countermelodies and textures to ring out around the venue. They demonstrated particular skill in their emotional reflections in the first sections of both the first and last movements, indulging in the music and no doubt further drawing in an already captivated audience. The first movement was perhaps played with a stronger dynamic and faster tempo than other renditions often deploy, which perhaps I would suggest might be constrained a little in order to accurately capture the score’s intentions, but this swifter tempo made for a sense of movement and determination at the opening of the work, and provided a fresh performance and different interpretation.  But equally, at the conclusions of both the first and last movements, they traded emotional indulgence for subtlety, humility and resignation, demonstrating a true understanding of the emotional sensitivity and power of the work. The second movement provided a welcome contrast to the first, played with a brisk and spritely tempo that was playfully agile, enabling the dance-like passages of the work to flourish, and the group aptly captured the sweet comedy of the end of the work, that was naturally smile-inducing, before the crashing of the third movement. The finale, a movement well known and frequently performed, was tackled with great elegance and provided a fresh sound for even the most seasoned Mahler enthusiast, however, I would comment that the final few minutes of the finale could have been played with a slightly softer pianissimo, enabling the work to fade out rather more gradually. I would like to put forward my admiration and praise for this orchestra’s exceptional technical skills and precision, praise which no doubt falls back on their brilliant leader, and clear and driven direction by Jordan. Jordan encouraged and deployed ruthless accuracy, sensitivity and vigour in these performers, leading Mahler’s work with true devotion and expression of the score, whilst still maintaining an utterly unique and refreshing performance of the work. It is known that when it came to conducting and performing his own works, Mahler was rigorous regarding the way in which his scores should be interpreted; I have no doubt that Jordan’s direction and the exquisite performance given on Wednesday evening from this charismatic and talented group of instrumentalists would have impressed even the man himself.
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Reviewed by Genevieve Arkle

Charles Gounod, Faust - Salzburger Festspiele, Großes Festspielhaus

Performance 17th August

After a lovely evening with Thaïs I went to another French opera the day afterwards. Gounod's Faust is having its first production ever at the Festival as one of the main productions of this year. The story Faust is probably one of the most important plays of German literature due to Goethe's famous play, but also the opera by Gounod is normally a part of the repertoire. That the festival has never done a production before is a real riddle.
Reinhard von der Thannen created the whole production (including stage and costumes) and you can tell by his production that he worked a lot with Neuenfels. Very often I was reminded of the rat Lohengrin of Bayreuth where he also worked together with Neuenfels. Especially the role of the choir was responsible for some of my déjà-vus. The stage looks sterile and clinical with barely any colours except of white and black. The big sign with "Rien" that is there at the beginning already shows how von der Thannen approaches the piece. The direction of the characters is not really innovative and sometimes very unatural. Probably the best part is the relationship between Faust and Mefistofele where at least sometimes something like direction takes place. The most interesting part was the third act because it seemed more natural the the others and probably worked out best. Alltogether it was not a really exciting production and the festival surely could have done better than that.
Musically it was better because of the exciting conducting of Alejo Pérez who showed a very clean and focused score. He worked out the dramatic contrasts very well and especially the energetic choir scenes were definitely the highlights of the evening. Also thanks to the Wiener Philharmoniker who played accurately and vividly with French elegance and dramatic power. The different colours of the score succeded wonderfully and it was a pleasure to listen. Not only the orchestra, also the Philharmonia Chor Wien did a very good job. The many famous choir parts of the opera were magnificent (apart of the weird choreographies) and some of their melodies were stuck in my ear for the whole evening.
Marie-Ange Todorovitch sang the role of Marthe with a very sensual mezzo voice and her scene was quite funny. Even though she only had that one scene left she did impress me with a very lovely performance. Paolo Rumetz as Wagner seemed not totally well casted because his voice sounded not flexible enough for his short appearance which should have had a bit more lightness and easiness. Siébel was sung by Tara Erraught who sang very beautifully with a very balanced mezzo voice that has a lovely light, but still full timbre. She also acted very emotionally and gave a very touching performance.
Alexey Markov's voice suited the role of Valentin very well with a very aggressive and impulsive performance. His dark baritone voice was rough but also noble at certain parts. His famous prayer sounded lovely and earned a lot of applause.
Marguerite was sung by Italian soprano Maria Agresta who did a marvelous job. Her balanced full voice has the power, the control and the dramatic abilities to sing that role appropriately. While having a very creamy lower register her top becomes more and more shiny with ringing top notes. Her portrayal was touching and showed the inner despair of her role extremely well.
Ildar Abdrazakov was undoubtedly the singer of the evening. His dark powerful, but still really flexible bass voice is already a real highlight, but his portrayal of the devil was simply magnificent. He was so playful and cheeky that it was a pleasure to simply watch him jump around and seduce Faust or play his tricks with other people. His devil was full of elegance, cheeky behaviour and smart seduction. Bravo!
The title role was performed by startenor Piotr Beczala who is definitely one of the great tenors of our time. While having a very bright tenor voice and extremely ease top notes he tends to lack different vocal timbres and tends become a bit too light at the top of the upper register. Undoubtedly he managed the role without any problems, but it simply did not really convince me.
Alltogether it was a good performance, but not really one of the highlights of this year's festival. I would give the first Salzburg Faust 8 stars.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url

Jules Massenet, Thaïs, Salzburger Festspiele, Großes Festspielhaus

Concert Performance 16th August

For one night and one night only the Festival showed a concert performance of a real Massenet rarity that unfortunately is played too rarely. Thaïs is full of exotic rhythm and melodies that are simply ravishing. The beauty of the music is compelling and I could have watched the whole thing again after it was done (even thought it was already midnight when it ended). The opera would also have been a great chance to stage a rare opera because they could have done a lot with the opulent metier of the opera.
The performance was led by conductor Patrick Fournillier who worked out the different colours of the score very well, but sometimes seemed to hurry through the performance a bit. Especially during the famous Meditation (violin solo: wonderfully played by Felix Froschhammer) Fournillier chose quite a fast tempo. However, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester played vividly with great passion and a wonderful sense for the exotic elements of the score. The Philharmonia Chor also gave a lovely performance with a balanced sound and appropriate singing.
More than any other opera this one was supported by the young talents of the Young Singer's project and they showed that there is a lot of talent in the new generation. Especially Simon Shibambu as Palémon gave a very convincing performance with his strong bassbaritone voice which has a very dark and sonorous timbre. Also Elbenita Kajtazi and Valentina Stadler knew how to capture the attention of the audience with their looks and their singing. Their beguiling terzet together with Marielle Murphy (what a great coloratura voice) was one of my highlights this evening because of the sheer beauty of their voices blending together. Szilvia Vörös as Albine and Andrzej Filończyk as a Servant also showed the high quality of the YSP singers and proved that the project is one of the most meaningful projects of its kind in Europe.
Tenor Benjamin Bernheim showed as Nicias that he is not an insiders' tip anymore, but one of the leading tenors of the younger generation. His bright youthful voice has a very clear and beautiful timbre. He sang his part with such ease and passion that is was a pleasure to hear him and hopefully he will come back more often in the future.
Former startenor Placido Domingo added another baritone role to his repertoire with the role of Athanaël. Of course it is impressive that he still has the power and the vocal balance to sing such a role, but I will never understand why he does not leave the stage to the younger generation. Alltogether his performance was not bad, but surely not as good as a proper baritone would do it. However the Domingo fan club was cheering enthusiastically and were happy to see their idol once again.
The real star of the evening was Marina Rebeka who was jumping in for Sonya Yoncheva and gave a brilliant performance that was more than appropriate for the festival. Her creamy voice convinces with a very beautiful timbre, impressive vocal balance and an extremely passionate performance. Also her french diction was clear and really exemplary so that one could understand every single word. While her lower register has a very sensual creamy timbre, her top is shiny and powerful with a very bright sound. She sang the high d in the famous mirror aria wonderfully and her performance was rewarded with standing ovations after the performance. I loved that she seemed really overwhelmed by the reaction of the audience and was truly touched by it.
The best thing was that they repeated the final duet after the intensive applause at the end of the performance even though it was already midnight and they just sang a tiring performance. The audience went crazy afterwards and it was truly a night that will go down in the festival's history. It was a really impressive performance and definitely a highlight of the festival. Therefor I give 9 stars to the unique Thaïs in Salzburg.
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Reviewed by Daniel Url