English Touring Opera are delighted to announce a season of lyric monodramas to tour nationally from October to December. The season features music for solo singer and piano by Argento, Britten, Tippett and Shostakovich with a bold and inventive approach to making opera during social distancing.
This tenth of ten Live from London concerts was in fact a recorded live performance from California. It was no less enjoyable for that, and it was also uplifting to learn that this wasn’t in fact the ‘last’ LfL event that we will be able to enjoy, courtesy of VOCES8 and their fellow vocal ensembles (more below …).
Ever since Wigmore Hall announced their superb series of autumn concerts, all streamed live and available free of charge, I’d been looking forward to this song recital by Ian Bostridge and Imogen Cooper.
The Sixteen continues its exploration of Henry Purcell’s Welcome Songs for Charles II. As with Robert King’s pioneering Purcell series begun over thirty years ago for Hyperion, Harry Christophers is recording two Welcome Songs per disc.
Although Stile Antico’s programme article for their Live from London recital introduced their selection from the many treasures of the English Renaissance in the context of the theological debates and upheavals of the Tudor and Elizabethan years, their performance was more evocative of private chamber music than of public liturgy.
In February this year, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho made a highly lauded debut recital at Wigmore Hall - a concert which both celebrated Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and honoured the career of the Italian soprano Rosina Storchio (1872-1945), the star of verismo who created the title roles in Leoncavallo’s La bohème and Zazà, Mascagni’s Lodoletta and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Evidently, face masks don’t stifle appreciative “Bravo!”s. And, reducing audience numbers doesn’t lower the volume of such acclamations. For, the audience at Wigmore Hall gave soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn and pianist Simon Lepper a greatly deserved warm reception and hearty response following this lunchtime recital of late-Romantic song.
Collapsology. Or, perhaps we should use the French word ‘Collapsologie’ because this is a transdisciplinary idea pretty much advocated by a series of French theorists - and apparently, mostly French theorists. It in essence focuses on the imminent collapse of modern society and all its layers - a series of escalating crises on a global scale: environmental, economic, geopolitical, governmental; the list is extensive.
For this week’s Live from London vocal recital we moved from the home of VOCES8, St Anne and St Agnes in the City of London, to Kings Place, where The Sixteen - who have been associate artists at the venue for some time - presented a programme of music and words bound together by the theme of ‘reflection’.
'Such is your divine Disposation that both you excellently understand, and royally entertaine the Exercise of Musicke.’
Amongst an avalanche of new Mahler recordings appearing at the moment (Das Lied von der Erde seems to be the most favoured, with three) this 1991 Mahler Second from the 2nd Kassel MahlerFest is one of the more interesting releases.
‘And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven … that old serpent … Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.’
If there is one myth, it seems believed by some people today, that probably needs shattering it is that post-war recordings or performances of Wagner operas were always of exceptional quality. This 1949 Hamburg Tristan und Isolde is one of those recordings - though quite who is to blame for its many problems takes quite some unearthing.
There was never any doubt that the fifth of the twelve Met Stars Live in Concert broadcasts was going to be a palpably intense and vivid event, as well as a musically stunning and theatrically enervating experience.
‘Love’ was the theme for this Live from London performance by Apollo5. Given the complexity and diversity of that human emotion, and Apollo5’s reputation for versatility and diverse repertoire, ranging from Renaissance choral music to jazz, from contemporary classical works to popular song, it was no surprise that their programme spanned 500 years and several musical styles.
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields have titled their autumn series of eight concerts - which are taking place at 5pm and 7.30pm on two Saturdays each month at their home venue in Trafalgar Square, and being filmed for streaming the following Thursday - ‘re:connect’.
The London Symphony Orchestra opened their Autumn 2020 season with a homage to Oliver Knussen, who died at the age of 66 in July 2018. The programme traced a national musical lineage through the twentieth century, from Britten to Knussen, on to Mark-Anthony Turnage, and entwining the LSO and Rattle too.
With the Live from London digital vocal festival entering the second half of the series, the festival’s host, VOCES8, returned to their home at St Annes and St Agnes in the City of London to present a sequence of ‘Choral Dances’ - vocal music inspired by dance, embracing diverse genres from the Renaissance madrigal to swing jazz.
Just a few unison string wriggles from the opening of Mozart’s overture to Le nozze di Figaro are enough to make any opera-lover perch on the edge of their seat, in excited anticipation of the drama in music to come, so there could be no other curtain-raiser for this Gala Concert at the Royal Opera House, the latest instalment from ‘their House’ to ‘our houses’.
"Before the ending of the day, creator of all things, we pray that, with your accustomed mercy, you may watch over us."
Richard Jones' production of Puccini's La bohème is back at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden after its debut in 2017/18. The opening night, 10th January 2020, featured the first of two casts though soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who was due to sing Mimì, had to drop out owing to illness, and was replaced at short notice by Simona Mihai who had sung the role in the original run and is due to sing Musetta later in this run.
Emmanuel Villaume conducted, with Charles Castronovo as Rodolfo (who sang the role in the production during 2017/18), Andrzej Filonczyk as Marcello, Peter Kellner as Colline, Gyula Nagy as Schaunard and Aida Garifullina (making her Royal Opera debut) as Musetta. The revival was directed by Julia Burbach.
Jones' production replaced the Royal Opera's longest running production, John Copley's 1974 La bohème with supra-realistic designs from Julia Trevelyan Oman: a much loved production, frequently revived, which was launched with a cast including Katia Ricciarelli and Placido Domingo, and whose final revival (supervised by Copley himself) included Anna Netrebko and Joseph Calleja, with some performances conducted by Placido Domingo. Some of Jones' decisions around his new production should perhaps be seen in the light of having to replace this production.
One question which hangs over La bohème, perhaps surprisingly, is 'who are these people?' Puccini specifies that the opera is set in Paris in the 1830s, when the original Henri Murger stories were set, but is it? Are the young men students, or are they men simply living the bohemian life, as happened at the period? In other words, are they role-playing the life of a struggling artist? Perhaps the characters are denizens of the Paris of 1890, when Puccini wrote the opera, a city divided from the city of Murger by the huge urban renewal of Baron Haussmann? Puccini is rumoured to have based some of the men's antics on the japes that he and his friends got up to when he was studying in Milan, and some of Puccini's friends claimed that they were the originals of the young men, as Puccini had a bohemian club in a local tavern whilst he was writing the opera. And don't forget that the young Puccini was taken under the wing by a group of older Italian artists who had all been members of the Scapigliatura (literally unkempt or dishevelled), the Italian artistic movement which was the equivalent of French bohemianism.
Modern directors often side-step these issues by setting the opera somewhere in the 20th century, but Jones addresses it head on by adding a theatrical element to his production. Whilst the costumes and set details are all clearly 1890s, he and designer Stewart Laing provide a great deal of evidence of the theatrical mechanism: no drop curtains, clear and obvious scene changes, visible lights and snow machine, stage-hands moving the scenery. Jones also strips back some of the detail. Whilst Act Two is a dazzling whirl of theatrical daring, all vivid action and moving scenery, Acts One and Three take place in a bright attic space. There is no dark when Mimì and Rodolfo's candles go out, there is no shaft of romantic moonlight for 'O soave fanciulla'. Instead, Jones leaves space for the singers and the production relies on the relations between the singers, and the characters they create. Some of the action is naturalistic, but often the four young men, Rodolfo, Marcello, Colline and Schaunard act as a sort of chorus. It could be stagey and artificial, but much depends on the singers creating the roles.
Thankfully, for this revival the Royal Opera had put together a strong and
very balanced cast, with Simona Mihai displaying little, if any, sign of
having been parachuted in at the last minute.
Charles Castronovo as Rodolfo and Simona Mihai as Mimì. Photo credit: Tristram Kenton.
Mihai and Castronovo made a fine, believable pairing as Mimì and Rodolfo. Mihai successfully combined a sense of fragility with an underlying strength of character, and a powerful ability to project musically. Castronovo's performance was intelligent and generous; this was not one of those Rodolfos which, though finely sung, are all about the tenor. Castronovo had the ability to shape lines, and sing quietly, and slip into ensemble. He and Mihai made a superb pairing, and for me the strongest scene in the opera was the end of Act Three where the set moves backwards and leaves the four singers, Mihai and Castronovo, Garifullina and Filonczyk (as Musetta and Marcello) on stage. Mihai and Castronovo made this a powerful moment, immensely moving and memorable in a way that it is often not. Mimì's death scene was finely and intelligently done, yet there was something a little staged about it (perhaps because of Mihai's last-minute substitution) so that whilst I admired it, my guts were not quite wrenched as they should be.
The young (he was born in 1994) Polish baritone Andrzej Filonczyk made a strong Marcello, making him an equal character to Rodolfo and Mimì. There was a lovely ping to Filonczyk's voice, and it helped that he made fine, sexy Marcello, albeit in a different style to Rodolfo. This is a romantic opera and whilst we can suspend disbelief, it helps if we don't have to. Andrzej Filonczyk and Aida Garifullina made the relationship between Marcello and Musetta really sizzle (and perhaps showed us what was lacking in that of Rodolfo and Mimì). Garifullina, perhaps somewhat luxury casting as Musetta, played Jones' conception of the character to the hilt, giving us a waltz that was beautifully sung and very sexy (including the removing and throwing of the knickers). There was a grandness to Garifullina's Musetta too, and it made me regret that Puccini decided not to set the scene where Musetta is thrown out of her lodgings and throws a party in the courtyard.
Aida Garifullina as Musetta, with cast. Photo credit: Tristram Kenton.
The other two bohemians, Peter Kellner as Colline and Gyula Nagy as Schaunard, made equally strong contributions so that the four young men were a wonderfully theatrical and balanced quartet. Nagy's Schaunard was almost hyper-active and very 'theatrical', one wondered whether Jones was hinting about his sexuality, whilst Kellner drew a fine focus towards him, culminating in a powerfully concentrated performance of his farewell to his coat.
The smaller roles were equally part of the whole, with Jeremy White as a delightful Benoit, Andrew Macnair as an intriguing Parpignol, Eddie Wade as a highly befuddled Alcindoro, John Morrisey as the customs officer and Thomas Barnard as the Sergeant. A word too about the non-credited roles, there was fine work from the actors including the man playing the maitre d'hotel of the restaurant and the tall young actor leading the band at the end of Act Two.
One of the things that I noticed about the production was quite how funny it was. It wasn't just the audience laughing at the surtitles as they read them, but the action was itself funny without guying the piece. None of the singers tried to pretend to be a teenager, but all created a real sense of enjoyment and some moments of sharp humour.
I loved what Emmanuel Villaume and the orchestra did with the piece. This was a flexible and fluid performance, yet one that moved. With a single interval after Act Two, each half came in at under an hour, yet it never felt rushed. Things flowed past in a shapely manner, and the great moments were finely shaped without ever feeling we were over lingering.
La bohème is in production at the Royal Opera until 5th February 2020, with a second cast conducted by Ariane Matiakh for some performances.
Robert Hugill
Puccini: La bohème
Mimì - Simona Mihai, Rodolfo - Charles Castronovo, Marcello - Andrzej Filonczyk, Colline - Peter Kellner, Musetta - Aida Garifullina, Benoit - Jeremy White, Parpignol - Andrew Macnair, Alcindoro - Eddie Wade, Customs Officer - John Morrissey, Sergeant -Thomas Barnard; Director - Richard Jones, Revival Director - Julia Burbach, Conductor - Emmanuel Villaume, Designer - Stewart Laing, Lighting Designer - Mimi Jordan Sherin, Movement Director - Sarah Fahie, Revival Movement Director - Danielle Urbas, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; Friday 10th January 2020