After
a side trip to the winter wonderland of Fussen to see the castles
(Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein)we returned to
Munich to attend two operas: Wagner's Das Rhinegold and
Donizetti's Roberto Devereux.
Das
Rhinegold , ably conducted by Kent Nagano, was the second
performance after the premier of a new production of Wagner's opening
opera in the four-opera cycle of the Ring of the Nibelungen.
It was a top tier performance by the entire cast but notably by the
baritone Wolfgang Koch who played the bad guy Alberich and the tenor
Stefan Margita who played the fire god Loge.
dancers on stage before Overture |
closing scene with dancers clothed |
It
was especially notable for the avant-garde use of nearly naked human
bodies to underline and emphasize various elements of the opera, such
as the flow of water in the Rhine River in the opening scenes. The
stage wasn't curtained and the dancers who were to do the non-singing
elements of the opera were sitting and milling around the stage
before the start of the music and undressed onstage and smeared each
others bodies with blue paint as the overture began. They then began
to emulate the flow of the river in what also looked like a sex orgy
with entwined bodies writhing to the music. It was quite mesmerizing
and erotic.
Roberto
Devereau, conducted by Friedrich Haider, included the coloratura
soprano Edita Gruberova (known to her fans as “la coloratura
assoluta”) in the role of the aging Queen Elizabeth I of
England. Although in her mid-60's, Gruberova's voice has lost
none of the power, tone and subtle nuances in the very high register
that she is rightly famous for. Never one of her strong points, her
lower register seems to be weakening, but she still commands the
stage as the artist and professional that she is.
Gruberova and incongruous crown |
I
do have one small point of contention. Although an opera about the
16th Century, this production is in modern dress with
Elizabeth as a company CEO. You will notice an incongruous crown in
the photo which doesn't fit the modern business theme. Maybe, just
maybe mind you, they should do period dramas in period costumes, or
find another prop more appropriate to modern business.
After
the show, we were speaking with another operagoer at the tram stop
outside the theater. She had come from Zurich specifically to see
Gruberova, and she voiced a sentiment that the SO and I both share:
to wit that no one else now singing can handle the very difficult
Bellini and Donizetti roles that she seems to do so effortlessly.
She
was ably supported by an outstanding cast that included the fine
mezo-soprano Sonia Ganassi. She is able to hold her own in duets with
Gruberova and that alone speaks volumes for her talent. The men also
turned in stellar performances: baritone Fabio Mario Capitanacci as
Nottingham and tenor Joseph Calleja as Roberto Devereux.
4 comments:
no picture of the 'sex orgy'??? OHHhhhhh
Nah, I've been getting in trouble taking prohibited photos, so didn't get one of the orgy. But take my word for it, it WAS erotic. Look at the photo of the closing scene and imagine those people almost naked with flesh colored briefs and bras--and blue body paint splattered here and there. Let your imagination run wild.
having been 'without' for 10 years, I don't think I will do that. Not good for my blood pressure! :-)
oh dear! 8-(
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