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Janacek and Bartok: Soloists, Orchestra Gran Teatre del Liceu, Conductor: Josep Pons Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona 4.11.2007 (JMI)

Janacek: The Diary Of  One Who Disappeared.

Bartok: Bluebeard’s Castle.
New Production from Liceu and Paris Opera.

Director: Alex Ollé and Carlus Padrissa (La Fura dels Baus)
Stage and Costumes: Jaume Plensa
Lighting: Peter Van Praet
Video: Franc Aleu/Emmanuel Carlier

Casts:

Janacek
Janik: Michael König.

Zefka: Marisa Martins

Bartok

Bluebeard: Willard White.
Judith: Katarina Dalayman

 

Barcelona’s Liceu offered this unusual double bill with the rare Janacek opera,  The Diary of one who Disappeared paired with  the increasingly popular Bluebeard's Castle. This coupling makes good sense in several respects, considering that the composers were contemporaries and that both belonged to the old Austro-Hungarian Empire.  There were only three years between the premieres, with the uncommon coincidence of having only two soloists on stage in both works.

Janacek's work is not exactly an opera, since it was conceived as a cycle of songs for tenor, mezzo soprano and piano, which was premiered in Brno in 1921, and offered five years later in a staged version.  Several orchestral versions have been compiled since 1943, the most recent of them by Gustav Kuhn premiered last January in Paris and repeated here.  The work deals with obsessive love of the young Janik for Zefka, a gypsy girl, and is  presented as a succession of solo songs and duets.

Bartok's masterpiece is becoming a more and more a popular work. Until about ten years ago, it was almost impossible to attend a staged performance of the work, and concert versions were widely used instead. Today, opera houses are including this opera in their programs regularly and during 2007, Bluebeard's  Castle has been produced in more than a dozen important theatres worldwide of which  only two productions have bee in concert form. It is amazing that in Spain we have had two beautiful performances of the work in Bilbao and Barcelonn in less than two months. Few things are more spectacular in opera than Bartok's  music for the opening of the fifth door.

Liceu offered this new co-production with Paris Opera, premiered last January at the  Palais Garnier, with  direction by  La Fura dels Baus. Both works have a bare stage with black curtains, particularly remarkable for the use of video projections in Bluebeard (quite frequent in La Fura works) to show the opening of the seven doors.  There is  outstanding lighting work from Van Praet in both operas which are each  presented in a mysterious and oppressive atmosphere. The lighting and projections were more  spectacular and brilliant work in the Bartok and were kept deliberately simple in the Janacek, in which the protagonist Janik stands in a kind of hole at the beginning from which only  his head can be seen.  By the end of the opera Janik  moves around stage, freed from his former 'roots', leaving his family to join his beloved gipsy girl. In both works the direction drew fine portrayals from the singers.

Josep Pons,  the current  artistic and music Director of Orquesta Nacional de España, is in his element in 20^th century  repertoire as he previously demonstrated in Barcelone in an outstanding Peter Grimes.  His reading of both of these works was totally convincing, obtaining from the orchestra a far better sound far than we have from them on other occasions. It is a pity that Mr.  Pons does not frequent the opera pit more often, because he is one of the most important musical personalities that we have in Spain.  It came as a  a very pleasant surprise to discover that  two conductors so little accustomed to opera, as both Pons and Mena are, could  offer such outstanding readings of Bartok's masterpiece in Barcelona and Bilbao respectively.

The Janacek's male singer  was the  German tenor Michael König, who was a convincing interpreter in the role of Janik.  He has an interesting voice,  powerful voice  in the middle range though losing  some  quality higher up. Marisa Martins was an attractive Zefka on stage but by  nothing remarkable in vocal terms, at least by the highest standards.

Bluebeard was the Jamaican bass Sir Willard White, who was a very convincing in what has become now a key role for him. He was an outstanding interpreter, although his voice does not have the same freshness these days that I remember from years ago. Swedish soprano Katarina Dalayman was also a very good Judith, although my preference goes for a mezzo soprano in this role. Sopranos lacksufficient power in the lower range to my mind.

It was surprising to see a big house like the Liceu with almost no empty seats. Considering that we were in the last day of a long weekend in Spain, this is worth noting. There was a warm reception for all four singers and for Maestro Pons.

There will be 7 further performances of this double bill next April.

José M. Irurzun

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