A tale of 2 opera events

So, this is the story of my attendance at two opera performances, where one was in the theatre and one was the spectacular that is Opera On The Harbour. Both very different, both a bit flashy and glam, but one moved me, and one left me feeling WTAF?

First, to the special. Faust. With the David McVicar production from the Royal Opera, a much loved and praised production, that manages to include much of his usual visual language, while still remaining true to the story and libretto. Everything that is needed is there, with a few extras (I never worked out the point of the black evening gown for Mephistopheles, but it worked in context)  and the story is told in a way that leaves this archetypal morality play still relevant for today. To be sure, we do not expect supernatural intervention in our lives, but this tale of innocence lost, and of "be careful what you ask for" still rang true, helped by superlative performances.

For this was truly international A-grade house casting. First of all, the young up coming tenor that is getting everyone excited, Michael Fabiano sang the title role. As a singer that did not automatically leap to mind in this role (I expect to hear him in Italian ones), I was impressed by his versatility. His musicianship was never in doubt, but French is a language that not every opera singer can sing successfully in. The fact that after Sydney he flew to Paris to perform the role at the Bastille Opera also probably says a lot. Needless to say, if you have the chance, I strongly recommend you go hear him, he is a very impressive singer, who is going to continue to improve.

As his love interest, we had the stunning Nicole Car, who once again showed why she is now going places. (currently singing in Berlin, then off to the Royal Opera as Tatyana) Last time I heard her, I loved her voice, but was a little underwhelmed by her acting in a role where she did not fit the production. This time, she was fine. She took the star role that Marguerite is and ran with it. If her French did not always sound French, that would be my biggest criticism, which in a young singer, is nothing that time and coaching will not fix.

And then we had Teddy Tahu Rhodes stepping into the big badboy role of Mephistopheles. And loving it. I have said before, that Teddy is such a great stage animal. Once again, he got a role to sink his teeth into and have fun with. And he did. I'm finding him sounding more basslike each time I hear him, less baritonal. And I like it. Especially in this role, where the usual performers are basses with secure top notes, not baritones who can go low. And of course, the best recorded performers of it are the Russian/eastern europe basses like Cristoff and Ghiaurov, so the darkening of Teddy's sound worked well here. Although, there is no real opportunity for him to show off his chest this time...

Then, we had the smaller parts filled out by Giorgio Caoduro as Valentine, Anna Dowsley as Siebel, Richard Anderson as Wagner and Domenica Matthews as Marthe. Each of them great singers and worthy of major roles, filling out smaller roles and making them vivid and real. And each of them well loved by Australian audiences.

The result of this? A performance of Faust that will live as the one to beat in my memories. Admittedly, only my second, and the first live, but it left me moved, and aware, that even if I will never be a Faust fan, it is certainly a much stronger work dramatically and musically than I had given it credit, in the correct hands.

Which leads me to Aida, which is a whole different kettle of fish.

First of all, Aida seems a natural fit to be mounted in stadium style productions, with big choruses and lots of put everything on you have on stage scenes. It's why it remains popular at The Met for example, who can fill their stage with hundreds of big voices raised in triumph or horror, as the mood dictates. The only problem with that idea, as everyone quickly discovers when performing Aida, is that it really is about the love triangle between the leads, stuck into the situation where they are all people of influence and importance, and love and the requirements of society do not match at all. Not to mention the requirements of religion. The big scenes are the setting of the scene for the important drama, what happens to the people at the centre of it

As a result, big flashy productions of Aida tend to fall flat on their faces if you do not have four performers giving performances that make you care about them. If you are more concerned about the spectacle than the story, then your Aida ultimately becomes the the souffle that fails to rise.

Now, to be sure, there was much to love about this production. All the voices (except one) were right for the parts. Visually, it looked amazing. It was just totally schizophrenic in its imagery. Amneris's costumes looked straight out of Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra, yet Aida's looked like they belonged to the heroine of  The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I mean, I get that Aida is meant to look different to Amneris as one is Egyptian and one Ethiopian, but really??? And, that is before we start on the dancers and their outfits. Yes, let's not discuss the dancers at all, because what they had to do was mostly laughable and totally wrong in context (there was a context to them?)And their outfits belonged to the 1am show at RHI at the Sydney Mardi Gras Party.

So, yes, there was much that was quite frankly so grossly over the top, the production threatened to out camp a John Waters film. Think on that, and remember this is a serious drama about a love triangle caught up with societal pressures in a rigidly structured society. Or, it is written as such, at any rate.

Thankfully, the music making was mostly of a high standard. As Amneris, Jacqui Dark was pretty much the star of the show. Her character is traditionally the villain of this piece and she got to be that writ large. Always bringing a strong performance to her characters, here she revelled in playing the spoiler. Her voice is also well suited to the role, so she got to prowl the stage belting out her music with abandon, and generally acting the maneater, with her eye on someone else's man.

As the man in question,  Arnold Rawls brought a remarkably fresh voiced tenor to the role, singing the opening aria which trips up many, with ease. To some, he me have failed to lack the daring do needed to be convincing as the man who risks throwing everything away for love, but to me, he was more the man paralysed by love's demands, than the do-er many assumed this role must be. He certainly sang the role comfortably, with more enthusiasm than many. His was a performance that left you thinking you would not mind hearing him again.

As the title role though, we had a singer who quite frankly did not cut it. Sure, she had all the notes, and she has a reputation as a spinto soprano, but that is where the good things ended. I couldn't help thinking at times, that her staging was very clearly designed around the other cast Aida (Latonia Moore) who has the voice to make you forget anything except what she is telling you. Daria Masiero does not. What Moore could convince with the power and beauty of her voice, Masiero would do and come across as looking stagy and tired, producing a "please like me" response, that REALLY grated on me. If your heroine who is going to die at the end, cannot make you want her to live, you have failed. And, that was the biggest problem for me in a problematic production. The Nile Scene where you see Aida being torn between her love for her man, and her desire to be back in her homeland, which can be a lesson in how to sing beautiful high notes softly, became an "oh my god just get over it" trial, as well. We felt nothing for her as a character, and the sounds she was producing, were frankly not that pretty either. Certainly the worst sound I have heard from an Aida (six staged performances, 2 of them video)

For the most part, the other performers were all quite acceptable, singing what really are roles that are cyphers, rather than flesh and blood characters, although the Ramfis of Conal Coad will remain with me, purely for the camp factor. Him walking up the stage with his cape could teach Joan Crawford how to go OTT for pure campery.

However, I have to admit, knowing Aida, I still have no idea what killed them in this production. There was no attempt to try to confine them, or to place them in some sort of lower location to suggest they were trapped. Rather they were stuck alone on the middle of that huge stage. Death by excess fresh air perhaps? Certainly not the suffocation they were singing about. It was also telling that I was eager for them to get it over and just die at the end. This was not a production to leave you sobbing at the end (which it should), rather, most of us left laughing. Which, considering this is a tragic love story, is probably all you really need to know.

Carmen as spectacle

This video shows Rinat Shaham from the OperaAustralia mainstage poduction, a production full of "authentic" Spanish flavours, with flamenco dancing and period touches. Last night's rehearsal I attended showcased the same marvellous singer as Carmen, but much of the rest was very different.

First of all, I have to say, beforehand, I was wondering was it fair to even review a dress rehearsal, even if it was the last before opening night. Well, by the time of interval, I had no doubt it was appropriate. The only things I had found to complain about was some of the audio levels as they worked to adjust the sound levels for various singers, and some curiously non-choral sounding chorus work, which sounded like only some singers' microphones were working. That appeared to be less noticeable by the end, so it may have been just some were not turned on, or similar. Minor teething pains tho, for what was a great performance.

So, as you can see, great seats for a big show.  And, yes, there was lots of colour and movement. The full chorus of Opera Australia, a large group of dancers, and supernumeries besides. And yes, the Carmen at the back of the set is backwards, precisely to declare to the outside world what is going on. We in the audience all know its Carmen. You can probably make out some of the outline of the bull that gets lit up in the last act. What is not so obvious is the fact that the back of the stage is effectively a scaffolding, that is used to good effect at times, especially at the bullfight, as people crowd it, looking into the (unseen) arena that is beyond. Also, the 2 cranes on either side that are used to fly in several set pieces, (a tank, a truck, a shipping container, and even, a cast member)

There are numerous places at the back of the stage to exit, and there is a large ramp that descends from the centre of backstage at various times, to represent the entry to the cigarette factory, and the entrance to the bullfight arena. Not to mention, of course, you can also enter and exit via the walkway that extends to the front on either side. The orchestra are located under the stage, and are not seen until the end, when they come up for air, err, come up for their bows.

So, Gale Edwards has put together a production that plays to a non opera experienced crowd. There is (as mentioned) lots of colour and movement, and the story is played out with broad strokes, going for a literal telling, even if the costuming and staging make it clear we are talking Carmen set in the 1950's, not the 1830 of the novella by Merimée. Working with the designers Brian Thompson and Julie Lynch, an image of Spain has been created, albeit one that is definitely viewed through French eyes, as both Bizet's music and the original French novella were.

And what glorious music it is. The habanera, the seguidilla, the flower song, the smuggler's quintet, the card trio, the toreador's song, Michaela's aria, the grand chorus scene that opens the final act. This is an opera that everyone knows the big numbers from, and they were all delivered brilliantly. Under Brian Castles-Onion, the music was well served with that Gallic-Spanish mix we all know so well. Yes, some of the first act lacked some cohesiveness in a few spots, not helped by the mic issues mentioned before, but that was cleaned up before the next act.

 And the singers you say? Well, funny you should mention that. As per the video above, we had the stunning Carmen specialist Rinat Shaham in the lead. As expected, her earthy toned mezzo was used to great expressive effect, giving a performance that was by turns devil may care, vengeful, spiteful, coy, seductive, all those things that make a great Carmen. Yes, some of the tonal variations may have been lost, and some of the subtleties of her performance, but,  singing mic'd also gave her a lot more freedom of expression, allowing a broader range to be painted, rather than a more focused one.

As her lover Don Jose, Dmytro Popov brought a glorious tenor voice to the role. To be honest, I am not sure this is a voice that is ready to sing Don Jose in a normal production, but amplified, without having to force his voice over the orchestra, he brought a beautiful sweet tone to the role. Normally a role sung by dramatic tenors, he made a good case for a more lyrical voice to sing the role. He certainly did not lack dramatically, but this was a voice for melting hearts, not a voice to make you fear.  Having said that, there was no doubting the passion he sang of, or his desperation as he realised Carmen was never his.

Here he is singing Che gelida manina from La Boheme. Its a glorious voice, but not what you would expect for Don Jose, but, strangely, it worked.

As Michaela, we had the lovely Nicole Carr, bringing her lyric goodness and determination to the role. I also have to give her full points for singing her big act 3 aria, perched high in the air. I would not have felt comfortable up there, let alone sing one of the bigger arias in my repertoire on my knees, while up there. But, she did, and did it convincingly. She brought that moment of calm in the storm of emotions convincingly, our one touch of normality.

And that leaves Escamillo, sung by Andrew Jones, to bring up the rear of the big four leads. This role forever will be associated with Robert Merril for me, so needless to say, it is hard to find a singer who can do it justice today to my ears. That said, he was not bad, just its hard to find a Robert Merril! Escamillo arrived via a car driven to the stage front, with full movie star treatment. It really captured the feel of the adored toreador, bringing it to life in a way the audience can relate. It was both effective and entertaining.

Of course, there were also the other four gypsies who all sang their fiercely difficult quintet with Carmen, tossing out the masses of words as if they were the easiest thing in the world, not a nightmare of timing and precision. All four sang with great diction, bringing them to us as larger than life figures, used to hiding in shadows.

So, to sum up? A lavish night's entertainment, sung very well, and brought to life vividly. No, it won't change the world, but it might change the way some people think about opera. And for me, that sounds pretty fantastic!

 Rinat singing the Seguidilla in a production in Israel (with Neil Shicoff as Don Jose)