This trip to Munich was highly expected: not only for the prospect of attending Un ballo in maschera twice, but also for the great pleasure of The Flying Dutchman in between! Three nights at the Opera after a rather dull wintry period, all in my mind, because winter so far, has been very mild, but also so sad around here.
Munich seemed colder than Provence but filled with Spring and Easter decorations.
Sunshine took over when we walked the English garden and watched the brave young people surfing on the famous wave!
My Munich friends were faithful to our dates but this time we waited at the stage door (because of emergency situation all over Europe I suppose).
On the 9th, I could greet Anja Harteros, thank her for this role debut which really suits her even more than all I have seen and heard live from her so far, her voice was so ethereal in this part especially during her duet with Riccardo (on the 9th particularly ) where that high C seemed endless on 'mio cor'. I hope it will be this one we can hear on the 18th when this Ballo is televised on Arte. Both nights were triumphant for her. I prefered the 9th where I felt she was less tensed in the very high range and also more at ease in the low one. This role is extremely demanding, ranging from B low, to high C (C6, 1046 hertz!) .
She also has tremendous long floating phrases in the ensembles. She mastered all the range of emotions of this role and I felt she had a real dramatic vision of it, with efficient director's coaching. It was not the same with Piotr Beczala who seemed both nights not too much concerned with acting but so well involved in the singing which is after all the main thing! Renato- G. Pétean was a little bit more involved dramatically, he is rather brutal in this production which in fact goes along with his rather bulky appearance. It would have been different with Simon keenlyside, who looks much more romantic. G. Pétean 's rendition was efficient and both nights he got applause after his first aria. (and second also! as usual, after the cello solo).
As often in the BSO the production was transposed in modern times, the roaring twenties or thirties. The elegance of the costumes and the choreography of the ensembles were matching the music from the pit. Zubin Mehta who conducted this opera for the first time obviously went along side with this new vision and the music sounded sweeter than ever right from the prelude, giving a special seductive colour to the slow waltz which is the auditory finger print of this opera and will degenarate into a nightmare.
J. Erath, right from this prelude wants us to jump in this nightmarish atmosphere: Riccardo is still in bed, asleep, perhaps dreaming about this blonde woman who is there, with her long hair flowing over the headboard. The action will take place at this huge Art Deco bedside: it will be Ulrica's den, the gibbet, Renato's apartment, and the last setting for the much awaited Ball. This is the unique setting for the whole action which takes place in the morning with the awakening of Count Riccardo (formely Gustavo III King of Sweden), then at 3pm for the visit to the black prophetess, almost like the delphi pythia, but in this modernised outlook, Ulrica is a tall blonde, sort of dark angel who is always hovering on the stage. The tragedy will end in the evening, at the ball room. This unique setting has a condensed aesthetic effect and grows on the imagination. What is happening to the three main protagonists: Riccardo, Renato and Amelia is at some points visually surprising, because what they sing beautifully according to the libretto, does not match with what is seen. Act II where Amelia is by the bedside contradicts what she sings.
Amelia is given a small black glass jar by Ulrica: it is the magic mandragore filter... not the herb she is meant to find during the Gibbet scene. But act II is set around the bed (with both Amelia and Renato asleep), then with Riccardo and Amelia sitting side by side for the sweetest and saddest love aria ever written by Verdi. This scene is so well acted and sung by Anja Harteros ! that is when she delivers her long extatic high C on 'mio cor',
Ma tu, nobile,
me difendi dal mio cor !
me difendi dal mio cor !
At one point it is confusing to see Amelia trying to smother her husband asleep, with a pillow. I never understood Amelia had inner murderer impulse towards her husband. I always thought from the libretto she had respect and was loyal to her husband and son's father. Oscar who also shares like Ulrica a kind of omnipresence and knowledge of what is not obvious to all the courtiers and conspirators, being a trouser role, has always the appearance of a young page. Here in a very hot scene at the ball when Renato wants to know the Count's desguise, Oscar reveals her feminine identity. Another mask falls. But what a sight when she pulls off her wig ! (Clin d'oeil to Edita Gruberova? I was amused and astonished at that new insight in Oscar's personality here).
The staging plays with doubles of the main characters and also ventriloquist puppets for the Count as a sailman (conform to the libretto) when he sings the sweet and melancolic Barcarolle. Piotr Beczala on the 6th seemed so cumbersome with this puppet ! It was much better on the 9th and I enjoyed his singing a lot (he got spontaneous applause). In fact there are no masks in this setting, the masks belong to the psychologycal level, and need to be read with intelligence and deep thinking. I am not quite sure to succeed in this deep reading because I like the tunes so much and the story to me is pretty clear from the libretto. I f I had no memory at all and no previous traditional Ballo in mind, I would have liked this fantastic show better!
Highly noticeable from the start is the huge spiral staircase which starts on the right underground level and spans on the left, overlooking the whole stage. At the top, on the ceiling there is the reflection of the bed where Riccardo is still asleep and as the drama goes, his dead body slaughtered, with hanging arms, can be seen.
On the 6th, from the upper gallery I could not see this detail but on the 9th from the Parterre it was fairly obvious although not quite clear to me. I am waiting for the Arte broadcast to finally understand this vision, what a paradox...thinking the film will be helpful to understand the setting... unbelievable but true from me who highly resent opera in cinema!
At the beginning I felt the seduction of both music and setting.
The elegance of the costumes and choreography of the ensembles took me in completely and I forgot to think about 'ah! this is the transposed scene 6 act I'. Ulrica, although she has links with 'inferno' here seems like an angel of Fate for Riccardo and Renato, the faithful Count's friend and adviser. Although she sang with clear diction, her contralto voice was lighter than expected. But her looks were better than usual for this character, with for once was dignified and had no vulgar side.
I got confused when Riccardo's soul (he is alive for eternal life, his dead body is lying at the front of the stage) goes up the grand stair with Ulrica as a leader. But doesn't she belong to the underworld? he is ascending to paradise with a leading creature of 'inferno'....Why not?
I do not want to think about the obsessional sights of weapons right from the start, when Renato points his revover to Riccardo's back, shots at the reflection of the bed at the top, or at the opening of act III with the huge projections of a revolver and two old fashioned guns( the only reference along the grand stair to the real time of the opera?), also during act I the conspirators holding revolvers... was that necessary? we all know murder is in the air, with Ulrica's prophecies.
Sam and Tom with their aronical Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! looked like two Musical duetists (not very fearful conspirators) but sang beautifully, real bass-baritones.
I will end on Oscar who simply blew me up as a brilliant coloratura and is in this production a lead dancer. If I did not see the depth of her character as J. Erath intends it to be I thouroughly enjoyed her talent in the pseudo musical aspects of this rendition. Zubin Mehta created a miracle, faithful to Verdi and to this production !
Now my conclusion, on this veil which is the key of the staging, the only separation from us and the stage: During the prelude, the setting can be seen through this huge gray-bluhish veil according to the gorgeous light effects (Verdi's music implies clair de lune in this opera).
Oscar then sleeps at the foot of this veil, a servant will draw it to open the action, for act III Oscar will draw it also before the Ball. So this is what is masking the world of fancy, from reality? another mask? it adds a lot of poetry too when the veil at the back is blown with the breath of love carried by the orchestra during the only love duet at act II. At act III, it is also hidding partly the exquiste and rather mournful last accents of the violins, cellos, double basse in a small ensemble, playing at the rear stage, while the orchestra is silent. That was also very special. (true to the scores and libretto, just the rendition was so delicate and at the same time frightening)
But what was really catching was the growing effect of the couples whirling to the slow accents of the waltz during the prelude, being projected in blue on this veil...I was seduced right away and felt I was whirling with them!
During the final bows on the 6th and 9th, Zubin Mehta gave a hug to each member of the cast from comprimario to top ones! very moving too !
Here is a very sensible write-up of the Première: http://wanderer.blog.lemonde.fr/2016/03/12/bayerische-staatsoper-2015-2016-un-ballo-in-maschera-de-giuseppe-verdi-le-6-mars-2016-dir-mus-zubin-mehta-ms-en-scene-johannes-erath-avec-anja-harteros/
The broadcast will be on Arte on the 18th at 10.10 pm.
https://www.staatsoper.de/en/staatsopertv.html
Thank you Yvette for the detailed description of the two "Ballo" performances. I listened to the radio broadcast of the premiere and enjoyed the music and the singing very much. I wonder what it will be like when I see it tomorrow on Arte. What I read in the reviews and in your report about the production seems a bit strange, but at least it's good to look at, beautiful costumes and no grey coats and suitcases ;-)
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Thank you Gudrun for stopping by! It is a most enjoyable production with, elegance, fun and true emotion, above all well sung! but I cannot say I understood all that is implied in this new vision.Right! no suitcases and army coats ... only weapons ... I would have liked (you too I know!) to see Simon K, he would have been less brutal more complex character !I will be watching Arte tomorrow. Be good to exchange comments! (I did not mention los of details about the setting, too many aspects to it; not without interest but far from the libretto .
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