Song for Hope.

Spring is always a difficult time, this Spring seems
even more.
This tribute to Jean Ferrat is a fantastic song of hope.
He was the best and he is missed a lot.

Hommage à Jean Ferrat par pistou35

Just a thought: Handel knew all about it.

Only tears are left after utmost barbarism.
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, in the most moving duet ever.

Many thanks to the uploader on youtube curufinthecrafty
The Kurufin's Castle

Anna Bolena: the Queen is Mariella Devia, Maggio 15 March 2012.

Flyer from Marseille Opera house and Mariella Devia as Anna Bolena, program Maggio 2012.

Sometimes it is worth playing productions again and appreciate their qualities when they are rich like this Graham Vick one for the Verone festival 2007. There, Mariella Devia took this role for the first time.
It is a very fine one with clever symbols refering to the true facts of English History like the huge red cross which is the main setting on the stage floor. It is emblematic of King Henry VIII 's struggles with Pope Clement VII to change the rules of the Catholic chuch and get his divorce from his Spanish wife. Pope Clement is a Medici and I could feel in the rich costumes and material as well as in the attitudes of all the artists on stage the splendours of the Florentine Renaissance which spread all over the European courts with very special links with France and the English Court.
Blind Giusticia, then the smashed glass pane at the last scene, where the newly married couple in dazzling white attire can be seen, are strong reminders of the Tudor period.

The smashed glass pane reflecting on one side the dazzling newly wed royal couple, and on the other side the abandoned woman who has lost everything she struggled for, love, power and yet pardoned the 'coppia iniqua' is also a clever device, the symbol of the crual fate for both Anna in black and Jane in white. This last scene was the best I ever had the chance to witness and Mariella Devia left on an amazing long high E flat....before thunder of applause which lasted more than ten minutes. LINK
I watched this Verone performance on youtube (the whole opera can be seen here).
This time, this production opened the Maggio on the 15th of March. Anna Bolena, like in Verone and Trieste, is Mariella Devia, the real Queen of this opera.
It is now widely spread among opera lovers that Anna Netrebko is Anna Bolena because this artist has on her side the benefits of the record industry plus the Met live broadcasts where she is their best trump, with her ravishing looks, her rather dusky voice yet luminous in the high-pitched range and above all her youth. She appeals to younger generation of opera lovers and yet is not convincing for me in this role from what I heard and saw on the Arte broadcast on Television. I regret I could not afford to go to La Scala last December to be able to hear and see the live production.
I admit to be seduced by the generosity of her voice, by her charismatic energy but I do not agree entirely with the Met and Vienna productions and the style of singing of nearly all the singers. They fail to be moving, especially the two women fighting one for her life the other one for easing the burden of her guilt towards her queen and friend.
In this G. Vick production where singers are not static there is a real physical challenge between Bolena and Seymour. Sonia Ganassi gives a torn vision of her faith to her queen and yet betrays her as a lover of her husband. She creeps at her queen's feet, while Anna keeps her distant and melancholic looks, though crowns her during their duet with her crown slightly slanting on jane's head, showing it will be also for Jane a precarious position. At Act II the crown of spines like the Christ one, appears in the background, symbol of sufferings and death. I found their duet utterly moving.
I was not expecting from the acting and singing of both Roberto Scandiuzzi- King Henry and Sonia Ganassi-Jane Seymour so much sensuality and expression, it was a real hot scene very well played and sung. Both singers have huge voices and vocal abilities to increase the sensual aspects in the dramatic course of this scene.
Bel Canto is a hard job and requires mastering trills and cadenza. Whenever I listen to Mariella Devia I feel she makes it and goes entirely in the musical chore of this art, when some only get to the surface, even if their voice and quality of singing are fine and pleasant.
Mrs Devia brings more into it. She is utterly moving because she gives a melancholic image of this condamned Queen who gets beheaded, not an angry one, she gets all the poetry which is in the text and the music to a very moving extent. Her 'dolce guidame' with also the soft direction of Roberto Abbado was a real luxury and brought tears. She has reached a degree of perfection in the way she sustains her breath and links high notes in a unique manner.
Edita Gruberova is in competition with her on the bel cantist side but badly lacks the low range and sometimes the dramatic tension.
I was glad I made the journey to such a daring performance.
The beauties of this evening at Teatro Comunale are thousands, because not only Mariella Devia is probably the best Anna Bolena now, corresponding to the ideal of Bel Canto but also the entire cast was sharing these qualities of Bel Canto. It was almost an Italian cast and I was pleased to hear Sonia Ganassi again. I adored her Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda at La Fenice. Roberto Scandiuzzi I saw at Orange in Lucia de Lammermoor is also one of my favourite bass. I did not know the other singers, but got thrilled at the nice looks and voice of José Maria LO Monaco, a charming Smeton, then, Percy- S. Mukeria, took me by surprise. His voice sounds more like tenore di grazia, very clear and light, a wonder after all but perhaps more a dedicated effective singer than actor. Rochefort-K.Gorny and Sir Henry- L. Casalin were fine singers too. It was a homogeneous cast with brilliant arias for all of them.
The fact I was in Florence was part of the thousand beauties of this evening.
Walking past the palazze, evoking the Medici, seeing the portraits of Renaissance women at the Palatine, and linking all these to Alessandro Medici who became Pope Clement VII, against whom King Henry VIII had to fight to gain right to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Ann Boleyn, made the evening even more attractive.
When I saw the setting and the costumes I sincerely felt I was right in one of the Renaissance paintings. Anna's court women and ladies-in-waiting were particularly attractive, always standing by the side of the red turning parts of the cross which delimited the setting. Their black caps lined with a white thread were in the Tudor style.
Maria Callas when she sang Bolena was also wearing a similar cap. Their singing was moving, compassionate and etheral in scena XI'
"Chi puo vederla a ciglio asciutto'.
I appreciated Roberto Abbado 's rendition of this Donizetti master piece. I had never heard it so softly and poetically played from the orchestra. The white snow which falls on the hunting scene with both queen and King mounting splendid horses is the trademark of this production! (photos from the program)



Donizetti is a marvellous composer and knows how to move an audience. Here, with Mrs Devia it was a real achievement. At the back of Teatro Comunale there were some RAI broadcasting vans.
Does it mean that at last there will be a DVD of this opening Maggio evening? It is time to give this unique bel cantist singer a proof of her art for opera lovers to come.
I would like to know about that.
When I left I read sad news about the Maggio. They are undergoing severe cuts in May. The orchestra is taking industrial action and it was said they do not know if there will be the other three Anna Bolena performances. Today there might be only piano accompaniment. A pity we all go through severe cuts in Art budgets.
Culture is necessary and vital as the air we breathe. But Finance is rulling and there will always be affordable Culture for the Wealthy. So, we have to fight for equal rights to Culture for average people and poor ones as I believe we all pay taxes and have right to be educated to the best forms of art. Opera is a complete art form and employs lots of trades. So, we have to get organised and fight the increase in prices in our opera houses, especially the lower categories, which is terribly unfair.
Last news from Teatro Comunale:
Today the production will be under an 'alternative' form and you can get your money back if you do not want this replacement.
Anna Bolena in scena domenica 18 marzo

Il Teatro del Maggio comunica che pur in presenza di uno sciopero indetto da un sigla sindacale fortemente rappresentativa nell'orchestra, in considerazione che lo stesso potrebbe essere anche revocato, a salvaguardia dell'interesse del pubblico la Fondazione conferma l'effettuazione della recita di Anna Bolena, in programma domenica 18 marzo alle ore 15.30 al Teatro Comunale, anche in forma alternativa. Si conferma il rimborso del biglietto agli spettatori non interessati a tale formula.

The applause on the 15 march 2012Maggio Firenze



Teatro Comunale.




Extracts from Maggio Musicale Fiorentino March 2O12
LINK

Sunset on the Arno, first evening in Florence.

Bearland.

"I am waiting for them to prove that God is really American”once wrote Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
But D. told me this is actually a quote from Gregory Corso called:
"God? She's Black."

Gases & liquids Her nature
spewing stars like eggs
from Her All Central Womb

Solids & solutions Her procedure
setting solar systems like babies
on Her All Genetic Knee

Formulae & equations Her law
punishing evolution like bad boys
by the slap of Her All Void Hand

Metals & alloys Her chore
raising telescopes like puberty
towards Her All Encompassed Eye

Sound & Light Her store
giving speed like youth
thus all Her Sons leave home

Nuclear & space Their war
creating rockets like dead men
--ever to reach Her again?

At Eastside gallery the wall is facing the smiling Disney bear... among so many other bears.

Al gran sole carico d'amore -II-

Picture taken from the U8 line, on the way to the abandoned plant.
Celebration of women all over the world today and in this amazing musical work of art written by LUIGI NONO


It was the first of March and the opening night of this grandiose musical and political work, which carries in its title enough fraternal warmth badly needed now.
We had prepared the trip from Charlottenburg to Kraftwerk Mitte carefully but in fact it was quite easy as there were stickers on the underground walls to show us the route and exits to this plant.
The industrial setting was impressive and looked fierce with its thick bare high slabs.
The constrast with chandeliers and red armchairs lost in this huge space gave to this spot a strange atmosphere. It will never feel like a cosy opera hall and this disguise looked ridiculously tiny compared to the huge abandoned structure. The true setting, the factory prevails whatever is made to transform it into a posh opera place. I could feel that this opening night had a certain value judging by the number of cameramen around, and the dressed up audience. I noticed an exquisite black hat with tiny black feathers and pearls perhaps also definitely out of place in this rough background.
That it was a cultural event was obvious.
It was advertised in the underground and signposted, and there was a real crowd around the place.
I was also very tensed, because I had time to listen to it on the night train but not enough to really go into all the poetical fragments chosen by Luigi Nono. Some heroines like Louise Michel and the Turino workers are in my memory. I had to refresh my knowledge of the 1902-1905 Russian revolution and the image of the Russian mother from Gorky's novel, and also the more recent Bolivian revolution linked to the Che and Tamara Bunke. Even the reading of Jeanne Marie which is sung was a rewarding exercise. Young Rimbaud before he became a merchant was a revolutionary youth and Luigi Nono who selected the texts of his work is offering a fantasic choice of generous ideas from several countries in the world. If the revolutionary aspects were failures for the working class and seem old fashioned now in our european countries, the solidarity and generosity expressed in the selected texts are still valuable and could be shared now. After all, oppression has changed forms but is still the outcry of the people. For the communist ideal of these heroïnes, this musical work is more like a Requiem which ends in silence. But the solidarity of the workers is felt and is shared throughout this work.
Through some revolutionary popular songs, l'Internationale, Non siam più la Comune di Parigi, O fucile,vecchio mio compagno, Bandiera Rossa, and the Russian song Dubinushka sung by peasants during their 1902 upheaval the chorus has a central part and I really enjoyed this tremendously.





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LINKS : Critics from the German press.

Ein ärgerlich grandioser Abend
http://www.npr.org/blogs/nprberlinblog/2012/03/07/148053709/industrial-revolution-staatsoper-berlin-stages-premiere-at-the-kraftwerk?ft=1&f=
Märkische Allgemeine
Staatsoper mit Nono im Heizkraftwerk Mitte
6 Mar 12
Berliner Zeitung
Kommt ein Kommunist zum Zahnarzt
6 Mar 12
Die Welt
Rote Oper im roten Samt
6 Mar 12
Neue Musikzeitung
Berliner Staatsopern-Events mit linkem Museumsstück und russischer Diva
5 Mar 12
Mannheimer Morgen
Staatsoper Berlin spielt Revolutionsoper im Heizwerk
5 Mar 12
Der Tagesspiegel
Süßer Tod
5 Mar 12
rbb Kulturradio
Staatsoper im Kraftwerk Mitte: "Al gran sole carico d’amore"
3 Mar 12
Berliner Morgenpost
Ein verkrachter Nono im Kraftwerk Mitte
3 Mar 12
klassik.com
Großer Zusammenhang großer Fragmente
3 Mar 12
Deutschland Radio
Ein ärgerlich grandioser Abend
3 Mar 12

When it started, I felt lost:
Listening was fairly easy but linking it with two levels of understanding was not easy.
(at least, because the chorus on the far right corner of the stage had to be watched carefully too; one on the stage and its background with the five rooms of the heroïnes, and then the huge screen where the crew on stage projected close-ups of the women actors, while the singers in black performed at the front of the stage).
Then, gradually I focused on what I found relevant to the music and singing, and these levels became more coherent. The projected faces were like paintings, it was like gazing at an old story teller book with dainty drawings where details of the material of a dress, the texture of a tattered leather box where an old pistol was sheltered, or the softness of a curl of hair, could be felt. It was also a visit in an old room of some museum where a young research student made us discover the documents of the revolutionary heroïnes, digging them out of cobwebs and layers of dust. Now I cannot recall all the details and I reckon I have missed a lot. Light, time, space and people were important themes. Louise lights a candle at the opening scene, the student guide in the museum does the same to light the old documents and then try the old type writer. These lights are the guides we need now to get close to these ideals.
All the heroïnes involved in revolutionary action keep an eye on a watch, either old fashioned or modern at the wrist, making us feel the urgency and dangerousness of their role.
The space is felt in the different scenes in the five rooms facing us from France, Russia, Italy, Bolivia, Vietnam. We are travelling in space and time while there is a constant presence of the people on stage, in the Greek sense with the huge chorus. Are we part of the chorus?

I am sure I missed a lot of the actions because I was fascinated by them, they acted in a way I had never seen before. They swayed and turned their scores and agitated red leaflets according to the rythm of what they were singing sometimes. More than what I heard from the singers, they embodied the revolutionary ideals. They had red roses and waved them then laid them on the patch of ground, the symbol of the grave at the front of the stage, at the death of the heros. They angrily waved their fists in the communist manner, sometimes mute, sometimes while singing.
I felt I was protesting with them. I felt much younger, when I was attending Vietnam protest meetings.
This work, for me, because of the power and beauty of the chorus is like an oratorio. The chorus sounded fantastic. Luigi Nono has given them a very important role and I have the feeling this ensemble gave a smashing, overwhelming and moving rendition that opening night.
The four women soprani singers had fantastic singing abilities to go from shrill sounds to high smooth curves. The Russian mother with her mezzo voice was the most upsetting one.
The two baritones and the tenor were the voice of the boss and patron and lover too in the Bolivian part. They were all outstanding.
I had a sound shock twice and jerked badly, I was not the only one, and the fairly high metallic frame where we sat swayed a bit or I felt so as my neighbour behind nearly fell off his seat... Another time I felt dizzy because of what was going on with the electronic sound effect, blasting like an endless air raid...
The second part was faster and more moving in the sense of rhythm and tragic deaths.
It ended almost in silence, after so much turmoil, blood and death.
The last words are for la Madre:
"Continuità della madre
Madre(contralto solo) soprano solo, coro grande orchestra
"Non più servi né padroni, Su lottiamo"
L'Internazionale
Il tempo Finale LINK

Why is it in this affluent capital of a fairly well off european country that such a strong left wing inspired musical work is being performed?
There is a paradox in this event taking place in Berlin, even if the choice of an industrial site suits the purpose better.
All the rooms had windows, and all the five women who were taking decisions to join revolutionary action, at one point or another gazed at their window ( even got it smashed up like Louise did). These windows worked like frontiers to their new world, stepping into history.
I had a fantastic time, musical, aesthetic, because the material was so rich to explore.
I was not near enough to grab it all.
May be, I will see it on a screen one day?
Meanwhile, the record and booklet are awaiting for further listening and investigation...and complete discovery of Cesare Pavese poems linked to the character of Deola.