Can we talk about Tatyana instead?

So, Eugene Onegin, that glorious lush Russian opera full of dance music and angst and love and death. It also starred a great cast singing beautifully and acting up a storm...

And yet, I was not happy. Mainly because the production of Kaspar Holten worked against the story, adding extra elements that worked against the story, to create the idea that the story was all about the memories we carry, not that it was just the sad tale of young lovers who make bad choices, then live to regret them.

It is also fair to say, that when he planned the production for the Royal Opera (it is a co production with Covent Garden and Teatro Reggio, Turino), that he expected much older leads, which could make the young lovers/old lovers thing work, but when you have a singer in the (old) role who is probably the same age as the young dancer doubling her, it becomes both confusing and distracting. "Is that Young Tatyana, or is it Old? Oh, she is singing, its the Old one." is the sort of thing that would go through the heads of the audience, assuming of course they had read the information beforehand, and knew this was happening, and did not just think there was a mute sister who danced (at one point I was asked "Is she meant to be miscarrying?", which would make for a very different Letter Scene!!!)

Also, it took a while, but eventually, I got the point of why everything got left on stage and never cleared, the books, the letters, the tree, the snow, dead Lensky, the broken chair, etc. It was to highlight that these people are carrying their history with them, as surely as if it was packed in a backpack and permanently attached to their backs. Well, we get that, it is constantly reinforced in the story and in the music; that the awkward mistakes that these characters make and must live with, are what has caused the traumatic ending for them. Doomed to love each other, but unable to do anything about it, because of the decisions they made in the past, that lead to this point.

But, we do not need to have that drummed into us, it is there in the story and the words, and the music, for all to see. Leaving all these reminders is just awkward, and does not help the story. Having Tatyana come close to falling on dead Lenksy is not going to make things believable, nor is she catching her dress on the branch left behind, as she tries to turn and walk angrily away from Onegin while inside her palace!

So, yes, there was lots about this performance that I did not like.  And most of those related to the work of Kaspar Holten, whose work I have seen before on DVD and found awkward. On the other hand, there was also much to admire. There were no weak performers in the cast, and lots to admire. I have to say, most of that flowed from the high musical standards, held together with precision and fire by Guillaume Tournaire. This is the second time I have attended OperaAustralia this year, and the second time I have found myself in awe of their musical standard.

First of all, if this is not the role that marks Nicole Car as a star, then, I would be curious what would. She inhabits this role as if born to it. Her sweet lyrical voice rose to the occasion beautifully, never feeling underpowered, and sounding every bit the dreamy, yet innocent girl who she portrayed. Considering her age, I was surprised to hear she was cast in this, but having heard her, I could not imagine another local singer come even close to her in this role.

As her would be suitor Onegin, we had the Slovak Baritone Dalibor Jenis in his first season here. He sounds strong and powerful, but I found his soft notes a bit off. An off night? Problems with Russian? I can't say, but it affected the way I viewed his performance. I thought he seemed to be portraying Onegin as a heartless bully and very abrupt, until I realised, it was actually his voice I was reacting to, not his acting. Once I realised that, I could see a much more nuanced performance, just one with a vocal challenge.

As Tatyana's sister, we had Sian Pendry, released from the realms of pants roles, and freed to play a very girly girl, one not yet ready to settle down with the ardent Lensky, and more than eager to flirt back with Onegin, setting up the duel that is in many ways the centre of the piece. Her early scenes with Tatyana showed beautifully matched voices, setting the tone for the opera well.

As Lensky, James Egglestone was ardent and hot headed as we expect. His argument with Onegin at the party was quite physical, and believable. His voice is a bit darker than expected in this role, and his Kuda kuda, was beautifully sung, but not quite the meltingly lovely tone that we hope for in this role. The fact that he then got killed at the front of the stage and remained there till the end of the opera, deserves special praise for being dead so effectively, though why it was thought needed is another question.

Also worthy of mention were the glorious cameo arias of both Kaneen Breen as Triquet (hilarious) and Konstantin Gorny as Prince Gremin, bringing a cultured authority to his part, though why he had to appear briefly to witness the big scene between Onegin and Tatyana was beyond me. It was not needed, and just drew focus away from the fine anguished and passionate performances we were riveted by.

So, to sum up, this is not an Onegin to go see if you do not know the story. This is also not a production to see if you get annoyed by directors who play with stories to suit their pet ideas. I admit, I left both annoyed by what I had seen, yet blown over by the performances.

However, it is a production to go hear if you love this music. That was very well served by all, and has been haunting me for days since. I can think of no better praise for a performer, than that they served the music as well as this cast.

Lise Lindstrom shows how to do Turandot. (Royal Opera House cinema presentation)

Lise Linstrom singing "In questa reggia"


Turandot is always a bit of an odd opera. Its title role does not sing until after the first interval.And its a role that often seems to end up as being judged not by how well the lead soprano sings, but is she loud enough to be heard, because the role is such a cruel piece to sing, that only the largest voices can do it justice. Which often means we miss out on the other things this role needs. The ability to turn from the ice maiden into the woman in love in a short space of time. The ability to convey the idea that everyone is afraid of you.

So, for this cinema production of Turandot, we have a soprano who I only knew of by reputation. But, what a big reputation. People who heard her in London in the theatre for this run, described her as the best Turandot since Gwyneth Jones, without Jones' wobble. A big call, to be sure, but having heard her in the cinema I can see why. Lise brings a very loud focused voice to this role. Her voices is totally at her command, no wayward notes, no spread top, everything totally controlled. To be sure, her quiet notes are not always as pretty as some, but, when you can sing with such a potent clarion tone, so reliably, who really cares in this role? She portrays the ice cold princess well, yet also portrays the eventual realisation that she actually loves this man well. Why, we never really work out, but then, it is opera, do they need a reason, besides the glorious music? Not to mention, a truly extraordinary In questa reggia (see above)

So, in many respects, this performance was all about worshiping the current great Turandot. That is not to say that there were not other things good about it, But her performance stood head and shoulders above the others. The first act in some respects seemed dull, lacking in fire. Dare I say it was because we did not have our Turandot? Certainly no one else on the stage was making that sort of performance that stood out as amazing. When the best thing on the stage besides the Turandot is the combination of Ping, Pang and Pong, you know that the other leads lack fire.

The Calaf (Marco Berti) spent the first two acts basically doing a Pavarotti stand and bellow. Which is fine, if you can sing like Pavarotti. If you can't you really need to offer more. To be sure, he sang with a big bold Italianate sound, full of ardour, but he scattered off pitch notes freely around the stage, only really coming good both with physical acting and pitch in the final act. That the Royal Opera cannot provide a better tenor than Opera Australia did with Rosario LaSpina (which several people commented on in the cinema) probably says all you need to know.

Even the Liu of Eri Nakamura only really came good in her final scene. Her Signora ascolta gave every appearance of a singer trying too hard, of working to make the sounds, rather than trusting in her voice to do its job and focus on portraying her character. Again, Opera Australia has a history of great singers in the role with Hyeseoung Kwon, for example, singing this aria and leaving the audience teary eyed. Did not happen here. However, her final scene was much more affecting, and did bring a lump to the throats of many.

On the other hand, the energetic trio of Ping (Dionysios Sourbis) Pang (David Butt Phillip) and Pong (Doug Jones) were very strong performers. They took their long scene and made it memorable. Their interaction with the rest of the cast was also strong. How they kept the energy up to perform what amounted to almost ballet while still singing, was beyond me, but they did it, and did it well.

Also, credit must go to the ballet and chorus who performed admirably. With such a frenetic staging, the dancers seemed constantly on the move in every crowd scene, while in many scenes, it is the chorus who must carry the most music. The sounds produced by them continue to be some of the best opera choral work I around at the moment.

However, for all its frantic movement, clearly Asian inspired (I was seeing a mix of Chinese opera as well as the tai chi that the choreographer claimed) I still found this at its heart a very traditional production. There was a strong sense of place, the costumes were all clearly designed as ancient Chinese, and the story was basically told clearly, with very little deviation from what is written. And, the score and the libretto were allowed to work their magic. And it worked. It worked mainly because of the strength of the Turandot, but, it worked. And we knew that we had seen a great performer in what is her signature role. That the others failed to live up to her so prominently is something that the Royal Opera should be considering.

Rosario La Spina singing in the Opera Australia production