Post by tmesis on May 7, 2019 6:47:32 GMT
I saw the final performance of this last night and in the main very much enjoyed it.
There is a tendency amongst critics to patronise this opera a tad - its mixture of high drama, grand opera spectacle and religious sentimentalism doesn't fit all that well in the 21st century. But what a score! It can't be done on the cheap and David McVicar's 2004 production splashes the cash and looks very handsome.
Vocally it was a good night. My only disappointment was Irina Lungu as Marguerite. This is a difficult part to cast - you need a very flexible voice that can lighten for the coloratura of the 'Jewel song' but have the heft for the later more dramatic scenes. She was OK with the latter but heavy going in the former. An ideal voice for this is Angela Gheorghiu of around twenty years ago. She can't do it now - I actually saw her in the part in 2011 and she was disappointing.
Hongni Wu did well with that wet-weekend-of-a-part Siebel and Stephane Degout was an excellent Valentin.
Michael Fabiano gave the best performance I've heard him give at ROH. I think the French repertoire suits him better than the Italian stuff. His 'Salut! demure chaste et pure' was good but he coped-out at the end, singing the top C as a feeble mezzo-voce. I had to play Jussi Bjorling's version when I got home to hear how it should be done.
What took the whole evening on to a different level, however was the magnificent performance of Mephistopheles by Erwin Schrott. This was the best performance of this I've ever heard; the voice totally focused and rich, with great light and shade. He brought a kind of grim camp to the part and was magnetic whenever on stage.
There is a tendency amongst critics to patronise this opera a tad - its mixture of high drama, grand opera spectacle and religious sentimentalism doesn't fit all that well in the 21st century. But what a score! It can't be done on the cheap and David McVicar's 2004 production splashes the cash and looks very handsome.
Vocally it was a good night. My only disappointment was Irina Lungu as Marguerite. This is a difficult part to cast - you need a very flexible voice that can lighten for the coloratura of the 'Jewel song' but have the heft for the later more dramatic scenes. She was OK with the latter but heavy going in the former. An ideal voice for this is Angela Gheorghiu of around twenty years ago. She can't do it now - I actually saw her in the part in 2011 and she was disappointing.
Hongni Wu did well with that wet-weekend-of-a-part Siebel and Stephane Degout was an excellent Valentin.
Michael Fabiano gave the best performance I've heard him give at ROH. I think the French repertoire suits him better than the Italian stuff. His 'Salut! demure chaste et pure' was good but he coped-out at the end, singing the top C as a feeble mezzo-voce. I had to play Jussi Bjorling's version when I got home to hear how it should be done.
What took the whole evening on to a different level, however was the magnificent performance of Mephistopheles by Erwin Schrott. This was the best performance of this I've ever heard; the voice totally focused and rich, with great light and shade. He brought a kind of grim camp to the part and was magnetic whenever on stage.