Other Links

Editorial Board

Google Site Search

Welsh National Opera On Tour:  Theatre Cymru (North Wales Theatre), Llandudno. 17-21.3. 2009 (RJF)

Mozart. Le nozze di Figaro. Sung in Italian
Strauss. Salome Sung in German
Donizetti. L’Elisir d’amore. Sung in Italian


Two of my permitted three Performances of the Year 2008 derived from Welsh National Opera on Tour at Llandudno in March and November. Both were revivals. In each case, Verdi’s Falstaff and Janáček’s Jenůfa,  they were brilliantly cast and rehearsed with the chorus being particularly noteworthy in the latter. This year’s trio of March productions are all shared with other opera companies. In the present economic climate this policy is wise although I have caveats in respect of the Figaro. If WNO. were to get itself into the kind of financial difficulties that Scottish opera did, through poor productions and aspirations beyond its means, it could easily find itself in a financial predicament and with the Olympics to fund no support from the Arts Council would likely to be forthcoming. As it is, the season had the usual well-planned mixture of operatic periods and genres and was well supported at the box office for all the performances I attended.

Le nozze di Figaro

Whilst the productions are the same as seen in Cardiff earlier in the year, during the tour changes of cast take place. In Llandudno Elisabeth Watts took over the critical role of Susanna from the much-admired Rosemary Joshua in Figaro for the remainder of the tour. A winner of the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize at the Cardiff Singer of the World in 2007, her easy stage movement was not ideally matched vocally with the desirable lightness of touch and versatility. Her nicely shaped act four Deh vieni non tardar showed that hers is a voice of quality and variety of tone colour. Hopefully she will sing the role into her voice over the next few weeks as she relaxes and settles when I do not doubt she will to give a more upbeat and dominant characterisation of this pivotal role. These qualities were to be seen and heard in Cora Burggraaf’s Cherubino, she having taken over the role for the earlier performances in both Plymouth and Southampton. The 1930s costume undoubtedly helped her masculine appearance but she also played the lovelorn adolescent to perfection and sang both her arias with pleasing variety of colour and phrasing. I was disappointed with Rebecca Evans’s Countess. She seemed to have trouble in sustaining the legato at the top of the voice in Porgi amour, not helped by the conductor’s tempi that certainly did not aid the realisation of the decorations in Dove sono and elsewhere. She is an artist I have much admired, perhaps an off day, or even the prevalent respiratory tract infection. Sarah Pring was a feisty Marcellina whilst Sophie Bevan’s Barbarina, who got her act four aria, seemed a Susanna in waiting.

David Soar, appropriately, dominated the male side of the cast both physically and vocally in the title role. Dressed and played as the 1930s dapper Count’s butler, complete with white gloves, his singing was strong as was his acted portrayal. If he did not seem sufficiently menacing, or full of revolutionary fervour, this was perhaps more due to the setting and the understated and, compared to him, light toned and physically smaller adversary of Jacques Imbrailo as Count Almaviva whose anger at the goings on around him seemed understated and manufactured. Of course, by the 1930s, Figaro and Susanna had more than probably got it together already, with droit du seigneur being a bit late, or even a bit on the side. Henry Waddington’s Bartolo and Jeffrey Lloyd-Robert’s rather camp Basilio were well portrayed and sung.

Apart from the whole problem of the concept of updating this particular opera, the sets and the conducting were added complications. In the pit Michael Hofstetter took a very Teutonic view of the score. The brass in the overture drowned what should be the singing fleet footed strings. Rather turgid tempi were the order of the day. The set in act four was a mess. It is always difficult to bring off and is essential if Da Ponte’s carefully crafted libretto is to reach its apotheosis. But meandering massive reflective surfaces, with trees mirrored on their surface, did not allow for either the realisation of the magic in the music or the dramatic realisation of the opera. As for the uncertainties of recognition of Countess and Susanna in their disguises, let alone the necessary comings and goings, these were non-starters with the participants nearly standing on each other’s toes. It may have been better on the Cardiff’s larger stage or at the Liceu, but for touring it was a dead loss. Similarly the climbing on the settees and their constant movement in act three making it seem a case of sending for Pickfords. All were a distraction as were the excessive goings on in act one when Figaro enters with the Count’s staff. Antonio’s interventions, like the handling of the revelation of Figaro’s parentage, were poorly done. On the principal if its not broken don’t fix it, I did wonder about this questionable replacement of the previous very serviceable WNO. production and the economics of the whole.

Salome

What the Figaro lacked in dramatic bite and thrust was found in abundance in the reprise of the 1988 Salome, a co production with Scottish Opera. Like its companions in the season, there was an element of updating in it. However, this was more in respect of costume than set, which was of indeterminate period but wholly appropriate. The costumes themselves represented modern Middle East. The only incongruity I found was Herod’s lighting a fag from a modern lighter and drawing on it as he became heated at Salome’s demands. If there was any particular raison d’etre for the revival, other than use of existing resources, it was in the casting of Swedish Erika Sunnegårdh in the title role. She found fame whilst working as a waitress in New York and covering Karita Mattila as Beethoven’s Leonore at the Met. When the diva withdrew she stepped in as to the manner born. Up to now Nadja Michael had seemed to have a monopoly on the demanding title role of Salome at Covent Garden and La Scala with no rival in sight. Although Llandudno’s theatre is not the size of those establishments I would hazard a guess that on the basis of Sunnegårdh’s gleaming top notes, dramatic enunciation of the text, allied to her perfect figure du part for a besotted teenager and a natural ease of movement, she might well become the Salome de nos jours. Hers was a histrionic and vocal performance it was a privilege to see and hear. There was no overt sexuality of shed veils in the dance, rather a touch of incongruity as she danced with, and then for, Herod. But it was Sunnegårdh’s singing and lusting for Jokanaan that first set out her vocal stall, and later her putting sulk. Her treatment of his severed head in Salome’s final aria, thankfully minus blood, made necrophilia seem an almost respectable activity. Wisely, Welsh National surrounded her portrayal with a cast of singing actors of no mean distinction. Given the Company was unlikely to tempt favourite son Terfel to reprise his interpretation for them, the Jokanaan of Matthew Best was physically and vocally a suitable match for the occasion. Add Peter Hoare’s strongly sung and well-acted Herod, likewise Sally Burgess as the scheming Herodias, and a cast of international standard was on stage in the principal roles.

In the pit, and without the one hundred and five instrument orchestra Strauss specified, Lothar Koenigs whipped up the drama in the composer’s dense orchestration, and except in the first few moments until he felt the theatre acoustic, without drowning the singers; no mean achievement. The chorus were outstanding as were the members taking the smaller parts. The subject and the music may not be to everybody’s liking, but as music drama this cast and conductor gave a performance to remember in a set suited to the plot and where the costume updating was immaterial to the realisation of the drama.

L’Elisir d’Amore

The final production was also an updated and shared one, this time with Opera North. Sitting in terms of compositional period nearer to Figaro than Salome, Donizetti’s typical bel canto L’Elisir d’Amore was updated to 1950s Italy. Instead of Adina being a rich landowner she is proprietess of Hotel Adina and her lovelorn admirer, of more lowly and impecunious position, is one of her waiters. The set is the façade of Hotel Adina with al fresco tables under an extensive sun canopy. The recruiting sergeant, Belcore, is a suave marine in shades, who, like some of his contingent, arrives on a Vespa with a floozie on the pillion. The quack Doctor Dulcamara arrives from the cloudless sky by a simulated but realistic hot air balloon, the arrival of which was preceded by a model that caught the attention of the hotel afternoon drinkers who watched it across the sky with interest; a very affective piece of stage management. The ladies looked elegant and as far as the sets and costumes were concerned there was no problem with the updating.

When last seen at both Welsh National Opera and Opera North the work was sung in English. In my view Italian bel canto cannot be translated into another language, the prosody just does not work and much of the natural beauty on the composition is lost. So it was a big plus for me that Italian was chosen for this revival. I do not know if the casting of the American tenor Dimitri Pittas, a singer who has been part of his native New York Met’s development programme, influenced this choice. If so it was the second and main virtue as far as the singing was concerned. He was a little tentative in his opening Quanto e bella as he felt the theatre acoustic. His tightly focussed tone and elegant phrasing came to the fore in Una furtiva lagrima in particular by which time his acted portrayal had also found its feet. Regrettably, unlike the casting of the other Met artist, Erika Sunnegårdh as Salome, the Company did not surround his assumption with similar quality of singers. The Adina of Camilla Roberts, an Associate Artist of Welsh National Opera, was seriously miscast, her voice being much too heavy for the role and lacking in the requisite flexibility and coloratura. Mark Stone started vocally rather dryly but improved to match his acting whilst Neal Davies as the quack Doctor Dulcamara was somewhat light toned and lacking in vocal mellifluousness.

Donizetti’s creation is described as Opera Comica, that I take to be a stage beyond Opera Buffa. Certainly the jaunty music has joy and sun written all over it. Whether it has as much comic business as this production now carries is more open to doubt. The fine line before slapstick enters the description is a fine one and there are times when the line was trodden well over. Not so in individual portrayals of the many participants but in over elaborated and extraneous business. The audience laughed and the conductor held stage and pit together whilst giving Donizetti’s music and Romani’s words plenty of space and air. No means thing with a touch too much comic business going on from time to time.

The Remaining Tour

After Llandudno, the Company Tour moves on with the same productions to Birmingham Hippodrome from March 24^th, Milton Keynes from March 31^st, Swansea from April 7^th and concludes at Bristol from April 14^th. Helen Field will sing Salome at Swansea and Bristol while Wynne Evans replaces Dimitri Pittas for all the forthcoming venues.

Autumn 2009 and the 2010 season in Llandudno

Llandudno’s Theatre Cymru will welcome Welsh National Opera back for its 2009 Autumn season on 13th October with a new production of Verdi’s La Traviata in a period set staging by David McVicar. Alfie Boe will make his WNO debut as Alfredo with the Greek soprano Myrto Papatanasiu as Violetta. The season will also feature a reprise of Joachim Herz’s Madam Butterfly and a single performance Berg’s Wozzeck in Richard Jones’s industrial vision of this 20^th century work.

The 2010 winter season in Llandudno will start on Tuesday 9^th March with a performance of Mozart’s singspiel The Abduction from the Seraglio. This new production is scheduled to be set on the Orient Express in the 1920s. Well, it should be an interesting harem! Puccini’s Tosca will follow in Michael Blakemore’s period-set production together with Bizet’s ever-popular Carmen featuring Welsh tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones as Don José and Patricia Bardon returning in the title role.

Robert J Farr


^{Back to Top                                                    Cumulative Index Page}