Live from MET – Der Rosenkavalier

Live from MET – Der Rosenkavalier

Fathom events, May – Richard Strauss’s (1864-1949) passionate and lush opera, Der Rosenkavalierwas presented live in High Definition cinema on Saturday, 13 May 2017 to hundreds of delighted audiences in movie theatres throughout the world.  It was a one-night-only performance broadcasted live from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.  It’s world premiere was at the Konigliches Operahaus  in Dresden in 1911 where it was enthusiastically received. It has remained a favorite operatic staple ever since.

 

Although designed as a comic-social opera, Der Rosenkavalier operates at a more emotionally deeper level. The end of the Habsburg’s dynasty was right around the corner, and the bitter-sweet quality of that time reflected on the plot. Only a few years after its premiere of Der Rosenkavalier, the symbolic end of the Habsburg Monarchy was marked. In 1916, Emperor Franz Joseph, after a reign of sixty-eight years died and then two years later Europe experienced First World War, the conflict that defined the century. The society never looked quite the same and new nation states were established in the former Habsburg territories.

 

Strauss was enamored by the female voice and his opera is famed for the beautiful arias for the three female roles consisting of two sopranos and a mezzo-soprano: Marschallin, Octavian and Sophie. Marschallin, Princess von Werdenberg, who is having an affair with the young count Octavian, conscious of the difference in age between herself and her lover, muses over the passing time, growing old and men’s inconstancy. Renee Fleming, who sings one of her signature roles as the Marschallin, received the warmest applause from the audience. Her opposite Elina Garanca as Octavian made her first North-American performance as the impulsive young title character, who easily changed an object of his feelings from Marschallin to Sophie, the young daughter of a wealthy arms dealer.

 

The intrigue begins when Baron Ochs, the Marschallin’s country cousin, who is engaged to Sophie meets Octavian, who is disguised as a chambermaid to avoid discovery in the Marschallin’s bedroom, makes advances towards “her’. The Marschallin is appalled at the thought of the rude Ochs marrying an innocent girl. In the second act on behalf of Ochs, Octavian presents Sophie with a customary silver engagement rose and two of them instantly fall in love. Sophie, who has never met the Baron before, is shocked by her fiancé manners and refuses to marry him. Octavian determines to teach the Baron a lesson, setting up a rendezvous as the “chambermaid”.  In the final scene, Octavian takes off his disguise, Ochs admits defeat and leaves, Octavian and Sophie are united, as the Marschallin with dignity wonders how she lost her lover so suddenly.

 

The additional attraction of Fathom events are interviews with its cast, crew and production teams. The host during Der Rosenkavalier’s intermissions was Matthew Polenzani, who makes a small appearance here as Italian singer.

 

 

Set Designer, Paul Steinberg and Costume Designer Brigitte Reiffenstuel have brilliantly succeeded in creating stunning sets of time at the end of Habsburg empire led by the vibrant conducting of Maestro Sebastian Weigle.

 

Once again, Fathom Events in cooperation with the Metropolitan Opera, has offered appreciative audiences world-wide an incomparable opera experience for which we are all grateful.

 

Eugene Onegin – an Opera in Three Acts by Tchaikovsky

Eugene Onegin – an Opera in Three Acts by Tchaikovsky

Fathom events, April –  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s masterful Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, an opera in three acts and seven scenes, was presented live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York as part of the Live from the Met Series for a one-time only screening on Saturday, April 22, 2017. The libretto, adapted by the composer himself, closely follows Alexander Pushkin’s (1799-1837) classic poetic novel by the same name. Pushkin’s personal life was not without drama, for he was fatally wounded in a duel with his brother-in-law, a French officer serving with the Chevalier Guard Regiment (created by Catherine the Great in 1764), who was rumored to be having an intrigue amorous with Pushkin’s wife, Natalia Pushkina.

 

Eugene Onegin had its premiere in Moscow, March 29, 1879 at the Maly Theatre. The American premiere was given on March 24, 1920 at the Metropolitan Operas in New York at which time it was sung in Italian rather than the traditional Russian.

 

The current production has a distinctive Russian “feel” to it, with costumes and setting reminiscent of a Chekhov play.  In fact, Prince Gremin’s aria, “To love both young and old surrender” from Act III, Scene 1, is actually hummed by the characters Vershinin and Masha in Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece, Three Sisters. 

 

The time and place of the action is a St Petersburg dacha (country estate) and surrounding countryside in the 1820s. Tchaikovsky’s story line is faithful to Pushkin’s novel. Madame Larina, a widow (uncredited in film’s info sheet), has two daughters: the shy and romantic Tatiana, sung by Anna Netrebko,  who spends her time reading novels, presumably “romantic,” and her free-spirited younger sister Olga, sung by Elena Maximova. Olga is being courted by their neighbor, a young, naive poet named Lenski, sung by Alexey Dolgov. Lens visits with his aristocratic, boorish and arrogant friend Eugene Onegin with whom Tatiana instantly falls in love.

 

In the second act, Onegin reluctantly accompanies Lenski to Tatiana’s name day celebration. Bored by the event, he distracts himself by flirting with Olga which infuriates  Lenski and prompts him to challenge Onegin to a duel in which Lenski is killed, an irony that foreshadows Pushkin’s own demise.

 

Act III takes place several years later. Upon returning to St Petersburg after traveling abroad, Onegin attends a ball at which Prince Gremin introduces his young wife.  Much to Oregon’s astonishment, he recognizes her as Tatiana and now realizes he actually does love her. He sends her an impassioned love letter, begging her to leave the Prince and run away with him. Tatiana confesses she still loves him but cannot leave her husband. Onegin is thus left desperate, and alone.

 

Curtain.

 

This strong musical production, featuring Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score and fine orchestration provided by Maestro Robin Ticciati, with much vocal virtuosity by the cast, suffered considerably due to the lifeless and bland production provided by Deborah Warner with sets by Tom Pye.  The sunroom windows and doors of the dacha, for example, were completely draped with lifeless canvas from floor to imagined ceiling (the set had no walls or ceiling to help project the voices into the house). The drearily drab canvas not only deadened the vocal projection of the singers, but also visually presented an unremittingly dull and wearisome backdrop which was not changed for all three scenes of Act I. The extraordinary singers deserved better.

 

Otherwise, this “Onegin” was a worthy effort on the part of the inimitable Met and a valuable experience for opera cinema lovers world-wide who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience a live performance from the world-renowned Met.

by Lidia Paulinska and Hugh McMahon

Roméo et Juliette at Met

Roméo et Juliette at Met

Fathom events, January – Charles Gounod”s (1818-1893) passionate and lush adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragic star-crossed lovers, Roméo et Juliette, was presented Live in High Definition cinema on Saturday, 21 January 2017 to hundreds of delighted audiences in movie theatres throughout the world.  It was a one-night only performance broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.  It’s world premiere was at the Théatre Lyrique de Paris in 1867 where it was enthusiastically received. It has remained a favorite operatic staple ever since.

 

Gounod’s opera is an outstanding example of French Romanticism, a tradition that values subtle sensuality and finely crafted, gracefully nuanced musical expression without the “push” of a Puccini. This production has already achieved international acclaim for its outstanding production values during its recent runs at La Scala and the Salzburg Festival.

 

The press has been overwhelmingly laudatory, praising every aspect of this extraordinary operatic work. The New York Observer cites the “Thrilling star team” of soprano Diana Damrau as Juliette and tenor Vittorio Grigolo as Roméo. And, not to be upstaged, The New York Times claims the production is charged with “white-hot sensuality and impassioned lyricism!”  The Huffington Post adds to its laurels, praising Director Bartlett Sher’s work as “a brilliant and inspired new production” and “a revelation.”

 

Set Designer Michael Yeargan and Costume Designer Catherine Zuber have brilliantly succeeded in creating a stunning 18th century milieu with performances led by the “richly textured and Vibrant conducting” (New York Times) of Maestro Gianandrea Noseda.

 

Once again, Fathom Events in cooperation with the Metropolitan Opera, has offered appreciative audiences world-wide an incomparable opera experience for which we are all grateful.

 

L’Amour de Loin at Met

L’Amour de Loin at Met

December, Fathom events – L’Amour de Loin (Love from Afar), an opera in five acts, received its world premiere performance at the Salzburg Festival on August 15, 2000.

The current Met Production is distinguished for two historic reasons.  First, composed by the Finnish Kaija Saariahoit , it is only the second opera composed by a woman performed by the Met since 1903. In addition, the brilliant conducting is masterfully handled by another Finn, Susanna Malkki, who enjoys the distinction of being the very first woman to grace the Met’s orchestral podium in it’s entire 137 year history.  One might conservatively say, “It’s about time.”

The vocals for the evening were ably handled by Susanna Phillips as Clémence Tamara Mumford as the Pilgrim, and a powerful Eric Owens as Jaufré, all meeting and surpassing the challenges of the complex score.

Production credits go to Robert Lepage whose controversial Ring Cycle is remembered by Met opera goers. In this production, the entire Met stage is taken up with no less than 28,000 LED lights in parallel rows representing the sea.  Except for the chorus occasionally popping up from between the rows, the principal vocalists are restricted to an odd, mechanical contraption in a cage at the end of a protruding arm.

The giant mechanism moves (carefully) between the rows of the distracting blinding lights. The set then becomes the forced focal point of the production, upstaging the vocalists in every scene.

On balance, the set stands as one of the more unfortunate expressions of scenic design in recent Met memory. Planning to attend? Don’t forget your sunglasses, the score is worth your time.

 

The Met Live: Elektra

The Met Live: Elektra

April, Fathom events – On Saturday, April 30, 2016, I had the privilege and pleasure of viewing a screening of a live performance of Richard Strauss’s inexorable one-act opera Elektra,*  the concluding operatic work in a year-long 10th anniversary celebration of “MET: LIVE in HD,” which had featured ten of the world’s greatest operas on giant cinema screens  throughout the US.

The production premiered at the  Aix-en-Provance Festival in France in 2013 and is considered to be a landmark contemporary staging of Strauss’s masterpiece.  It was produced by the renowned Patrice Chereau who tragically died shortly after the opening at the age of 68.  (A DVD is available of that production.)

The superb cast is headed by the smoldering intensity of soprano Nina Stemme in the title role whose Elektra is unremittingly consumed with a passion for vengeance upon her mother Klytamnestra, widow of Agamennon, performed masterfully by mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier, and her lover, the cowardly Aegisth, convincingly portrayed by Burchard Ulrich, who have brutally murdered Elektra’s father Agamemnon.  Bass-baritone Eric Owens gives a strong rendering of her sympathetic brother Orest and Adrianne Pieczonka rounds out this incomparable cast as her weakling sister Chrysothemis who plays a perfect counterpoint with her banal domestic aspirations to her possessed sister Elektra who has dedicated her life to revenging her father’s murder, She realizes her goal in the end, but at the expense of her sanity.

Staged in an ominously sparse gray space with costumes to match, Chereau’s smoldering rendering of Strauss’s masterpiece is a production for the ages and opera at it’s best!

* * * Significantly, Sigmund Freud used Sophocles’ Elektra in his analysis of a daughter’s attachment to her father, and Oedipus Rex as the basis for his theory of a son’s attraction to his mother.  The so-called “Oedipus” and “Elektra” complexes continue to be very much a part of Freudian psychoanalysis.

 

by Lidia Paulinska and Hugh McMahon