Showing posts with label willard white. Show all posts
Showing posts with label willard white. Show all posts

Saturday, 12 November 2016

ENO: Kentridge's Lulu ★★★★

Brenda Rae in ENO's 'Lulu'  (C) Alastair Muir 
This week is another tasteful and satisfying evening out at the ENO. It is also the second time the ENO has presented a revival work, following The Pearl Fishers (click here for my review), that went down a treat in New York's Met opera house last year (click here for my review), also shown in Amsterdam as a co-production with Dutch National Opera. The formidable artistic director William Kentridge has brought his magnetically animated production of Berg's Lulu to the ENO stage, and for an English conversion it seemed to work so, so well.

 Alban Berg didn't live long enough to finish his three-act opera, and it was in the hands of Friedrich Cerha to complete the final and most ghastly act where our lead character is murdered by London's mysterious killer - Jack the Ripper. 

 The narrative of Lulu isn't, at all, complicated, yet the musical mastery of Berg's score shows the depth of his innovation, out of the Second Viennese School, with expressionist composers Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern. Berg wrote his second opera, after a successful Wozzeck, during a time in Germany where women were repressed, and writing Lulu was his escapism. 
James Morris as Dr. Schöen and Brenda Rae in ENO's 'Lulu' . (C) Alastair Muir 
This modern opera (1937) is atonal and remarkable for a narrative filled with diverse voices; brimming with scandal, mistresses, clandestine relationships, sex, blood, and suicide. That said, everything is left to the audience's imagination in Kentridge's stylish production; you may see underwear and legs, but hardly a sight of nudity - the projections do the work. 

 Lulu, an alluring, yet brazenly sexual woman is loved and lusted over by many. It is her sensuality and seductive powers that bring her admirers down, yet as the opera progresses audiences see that it is the essence of her ultimate demise as well. 

 The production has various dynamic parts and components happening at the same time. The stage is a party of all sorts: mime, moving imagery, strong visuals, projections of expressionist artwork, thick paint marks, and a rainbow set that perfectly sits within the 1920-30s vintage style and couture. Audiences applauded Kentridge, Sabine Theunissen, Greta Goiris, Catherine Meyburgh and Urs Schöenbaum for their creative achievements at ENO's opening night. 

 Mark Wigglesworth drains out the best he can of the ENO Orchestra as it is his last performance as ENO's music director. The orchestra sets in motion a buttery, rich and unbroken interpretation under the baton of an exceptional conductor. 
Brenda Rae and Sarah Connolly as Countess Geschwitz in ENO's 'Lulu'. (C) Alastair Muir 

Having seen Marlis Petersen, who had mastered the role of Lulu for 20 years, at the Met Live production last year, it is hard to compare American soprano Brenda Rae for her own vigourous interpretation of the title-role. Lulu is a challenging and tough role, but Rae is consistent. Ready for each scene, she has vocal charm, yet it would have been nice to see something that stood out in her performance - something she could call her own. All of Lulu's admirers - Countess Geschwitz, a schoolboy, painter, athlete, animal tamer, Dr. Schön and Schigold - are performed by sublime soloists, Sarah Connolly, Clare Presland, Michael Colvin, David Soar, Nicky Spence, James Morris and Willard White. 

 Joanna Dudley gives a fine performance as the symbolic mime figure of Lulu's alter ego. While Lulu arouses Dr. Schön's son's Alwa, Dudley distorts her body, opening her legs but holds them in the air for minutes, suggesting she is ready to commit adultery on the same sofa her second husband bled to death. Andrea Fabi is also a bold mute figure from a black and white film that acts like a butler to the stage, helping the characters along with the narrative. 

 This is a unique and tenacious production, worth seeing, but it is three hours and 40 minutes long. The ending may receive some mixed opinions and the opera won't be to everyone's taste, yet why stick to what you like and know? Try something new and get a ticket to a unique opera which will give your brain an opera orgasm. 
Lulu is showing at the ENO until November 19th 2016. Get your tickets now here!




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Tuesday, 10 March 2015

ROH: The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny ★★★★


For most operas, and contrary to popular belief, audiences are not required to read a synopsis or any literature about the creative process of the work, however, for The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in German), a little bit of reading wouldn’t hurt.
The opera’s creators, the poet and librettist Bertolt Brecht, and composer Kurt Weill, collaborated during the 1930s after World War I and the collapse of the Weimar Republic. At the time, German and Austrian composers were reinventing opera having developed Zeitoper (opera in the time in German) in the 1920s, which mixed together music genres: jazz, contemporary, and cabaret, with political satire. 
Based on an opera of ‘juxtapositions’, from music to text, The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny follows the lives of criminals searching for an escape who end up in the city of Mahagonny, which breeds cash, greed, capitalism and sex. Given the opera’s unusual nature, audiences will wonder whether a production has captured the ironies and quizzical devices that Brecht and Weill implemented in the 1930s.
Last night was the opening night for the first, ever, production of The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny at the Royal Opera House. Under the direction of John Fulljames it successfully captured the complexity of the opera as delivered in the 1930s. Fulljames’ production has updated the opera to 2015 with high-tech digital trends and props, which Brecht and Weill would have, only, dreamt of. 

There are various themes (too many to mention here) that are purposefully embedded by Brecht and Weill, but Fulljames has introduced a production that allows the audience to freely figure out the complicated metaphors and allegories in an uncomplicated manner. One of these devices are the songs. Although originally written in German, there are easily memorable, and tongue-in-cheek, songs written and sung in English including the ‘Benares Song’ and the well-known ‘Alabama Song’, which has been covered by multiple artists from David Bowie to music band The Doors. 
To keep the opera fresh Fulljames has instilled a cross-pollination of digital traditions. Finn Ross’ video designs are layered on top of one another, which include an image of a hurricane, an animated weather map, footage of civilians in the middle of a hurricane and even a title screen that reads ‘Mahagonny’. This is neatly bundled up with audio recordings of inscriptions set between each scene and live broadcast footage of the singers on stage, and some members of the audience. (You’ve been warned!)
This appropriately merges in with Es Devlin’s fascinating set designs, one of the best stage designs I’ve seen at the Royal Opera House, with a versatile lorry that opens up into many things like a magician’s bag. It can be a gruelling office, a prostitutes' hub, or a bar with jazz pianist, Robert Clarke, playing away with large white palm trees sat right next to him. The use of huge colourful shipments boxes is also an industrial cabinet of curiosity that stores more than human traffic and whiskey decanters combined.
The chorus singers were enthusiastic and on excellent form on stage. They were most remarkable at the end of the opera to the song, ‘To This Day Found In Mahagonny’, which sounded almost like a quasi-sermon song. Mark Wigglesworth conducted the ROH orchestra and although, the music was full of quality, pace and energy, I felt there was a lack of volume for some songs that needed an extra punch such as the first run of the ‘Alabama song’. I also got a sense that some musicians were more confident than others given that the opera was being played here for the first time.
Yet confidence wasn’t a problem for our eclectic cast. Annie Sofie von Otter, as Begbick, was a joy to watch, but vocally she was all over the place. She started off on strong form yet by Act 2 her voice wasn't as consistent. There was confusion as to whether her accent was English or American as well. Willard W. White, as Moses, was simply authentic. He brought his vintage, signature bass-baritone voice that was a thrill to hear. And Peter Hoard was also a great act on stage but for the role of Fatty there wasn’t a good enough aria to show off his vocal talent. 
(Photo: From the Times)
But it was Kurt Streit’s Jimmy and Christine Rice’s Jenny that got the audiences' attention. Streit sang as a rebel who broke all the rules, when it wasn’t permitted, and he didn’t hold back. Streit's character was possibly the only character that showed raw emotion and he sung as if he was at the a picket line over brassy jazz and ragtime melodies. Rice, however, controlled her voice to model the mind frame and stoic mannerisms of Jenny who acknowledged her profession as a prostitute and desire for nothing but hard cash. Her pure silky voice was present but Rice managed to embrace and fine tune her vocals to remind the audience that Jenny was a prostitute who only cared about money.
Operas like this one, with sophisticated concepts, unorthodox narrative, huge set designs and a combination of artistic genres, are few and far between. The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny is a bizarre opera. At times it can be morose, realistic and too close to home, particularly with topics about the economy and society as a whole but audiences are bound to ask themselves a few thought provoking questions whilst being entertained by a pig playing an accordion. 

The opera is showing until the 4th of April. Click here for more information. 
Photographs courtesy of the Royal Opera House.






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Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle - A Horror Opera (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Charles Dutoit)

 Sir Willard White
Ildikó Komlósi





















I hadn’t come across Béla Bartók before tonight’s performance of his opera Duke Bluebeard’s Castle at the Royal Festival Hall. It was only until the opera began that I realised I was about to experience my first horror opera. 

The orchestra of the night was the dazzling Royal Philharmonic. They shone and soared through Bartók’s multifaceted masterpiece with maestro Charles Dutoit conducting and revealing the dark hues of Bartók's insidious work.
 
It was fairly recent news that Andrea Meláth and Bálint Szabó could not sing the roles of the Duke or Judith due to illness. Yet unexpected replacements Ildikó Komlósi and Sir Willard White, both on top form, saved the show.
 
Charles Dutoit
Komlósi took audiences in and out of Judith’s curious mind and bewitched them with her vocal talent as, both a worrisome woman and passive wife. Sir White elicited traits of a dangerous man from the moment he sang the first note, an inclusion deliberately added by Bartók to enrich his phenomenal score.
 
Despite only being  an hour long, the opera contains some of the most chilling and spine-tingling music you could heard from psychological thrillers, ‘scary’ movies and film noir. Sitting there in the Royal  Festival Hall I recognised similar musical extracts, and had the same reactions, to listening to Strauss’ Sprach Zarathustra, Ridley Scott ‘s Aliens’ films (with scores composed by Jerry Goldsmith) and Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho. 

Judith's Journey in Bluebeard's Castle 

The opera is based on a Duke who introduces his wife to a castle of seven locked doors, spilling blood. It’s too gruesome not to pique anyone’s interest. Mention ‘torture chamber’ and many will realise it isn’t a typical romantic opera.  

 For the evening’s semi-staged performance audiences were left to use their imagination through reading Christopher Hassall’s translation of Béla Balázs’s original libretto and allowing Bartók’s musical creativity to guide them on Judith’s steps of opening each blood-soaked door. 

An audio effect was used to enhance the ominous quagmire of terror and dread. It was the sound of air blowing through the hollow and mysterious castle that the Duke and his wife were walking in.  

Each door unlocked a different type of space: the intense stir of strings for a menacing torture chamber in door one; a room of armoury for door two; a treasure room, depicted by a light tinkering sounds from a celesta, for door three; and a fragrant garden, illustrated by discordant flutes, for room four. 

Yet the pinnacle orchestral moments took place when Judith made her way into the fifth door, screaming. The long chords from the Royal Festival Hall’s large organ, shown off by Andrew Lucas, echoed entry into another realm – a next level up of macabre. One soon became concerned, and afraid, for Judith’s life.  

As we moved onto room six blaring brass instruments and hard thuds of timpani increased the dramatic suspense. The inquisitive wife enters door number six, a lake of tears, represented by gentle glissandi from a harp. But it’s too late for any hope of a happier ending. Not even the harp could transform the outcome. 
 
The conclusion had less musical climax, compared to door five, but there’s an apotheosis nonetheless. Here, Bartók mucks with our head. We know that the Duke will kill Judith as he had done with his previous wives but it is this type of titillation, which causes many to love his music.

Bartók 

Bartók was influenced by the existential readings of Nietzsche and the national Hungarian mood at the onset of the First World War. He once wrote, ‘ I cannot conceive of music that expresses absolutely nothing’ and I believe he left the ending progressively quieter, unsettling and unresolved for audiences’ to re-think what death means.

His cinematic visionary music grabs us. Bartók, probably, wasn’t aware his music would be compared to modern-day film or that he'd still be studied for that matter! Yet the opera tells us more about Bartók, which, even, he would admit.  We learn that he was a visceral composer and yet in the face of war conflict, he chose to construct the human spirit through an opera, which, after his death, is cherished by many.  

For more events taking place at the Royal Festival Hall, please click here. 
Photos courtesy of Willard White, Ildiko Komlosi and Charles Dutoit home websites. 

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