New Look for Marseille Opera House!

The white plastic covering is gone for ever!
Today, in bright sunshine, the neoclassic front was smashing. The sandy frieze contrasted with the whiteness of the pseudo ionic columns. Now it is possible to see the dedication to the Greek gods, Aphrodite, Apollo, Pallas, and Dionysos.("L'Art reçoit la Beauté d'Aphrodite, le Rythme d'Apollon, l'Equilibre de Pallas. Il doit à Dionysos le Mouvement et la Vie") The sculptures are illuminating the facade.
This is one good point, first reward!


But a huge building yard is spreading all over the Old Port. Marseille is getting ready for the big cultural event:'Marseille, Capitale Européenne de la Culture en 2013'.
I was there for 'Il Trovatore'LINK
It was challenging and most enjoyable.
Apart for Azucena,ELENA MANISTINA, who was a discovery, I was happy to see Adina Aaron in Leonora. I enjoyed so much her Treemonisha and her Aïda! She was very efficient and moving. Nicolas Testé is also familiar to Marseille audience. He proves to be a fine baritone whatever he sings, Handel or Verdi. Carlos Almaguer sang also here a beautiful Rigoletto, Cavalliera Rusticana and Pagliacci. In Conte di Luna, he was fierce, violent, all in revenge and strength. His voice is huge and with Adina Aaron, they were well paired! She also has a strong medium voice and so refined tops, like pearls, she sang most beautifully in her last parts. Azucena was a revelation to me, with an outstanding low range and lots of guts and moving shades. She was fantastic. The tenor, Guiseppe Gipali, also familiar to us, had a beautiful musical verdian style, very romantic phrasing, sometimes lost in the ensemble,( he was not in top form, was ill for one performance and replaced) but so good on his own!
It was a fine bel canto afternoon, one of my favourite Verdi piece, because it has the charms of the cabalettas and so many smashing arias for all the characters. It is of course very depressing but the music and arias save the show! The setting had enough smart details to set the imagination on fire, elegant colours and costumes too, on the dark side of course. I enjoyed the 'Misere' from the choir as always. I had a flash - back from childhood suddenly, with a parade of coffins at the end...
I felt like thanking the artists, some of them, the ones who were already chatting with the regular fans who like to thank them at the stage door. Somehow, it is my favourite stage door, the only one where I feel at ease to wait for the artists who deserve my entire admiration: the more I go and listen to them the more I feel how difficult their art of singing is.

Such a nice smile from Adina Aaron: she will participate in a free concert this summer in Orange with fantastic singers. (I will not be able to join).


Mercredi 20 juin, 20 h 30, théâtre antique

Musiques en fêtes en direct des Chorégies d’Orange

Concert gratuit

Présentation de la soirée : Alain Duault

Direction musicale : Luciano Acocella

Avec la participation de : Adina Aaron, Marc Barrard, Julien Behr, Joseph Calleja, Raquet Camarinha, Patrizia Ciofi, Karine Deshayes, Philippe Do, Julie Fuchs, George Gagnidze, Laurent Gerra, Patricia Kaas, Florian Laconi, Nolwenn Leroy, Inva Mula, Olga Peretyatke, Pierre-Yves Plat, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Le Quatuor, Nemanja Radulovic, Ruggero Raimondi

Orchestre philharmonique de Monte-Carlo

Chœurs des opéras d’Avignon, Marseille, Nice et Toulon

Ballet de l’opéra théâtre d’Avignon

For the end: a smashing photo of Guiseppe Gipali and Carlos Almaguer, kind enough to give me this minute of pleasure! Gosh! those red trousers, they are killing...

______________________________

Back home.

Who said monuments had no voice?
Here is the complete aria," Where'er you walk".
My celebration :
Kathleen Ferrier.1912-1953.

Greece - Easter 2012.

Just a thought: "Green" is beautiful!

Paris-10/11 IV
On Strolling around Rue du Cygne, Rue aux Ours, Beaubourg, Rue Brantôme, what is left of it, then down to Hotel de Ville, I stopped in front of BHV (where perhaps you cannot order an elephant like at Harrods, but you can get hold of all sorts of screws and bolts to fix anything at home, by visiting the downstairs floor).
I suddenly got stuck by the creativity of their shopwindows, a crafty 'green' display illustrating some French expressions with 'green' links. Here they are, to celebrate my Spring in Paris.

Opposite, people were queuing for the Doisneau exhibition.


I would have liked to do the same, but I had a train to catch at midday!(At Paris Town Hall, the exhibitions are free)



UPDATED
FROM FRANCE MUSIQUE

I was there for "Nixon in China" at the Châtelet:
It was excellent, every bit of it, the women singers, both sopranos, one coloratura, (amazing June Anderson-Pat Nixon and Sumi Jo-Mrs Mao), the team of Asian singers,the tenor Alfred Kim as Mao, then the baritone Kyung Chun Kim as ZhouEnlai, and Peter Sidhom, being the rather unpleasant, in this part, Henry Kissinger: They were all smashing through scores which sounded rather hard. The performing dancers in Mrs Mao's "Red Detachment of Women" were just like real...(During my first working years I saw all the films, like all the University people around in those days).
I did not think I would enjoy the music so much.
It has the reputation of being repetitive and minimalist. In fact it is progressing and getting to some sort of foolish heights with all the protagonists, as the tension increases in this rather intimist 3rd act, with an empty stage apart from the huge Chairman Mao statue, not quite finished, behind scaffoldings. There are also two armchairs at the foot of the statue, where Mao and Mrs Mao sat, as Mao is old and worn out.
Although it is meant to be the historical reproduction of the famous Nixon visit to Mao's China, the libretto has much more in it and the last act is as moving as the end of a Verdi's opera. When Zou Enlai-Kyung Chun Kim(baritone, very fine voice and looking just like the politician) has the last word, dialoguing with the violin, it is particularly stunning, perhaps even more in this production, seen through Chinese eyes and heart as the young director, Chen Shi-Zeng was educated in China during the Cultural Revolution. Alice Goodman wrote a long poem, which has lots of gems, it is worth reading it without the music. But it is necessary to attend the complete opera live to be able to really get it! I am glad I discovered this opera through Asian eyes. The heroïc aria Sumi-Jo gave while walking on the top of a palace roof which got to the ground under the Cultural Revolution is worth thunder of applause. Such a brilliant symbol, at least for me, but full of sorrow of course. It is equivalent to la Prise de la Bastille...or could be like it as a symbol.
HERE'S THE BEST REVIEW I read so far corresponding to what I felt LINK. Yes, June Anderson was moving in this naïve, kind hearted impersonification of Pat. She was even funny because completely out of touch with what was presented to her. She even drew out a coca-cola can when visiting the hospital, a normal soothing american drink! She was vocally brilliant as always. I regret not to have waited for her at the stage door, but my day seemed endless... hers must have been too!
The stage opened up on a huge statue of Mao at the last act.
It was impossible to see Chairman Mao's head from where I was, too high, and when Pomponi-Nixon climbed up the frame of the scaffoldings where the statue was being finished, I felt uneasy and admired him even more.. With June, they made a smart couple and their fox trot was daring... part of the treasures of the last act!
There is a live broadcast on Mezzo on the 18th, 8pm. It will be streamed on Arte-live web.LINK

Strasbourg-29 III-...

Before I did that short trip to Paris, I stayed in Strasbourg for the storks!(not to be confused with cranes).




This confusion may come from a translation of a famous Russian film I loved in my teens, because of the poor connotation of the word 'grue' in French, the title in French was "Quand passent les cigognes"... so....well they are not quite the same are they! though they both have nice meanings of Peace and Good luck)
Quite true, I spent an afternoon watching them and trying to take a decent photo when they fly, which turned out to be impossible for me... I am so clumsy.




The main reason why I was there was to attend 'Les Huguenots' at the dainty Opera du Rhin.LINK


It was another enjoyable production with two singers I really appreciate, the mezzo Karine Deshayes who was a wonderful Urbain, so young looking and energetic! (when she pulls the rope of her prisoner G. Kunde, great tenor and actor, she really looks funny as if pulling an elephant). Her "Nobles seigneurs, salut!' was smashing and she got tremendous applause too.


I really think that this long opera was enjoyable because the singers, setting and directing were good. Otherwise I do not think I will go for the typical French opera which did a revolution when it was created. My deep inner choice would go now either to the real Bel canto opera composers(Bellini-Donizetti-Rossini) then to Mozart at any time, to some Verdi and may be no French romantic ones except for Berlioz. (sorry for the French school 'Massenet and friends', they deserve very good singers and crafty directors or else concert-versions are the best!).
The contemporary operas are my fairly recent discovery and I love them. I like to be pushed beyond boundaries, Olivier Py, Luc Bondy, Claus Guth and the Russian Dmitri Tchernakov and of course K. Warlikovsky do some good to the opera world. I have seen new productions which are worth ten times 'normal' rather boring Werther or Carmen. My last Carmen meant a lot, it was Vesselina Kasarova in a decent 'brainy' production for a change without Spanish additives on top of what is already in it.

Théâtre du Luxembourg. Meaux 31-III- LINK
La Traviata.
End of the March events, at Meaux, to greet my young friend Alice Gulipian in a role which suits her a lot, Violetta.
The production belongs to the group 'Opera Nomade'.
Like in the old days these singers, conductor and production had been touring France for two opera seasons, though they did not come to the South, either East of West France.
I missed her last year because I was not well, but this year I made it, caught the last production of the two year-tour(or may be the one before last) and learnt a lot from this night!
There is no need for expensive settings when there is a purpose prior to the libretto but not changing it of course, plus skilled singers, absolutely singing all the music!. This Traviata is counting in my opera days.( or may be more so, nights!)
The young 'troupe' is excellent, the design sober, the costumes, luxurious, and the music, what Verdi wrote!
As for Alice, she sang splendid high Cs in a daring' E strano' but was overwhelmingly moving with Germont. She had that fragile look which the role requires. She has amazing tops, so rich and blazing then goes to beautifully controlled piani which are even more sorrowful. She acts without pathos because her voice has the colours of the tragic feelings. Being so frail and sweet- looking naturally, she really looked like dying. When you hear the strength and colours of her wide, warm and clear soprano range you are amazed it should come from such a frail young woman. She will be very famous soon.




I will try to follow her as much as I can, her voice is a wonder and she is such a precise musician, hard working and dedicated to
singing.

La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi

Direction musicale : Amaury du Closel
Mise en scène : Pierre Thirion-Vallet
Costumes : Evelyne de Graeve,Véronique Henriot
Décor : Frank Aracil
Atelier Artifice
Lumières : Pierre Thirion-Vallet
Surtitrage : David M. Dufort
Chef de chant : Daniel Navia

Violetta : Alice Gulipian
Alfredo : Roh Hyun Jong
Germont : Matthieu Lécroart
Flora : Agnès Loyer
Le Docteur : Hyalmar Mitrotti
Baron Douphol : Ronan Airault
Marquis d’Aubigny : Samuel Le Bigot
Gastone : François Lilamand
Annina : Jenny Daviet
Chœurs : Emmanuelle , Antonine Bon, Frank Giraud
Chœur et Orchestre Opéra Nomade

Durée : 2h45 (avec entracte), chanté en italien, surtitré en français

Coproduction Opéra Nomade / Centre lyrique Clermont-Auvergne / Théâtre de Saint-Maur-des-Fossés
I tried to catch up with time... I hope I was decent to the artists I appreciate so much and I'm off... for a while and feel like this.......

Just now!
Last update: This is real Chairman Mao statue from Tonji Campus, D. Has arrived safely and settled ...happily! So from Shangaï, with love from D. in China!!!

Ups and downs of my season in Berlin .

Summary from Berlin:
one up, one down!
Up:
Benefit Concert
Impressive concert with Daniel Barenboïm and the Staatskapelle orchestra with varied intonations, always striking, appealing to the heart and imagination. Then a gorgeous singer, whose voice has such intense glowing center and blazing tops!It was extremely over powering when she launched herself in Boïto 's Marguerite. She appeared in two dazzling dresses, gave two encores, this time from the Russian melodies,(album 'In the still of night N°1 & 6 LINK), and that was fabulous. Daniel Barenboïm accompanied her on the piano like in this famous album, the violonist leader turned the pages, it was very touching. That was quite a treat after the whole orchestral concert. Then at the many curtain calls, Daniel came, hiding a huge white bouquet behind his back and was really moved by the Diva, when presenting it! I cannot blame him! Need I mention her name?
I admire her generous qualities in her singing (this special way she has to turn while singing to face the audience at the backstage) and the way she greets her audience, then her fans after the show.
She is beaming with joy and it is catching!
Down:

L'Elisir d'amore at the Schiller theater, opening night. LINK
Once the pleasure of seeing Rolando Villazon faded, I realised the production was excessive on the farcical side, the clown-masks useless to the plot and after a while all the fuss and jokes tiring. Rossini sounded heavy in the pit transformed in a band most of the time. The crowd on stage behaved like it was written on a board at the front of the stage:'grande mascarade'!
But it is not only a farce, at one point the heart and feelings are part of this farce, but that night this turning point did not show or I did not feel it in the singing of Adina and Nemorino. Dear Rolando did his best to make it funny, overacting for my taste, but the singing was not that easy. It sounded often harsh from both Anna Samuil and Rolando Villazon( I loved her so much twice in Tatiana!) I hardly recognised her here. This role does not suit her type of voice and singing. As for Rolando even with his clown mask he likes so much, he did not manage to be moving because the musicality in his voice was not there that night. Of course I laughed a lot but I would have liked to keep in mind a better rendition of
Rossini's Elisir d'Amore.




It was not an Elixir at all. It was more like a rough house red....
But here is the voice, the artist, who is still so moving at times.

Many thanks to the youtube uploader Heildirgunther.