MACBETH – REVIEW OF CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY 2023 PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas 

Verdi’s Macbeth was last produced by the Canadian Opera Company in 2005 in its final season at the unmourned and unmissed Hummingbird Centre. The production left mixed memories but the farewell to the Hummingbird was sheer joy. The COC now has a marvellous new production of the opera with an impressive cast directed by David McVicar and under the baton of Speranza Scappucci.

Verdi famously thought that Macbeth had three roles: Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and the Chorus. You may disagree but he was not far wrong. I will pay homage to them in reverse order. The COC Chorus is a star in in the production. From the The Witches’ Chorus, to “Schiude, inferno” to “Patria oppressa” and the final rousing chorus they sing with beautiful lyricism, strength and triumphal sound. An outstanding Chorus at its best.

A scene from the COC’s production of 

Macbeth, 2023, photo: Michael Cooper

American baritone Quinn Kelsey sang an impressive Macbeth. We follow him from his first surprising encounter with the witches to his reluctant conversion into a murderer under the influence of his wife, to his transformation into an evil person and his final downfall.  Macbeth never loses his humanity completely and I am ready to blame his wife regardless of his complicity and actions. In a stunning performance Kelsey shows the evil that overtakes Macbeth but also his innate reluctance to be consumed. He is consumed but his seeing Banquo’s ghost and fainting during the banquet scene show that there is another side to Macbeth. His vocal performance is superb as he negotiates through his emotional turmoil from victorious general, to ambitious and arrogant murderer and finally to a defeated human being.   

Reviewing Bulgarian soprano Alexandrina Pendatchanska’s performance as Lady Macbeth poses a problem. We were advised that she was indisposed and we are honour-bound to respect and overlook any vocal issues. I don’t think we were short-changed because Pendatchanska did superb work in delivering Lady Macbeth’s vocal flourishes and she was convincing in the Mad Scene and in her display of ambition. The rest must be overlooked.

Turkish bass Onay Kose sang a sonorous Banquo, Macbeth’s friend who is murdered but appears at Macbeth’s celebratory dinner after the killing of the legitimate king. Canadian tenor Matthew Cairns as Macduff delivers “Ah la paterna mano” one of the most affecting arias on learning of the massacre of his wife and children.

David McVicar, one of the  best directors in the business, directs this coproduction with the Chicago Lyric Opera. The scene opens in an abandoned and crumbling church where the witches are gathered. With some changes in detail the run-down church serves as the focal point of the production.

With Set Designer John Macfarlane and Costume Designer Moritz Junge, McVicar delivers a dark, bleak, menacing and horrific atmosphere. The bleakness of the world of Scotland is not relieved by anything until the last scene when the chorus sings praise to the new king and gives thanks to God for their deliverance from evil.

Speranza Scappucci conducted the COC Orchestra at a brisk and superb pace.

This is a marvelous production and one that is worth seeing.

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Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi is being performed seven times on various dates until May 20, 2023, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. www.coc.ca

James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press.

THE RESURRECTION – REVIEW OF OPERA ATELIER 2023 PRODUCTION OF HANDEL’S ORATORIO

Reviewed by James Karas

Opera Atelier is back or should we say resurrected after several years’ enforced sojourn in the Elysian Fields where good people are sent to rest. It has produced George Frederick Handel’s’ oratorio The Resurrection to coincide with the celebration of Easter and it is a vocal and visual delight.

The Resurrection was Handel’s first sacred oratorio and he composed it while in Rome to a libretto by Carlo Capece. He was 23 years old. It was performed fittingly enough on Easter Sunday and Monday in 1708 but not in a church. Even more fittingly perhaps it was performed in the palace of a Marquess and, worse, the role of Mary Magdalen was sung by a female soprano. Both aspects spoke of the theatricality of the piece but, women were not permitted to sing on the stage in Rome at the time and perhaps out of an abundance of caution she was replaced by a castrato for the second performance.

Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, the Co-artistic Directors of Opera Atelier have given us a beautifully sung and finely staged production of the oratorio at the well-appointed Koerner Hall, Toronto. for only three perfectly timed performances: Holy Thursday and Saturday and Easter Sunday.

The resurrection tells the story of the events after Christ’s crucifixion, in other words on Saturday after His burial while He is in the tomb and on Easter Sunday when he rises from the dead. The oratorio consists of  confrontations, lamentations and celebrations. The confrontations are with  the evil Lucifer (bass Douglas Williams) who is celebrating his victory over the death of Christ but the Angel (Carla Huhtanen) fights back. Mary Magdalen (soprano Meghan Lindsay) and Mary Cleophas (mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy) mourn the death of the Lord but are comforted by Saint John (tenor Colin Ainsworth)  who assures them that Christ will rise.

 

Artists of Atelier Baller. Photo: Bruce Zinger

The oratorio ends of course with the discovery of the empty tomb by the two Marys and the celebration of the triumph of our Lord over death and over Lucifer.

With Choreographer Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg   and the Atelier Ballet present, we are guaranteed liberal but judicious and gorgeous use of dancing. The twelve dancers (including Jeannette) form the army of Angels who confront Lucifer and demand that the gates of Avernus (Hades or Hell) be opened to let the radiance of God dispel the stygian darkness. The dancers appear regularly throughout the production, adding colour and variety. Splendid choreography and dancing.

The set consists of two large and ostentatious bronze stands or lecterns on each side of the stage and two staircases leading to an apex. That is where the Angel will be seen. Centre stage there is a curtained off area where we will see the body of the buried Christ and later the empty one. Set Designer Gerard Gauci has done a brilliant job and he may have received inspiration from the set in the original production in the palazzo which is reputed to have been lavish.

Soprano Carla Huhtanen sings the fearless Angel that stands up to the bombastic Lucifer. Dressed in white with a gold tiara, Huhtanen sings beautifully and defends the glory of the Lord with vigour

Bass Douglas Williams has the juicy role of the pompous and blustering Lucifer. With unruly hair and wearing a black t-shirt, he runs and struts around the stage thinking that he is victorious because Jesus is dead and buried and he is the boss.

Much of the oratorio is taken up with the lamentations of Mary Magdalene and Mary Cleophas. The lineage of the latter is disputable but I choose to believe that she was the wife of the brother of Joseph, the Virgin’s husband. That makes Mary Cleophas Christ’s aunt and the mother of Christ’s alleged “brothers” leaving his mother Mary a virgin. In the libretto Mary Cleophas is referred to simply as Cleophas.

But I digress. Soprano Megan Lindsay and mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy had the the toughest roles and had to sing the emotionally-draining lamentations. There can be no greater depth of grief than for the torture and death of the Saviour. They recall that even while on the cross when He asked for a drink He was given vinegar. It was that type of emotional level that the two singers had to express and they did. Lindsay has a superb, expressive voice. McHardy has a rich mezzo instrument that is capable of some marvelously low notes.

The two-dozen players of the Tafelmusik Orchestra were conducted by David Fallis and they played Handel’s music superbly.

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The Resurrection by  George Frederick Handel  was performed three times on April 6 -9 2023 at Koerner Hall in the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto.

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO – REVIEW OF 2023 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

The Canadian Opera Company has chosen to revive its 2016 production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro that was directed by Claus Guth for its 2023 opener. No one doubts Guth’s intelligence and brilliance as an opera director and even a cursory view of his career reveals a man who has directed many productions at the top tier of opera houses.

The current revival was marvelously sung but it has so many incomprehensible, annoying and pretentious angles that they almost succeeded in wrecking one of the best comic operas in the repertoire. Mozart and the singers fought back fiercely and the evening went well despite Guth’s ideas and intentions whatever they might be.

Let’s look at the positive aspects of the production that make it worth seeing and received enthusiastic approval from the audience. In no particular order, I heap praise on soprano Lauren Fagan on her mainstage debut at the COC. As Countess Almaviva, she sang with beauty and passion in spite of being mauled by Cherubim (stay tuned) during her singing. She sang “Dove Sono” with a gorgeous vibrato teeming with emotion.

Soprano Andrea Carroll as Susanna, Figaro’s spunky fiancée and the Countess’s maid showed vocal talent and comic ability as she tried to survive the Count’s and Cherubino’s lust. As with almost everyone else in the cast, she had to act with the serious if not deadly constraints put upon her by Guth.

Bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni as Figaro was dressed almost identically with the aristocratic Count Almaviva sung by bass-baritone Gordon Bintner. They sang with lively sonority. Pisaroni has a lot of comic parts to do but he had to settle for the few opportunities allowed him by the director. Bintner sounded authoritarian in voice and manner until he was brought to the marvelous scene of grace where he asked his wife to pardon him for his unfounded suspicions and misconduct.

The hormone-driven Cherubino can be hilarious but in this production, he was amusing and vocally highly adept. He is permanently sexually aroused and Guth allows him to paw and maul the Countess, Susanna and Barbarina (Mireille Asselin) to the point of almost simulated coitus. I am not exaggerating. We see him on top of the Countess and Suzanna.  

Luca Pisaroni as Figaro (centre) and Andrea Carroll as Susanna in the
Canadian Opera Company’s production of The Marriage of Figaro, 2023,
Photo: Michael Cooper

Toronto veteran bass Robert Pomakov’s Dr. Bartolo was right on the mark with his singing and comic business and with Megan Latham’s Marcellina they made the perfect pair.

Guth’s helpful comments from the 2011 staging of this production are noteworthy. He stated that in Figaro “Mozart not only allows all kinds of intense human passions but also portrays how they can get out of control and escalate to extremes.”  He further pointed out that he wanted “to follow the characters into their darkest psychological depths.” We may have enjoyed the production a lot better if he kept in mind that this is a comic opera that does indeed deal with love, manipulation, jealousy, mistaken identity and in the end resolution and a happy ending.

Let’s take Guth’s invented, silent character, Cherubim (Uli Kirsch). He is dressed the same way as Cherubino except for the angel’s wings on his back. He appears at the beginning of the opera when he jumps on the stage through a window and what appears at first as a curiosity becomes increasingly more annoying as he drops in with frightful regularity ad nauseum. I have no idea what he is supposed to do or represent. He jumps on the Count’s shoulders, interferes with what people are doing and never fails to be a nuisance that should have been kept in Guth’s imagination instead of being foisted on us. He is invisible to the rest of the cast and I wish he would have done us the same favour.

When it comes to human passion, Cherubino and the Count are believers and practitioners of sexual assault as they grab women in Trumpesque fashion to the point where abuse is the mildest term one can use. The Count garbs his distraught wife so forcefully that she slaps him. None of the extent of sexual abuse shown by Guth exists in the opera. This may be descending into the psychological depth of the characters but all you are doing is removing the comedy of the opera. In short, the singers deliver solid singing. For the rest they have millstones around their necks and with or without a Cherubim they manage to erase the fun of The Marriage of Figaro and as for the darkest psychological depths, I will take a pass.

The set  by Christian Schmidt consists of a large stairwell with an open space at the bottom. That is supposed to be Figaro and Susanna’s bedroom and he usually measures a place for their bed, There is no measuring in this production except for a ridiculous gesture by Figaro. In the later part of the opera the stairs are removed and the action takes place in a bare space with  grey walls and no furniture at all.

The costumes by Schmidt are all aggressively modern black and white. The cast could pass for puritans. 

The music by is deliciously played by the COC Orchestra conducted by Harry Bicket.

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The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opened on January 27 and will be performed a total of eight times until February 18, 2023, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. Tel:  416-363-6671. www.coc.ca

DIE FLEDERMAUS – REVIEW OF 2022 TORONTO OPERETTA THEATRE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas 

The energetic and only-one-of-its-kind-in-Canada Toronto Operetta Theatre is never far from one of the best operettas ever composed – Die Fledermaus. This year marks its 6^th production of Johann Strauss’s masterpiece since the founding of the company is 1985.

The current offering is a reprise of previous productions directed by the inimitable  Guillermo Silva-Marin and conducted by Derek Bate and it has many features that make it worthwhile seeing- if you can get a ticket. Most people know what Die Fledermaus is all about but a few facts may refresh your memory. We are in the house of the well-off Viennese businessman Gabriel Eisenstein (Keith Klassen). He has to spend a few nights in jail but he also wants to go to a grand costume party thrown by the wealthy Prince Orlofsky (Gregory Finney). His lovely wife Rosalinda (Kirsten Leblanc) wants to go to the party and so does their maid Adele (Andrea Nunez).

Eisenstein’s friend Falke (Colin MacKay) goes to the party but, as The Bat, he has a score to settle with Gabriel. Add Alfred (Scott Rumble), an Italian tenor in lust with Rosalinda who is taken to prison as if he were Gabriel and you have a fine mess to unravel.

Andrea Nunez as Adele and Gregory Finney as Orlofsky

Photo: Gary Beechey

Silva-Marin shamelessly tinkers with the plot for laughs. When Alfred recollects singing to Rosalinda wonderful love arias it was done in Mississauga. Throw in presidents who go to jail and mention Mara-a-Lago and you get the laughs. Strauss’s effervescent music does the rest. 

There is some fine singing especially by Nunez as the maid. She has a lovely bell-like voice and fine stage presence. LeBlanc has a big, brilliant voice but its size works against her because she tends to overwhelm the other singers in her duets and trios. She needs to reduce her volume and let the other singers be heard.

Finney sings melodiously as Orlofsky and has a sense of humour. Silva-Marin steals the show in the final scene in the operetta which takes place in the jail. As Frosch the Jailer he holds the mistakenly imprisoned tenor, Alfred. The latter gives Frosch singing lessons with the primary advice being to hold a dime between his “cheeks” while singing. Silva-Marin still has a few high notes left in him and he can provoke much laughter.

Klassen as Gabriel was not at his best in the performance that I saw. His voice appeared small and he was out-sung by his colleagues. The rest of the cast is mostly competent with some variations in quality.

Scott Rumble as Alfred and Kirsten Leblanc as Rosalinda

Photo: Gary Beechey 

The chorus sang beautifully but when called upon to do a few steps of a waltz, which they did,  by shifting their weight from one foot to the next. They should have been taught how to do a couple of one-two-three spins that looked as if they were waltzing.       

Conductor Derek Bate has only nine musicians and slightly more choir singers but he brings energy to the effervescent music and beauty to the ensemble singing.

Silva-Marin and the TOT work with at least one hand tied behind their back. The Jane Mallett Theatre has little to recommend it except that it is there. It has no orchestra pit and the musicians are simply lined up in front of the stage. The sets are almost non-existent and the costumes are decent but nothing special.

It is all a matter of funding and unfortunately the only operetta company in the country survives by what it can get from donors and whatever grants come from the three levels of government. It is a sad situation. They deserve solid funding for more first-rate singers, designers, artistic staff and a bigger orchestra and chorus and more productions.      

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Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss is performed three times on  December 28, 30 and 31 2022 at the Jane Mallett, Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario. www.torontooperetta.com

TAKING UP SERPENTS and HOLY GROUND – REVIEW OF 2022 GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL PRODUCTIONS

 Reviewed by James Karas

On the shores of Lake Otsego, in the lush greenery of the rolling hills of Central New York State, a stone’s throw from Cooperstown, there is a hidden gem. It is The Glimmerglass Festival which produces an eclectic selection of operas and musicals every summer. In its 49^th season, it offers four main productions: The Sound of Music, Carmen, Tenor Overboard and a Double Bill of one-act operas, Taking Up Serpents and Holy Ground.

If you have been to the Festival, you do not need my recommendation. If you have not, you probably know that the Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown. If you do not want to appear hoity-toity to your sports-minded friends, pretend you are going to the Hall of Fame and sneak in a couple of operas. You can even buy some baseball memorabilia from Cooperstown’s only street which has 5000 stores selling baseball souvenirs. (So, I exaggerate. Sue me.)

The two one-act operas under review have serious religious connections. Taking Up Serpents is about a dysfunctional family of a Pentecostal preacher. The libretto by Jerre Dye includes visions, flashbacks and dreams leading to a mysterious conclusion of the work. A guide to the opera comes from the Gospel of Matthew which speaks of signs that “will drive out demons” in those who believe in Jesus, the believers will speak in tongues and “they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:17-18.

Kayla (Mary-Hollis Hundley) left her parents because she was mistreated by her father, a firebrand preacher in Appalachia. He is called Daddy in the opera (sung by Michael Mays) and true to scripture he picked up snakes and was a fearless if flawed man. He is dying in a hospital bed and his wife Nelda (Jacquelyn Matava) informs Kayla.

Mary-Hollis Hundley as Kayla

Childhood memories return to Kayla of her father’s extraordinary talents as a preacher, of his snake handling and of his belittling her as a weak woman “weak as water and weak as Eve.” Her mother sings “in tongues” quite beautifully and we get a sample of the religious excitement and fervor that  can be aroused by a Pentecostal preacher.

The singing by the three principal characters is good with some major flourishes demanded of Hundley and Mayes.

Composer Kamala Sankaram has written some brilliant music that has some lyrical passages and some stentorian moments. Like much of modern music it is difficult to appreciate or pin down all its layers on a first hearing. Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya conducts the the Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra is a spirited performance.

Holy Ground by Damien Geter (music) and Lila Palmer (libretto) was commissioned by The Glimmerglass Festival and received its premiere performance on July 29, 2022. It gives  a serious/comical version of the search for a woman worthy of giving birth to the Son of God. The search is being conducted by the Archangels Azraele (Helen Zhibing Huang), Gabriel (Taylor-Alexis Dupont), Raphael (Jeremiah Tyson) and Michael (Joseph Goodale). They are a motley crew who must find a Messiah Suitable (MS) woman. They have been remarkably unsuccessful after approaching almost 500 eligible girls and offering the position to them without any of them accepting.

Cherubiel (Jonathan Pierce Rhodes), the newest Archangel, joins them and they surf the internet. Mary (Jasmine Habersham) seems suitable but she is about to get married and her mother Ann (Alyson Cambridge) wants to see her settled with  a good husband.

The Archangels almost give up but they pursue their mission. A couple of dreams, and nightmares provide some help and Mary is finally convinced that giving birth to Jesus is not a bad idea. The comic acts of the Archangels are contrasted with Mary’s nightmares and dreams and her progression towards accepting the position of becoming the Mother of God.

The final words of Cherubiel, who greets her when she wakes are the solemn announcement “Hail Mary, full of grace.”

The same comments can be made about Damien Geter’s music as for Sankaram’s, some fine, some difficult to understand, all needing to be heard more times.

Chloe Treat directed both operas and the sets were designed by James F. Rotondo III with the costumes designed by Trevor Bowen.

Producing modern operas is a leap in the dark and an act of courage by an opera company. The opera audience is generally conservative and prefers the standard and well-worn repertoire. That is wrong. Kudos to The Glimmerglass Festival for promoting modern works and for training performers and artists to produce them.

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Taking Up Serpents  by Kamala Sankaram (music) and Jerre Dye (libretto),  and Holy Ground by Damien Geter (music) and Lila Palmer (libretto) opened on July 29 and will be performed  seven times under the title Double Bill until August 20, 2022, at the Alice Busch Opera Theater, Cooperstown, New York. Tickets and information go to: www.glimmerglass.org

James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press.

MOSES AND PHARAOH – REVIEW OF 2022 AIX-EN-PROVENCE FESTIVAL

Reviewed by James Karas

Moses and Pharaoh (or Moïse et Pharaon if you prefer the French title)  is a grand opera by Gioachino Rossini that is rarely produced to the point that many of us have not even heard about it. The Aix-en-Provence Festival has run into the breach by producing a highly creditable production for the post-covid era. 

The opera has many fine points but it also contains some lacunae that will make you scratch your head at three and a half hours of  a performance that starts at 9:30 p.m. It may also test your stamina to stay awake. It is performed at the Theatre de l’Archevêché  with its open roof which means we have to wait for darkness to set in before the performance can begin.

Moses and Pharaoh is about the exodus of the Hebrews from their captivity in Egypt. If you have not read your Bible or seen Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, you should, because you will get a good idea about the plot there. Director Tobias Kratzer and Designer Rainer Sellmaier have a few surprises and some are not pleasant ones.

The opening scene takes place in a modern office where men in modern suits are discussing or negotiating something. They are quite animated but we do not hear what they are saying.

On the left side of the stage, we see a modern refugee camp. The people are dressed reasonably well and there are no signs of despair but they do want to get out of Egypt and go to the promised land of Israel.

One man stands out because he wears a completely different costume from the others and he is none other than Moses. Think of Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments and you will get a precise picture of what he is wearing. Staff in hand and flowing robe, he looks as if he stepped out of the Old Testament. Michele Pertusi in the role has a marvelous, resonant baritone voice and he exudes authority. We do not argue with Moses  because he also has the ear of God and Pertusi because he has the voice and bearing to perform the role.

Moses and Pharaoh© Copyright: Moses and Pharaoh

by Gioacchino Rossini – musical direction Michele Mariotti – 

staging Tobias Kratzer – Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2022 © Monika Rittershaus

We know something about the negotiations and miracles preceding the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt but Luigi Balocchi and D’Etienne de Jouy, Rossini’s librettists have added a love interest. Anna (I am using the English names of the characters for convenience), Moses’ niece is madly in love with Amenophis, the son of the Pharaoh! Is she going  to give up her faith or will he renounce his pharaohship and trek across the desert to Israel?

Soprano Jeannine De Bique as Anna has a marvelous voice and she can leap across octaves like Superman can leap to the top of buildings. Not always in complete control but she still delivers a highly accomplished perfromance. Samoan tenor Pene Pati has a supple voice that reminded me of the youthful Juan Diego Florez but again with some control issues.

Mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya as Amenophis’ mother Sinaide turns in perhaps the best performance of the night especially in her rendition of  “Ah, d’une tendre mère,”  in which she implores her son, tenderly and lovingly, to forget Anna and marry the  Assyrian princess chosen for him. It is a long recitative and aria and Berzhanskaya gives a bravura and memorable rendition.

Bass-baritone Adrian Sampetrean gives a solid performance as the troubled Pharaoh  who is buffeted by a desire to keep the Hebrews and the powerful miracles performed by Moses’ God.  He is responsible for some of the plot twists such as promising to let the Hebrews go and then going back on his word. Moses has God’s ear and he asks and gets some pretty awful stuff, like plagues, drought, floods and very destructive storms.

The production has some graphic videos of droughts, floods and storms, all shown to us on television news reports.

The Egyptians are not convinced and they gather in a temple to praise the mother of the goddess Osiris. They have dancers to entertain them and we are treated to an interminable ballet. The faithful in the temple start fidgeting (or is it my imagination?) the Pharaoh gets up and with every such move we think the dance is over. But it is not.

The Pharaoh finally relents and lets the Hebrews go. We have to get the parting of The Red Sea and the exit from Egypt. As we all know the Red Sea will part and we see it doing just that on a powerful video. This may not be de Mille, but it is impressive enough.

The Egyptians decide to give chase and we see men in suits and smartly dressed women in high heels running across the desert to catch the Hebrews. No horses, no soldiers just people from their office jobs running to catch up with enemy. It’s all on video of course. They catch up and the Red Sea engulfs them. We get some dramatic views of people swimming, sinking and eventually their corpses floating on the water.

It is a memorable production with some superb singing and interesting ideas. But women in high heels chasing the Hebrews across the Red Sea? No need to worry about it, I suppose. We know the Hebrews made it.

Michele Mariotti conducted the Lyon Opera Orchestra with enthusiasm in an outstanding performance.

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Moïse et Pharaon ou Le Passage de La Mer Rouge by Gioachino Rossini opened on July 7 and will be performed a total of six times until July 20, 2022, at the Thêâtre de l’Archevêché, Aix-en-Provence, France. www.festival-aix.com

SALOME – REVIEW OF 2022 AIX-EN-PROVENCE FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

The 2022 Aix-en-Provence Festival is back with a full program of operas and concerts in the gorgeous medieval city. Richard Strauss’s Salome opened the opera season with a production by Andrea Breth featuring the 31-year-old soprano Elsa Dreisig in her debut performance in the title role. There were some marvelous moments and some worthy of complaint.

Let’s start with what I thought was the best part of the production and of Dreisig’s singing. In the final minutes of the opera, Salome has her wish and demand for the head of Jochanaan – John the Baptist – fulfilled when it is delivered to her on a silver platter or a shield, if you are picky. It is the ultimate gratification and ultimate disappointment for her and Dreisig has to express both in powerful and emotional singing. Jochanaan rebuffed her when she wanted to kiss him but now, she can kiss him and bite him like some fruit. But he is dead, and his wild eyes are closed. There is triumph and defeat for the young girl who fell in love with the wild Prophet. Dreisig’s voice soars with anger and emotion and expresses deep regret in a singular rendering of the recitative/aria.

Unfortunately, that does not hold true for Dreisig’s performance throughout. She does not have a big voice and on some occasions, she was drowned out by the orchestra, and she compared uneasily with the other singers who outvoiced her. Breth presents Salome as a teenager with Herod, her stepfather, lusting after her while she develops a passion for the imprisoned Baptist. She is a sweet girl who sings very beautifully but a bigger voice would have been nice. But she rose to the occasion in the last minutes of the production in a bravura performance.

© Copyright: Salomé by Richard Strauss – musical direction Ingo Metzmacher – 
staging Andrea Breth – Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2022 © Bernd Uhlig

Andrea Beth’s production was interesting if not entirely satisfactory for other reasons. The opening is somewhat confusing as we settle in for a dark and foggy set showing the open cover of a tomb, or maybe a cistern in this case. The scene which is supposed to be on a terrace lasts for forty-five minutes and only Salome is lit by the moon. After a while you want to see what is going on, more than you want to appreciate the director’s vision, or the set designer’s (Raimund Orfeo Voigt) and lighting designer’s (Alexander Koppelmann) view of the darkness of the soul.

For the party scene, the set consists of a gray backdrop with a large table where Herod and his guests sit for the banquet. It is not much of a banquet or a party. Everything happens behind that table until Salome agrees to satisfy her stepfather Herod’s request for a dance at any price.

Salome’s dance, with or without seven veils, is traditionally a very important part of the opera. With Breth’s vision of Salome as a young, innocent girl, perhaps we are not entitled to expect a sexually charged dance that would satisfy Herod’s lust. We get almost nothing. Choreographer Beate Vollack produces four Salomes doing some steps, but it is a long way from any kind of dance. Is it because Dreisig cannot dance or did Breth think what we see qualifies as Salome’s Dance? It does not.

The other central motif of the opera is the decapitation Jochanaan and the presentation of his head to Salome. There may be a decapitation but there is no head visible. All that Salome gets is a large bucket and we assume that the Baptist’s head is in it. She sticks her head in the bucket to give the much-desired kiss on the mouth to Jochanaan and comes out with blood on her face. We saw Jochanaan’s head at the beginning of the performance when he looked out from the cistern and the reason for not showing us his head after it was severed from his body is a mystery to me.

The other singers deserve unstinting praise. Tenor John Daszak heroically sings the dirty-minded Herod. Herodias is his wife, the mother of Salome and the former wife of his brother. Yes, welcome to Hamlet. Angela Denoke is a first-rank soprano who sings marvelously and illustrates how she was able to nab her brother-in-law after her husband “disappeared”.

Strauss’s third opera has some wild music that the Orchestre de Paris under the baton of Ingo Metzmacher played with great fervor and volume. The one-act opera lasts for about one hour and forty minutes with no intermission. It is based on Oscar Wilde’s play of the same name  

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Salome by Richard Strauss opened on July 5 and will be performed a total of five times until July 19, 2022, at the Grand Theatre de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France. www.festival-aix.com