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Greek National Opera: Puccini: La Bohème, 10.10.08, Conductor: Loukas Karytinos, Donizetti: Anna Bolena, 17.10.08, Conductor: George Petrou (BM)

La Bohème - Picture © Stefanos

This year’s opera season in Athens opened with what felt like a ‘before and after’ look at artistic planning at Greek National Opera. Or ‘after and before’, actually, since the order as reversed and opening night belonged to a revival of Graham Vick’s superb production of La Bohème (reviewed here), commissioned by innovative artistic director Stefanos Lazaridis for last season prior to his demise the summer before. Vick came back to Athens for rehearsals in October, and the result was a rendition even more enthralling than the first – thanks to Kyros Patsalidis, who seemed to have become one with his character (Marcello) and found extra nuances in his baritone to convey just that, and a particularly passionate performance by Sébastien Guèze as Rodolfo in the final scene (read an interview with him here). Moreover, Loukia Spanaki’s Musetta – the only newcomer to this cast – was marvelous, seductive but never too brassy, and beguilingly lyrical in her “Quando m’en vo”. All of this made for an engrossing evening, and although personally I seldom enjoy performances more the second time round, this was definitely an exception!

Anna Bolena - Picture © Jonek Joneksson

What a disappointment, then, to feel like escaping during intermission just a few days later at the premiere of Anna Bolena. It was as if one had been transported back to the dark ages of Greek opera in a time machine, and I almost felt worried that perhaps I had been dreaming and there had never been an artistic director called Lazaridis after all. Clearly, there is a great deal of pressure on  his successor, Giovanni Pacor - who has already proven himself to be a capable man with a vision - to cut costs, but frankly it is just too much to ask of his audiences to sit through an evening like this. The production was semi-staged, so that director Vassilis Nikolaidis can hardly be asked to bear the brunt of the blame. The costumes alone  - designed by Nikos Georgiadis (who passed away some years ago) were absurdly ancient, and one got the distinct impression that the singers were making an effort to move as little as possible in order to prevent mothballs from tumbling out onto the stage. Jenny Drivala drew attention to herself in the title role by virtue of her many contorted grimaces. She did well when singing on her own, but it was virtually impossible to hear her in the ensemble numbers. Dimitris Kavrakos no longer has the timbre and agility of voice required for Henry the 8^th, but at least his performance was more pleasant to the ear than Stamatis Beris’ jarringly metallic tenor. His Lord Percy was presumably the main reason why many of those attending didn’t remain until the bitter end. Excellent performances by Mary-Ellen Nezi as Jane Seymour, and in particular by Eleni Voudouraki as Smeton, were the production’s only saving grace, but sadly their contributions, along with the valiant efforts of accomplished young conductor George Petrou, were just not enough to save the show. Surely there is no need for a low-budget production to be quite this embarrassing?

Bettina Mara



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