The way over due post

So, I did not write about 3 of the operas I saw in New York. Or, for that matter, the operas I saw in Australia last year. (more anon) But I do need to look back and describe some stuff, because it feels a bit undone, as I approach my first opera of the year, to have not written about some of the best things I have seen, that happened last year.

So first, I did see some operas here. Love for 3 Oranges, which was amazing, and the Pearlfishers, which was less so.

So, for those that do not know, Love... is a farcical tale of fantasy and true love triumphing over evil, and features Prokofiev's challenging music Its a light hearted romp full of fun and craziness, with a cast that showcased just how good Opera Australia can be, when they trust in their own performers, and work as a team. It also featured the best performances I have seen from most of the leads featured (Rosario, being funny and singing beautifully, Kanen Breen showing that however good he is in other things, he is an amazing physical comic). It was so good, I actually saw I twice. Because, the first time, Kanen (and a few others) were sick, and there was a bunch of roles shuffled around to cover. It was fun, but the second time, with the leads as planned, it was stunning.

Pearlfishers, on the other hand... Well, yes, it was sung beautifully. The cast worked well together. The imported star (Pavol Breslik) did not stand head and shoulders above everyone, but fitted in with the standard of the rest quite well  (Jose Carbo, Daniel Sumegi and Ekaterina Siurina) But, in this case, the director tried to work around the problematic tale by changing some of the characters to try make it less "white men judging the foreigns". The problem is, I think he made it worse, by making the two male leads ex pats. Well, that was the way it felt to me.

So, to the rest of my fabulous stint in New York. Yes, I got to see the Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton show, and yes, it was every bit as amazing live as I expected. Possibly more so than I expected, because the modernisation of the production worked better than I feared. Yes, if I knew Tristan better, I might think otherwise, but for me, it worked. It was the first time seeing the opera and, as an introduction, it was pretty amazing. And yes, if the cast was not so fabulous, it would have been quite tiring at times. But Nina, Stuart, Rene Pape, Evgeny Nikitin and Neal Cooper, all were amazing. Not to mention the surprise of Ekaterina Gubanova as Brangaene, who left me wondering why had I never heard of her before. She should go straight to the top of the list of mezzos to sing Wagner, her voice fitted right in alongside the starry names and staked a claim for similar recognition. I will also say, seeing those performers up close and hearing THAT ORCHESTRA from the third row, well, it really is astonishing. Talk about wallowing in sound!

Then there was the tragedy that is Jenufa, Janaczek's tale of woe in a small village. Once again with an astonishing cast, singing the snot out of their roles. Karita Mattila, having recently given up singing Jenufa, now sings the Kostelnicka. And how! Oksana Dyka proving once again, that she is great in Eastern European roles, as the tragic title role. Not to mention, Joseph Kaiser and Daniel Brenna as the competing tenors, and Hanna Schwartz (!) as the grandmother, Maria Zifchak as the Old Shepherdess and Elizabeth Bishop as the Mayor's wife. I mean, seriously! That is a cast!!! And yes, this was seen from the cheap seats, but, again, such great voices, and performers, there was no doubting the intensity..

Then we had Don Giovanni, the matinee that was used for the "Live in HD at The Met" performance. To be honest, I am not sure that DonG works well in such a barn of a theatre. Yes, the leads sang well, yes the set was quite clever in how it worked. But... Trying to make what is an intimate opera work to the back of the Met? Yeah, I am not convinced. Maybe it was just let down by a comparison with some of the other shows? But, despite the great cast (especially Paul Appleby as a non wimpy Don Ottavio) I was still left thinking this is something that needs to feel intimate, you need to be able to almost feel the heat of the flames licking at DonG's feet as his fate is realised. And that is something you will never feel from the balcony at the Met. Not, that I regret going, just it was a good reminder that opera works better in smaller theatres, and that big barns of theatres are an aberation, born of a bigger is better mentality in the USA. Which, while it can work well with somethings, will never work well with the many small scaled works that make up much of the repertoire.

2013 highlights and low lights

To start this summary of what I saw this year, I have to start with the statement, that I did not see all I wanted to see, not even locally. I mostly chose to see things that I felt I had to see, not things I wanted to see, given the chance. Thus, no Ballo at Opera Australia, and no Melbourne Ring either, since, it had initially been declared sold out. When I heard there was tickets available, it was too late for me to organise to go.

But, I also got to see some unexpected treats, in part due to some generous friends. Both the Carmen on the Harbour and the Verdi Requiem I saw via free tickets, and both I enjoyed immensely, even if they were not my peak highlights.

But, having said that, my first highlight of the year came in April, courtesy of a Met in HD production. I think it is fair to say that pretty much anyone that went to that Parsifal came away moved/stunned/shocked/wowed. What it was like live I can only imagine (I got lots of reports of "amazing" from people who went), but it burst forth on screen with an intensity often missed. I suspect the DVD of this production, will quickly become regarded as the one to judge others by. Both impressive musically and visually, it allowed the story to be told true to text, while modernising it in a way that made it more meaningful, not less. It was both traditional and modern, an exercise in direction that many opera directors would do well to watch and learn from, in my opinion.

The next highlight was finally hearing Bryn Terfel in concert. Not because he was in fine vocal form, or because he is one of the best singers around. But, rather, because he is that rare thing, the consummate showman in classical music. His performing will always be interesting, no matter how he is sounding, simply because he comes across as generous friend who wants you to like his singing, and who is a nice guy. I found his voice definitely showing wear and tear that night, but his performance was still entertaining and frankly, compelling. As I said at the time, maybe not the voice I wanted on recordings of the repertoire, but as a live experience, hard to beat.

Then, the next highlight was hearing Stuart Skelton in concert with the Philharmonia proving what an amazing singer he is. Seriously, I fail to understand why he is not better known, this is a singer who you need to go hear, any time you have the chance. And why his Lohengrin (or his Parsifal, for that matter) are not available on video, is one of the modern mysteries of opera (or at least, the recording industry)

I also got the chance to hear Eric Owens sing The Flying Dutchman, in a concert with the Sydney Symphony, and Orla Boylan and Ain Anger. Let's just say that they are all singers who if you do not know, you should. All singing roles that suit them, in concert with the forces that this opera begs for. If you have not heard a big chorus sing this, you have not heard it! This was far and away my highlight for concert of the year.

I have two choices for the best staged live opera I saw. I can't quite decide which was better. Both were well performed, in clever stagings that brought the stories to life. Both used minimal sets, focussing more on the performers to bring things to life. The stunning production of La forza del destino by Opera Australia was a dramatic and a vocal triumph for them. With a great cast, all singing amazingly, in  a production with no weak link (except the overlong music, Verdi really needed to cut some things out) This was a production where you really did feel their anguish and despair at what has happened.

But, I also can't go past the Sydney Chamber Opera production of Owen Wingrave, where on the smell of an oily rag, they produced riveting theatre that was more real than anything I have seen on stage. The cast were all impressive, but the stunning performance of Morgan Pearse in the title role was one of the best performances I have seen in person on stage. Even in an opera I had never heard before, which, to be honest, is not the easiest music to like on first listen, he held the audience in the palm of his hand the whole time, and his death at the end produced audible gasps of horror in the audience. You cannot get more vivid performances than that!


Sydney Chamber Opera - Owen Wingrave from Hospital Hill on Vimeo.

Sydney Philharmonia Triple Threat concert (or Stuart Skelton lovefest)

So, another Stuart Skelton concert. Another chance to glory at the singing of this man. Seriously, I am in awe. The clarity and beauty of his pianissimo high notes, that should not be legal on a dramatic voice. Seriously, those sounds, they belong in a lyric tenor, not a heldentenor. Yet, he stands there, singing beautiful soft floated notes that reach the back of the concert hall, that then swell into a huge sound that can be heard despite the full orchestra blaring. That is the sign of seriously good technique, coupled with a unique gift.

And yes, that is what we got. A lot of amazing singing. From the opening with the dawn interlude from Peter Grimes and the chorus that followed it, we got to sample Peter Grimes extensively. I admit, my Grimes knowledge is not extensive, I have yet to see a production in the flesh, and the production my memories of it derive from was in the 90's. But, gosh, so much beautiful filmic music. I mean that in the best way. The score is full of beautiful scene painting, and we got to hear some lovely excerpts from the score, with carefully programmed selections that flowed together to create a sense of the whole piece, while only playing a small fraction of the music. Of course, we got Stuart's glorious singing of "Now the Great Bear and Pleiades" which is about a thousand times better than the video attached here suggests. And Embroidery, sung by Cheryl Barker, who, as others have suggested, based on this outing, should do Ellen on stage. But we also got lots of chorus music, sung by the Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus, who while well drilled, sadly have about half the men they need. So, while they sounded glorious, there were times when the lack of male voices was painfully obvious.

But, more than anything, the chunks of Peter Grimes reminded me that I really made a mistake in not seeing the last Opera Australia Peter Grimes, a mistake I will not make again, if Stuart is singing it. It was a powerful demonstration why, to many people, he owns this role.

After Grimes, we had selections from Otello, starting with that gloriously unexpected choral opening that really does create the fear of watching a storm at sea. This was one of the moments that I cringed at the lack of male voices, but once it had passed, I went back to glorying in the joy of hearing a large choir sing these glorious choral scenes that Verdi used to advance his story so well. We also got to hear Stuart singing some of Otello's music, along with Cheryl as his Desdemona. Hearing them in a staged production would be a treat for any opera lover, even if making the big blond bear into a moor, could pose a challenge for the makeup department (not to mention, awkward in so many PC ways) Would it be too much to hope for? Sadly, I suspect yes.

So, after interval, it was all Wagner, all the way. With the assistant conductor Anthony Pasquill taking the baton for the Lohengrin excerpts, we had the prelude and bridal chorus from Act 3 with In fernam Land following. After hearing that, all I can say is, if you get the chance, go see Stuart sing Lohengrin. Seriously, there is no one out there who can sing it like that. Its like that aria was made for his voice. (The fact that I cannot find video of him singing it to demonstrate is highly annoying) The clarity of his pianissimo and the beauty of them, not to mention the ability to swell from them to full voice, its truly astonishing. And I say that, as someone who prefers deep voices to tenors. No one sounds like this. No one.

Then we had Tannhåuser, with a chorus and Dich, teure Halle from Cheryl, which to my ears sounded a bit overwrought somehow. It left me longing for someone with a young fresh sounding voice singing it (for example Jennifer Behnke, go look her up on soundcloud if you have no idea) but, it was still interesting to hear someone not known for Wagner, singing it.

Then we had selections from my favourite opera to end, Meistersinger. Some choruses and the prize song from the final act. Again, I now want to find Stuart singing Walther von Stolzing, just so I can go hear him in a staged production. That chunk was enough, to tell me I could sit through any abominable eurotrash production, if he was singing it.

So there you go. Some truly glorious singing, a couple of awkward repertoire choices aside for the forces involved, but a fabulous concert none the less. Go hear Stuart if he is near you, there really is no one else who can do what he does, anywhere near as well…

Gambler's ruin

Well, Queen of Spades is certainly a great ride. Especially when you have a cast like this. I mean, Ghermann in the hands of Stuart Skelton? Andrei Bondarenko as Yeletsky? Dina Kurznetsova as Lisa, Deborah Humble as Pauline (and Milovszor) and Jose Carbó as Tomsky (and Zlatogor). Not to mention Irina Tchistjakova as the Countess.

All of these singers were truly outstanding in their roles. Big voices taking on big roles, and relishing being on stage with the full Sydney Symphony Orchestra in full flight under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy, with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs fabulously providing the chorus (and a handful of minor roles) If you love lush romantic opera, then this was a night to remember.

And yet, it was, in some ways, not as fulfilling as if it had been staged. Granted, being able to see who is singing what when, makes it much easier to follow the story and understand what is going on, compared to listening on CD or the radio, but nothing matches the emotional impact of seeing something like this, with this sort of cast, fully staged. And I can't see that happening in a long time, which is a big pity. The emotional devastation of the triple deaths of this opera did not come remotely close to the shock/horror/awe/amazement/numbness that I felt at the end of Lucia this year. Yes I was exhilarated, but not "bludgeoned into insensibility" as I would expect I would have been, if I saw this in the theatre. There is only so much emotional response you can get from singers standing in evening dress and singing from book (or not, in the case of our Russian cast) 

But, why was it so good, regardless? Well, quite frankly the cast, and the conductor. Ashkenazy may not be the most precise conductor, but he knows how to wring out emotion and atmosphere, and colour from an orchestra. Yes, there were places where the ensemble was a bit ragged (mostly, it must be said, from the orchestra) but they were working clearly to bring out the effects wanted. And they were restricted to only a couple of places (that I noticed). What was more problematic for me was that our seats seemed to be in direct firing line of the trombones (despite being well back in the hall) so that when they fired up, we heard them then we heard everything else underneath them.

And the cast. Stuart Skelton in the role of Ghermann, bringing his Wagnerian stamina to a role that needs a similar voice to the big Wagner tenor roles. Its long (almost 3 hours) and he sings in every scene, most as the dominant figure. His is a big, bright, pingy sound, the sort that you long to hear sing Walter von Stolzing, rather than Siegfried. Here, he cut through the heavy orchestration (excepting the occasional trombone problem mentioned earlier) with ease. Perhaps not sounding as ease as he has when I have heard him in German or English, but this was (I believe) his first outing as Ghermann. As such, this was truly impressive. I look forward to hearing him growing into this role more in the future.

Andrei Bondarenko, who last year shot to fame in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition, winning the Song Prize, was an impressive Yeletsky, Lisa's fiancé at the start of the opera. Here he showed that his prize was no once off, this is a baritone with a huge voice (it seemed the biggest where I sat) of great beauty. His singing was probably my personal highlight in a very impressive night, but I could be showing my baritone prejudices too. He sang without score, and left me wanting to hear him sing more. I suspect all the big Russian baritone roles lie ahead, as well as the great Verdi baritone roles, which he will sing with ease.

Also truly impressive was Deborah Humble, who I heard earlier in the year in Die Tote Stadt, and thought this is a voice to watch. Well, judging by this performance, I want to hear her sing a lot of Russian music, her voice seemed to revel in it. Where as the German of Korngold's music was more an impressive display of pleasing sound, this was an outpouring of emotion, wrapped up in an aural rich melted chocolate, rich, thick and very enjoyable. It almost made me wish that her role as Pauline was bigger, but, she did get great music to sing as Pauline and in the "pastoral" in the second act.

Dina Kuznetsova as Lisa? Well, I loved her voice, but at times I wished her top notes were freer, sounding a little tight at times. Not badly, but enough that I wished for say, Dame Kiri's top notes, sitting on the top of her beautiful rich midrange. Make no mistake, this is a big beautiful voice, with enormous power, but a couple of times I was wishing for secure floated high notes as needed, but they came out tight. Having said that, Lisa is a huge role, and this was a performance of many strengths, and emotional depth, mostly sung from memory, and with a clear sense of the character she was playing.

Our Countess, to be honest was not really old enough. Would anyone want to hear an 80 year old singing this role though? Regardless off looking far too young, Irina Tchistjakova was a convincing older woman vocally. She portrayed someone no longer wanting to live and yet hanging on, making life for others miserable successfully. Again, we had the Russian singer off book (well, she has sung it before, no doubt many times) And yes, again, a singer with the voice to carry off this role, not just an older performer with the acting skills to pull it off. (although she was probably the oldest lead)

As Tomsky, Jose Carbó once again proves himself far more versatile than people expect. As Tomsky, the Countess's grandson* and Ghermann's friend, he tells the tale that sets off the obsession to find the secret, in a voice that, while sounding a little underwhelmed beside that of our Yeletsky's, was certainly not small. His scene in the pastoral, and his aria in the final scene were proof we should be hearing much more of him in Russian. Onyegin perhaps Opera Australia?

Of the other minor roles, none stood out as bad, or particularly miscast. My biggest gripe with the minor roles was simply that all of them would have benefited from having someone work with them to bring out more characterisation on stage. They sounded fine, but watching four performers who sing of interactions with each other, while standing behind music stands is a bit, well, odd. That most of them were younger singers with less experience meant that some coaching would have made a big difference.

Having said that, if a lack of action on stage in a classical concert is the worst thing you can say about someone, I think you can say they did well.. In fact it is safe to say everyone on stage was pretty damn amazing. And for that, I thank them, and the Sydney Symphony for setting up the concert.

By the way, here is Bondarenko singing Prince Yeletsky's big aria. (After singing Don Giovanni's champagne aria) Its the best thing I could find of him, but does not begin to capture the sheer volume of luscious sound he produces.

(This performance can be heard on Sunday 9/12/12  at 7pm on ABC Classic fm, via their website (here) - that is Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time, if you are overseas)







*Pushkin refers to Tomsky as the Countess's grandson, its not mentioned in the opera. Where as Lisa is her grand daughter in the opera, and an orphaned ward in the story.