4 Travel to Vienna/Florence: 23 February Cav/Pag

PART 4

After seeing a great Nabucco on Friday (2008-02-22) and talking (briefly) with Maria Guleghina at the stage door in Vienna. Saturday was a great day spent waiting for Cav/Pag (Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci). I was a it uncertain would they have Pagliacci before CavRust as they did in Genoa. But no, it was Cavalleria before Pagliacci as usual. Almost same cast as in Berlin in 2005:

Santuzza = Georgina Lukács
Turiddu = Peter Seiffert
Alfio = Alberto Mastromarino

different from Berlin
Mamma Lucia = Daniela Denschlag
Lola = Roxana Constantinescu

Marco Armiliato, conductor

Off course this was the old production of Jean Pierre Ponnelle. It was almost too painful to see in such detail the rejection of Santuzza by the Sicilian society. Unbearable. No comic relief. Lukacz was a magnificent Santuzza.

Then Finally Pagliacci. With Jose Cura as Canio. GREAT

2008-02-23 Pagliacci (R. Leoncavallo), Wiener Staatsoper

Canio (Pagliaccio) = José Cura
Nedda (Colombina) = Tamar Iveri
Tonio (Taddeo) = Georg Tichy
Beppe (Arlecchino) = Ho-yoon Chung
Silvio = Morten Frank Larsen
Erster Bauer = Jens Musger
Zweiter Bauer = Wolfgang Igor Dentl

Marco Armiliato, conductor

Production: Jean Pierre Ponnelle. It was so good, great acting, singing that it is almost impossible to say something about it. Except that Jose Cura also sang the Prologue and he did it wonderfully. Tamar Iveri was fantastic as Nedda.

End of PART 4

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com