Hablando del rey Rolando ( ROH Contes d'Hoffmann)

ROH foto

On a second viewing this old production seemed even worse for wear than before. It has passed it’s expiry date some 10-15 years ago I guess. I still think for a first time contact with Hoffmann it a great one to see because it has all the gimmicks and is very literal on all special effects. To the adult viewers some of the tricks maybe a bit overplayed but it still has a bit of a fairy tale character to it, which I am naïve enough to still be able to enjoy ;-) The adult in me however rebels against the decadent Venice falling so totally flat on stage! I understand that the staging is a bit ridiculous and it is hard to take one self’s contribution to it seriously but it didn’t really seem like the people involved gave it the best go. Strangely enough there was double the involvement in the prologue and end, which felt overacted and a bit exaggerated. I am not trying to be excessively harsh here, it is just that it truly felt either underplayed or overacted, in all cases as “acting” and not really being there in time and space naturally.

The orchestra and cher Pappano were in top form indeed. Pappano deliveryed amazingly as always in ensemble scenes and you always get a feeling with him in those parts that he music explodes, tornadoes out of the pit to engulf you. Having said that I was just a tiny bit disappointed in the romantic, lyrical parts as they never quite got to the French elegance and coquetry that I expected ( again,. More of an observation to the 2nd act). It did however the convey the melancholic and sad mood wonderfully in the 3rd act.

The girls were good, with Olympia (Ekaterina Lekhina) being a bit less fabulous than in the GR, but first night nerves can get to everyone :-) Guilietta (Christine Rice) has a pleasant warm voice, but she never quite convinced me as courtesan. Antonia (Katie Van Kooten) has for me the toughest job of the three and I really liked her voice, I just wish she hadn’t struggled a bit in her last aria. I don’t know if she started a bit off from the orchestra or if Pappano just pushed it a bit too hard for her; however the struggle came off believable in the circumstances of the scene and the character and she has us all with emotion and torment.

Nicklausse (Kristine Jepson) builds up a believable character and she has a good voice but somehow I was never fully blown away. The one disappointment of the night for me was however Gidon Saks villain. I don’t know if it was first night nerves or what, the role in itself is very long and by no means easy, however Scintille, diamante didn’t sparkle at all and there was more than one painful top note and also some problems in the lower register. Pity, because he should be almost as powerful as Hoffmann and didn’t quite manage to get to that level.

But this was not a bad night by any means, nor was the singing bad, it was good, but only one managed to be excellent, outstanding…there was only one star this evening and it was undoubtedly Rolando Villazon. The orchestra, the music and Rolando made the night a truly special one, one to say I have been there, I have seen and heard that! The amount of expectations being shovelled on his slight elegant shoulders must have been immense and it surely would have crushed a lesser artist. But not Rolando!

The role certainly suits him perfectly, vocally and most of all intellectually and emotionally. And judging from his latest statements and interviews he has the perfect state of mind for the role. His was never “acting”, he was Hoffmann, every single second he was on stage. He stepped on it and just as the audience at the tavern we were riveted, listening to his every word and watching his every movement. He not only was Hoffmann but also managed to take us back in time and explore the evolution of the character with them. He did that wit every gesture, every blink of his eyes but he did it also with his voice. It started dark, rich, disillusioned and switched amazingly to youthful and innocent freshness inact1, to careless and abandoned passion in act 2 and to romantic lyricism and preoccupation in act3 only to come back with more force in the end.

His every gesture was equally as well in tune with his adventures. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he not only is a gifted singer but a completed and amazingly talented artist, gestures, voice, facial expression all were perfectly in tune. And we got to sample some of that amazing charisma he can whip up on stage. He can make you smile, laugh, cry, forget to breath and explode with emotion with the efficiency of a wizard.

And the singing? The singing was passionate, moving, colourful, engaging and abandoned, powerful and just plain beautiful. It will never be perfect and some will always be there to measure decibels and intensity and what not. But to be as human as he is on stage, to be as convincing and really tell the story with such truth you couldn’t possibly be perfect because emotions aren’t perfect and controllable. It was in his phrasing and every aria that one would find a perfect reflection of the orchestra and nobody else on stage managed to display the beauty of it just as he did. The lyrical, musical, sweet character of his voice is amazing and a quality that is rarely appreciated as it deserves. The “Frenchness” that I sometimes felt underplayed in the orchestra came off in waves and waves from his voice, never exaggerated but just warmly and totally irresistibly. He is quite the charmer this one when he sets his mind to it ;-) And the more I hear him, the more I like his lower register, elegantly virile as it is. And the tops were as sunny and as secure as everyone was thirsting to hear them again :-)

He started off on the top of the mountain in the prologue and just kept on swirling powerfully and elegantly there, never once letting the tension ease, never once reducing the intensity and energy that drives him. And the last spoken words summing up the fate of his three loves was as powerful as the singing.

In the end the ROH gave him what he so fully earned – thundering applause!! I was immensely touched by the image of RV in his wig, in front of the huge red ROH curtain with the House giving him a standing ovation and him being touched as well… he sent us kisses, signalled his heart and was literally jumping up and down with joy. And all I wanted to say was: yes, Rolando we love you too, very much so :-) And a happy Rolando is an incredible joy to watch!

Rolando sigue siendo el rey! (Hoffmann conquers the ROH)

Foto borrowed from Joaquim ;-)

More tomorrow as tonight I am dead!

Rolando Villazon returns to Les Contes d'Hoffmann at ROH

Photo: ROH site

I’ve had a challenging weekend! And all i did was listen to almost 7 hours of French opera : 4x Offenbach plus 3x Berlioz. I’ll come back to Berlioz and his Damnation in a separate post, but just wanted to say than when I realised I had almost overbook myself I was quite apprehensive about my capacity to take all this in during one single day. It proved to be an inspiring combination and two works that go well together if you are in a pensative mood.


On to Hoffmann…
The last time I have heard this opera I was just a kid, the perspectives changes significantly with age. I find this now an utterly fascinating work, by far not just another French opera about love. As I see it now it is the tale of a very troubled man, always in the quest of deep, unlimited passion, be it love, beauty, art, music or his own literary muse. And it poses to me that interesting question of what is life without passion, but what if passion takes over life. One to Hoffmann is unbearable and the other leads equally to destruction (which is where I felt that Damnation tied wonderfully into as well).

The public laughed often throughout the opera, but I have to admit that for me (maybe also because of knowing where it ends time and time again) passages weren’t funny, but more grotesque, sometimes sad and always unsettling. Of course one can choose the way one views this opera.

Maybe it is also the old sets and the whole feeling they have about them of time not having been very kind on them, it does feel indeed more as distant memories through the eyes of a wiser and more disillusioned man than actual moments in current time.

But I am certain that the uniting element is Rolando Villazon’s interpretation of Hoffmann. I don’t know if it particularly reflects his current mood as an artist, but the role suits him exceptionally well. The music is good to his voice and vice versa, I have heard some beautiful warm notes in his lower register yesterday and the long rich lines were melancholic and emotional. But I see what he is trying to convey and do with the character and I like it. I hope the public will go to the performance with an open mind and open eyes and try and see beyond the old fashioned set up. And he is in good form, still looked and sounded pretty fresh at the end of it :-)
Kristine Jepson’s Nicklass felt like a true companion, but I am not sure about everyone else taking their character one step further. Wonderful singing from Olympia (Ekaterina Lekhina) and Antonia (Katie Van Kooten) and genuineness of character.

The scene which felt the weakest to me was Giulietta’s Venice. To be honest Pappano also had a bit of a dull moment there, it just didn’t sparkle, none of the expected sensuous character and spell of it came over, at least not for me. It was all a bit jaded and I do hope they do better on opening night, because each piece has it’s significance and they should have equal weight and intensity. Admittedly the set here doesn’t help but I do expect more, even though it might be the most difficult to act .

All in all it was a surprising and interesting preview and I must admit I wish there were some dress down opera-nights ;-) Nice to be really comfortable for once, also to see house staff more relaxed and the whole feeling of “working art” ;-)

But I am also looking forward to that tension, the butterflies of the “real thing”!

So I’ll be back with more Hoffmann after Tuesday night, until then good luck for the opening to all singers, performers and all staff who work on it :-)

PS Have to wonder if this will be the last we see of this particular production? I hope it doesn’t drop out of the repertory just because the sets call out for retirement, it is too beautiful an opera not be able to enjoy it more often!

Storytelling for grown ups by Jonas Kaufmann (place - Palais Garnier)

The only Lied I ever knew was “Die lustige Forelle” and even that only because it came in a children’s book somebody gave me when I was really really young. Who’d have guessed that little fish would lead me one day to Britten?? ;-)

I have to thank JK for connecting me, musically speaking, with this genre I was previously so reluctant to believe in. Some of it passed by my ears in the past, but it always felt like over-engineered vocal and linguistic athletics, too perfect or elaborated to feel real.

After hearing JK for the first time live last summer I went looking for CDs of his and discovered that outside full opera performances there was only one: A Strauss Lieder CD! What to do? Was this going to be one of those sad cases where I liked his voice but my musical tastes would totally clash with his? Luckily I like to try new things, especially in music! I find I am almost always doubtful to some degree, but also easily persuaded. Just like somebody who keeps falling into little sins, but does not have the intellectual excuse of not knowing what they are doing :-)

So on went the Strauss lieder on my mp3player and I proceeded to do my homework. Since the first try wasn’t bad at all, I decided I could brave the real thing and attend one of his Liederabend. Easier said than done – these are strange things, die Lieder, they get played in unusual places, at odd times and have just enough following to make it impossible to attend in the better known locations. By the time I missed yet one more date( Prinzregententheater in Munchen) I was intent on not missing another one, so I have been holding on to my “golden” Ticket to Paris for some 6 months already! Just as long as it has been since I last heard JK live in Carmen.

But I have been a busy bee since ;-) If I was going to attend a Liederabend I thought I ought to become a more educated listener. After all, his efforts and dedication to such events deserve more understanding ears than mine were to begin with.

While listening to the Strauss CD I also rediscovered how much I used to like poetry and that I actually spent 12 years in school cherishing the beauty of German. Funny, how good things never come alone. I really thought I would have to listen to the songs with the textbook in hand, but gladly discovered that the Lieder would take me not only to a special musical place but also bring me back to a comfort zone you only have with languages that you understand instinctively. And I am not telling anyone a secret by saying that in Lieder music and text are one, you can’t really enjoy one without the other.

Those of you who happened to stop by here more often, know by now that I enthusiastically went along to more than one Liederabend during these 6 months, spanning Russian, French, Italian, German composers and just as many artists and languages. I don’t really do half measures ;-) 6 months later I am just a little bit wiser and have definitely become an admirer of the genre. JK might have opened the door, but it was the repeated experience of the very diverse forms that songs can take, that appealed to my musical addiction.

So there I was, sitting in my plush seat under Chagall’s roof at Palais Garnier thinking I had it all figured out: I had done it before, I always liked it, I knew hiding behind the program was not the way to do it, I knew the Strauss songs in and out, I knew the program, I knew the singer, I even knew the pianist. And there he comes with his wild locks and crooked smile and from the “Benedetto sia 'l giorno, e 'l mese, e l'anno” you know what??? All that stuff I had figured out…out it went through the window! There is only one certainty where JK is concerned: you know zilch! Yes, you might know what the ingredients are, what the colours in his palette are, but you will never know what the painting will look like until the end of the evening, when his fingers will stop moving the brush on the canvas and when you will have savoured that last delicious bite of the cake he decided to bake today.

I never had an evening go by in such a short flash, it was over before I even had the chance to take a breath. I am incredibly glad he changed his initial intent and decided to go with Britten and Liszt in the first part of the recital because i was so longing to hear both! It was the perfectly balanced programme to display all he can do, with his voice and with every tiny gesture. There is no challenge to a singer’s technique and vocal abilities like this combination of Liszt and Britten. Brave choice, of course but well thought out within what he knows he can expect of himself. And make no mistake about it, it was never meant as a demonstration of anything. They were only paired because they fit well together, because they poetically and musically compliment each other. And Strauss would have been on the public's and his wish-list, so why not be in agreement?

I don’t know what the public expected. I think a few were there to rediscover an already declared admiration for JK and most were there because they were just curious. I believe all were convinced by the voice, its power and brilliance, by the technique and faultless control behind it. I am sure they admired and respected the generous choice in repertoire. But that was not what made them hold their breaths, suppress their coughs, clap their hands red and shout their Bravos with such fervour. It was part of it, like laying the ground to planting roses, like building a house on solid rock. It rooted the public appreciation deep, but what made it blossom and explode was the way he used these instruments to draw us into an intimate world of stories, feelings, laughter and tears. I was enchanted but I didn’t know until the first applause that everyone else there felt exactly like I did.

His voice started soft and almost hypnotic and we followed him in a universe like in “1001 nights”, where we eagerly drank every word from his lips, fascinated by the lives and feelings of the characters he drew.

There was less and less flicking of programs - why would you need a guide, when you had his hands to take you on the sunny paths and through the shady trees, when his voice would whisper near you ear or kiss your cheek? And when he would cry out in longing or anger, your heart would stop too. You’d wish your name was Laura so you could hear it vibrate so tenderly and passionately in the poet’s words, he would make you believe such perfect beauty existed in a “spirto ben nato”, you too would willingly become one more in the “prigion d'un Cavalier armato”.

The most amazing thing that happened for me that night was when I unconsciously stopped hearing the music. I gradually stopped listening to every note, smiling proudly at every soaring crescendo and sighing in awe at every soft and softer piano. I no longer deciphered every word and just lived the stories unfolding from his lips. I can honestly say I can’t even single out one high or low note in the entire second part. But I can tell you every story, I can remember every laugh and smile and even every tear I shed with every poet.

This for me was the absolute magic of the night: music, score, poetry, singer merged into just one - a truly gifted storyteller. He made us look into his eyes, smile at his smiles, ache with his sorrow and hold our breaths in expectation of every single word.

No wonder we couldn’t get enough, no wonder there was heartfelt and enthusiastic cheering, rhythmic clapping and happy thanks when more was generously given. I’ve rarely felt such admiration coming from the public in waves towards the stage. I hope he did feel the collective embrace the public wanted to bestow upon him, and thank God he was a good couple of feet away, or else I fear he wouldn’t have survived the enthusiasm he so innocently elicited in his audience ;-))))






thanks palamede92 for the video

PS. Jonas, Geschenke kommen in den verschiedensten Formen ;-) , dieser Abend war das beste Geburtstagsgeschenk, dass ich mir hatte wunschen konnen.
Und Danke an alle, die dieses Wochenende dabei waren, mit denen ich so viel Spass hatte und mit denen ich dieses Wochenende so oft wie moglich wiederholen will ;-) Nous allons a Paris...or wherever else we can ;-)

Jonas Kaufmann
Piano: Helmut Deutsch
Paris, Palais Garnier, 9 November 2008

Liszt: 3 Sonnette von Petrarca
Benedetto sia ’l giorno
Pace non trovo
Io vidi in terra


Britten: Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo Op 22
Sonnet XVI (Sì come nella penna...)
Sonnet XXXI (A che pìu debb'io...)
Sonnet XXX (Veggio co'bei vostri...)
Sonnet LV (Tu sa' ch'io so...)
Sonnet XXXVIII (Rendete a gli occhi miei...)
Sonnet XXXII (S'un casto amor...)
Sonnet XXIV (Spirto ben nato...)


Strauss: Schlichte Weisen op. 21:
All mein' Gedanken, mein Herz und mein Sinn
Du meines Herzens Krönelein
Ach Lieb, ich muß nun scheiden
Ach weh mir unglückhaften Mann
Die Frauen sind oft fromm und still

Strauss:
Sehnsucht op. 32 Nr. 2
Nachtgang op. 29 Nr. 3
Freundliche Vision op. 48 Nr. 1
Ich liebe dich op. 37 Nr. 2

Strauss:
Heimliche Aufforderung
Ruhe, meine Seele!
Morgen!
Cäcilie


Encores:
Strauss:
Breit über mein Haupt
Wie sollten wir geheim sie halten
Ich trage meine Minne

Jonas Kaufmann in the December edition of Opera

http://www.opera.co.uk/page.php?pid=96&PHPSESSID=f1a6cba2ff56fb44c22c6924555a936d

DECEMBER 2008 - in stores November 20 -- Tenor Jonas Kaufmann in profile

And yess, I am back from Paris, I promise to tell you all about it tonight... it was WOOOOOWWWW!!!! He wooed their ears and broke their hearts ;-)))

Jonas Kaufmann, la coqueluche du Paris

So the Manon run in Chicago is over and JK is back in Europe, more precisely Paris! And it seems the French are rolling out the red carpet for him ;-) With Romantic Arias finally appearing in France, together with the ROH Carmen DVD his Liederabend at the Garnier, and especially his Florestan are eagerly awaited. And it seems that so far they liked what they heard (la coqueluche = darling!!!)

According to Opera: "C’est le ténor que les scènes du monde entier s’arrachent et l’un des plus exceptionnels chanteurs-acteurs de notre époque ! En cet automne 2008, la France déroule le tapis rouge sous les pas de Jonas Kaufmann"

Le Figaro : "Les fans sont fébriles, car voici la première vague de l'assaut Kaufmann à l'Opéra de Paris. ... Romantic Arias, montre l'habileté avec laquelle il plie son timbre splendide et l'intelligente projection de sa voix aux univers contrastés de Puccini, Verdi ou Berlioz.... On y ajoute un charme et une prestance ravageurs, et voilà la nouvelle coqueluche du monde lyrique."

L'Express: "On ne rencontre ce genre d'artiste qu'une fois par génération : un acteur magnifique porté par une voix d'une exceptionnelle beauté. "

ForumOpera: Romantic Arias - "Dieu soit loué ! Notre époque a aussi ses géants. " Carmen - "Jonas Kaufmann est le plus prodigieux des Don José. La qualité de sa prestance, son jeu névrotique autant qu’érotique, s’accorde idéalement à celui de sa consoeur.... variété d’accents et un timbre de voix inoubliables ; précis et raffiné jusque dans les récitatifs qu’il cisèle dans un français superbe, sa « Fleur » suspendue à un fil, est une vraie confession impudique et pathétique, un moment de théâtre et de musique absolument poignant."

Femmes : "Car il a tout. Un physique de cinéma au sex-appeal ravageur, un look de rock star, et surtout une voix chaude, ronde, riche en coloris ambrés, avec des aigus pimentés et sensuels.... Si vous ne succombez pas, c’est que vous n’avez pas de cœur qui bat, pas de peau qui frissonne et pas d’oreilles pour entendre! "

Qobuz presents JK to the French public : "Jonas Kaufmann, un romantique à Paris... JK est une des voix les plus envoûtantes du moment. Mais quelle voix ! Un régal romantique " And there is a video here.

Qobuz reviews on RA and Carmen: "RA- Jonas Kaufmann nous livre tout d’abord un récital d’opéra exceptionnel. Sans doute même le plus remarquable paru ces dernières années....Outre qu’on succombe immédiatement à la beauté de la voix de Jonas Kaufmann — longue, moirée, caressante — c’est la rigueur du musicien qui saute d’abord aux oreilles." Carmen :"Réussir un vérisme vocal et théâtral si à fond engagés en maintenant une telle pureté bien chantante est une gageure qu’on ne se souvient d’avoir vue tenue (ni même posée) par personne (un Rosvaenge a pu le faire). ... par-dessus tout la scène ultime, exemple vivant d’une incarnation scénique et vocale totale — on risque bien de ne revoir cela que sur ce DVD béni !"

You migth have noticed that the Carmen review above is written by André Tubeuf

Here is a more extended article about JK that Mr Tuveuf has reedited with the occasion of the upcoming performances in Paris:

http://qobuz.com/blogs/andretubeuf/2008/11/04/

"Dans la voix et dans l’œil, il a la passion, le feu sombre ; en scène il est ardent, aisé, immédiat. Ce qu’il apprend, et nous apprend ? La patience. La prudence. Le long chemin. Depuis six, sept ans on l’observe, on le suit : et on le voit, on l’entend changer....La nature l’a fait pour le chant, et il a la culture du chant. À aucune époque on n’a beaucoup connu ça ! ...Né pour flamber, avec ce jarret félin, ou fauve, pourtant c’est un paisible....Sainte patience. Qu’il nous préserve, en late developper, le Tristan qu’il porte en lui poétiquement, dramatiquement, dont il a les yeux extasiés et le raptus vocal. "

I didn't know what to pick from the article, do read it whole if you wish because it is very detailed and provides a wonderfully deep analysis of the artist.

And finally, in Le Point Mr Tubeuf issues a very warm invitation: "Déjà sans doute le numéro un de la jeune génération de ténors, de l'opéra au lied, il n'a simplement pas de concurrent. Fantastique programme avec les « Pétrarque » de Liszt, les « Michelangelo » de Britten et un ensemble Strauss que lui seul ose, et réussit ! L'indispensable Helmut Deutsch l'accompagne."

I hope he will be plesantly surprised by what he will hear when listening to the recital ... I wonder whether AT will find JK's voice different than last time he heard him?

For those of you who would like to read on, the links contain way more than i could post here, and you know what to do :-): http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ You can also find the articles on Marion's page.

So, now it seams i have to share my favourite tenor with the whole of Paris!!! Oh well, the sacrifices one must make!! ;-)

Guess i don't need to tell you where i will be on Sunday ;-)

Matilde & Corradino ( Aleksandra Kurzak and Juandi Florez) fill the ROH with giggles

Foto MARK ELLIDGE at timesonline


This Halloween performance of Matilde di Shabran was the perfect date-night-out. If there was ever an operatic rom-com - this was it! It is definitely not the most accomplished Rossini creation, but in spite of being a good 3 hours 15 minutes long, it manages to be very entertaining. At least for me, once I got into it, it felt as if over in a flash!

Never mind the intrigue; it is all very obvious, in spite of the considerable number of characters on stage. It is all about the boy and girl :-)

It took some time for everyone to get going, but once they did, it was all smooth from there. The staging and direction (Mario Martone) is nothing special, but it also doesn’t disturb the music, which given the difficulty of some parts of the score is not such a bad thing. But it does put all the weight of the performance on the singers. It was entirely up to them to take the plot forward and give shape to their characters. And still in the ensemble scene with have some déjà vu moments, with the chorus in the back and the singers in the front, spread evenly across the stage, singing towards the audience. foto Catherine Ashmore

So let’s then do as I did there and zoom in to the characters:

The biggest contribution to the recitative and the language came undoubtedly from the “poet” Isidoro (Alfonso Antoniozzi) .. I enjoyed his Neapolitan twang to the fullest and pity no translation could ever do it justice ( and as always some laughs were slightly timelagged due to this). He is an excellent actor and as his singing is reduced to a minimum (and this is rather weak compared to his acting) gives a delightful performance.

Marco Vinco as Aliprando (the good doc) has a warm and deep tone to his voice, perfectly suited for the role. And although in his first phrases he had a bit of trouble reaching into the audience, the volume then smoothly adjusted to fit perfectly with the orchestra. He is definitely a pleasure to listen to, making it all sound quite effortless. Belcanto indeed and not something encountered so often in a young bass-baritone and in a Rossini performance.
Mark Beesley as Raimondo didn’t particularly stand out for me, but I don’t think the score is very generous with him, not really giving him the opportunity to shine. His performance however was much more balanced than the other experienced and he didn’t seem to need the time to warm up. I’d like to hear him again in a more substantial role. Same is valid for the evil contessa sung correctly by Enkelejda Shkosa.

Vesselina Kasarova’s Edoardo sounded slightly strange to me, some brilliant upper parts and then suddenly a pit in the lower register, which comes totally unconnected to the rest. And I was a bit unpleasantly surprised to see the exact same mimic and gestures as earlier in the year in her Carmen. She is sometimes wonderful (and her 2nd aria got some well deserved applause), but makes you wish you heard her with your eyes closed.

Matilde/Aleksandra Kurzak - I did remember her from last November’s Adina, however I can’t say she made an impression on me then. Weeeelll, what a change!!! Fair to say I was blown away!!! The effortless singing, the cheeky character, the spunk of this Matilde! From the moment she appeared on stage you knew who would command this story. She more than once stole the show. And how’about Rossini??!!! In a 3 hour and a bit opera where do you put the most difficult coloratura for your soprano? At the very end of course, when she has already been singing for more than 2 hours!! Kudos to her, she looked at ease and totally in control all the way… I tell you, I would have been s*****g myself knowing what would come at the end! But she totally aced it! And the high notes were flowing playfully from those smiling lips and what you were left with was not the technical effort of the score but the personality and strength of this cute Matilde. Brava! Molto Brava! A Matilde to fall for and a singer to admire! And applaud they did, she got as many cheers, shouts and applause as JDF and that more than proves how well she’s earned the public’s admiration.

Ok, ok, I am getting there! I know what you all want to know, especially since I clearly said I had never heard HIM live before ;-))))

foto Catherine Ashmore

Oh, well what did you expect? I loved him, of course! :-)
Juan Diego Florez was an adorable Corradino and yes, he is very much lovable himself. He wasn’t applauded when he came on stage, but I think it was just because it was incredibly fast and the moment was gone; I believe it was also right. It would have been unfair from the public towards his colleagues as no performance really stands just because of one singer. And applause is there to reward somebody’s performance not just acknowledge their physical presence, however nice it may be ;-)))

Surprisingly, it wasn’t his voice that knocked me off my socks, it was his stage personality. Of course his voice is beautiful! But I had heard it in recordings before and he is every bit as good as those, which is a compliment, as few singers are as good live as their recordings. He too sounded a bit quiet for me for the first phrases, but he then found his zone and brought the house down on several occasions. I’m not saying anything new here when I mention that he doesn’t have a booming volume, but does anyone want to have their ears shattered in Belcanto?? I think not; I don’t give much credit for volume anyway, because that is mostly genetics and you don’t get many brownie points in the long run for the gifts of mother nature alone :-) What makes him special are not even those easy high notes that he throws with the ease others say good morning. It is his sweet and intense lyrical singing, with this silken mezza voce of his that really does you in. Your know Pour me rapproche a Marie? Well that is what I mean, that is where for me he is better than all the other belcanto tenors today. And for working hard to polish this part of his singing I admire him. He has them all at his feet with high Cs. Ds. Es and all the other letters of the alphabet he can do, but I appreciate that he doesn’t leave it at that and is intent at showing all the other things his voice has to offer. For this reason my favourite part voice-wise as Corradino was the bit in the last act when he thinks he has sent innocent Matilde to death himself. He was absolutely exquisite there and I long to hear him sing something like that again. By the way, he’s got amazing diction; considering the amount of words he had to pronounce during these coloraturas it is no small success that one could understand every word he uttered.

And did anyone every say he was bland and not the best actor? Well all the laughs you will hear in the radio broadcast are 90% his! He is unbelievably funny! His face never stops moving and his got 1000 of them; and he is not a bit afraid of making a fool of himself ( and mind you he is a very composed person outside stage ;-) ) I didn’t feel anything special for that winding staircase… that is until Juandi was jumping up and down on it and started crawling in and around the railing like a little koala! Unbelievably funny and it made you want to cuddle him then and there! And there were a gazillion moments like that, he was never out of character, singing or not. He is an incredible bundle of energy and character.

It looked as if he enjoyed himself immensely and it makes me wonder why would anyone want him to sing something as boring as the Duca, when there are a gazillion more interesting and fun roles out there that he can excel at, why be one of the pack when he can be the prince? Oh yes, of course he knows just how good he is and he graciously accepts the admiration. From what I saw this evening he’s found that good balance between being a star and knowing you are one and still being able to make fun of yourself, not taking yourself too seriously and being a good and generous colleague.



I have to give a very big Bravo to the orchestra and the maestro Carlo Rizzi! They made the very very very best of this score! They showed how classy they are and Rizzi is fun to watch, with his baguette elegantly changing hands or disappearing all together. He did an excellent job in my opinion and got me for the first time truly excited about his Trovatore in spring (even more so considering how they were dissing Il povero Trovatore during the insight ;-))))

I can only say how much I regret not being able to watch it one more time. Now that I know where the thrills are, musically speaking :-)

I’ll be counting down the day to my next Rossini, this time one on my top-3-know-it-by-heart list of all times! Il Barbiere with the adorable JDF and the amazing DiDonato (and for me the big unknown of the evening, Simon Keenlyside as Figaro).


This performance is broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Saturday 22 November

Keenlyside and Martineau serenade at Wigmore

Wigmore Hall 26/10/2008 Simon Keelyside – baritone Malcolm Martineu - piano
Part I
Gabriel Faure/ Paul Verlaine - Mandoline
Gabriel Faure/ Paul Verlaine - En sourdine
Gabriel Faure/ Paul Verlaine - Green
Gabriel Faure/ Armand Silvestre - Notre Amour
Gabriel Faure/ Armand Silvestre - Fleur jetee
Gabriel Faure/ Paul Verlaine - Spleen
Gabriel Faure/ Edmond Haraucourt – Madrigal de Shylock
Gabriel Faure/ Louis Pomey - Aubade
Gabriel Faure/ Victor Hugo - Le papillon et la fleur

Maurice Ravel/Jules Renard – Histoires naturelles Le paon * Le grillon * Le cygne * Le martin-pecheur * La pintade

Part II
Hugo Wolf/ Eduard Morike - Morike Lieder Gesang Weylas * Heimweh * Auf eine Christblume II * Lied vom Winde *

Franz Schubert/ William Shakespeare – An Sylvia
Franz Schubert/ Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis Seewis – Die Einsiedelei
Franz Schubert/ Pope, trans Herder – Verklarung
Franz Schubert/ Johann Baptist Mayrhofer – Freiwilliges Versinken
Franz Schubert/ Friedrich Schiller – Gruppe aus dem Tartarus
Franz Schubert/ Johann Peter Silbert – Himmelsfunken
Franz Schubert/ Ludwig Rellstab – Standchen
Franz Schubert/ Karl Gottfried von Leitner – Die Sterne
Franz Schubert/ Ernst Schulze – Auf der Bruck

Encores:
Hugo Wolf/ Eduard Morike – “Der Knabe und das Immlein”
Hugo Wolf/ Eduard Morike - “An die Geliebte”
Francis Poulenc/ Guillaume Apollinaire - “Hôtel”


I have been looking forward to this for a while and it proved to be everything I expected and more!

It is well known that Simon Keenlyside does quite a lot of lieder-singing and that he is fond of the genre. Also the things I most admire about him is his technique and his phrasing. In both the Don Carlo and the Don Giovanni I heard him in it was the intimate, softer passages that I liked most. And he is en excellent story teller.

There is no better time to enjoy these things than during a Liederabend. And it is one of the few times you will get to enjoy a singer’s voice at its fullest. There are no sets and costumes, no 100 instruments to battle for your ears’ attention.

I was quite surprised that the program was half-French and when almost arriving late panicked that I didn’t know it and wouldn’t understand a thing. I needn’t have worried! His French is very good, much much better than I expected. In fact I dispensed with the program altogether because I understood every single word. This was actually the part of the evening I liked best. Though by only a fraction ;-) I liked the lot and the French bit probably won me over a tiny bit more because of its romantic, soft and sensuous lines. It was just perfect for a Sunday afternoon!

Malcolm Martineau is his perfect match, the outcome of the night was definitely due to their excellent collaboration. They have this obvious artistic bond which gives instant musical communication. And he is a cheeky one!!! Being sat on the side I practically had him in direct view … a pleasure to just watch the stories play on his features and his knowing smiles which preceded each playful note with a fraction of a second! A delight!

SK’s German was even better than his French and boy does he sing it well! Schubert was a total treat and he didn’ hold anything back! There was a well deserved explosion of cheers and applause after that Auf der Bruck!


Every time I go back to the Wigmore I like it more. Love the acoustics and love their relaxed, friendly ways and their warm appreciation of the performers. Where else are you kindly and friendly asked to try and control your cough and drops are provided by the staff if you need them? The program also kindly reminds you when the songs go on on the next page and also advise you to please turn as silently as possible… just imagine a couple of hundreds of people going all at the same time : flip flip!


The incredible picture was taken by Joyce DiDonato

I really don’t know how to explain it, but it felt as if it was an evening with friends, artists and public alike felt cocooned in a bubble of harmony and warmth. And both Simon and Malcolm perfectly captured the feeling in their last encore (of 3!!) : Hotel/Poulenc.

I am glad this got recorded for the Wigmore, so we can have a reminder of a perfect moment in time and music.

I am going to leave you now with my favourite Schubert bits of the night from a wonderful recording Simon Keenlyside and Malcolm Martineau did a couple of years ago ( I uploaded these from my own cd ;-)) Mind you, Simon’s voice has change quite a lot since then, it is darker, more burnished and I feel more expressive. I also suspect he is always better live than recorded because he has tremendous energy in the midst of the performance.


Himmelsfunken



Das Standchen




Die Sterne



Auf der Bruck

I also dug up this version of the last encore, it is just wonderful! Unfortunately not with Simon, but really good as well:
Poulenc Hotel:

Banalites: Hotel - F. Poulenc

I believe it is from this CD ( but do correct me anyone if you realise i am wrong)

Have a wonderful Sunday afternoon everyone!