2008-07-17 Nabucco (G. Verdi), Bayerische Staatsoper
Nabucco = Paolo Gavanelli
Ismaele = Mikhail Agafonov
Zaccaria = Giacomo Prestia
Abigaille = Maria Guleghina
Fenena = Heike Grötzinger
Il Gran Sacerdote = Steven Humes
Abdallo = Kevin Conners
Anna = Lana Kos
Mikhail Agafonov sprang in for Aleksandrs Antonenko as Ismaele with short time to prepare. But he sang and acted really well.
This time I sat on the best side for this opera, on the left, so I saw better the action. There were hammering sound during the opera even as the singing resumed it did not stop, it was simply disrespectful to the audience such noises. And then there was all this changes on stage that had often seemingly no reason to happen. And then Nabucco is an opera where the chorus play a great role in itself. The singing was OK but the acting simply wrongheaded.
This time Zaccaria (Giacomo Prestia) was well and the new Ismaele was an improvement. Paolo Gavanelli simply in my opinion has the wrong kind of voice for Nabucco, too sweet is his voice and not commanding in the voice. And then it was his looks, a big belly (his own or was it the directors idea) seemed to take even more command away from his appearance one could hardly image him riding tough and hard on a horse.
This was the better Nabucco is one sense, the overture was in anyway better played than on July 14th. Maria Guleghina was perfect as Abigaille. Heike Grötzinger was good as Fenena. But still as the opera ended and the singers bowed to the audience, the singers with Maria Guleghina as their head seem more tired than on July 14th. It was the last Nabucco of the season... Sadly it made me long for Vienna's Nabucco although there was things I did not like about that production.
BRAVA, Maria Guleghina!!!
For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
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