DIRECTION MUSICALE
JonathanWebb
MISE EN SCÈNE
Stephen Medcalf
ASSISTANT
Luca Ricci
D ÉCORS
Jamie Vartan
C OSTUMES
Katia Duflot
LUMI È RES
Simon Corder
Ve 12 - Mer 17 Ve 19 à 20h Di 14 à 14h30
Annina
Karen Vourc’h
Assunta
Juliette Galstian
Carmela
Pascale Beaudin
Maria Corona
Sandrine Eyglier
Desideria
Giuseppina Piunti
Michele
Attila B Kiss
Don Marco
Dmitry Ulyanov
Salvatore
Marc Scoffoni
Orchestre et Chœur de l’Opéra de Marseille
Conductor: Jonathan Webb.
Gian carlo Menotti, The Saint of Bleecker Street.
I could have walked away in the middle of the first act.
I am allergic to religious display on stage, and in this case it was far too much, ending on the apparition of a bleeding crucifix surrounded by red lamps while Karen Vourc'h- Annina,the Saint, was having trances and was also bleeding,(her sacred stigmata which made her presence so precious for this poor italian community in Manhattan) prostrated in her armchair on the foreground. As for the quality of the music and singing, they were devastating, violent, so much violent that I really could have fled.
But the quality of the acting and singing with what was coming from the pit stunned me right from the first notes, there was no ouverture, it was bleak from the first musical bars and utterly unknown to me.
I had listened to a conference on this opera two weeks ago and that helped me a lot to cope with this strange mixture of musical modernity and religious archaïsm.
Although Pierre Boulez did write that Menotti who was still composing tonal music when the tendancy was not tonal, was a lazy composer, what came from the orchestra was not easy tunes at all, it was discordant, syncopated and extremely jazzy sometimes. The evocation of 'Little Italy' in the fifties, pervaded by this religious faith was stiffling and it was then clear right from the beginning that Michele, the Saint's older brother was trying to liberate himself from this community. He would have liked to free his poor ill sister from the adoration of the Italian community, his love for her was the heart of the conflict between him and the community, alone and not understood, he even became a dangerous killer, a poor soul, and I understood his position much better as a real modern character.
Marseilles opera house has a privileged link with Menotti's works, René Auphan sang (when she was younger) under Menotti's direction and when she was officially managing this opera house she made a point in setting revivals of Menotti's works. I enjoyed Maria Golovin (splendid cast, among it, an excellent young baritone, Paulo Szot, and Nuccia Focile) not long ago and this one, not often played,with a religious and human crisis at the heart of the plot.
Michele is the empersonification of Gian Carlo who went through an identity crisis, and visited a priest in Italy asking for help, the answer being that only him could find the answer. So he composed this opera,torn between human excessive love and solitude . Michele needs his sister's love and caring. He does not want her as the Saint of the community, he needs her, the second act is a passionate tragedy between the two, and he even kills his mistress when she critizises their relationship as brother and sister. Michele is not understood by the Italian community already alianated from the american society around it.The violence of this situation is expressed by the orchestral work. I admired the conductor who made our orchestra sound so moving. A real tempest. Michele is a role for a strong tenor, musically and physically,and Attila B.Kiss served the role with strength and dramatic passion.
Karen Vourc'h,fragile looking but tremendous vocally, was matched with Attila's voice, as so often they had to be heard storming over the powerful orchestra, which really sounded terrific on the 19th.
There were moments of peace and poetry, the wedding scene when tenors gave a serenade of italian folk tunes I guess, and I was so pleased to hear the young winner, Kevin Amiel(International Competition). Then there were several chorus prayers (I do not resent sacred music, just the settings!),and these moments, like the last scene were so intense.
Fantastic young cast and young conductor!
I am looking forward to hearing the broadcast on the radio.
No wonder Leonard Bernstein got inspired for West Side Story.
The saint had been a big hit in Broadway.
Why should Gian Carlo worry?
I liked his music. So different here .
Curtain calls. Nice atmosphere!Lots of applause!
The young woman all in black, nice figure, is Desideria, Michele's mistress he strangles, here this is young mezzo (,Guiseppina Piunti! Marvellous voice and acting!
No comments:
Post a Comment