From Madrid to Milano, from real Spain to fiction: Carmen, La Scala 2015-03-28

Why do people boo? NB maybe it was not a boo this time but a BRAVO where Bra was drowned by exstatic applause after Jose Cura's Flower Song so only Vo was heard and V's and B's can sound alike. (April 1, 2015)

No. Let me start with the beginning. Jose Cura was to sing Don Jose in Milano so naturally I bought a ticket. Well, first I waited until La Scala would be selling those tickets and THEN I bought it. Naturally I bought only the Saturday, afterall I am a working woman too, not just an opera fan. Then the disaster happened. No, not a disaster just my brain deciding that it was on February 28th Cura would be singing so I booked my flight tickets accordingly. Following what Jose is doing is a part time internet thingy for me so suddenly I noticed MARCH. Lufthansa was helpful so I could rebook it but at no time was I thinking about Easter and more importantly Easter holidays so I just booked March 27-29. Friday 27 th of March because of cheaper plane tickets or rather the rebooking would not be TOOO expensive but still wow did that make my costs higher. But Don Jose Cura would be worth it, yes? Please!

Finally I realised and it was on Palm Saturday so on Palm Sunday I might stop in Frankfurt for Parsifal. lovely music. Rolando Villazon was singing in Munich Hoffmann (Offenbach, remember!) and yes I can combine that too and now going back to Norway from Munich on April 1. Yes, it was and will be a costly decision but worth it, totally? Please.

Towards the booing in La Scala. Thursday night bus to Gardermoen. Yes, I slept some. Then off to Milano Malpensa via Frankfurt. Malpensa will be great once they finish the unfinished works. I know Malpensa so I take the Malpensa train to Milano Centrale. I find my hotel after not to much looking around feeling stressed. Hotel Bristol is really close to the train station. A lovely situation. Because of thinking about the costs I decided not to go to hotel Spadari al Duomo and that meant 200 euros spared but it also meant a lost oppurtunily to stay in a hotel other friends was staying so I feel bad about that.

Lovely Friday and shopping, well more like walking my heals off. Then Saturday walking twice to Teatro alla Scala. First dining near the duomo. Yep, expensive and still hungry 2 hrs later. Then back again for opera time. 

Some people boo other people. One man decided to make his BOO heard by waiting untill all the rapturous applause had almost ended after Jose Cura singing the most devine Flower aria. Obviously a Cura hater and not a music lover could do that.

2015-03-28 Carmen (G. Bizet), Teatro alla Scala (Milano)

Carmen = Elīna Garanča

Don José = José Cura

Escamillo = Vito Priante

Micaëla = Elena Mosuc

Zuniga = Gabriele Sagona

Moralès = Alessandro Luongo

Dancairo = Michal Partyka

Remendado = Fabrizio Paesano

Frasquita = Sofia Mchedlishvili

Mercédès = Hanna Hipp

Lillas Pastia = Rémi Boissy

Un guide = Carmine Maringola

Massimo Zanetti, conductor

Staging - Emma Dante

Sets - Richard Peduzzi

Costumes - Emma Dante

Lights - Dominique Bruguière

Choreographic movements - Manuela Lo Sicco

The staging and regie was in a way showing us a real Sevilla with a lot of reality but then Emma Dante had to add more to the stage. The adding to the opera and taking away some of the reality to put supernaturality into the stage, it was a hit and miss. Choreographic movements by Manuela Lo Sicco did not help. In the whole it was a miss, it was distraction and it was not needed. Lovely as some of the ideas was, especially with Micaela, it was superfluous and most fatally it threatened to make the opera less.

The orchestra was good but even the maestro Massimo Zanetti could not prevent it to sound shrill at times. The singers was wonderful, their acting superb and so it was a Carmen to enjoy. I had what I would usually call the misfortune to have a tall man sitting in front of me. This time it was a blessing I could miss some of the most unfortuned addition and enjoy the opera. So long I could view the principal singers I was in for a treat. 

Emma Dante did find ways to put children everywhere and some extra dancing movements here and there. That could have been lovely but it was destroying the reality of Sevilla, the reality of Carmen and Don Jose. And I wanted it to be real. Was it really necessary to make so many references to the Catholic church? Not in my mind. It was a nice touch to dress Micaela in black only to show her in white by just not holding up the black fabric and voila Micaela is in white during the duet with Jose. Church boys giving her a white veil and now she looks like a bride. But no kiss, not from Micaela to Jose or from Jose to Micaela. So it is no surprise that Micaela is followed by a priest to the smugglers nest. The whole black to white changes again and now Micael has graying hair, why, to resemble the mother of Jose and they cleverly make it seem she i laying in bed being his mother praying for him. Two nice touches that worked but the rest was just nothing to go bravo about.

Elina Garanca and Jose Cura was wonderful together and alone. Elena Mosuc was an amazing Micaela and the baritone Escamillo was not bad. The singers saved the day!! Jose Cura was in top form and I enjoyed Elina Garanca.

From Hamburg to Madrid, from tragedy to comedy: La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein 2015-03-21

A month later after Elektra in Hamburg to Madrid for a French operetta in Spanish in Madrid. Teatro de la Zarzuela could not boast of the greatest international stars of opera as Hamburg butbthe subject was much fun and Spain can boast of growing the great voices of the future.

I nearly did not get to see La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein because theree was a manifestation in Madrid which meant that the inner city of Madrid was almost closed. But lucky for me it opened up enough and I was in time. i even got to buy chicken wraps and something to drink.

http://www.operaduetsphotos.com/Gerolstein/2015_0321.html

In short I really did not have much time in Madrid and that meant more enjoyment pr second. I managed not to fret when I was in the taxi and the minutes going towards showtime. Not to  forgot that I won the most wonderful chicken wrap and the show was good.

2015-03-21 The Grand Duchess of Gérolstein (Jacques Offenbach), Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid)

LA GRAN DUQUESA = Susana Cordón

FRITZ = José Luis Sola 

WANDA = Elena Sancho

EL CONDE PUCK = Manuel de Diego

EL GENERAL BUM = Gerardo Bullón

EL PRÍNCIPE POL = Gustavo Peña

EL BARÓN GROG = Francisco Crespo

EL CAPITÁN NEPOMUCENO = Enrique R. del Portal IZA = Leonor Bonilla

OLGA = Nuria García

AMELIA  = Ana Cadaval

CARLOTA = Hanna Moroz

Bailarines

Estíbaliz Barroso, José Ángel Capel, Araceli Caro, Íñigo Celaya, Estefanía Corral, José Antonio Domínguez, Alberto Escobar, Daniel Ramos, Susana Román, Sara Peña

Figuración

Ariel Carmona, Javier Crespo, Pablo Garzón, Javier Martínez, Iván Nieto, Joseba Priego, Marcos Rivas, Pedro Ángel Roca, Robson Dos Santos, Israel Trujillo, Gustavo Adrián Villalba, Álvar Zarco

Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid

Coro del Teatro de La Zarzuela

Director:

Antonio Fauró

Music director:

Cristóbal Soler

Stage director, sets and costumes:

Pier Luigi Pizzi

Zarzuela bufa en tres actos y cuatro cuadros, basada en la ópera cómica de Henri Meilhac y Ludovic Halévy

Traducción de Enrique Mejías García

Music by JACQUES OFFENBACH

Worldpremiered at Teatro del Circo in Madrid, November 7, 1868

Producción del Festival de Martina Franca del Valle d'Itria (1996)

The Teatro de la Zarzuela can call it a zarzuela but it still is a Frenche operetta translated to Spanish. A great translation made by Enrique Mejías García. 

Susana Cordón was the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, a young lady of 20 years who is in love with the military life and the men. Wonderful singing and great acting from Susana Cordón. She falls in love with Fritz, the soldier who by decree of the High Duchess goes all the way up to General and back again to soldier during the performance. Tenor José Luis Solawas a wonderful Fritz. Fritz is in love with the lovely Wanda, a village girl with virtually no education. Soprano Elena Sancho was a lively Wanda, and naturally she too was wonderful almost upstaging the Grand Duchess. General Bum was just as admirably sung and acted by Gerardo Bullón. General Bum never wins Wanda from Fritz but in the end he gets the general plumes back from Fritz. Baron Grog, Francisco Crespo, almost got the plumes from the Grand Duchess but when he outed himself as married then Grand Duchess decided Bum got his plumes and Prince Pol would get a Grand Duchess who would be faithful since married men was not OK even for Grand Duchess. Prince Pol, Gustavo Peña, won the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein.

Lovely, wonderful, and of course J'aime le Militaire in Spanish and it sounds exquisite. Bravo, Teatro de la Zarzuela!!!

After the wonderful operetta it was a terrible shock to be musically assaulted by an unknown bass person singing as low as possible and only low and loud it was not a hint of musicality. The man thought probably that opera is about loudness but any opera voice need a fountain of musicality and a subtlety as well, it must flow and the singer needs to make it flow in the directions the music needs. This was just loud, and so sadly no Filip II in the making. So we all walked as fast as possible away from the noice pollution and to places where the loveliness of Offenbachs music could be preserved. Ah BRAVA, Susana Cordon!!! Viva La Grand Duchesse de Gerolstein!!!! And Offenbach is a cool guy!!

Yes, I got a taxi home to the hotel. And after some sleep it was early off to Barajas airport with courtesy bus. And via Frankfurt to Oslo. Waiting in Oslo and eating, of course. Then flight home and we landed. Home in late evening, relaxing. Monday work, again...

From Berlin to Hamburg, a Greek Tragedy on Valentine's Day (ELEKTRA,Hamburg 2015-02-14)

Head-aches after Friday, working with it, and trying to stop in when I came home. But in the middle of the night I decided that it will be no travel to Hamburg. Early morning came and my head-ache was over. So I took the flight to Oslo, and then to Hamburg. I stayed in Hotel Ambassador in Hamburg. Lovely. And then off to Staatsoper. First a pizza at Restaurant opera. That was not too bad, but not great. My head-ache was returning. 

2015-02-14 Elektra (R.Strauss), Hamburgische Staatsoper

Klytämnestra = Agnes Baltsa

Elektra = Lise Lindström

Chrysothemis = Hellen Kwon

Aegisth = Peter Galliard

Orest = James Rutherford

Pfleger des Orest = Stanislav Sergeev

Vertraute = 

Schleppträgerin = Stefanie C. Braun

junger Diener = Daniel Todd

alter Diener = Dieter Schweikart

Aufseherin = Renate Spingler

1. Magd = Deborah Humble

2. Magd = Maria Markina

3. Magd = Rebecca Jo Loeb

4. Magd = Gabriele Rossmanith

5. Magd = Katerina Tretyakova

Simone Young, conductor

Chor und Orchester der Hamburgischen Staatsoper

INSZENIERUNG: August Everding

BÜHNENBILD UND KOSTÜME: Andreas Majewski

I loved the production. It was really like one can imagine the Ancient Greece was like. Lise Lindström who is famous for her Turandot had in the role of Elektra a much harder task. Her Elektra was believable as a crazy but very human woman. In this role Lise Lindström had to be present all the time, to be the person alway ON and never off. Taxing, is the least of this role. Agnes Baltsa, incredible that she is 70 now, sang the role of Klytemnestra and acted like the queen she is. Real singing from Agnes Baltsa and with real power. She was an extraordinary Klytemnestra. Nobody can do this role better. Hellen Kwon had the misfortune to be a more ordinary figure. Chrysothemis is the daughter who try be so nice that her mother Klytemnestra will give her the chance to live her own life. C just want to be an ordinary woman with husband and child. E want revenge. Klytemnestra want to no longer have nightmares or any dreams. Peter Gailliard was Aegisth and James Rutherford was Orest. The men pales at such women as Lise Lindström, Hellen Kwon and the divine Agnes Baltsa, but still they are in the right league.

Even with the head-ache doing their destructive work I was able to applaud them vigorously.

A great night in a wonderful hotel bed after a wonderful Opera Evening.

Hamburg - Frankfurt - Oslo, and now flight home.

From London to Berlin - from tenor to baritone? (Macbeth, Berlin 2015-02-07)

With lovely memories from London with tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Andrea Chenier I went to work. Then Friday came and work was over for this week. Home from work and resting, eating and getting sure the last things also came with me to Berlin. Night bus to Oslo Gardermoen. I slept some in the bus. It was not too bad. 5 in the morning, wake-up I am at the airport. Traveling via Hamburg to Berlin and the same back home. Ok. Hotel an der Oper in Berlin. I could not get my room imediately but suddenly my room was ready. I should have slept some hours in my bed there but no, I went looking for a special restaurant, got lost and lost some hours. I almost fell asleep in restaurant Rosati waiting for my pizza. Then opera time.

2015-02-07 Macbeth (Verdi), Staatsoper im Schiller Theater (Berlin)

Macbeth = Plácido Domingo
Lady Macbeth = Liudmyla Monastyrska
Macduff = Rolando Villazón
Banco = René Pape
Malcolm = Florian Hoffmann
Dama di Lady Macbeth = Evelin Novak
Medico = Jan Martiník
Un Sicario = Jan Martiník

Daniel Barenboim, conductor

NACH EINER INSZENIERUNG VON
Peter Mussbach

Tenor Placido Domingo is now a baritone (just like he is sometimes the conductor. Tenor Rolando Villazon was in good shape as Macduff.

The production was good. It was one of the productions where the witches is really spot on. This was a believable theater. Scenography was just to give a emotional feeling. Colors and lights was also done to make us feel the reality in stead of just seeing it in a realistic setting. Placido Domingo's baritone was dark and heavy and he was a very much believable Macbeth. Ludmila Monastyrska was an amazing Lady Macbeth. Her voice has the most velvety, beautiful quality and at the same time she gives the role all the rage and all the other feelings. Beautiful and dangerous woman. Rene Pape as Banquo is naturally a solid choice and does this role well. Rolando Villazon was Macduff and in this production Macduff gets a little lost not strange when we Birnam forest move (Fangorn!!!! - Tolkien, dude). 

Small things, sometimes Macbeth sings about something he sees but the production team misses to make the audience see it. Was it it misses or did they decide to do it like it.

Sunday 8. February 2015 and I am up at 0645 and checks out. Then to Tegel airport. Hamburg. Oslo Gardermoen. I decide to not take bus home, but fly. So over 12 hrs after wake up and I am home again.

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

From Valencia to London, and it is still January 2015 (Andrea Chenier, ROH 2015-01-31)

Wonderful weather in Valencia and 2 performances of Luisa Fernanda by Federico Moreno Torroba. And London? Windy and some rain but that was not the worst, delays in The Tube (subway) that was the worst for me with London. Night bus to Oslo Gardermoen Airport, and then Norwegian Air Shuttle to Gatwick Airport. A 2 hours flight but in London it was only 1 hour later. Back home it would be still 2 hours flight but arriving 3 hours later. (CET in Oslo, GMT in London). 

My hotel in London was close to Victoria station because both train and coach (bus) went from Gatwick to Victoria. I choose train, Gatwick Express, 30 minutes ride and normally the train goes with 15 minutes between trains, but this weekend it was 30 minutes inbetween. From Victoria it would have been just a straight road to my hotel but I got lost using google maps and had to ask a policeman for help. But I loved my hotel in Belgrave Road. One could almost call it Hotel Road, because it was hotels all the way and in between some normal homes. My hotel was closer to Pimlico subway station. Victoria line was my line. And normally one would just take Victoria to Green Park and then change for Piccadilly line to Covent Garden. 

On Saturday January 31st 2015 Green Park was a nightmare. Trouble earlier in King's Cross created delays and Piccadilly was in difficulties. So many people trying to go forward and sometime there was a dead-end and going back was hard too. So I gave up and back to Victoria Station and some food and drink there. Resting in my hotel. Still I had to go to Royal Opera House Covent Garden to get my ticket and to see Andrea Chenier. So back to Victoria Station I went and took a Black Cab (taxi). It was nice and relaxing.

2015-01-31 Andrea Chenier (Giordano), Royal Opera House (London)

Andrea Chénier - Jonas Kaufmann
Carlo Gérard - Željko Lučić
Maddalena di Coigny - Eva-Maria Westbroek
Bersi, her maid - Denyce Graves
The Countess of Coigny - Rosalind Plowright
Madelon - Elena Zilio
Roucher - Roland Wood
Mathieu, a sans-culotte - Adrian Clarke
The Incredible - Carlo Bosi
The Abbot - Peter Hoare
The novelist Pietro Fléville - Peter Coleman-Wright
Fouquier Tinville, the Public Prosecutor  -
Eddie Wade
Schmidt - Jeremy White
Dumas - Yuriy Yurchuk
Major Domo - Dominic Barrand
 
Antonio Pappano, conductor
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera Chorus
Concert Master - Peter Manning

Director - David McVicar
Set design - Robert Jones
Costume designs - Jenny Tiramani
Lighting design - Adam Silverman
Movement - Andrew George

This was a very much traditional Andrea Chenier but not done in a lazy way. I found it elegant and profound. It had a reality feel. What a great treat it was to have Rosalind Plowright, herself once a famous Maddalena, as Comtesse Coigny, Maddalena's mother, and the great mezzo Denyce Graves as Bersi, Denyce Graves who is famous for her Carmen and Dalila!!! Sadly I did not see them at the final bow after the opera. 

Rosalind Plowright sang Maddalena opposite Jose Carreras' Chenier in 1984 when this opera came back after more than 50 years absence. What I loved here is that one can see in this new ROH production that the Comtesse Coigny is really Mother of Maddalena. Not just a foolish aristocrate but a mother. Denyce Graves as Bersi is here much more a friend of Maddalena, a close friend, not a simple servant. And I love that. I love that there is real dedication between Maddalena and Bersi. It makes me understand Bersi's dedication to Maddalena much better. This Bersi is smart and resilient. Denyce Graves was such a joy to see and hear. I love Bersi!! Brava, Denyce Graves!!! Brava, Rosalind Plowright!

Jonas Kaufmann, I guess you want me to gush over the tenor as they all do. I won't do that but he sang so well this night so I almost ready to call him a tenor, but not Tenor with big T, yet, not for me. Eva-Maria Westbroek, she really filled the role of Maddalena di Coigny. A superb pair, Westbroek and Kaufmann!!

Željko Lučić as Carlo Gerard was more subtle than I would have expected after seeing him as Jago in Otello in Berlin. Still it worked, I could find sympathy for this Gerard.

Another thing I want to mention is that Idia Legray had a small girl who was there during the sentencing with an relative. Mother and child tries to hug but soldiers tears them apart. When Maddalena and Gerard come to prision, Gerard carries the young child. And we see mother and child meet again and go out with Gerard protecting them.

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

Traveling light in 2015

That's it. 2 items, just handbaggage.

Enough medicine and ostomy equipment, camera, phone and ipad. The essence of traveling light. But also no extra cloths except those I am wearing. 

Loved Valencia!!

One got to be prepared to know how to get to the hotel and then to the concert. Google maps helps a lot. Best to find out before traveling and take copy of what Google maps says.

If the hotel has free wifi it is even better and easier to use ipad or iphone to go directly to where you want.

Take a lot of photos. Why else have a big camera with you? Iphone can take photos, but really how good are they?

Photos from Valencia, January 2015.

Valencia and Luisa Fernanda (2015-01-12)

2015-01-12 Luisa Fernanda (Moreno Torroba), Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (Valencia)

Luisa Fernanda = Davinia Rodríguez

Vidal Hernando = Plácido Domingo

Javier = José Bros

Carolina = Isabel Rey

Mariana = María José Suárez

Saboyano = Emilio Sánchez

Rosita = Sandra Ferrández

Nogales = Miguel Sola

Aníbal / Vareador = Vicenç Esteve

Don Florito = Juansa Lloret

Bizco Porras = David Rubiera

Don Lucas = David Fruci *

Capitán = Germán Olvera*

Jordi Bernàcer, conductor

Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana

Francesc Perales, director

Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana

Director - Emilio Sagi

Vestuario - Pepa Ojanguren

Iluminación - Eduardo Bravo

Producción - Teatro Real de Madrid

* Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo

Placido Domingo sounded fresher in this second performance of Luisa Fernanda. I have seen again the  DVD of the same production from Teatro Real in Madrid in 2006. Naturally with 9 more years Placido sound different now. Placido Domingo, the great tenor, is now singing baritone roles in full force. He is obviously dreaming of conquering all Verdi Baritone roles just like he did Verdi Tenor roles. Verdi baritone roles is very far from the lighter zarzuela even if he is singing Vidal Hernando, a baritone role. Still, Placido can still win people over. Is it the Magic of the Legend or does he still have It.

Jose Bros as Javier Moreno just as in 2006 (DVD), but in Valencia he was even better. I am a big fan of Nancy Fabiola Herrera so I assumed I would prefer her in the 2006 DVD, but I found that Davinia Rodriguez gave the role more personality. In the DVD recording Mariola Cantarero was the Duchess Carolina, but also there did I find more personality and depth in Isabel Rey's intepretation. 

It is strange that or maybe it isn't, that the dvd feels more stuffed than the live performances in Valencia. Maybe it is that Valencia had the more superb cast also in the small parts and even chorus and dancers was more alive and real than in Teatro Real. I never saw this zarzuela in Teatro Real so I can only say what I see, feel and hear from the recording.

Torroba: Luisa Fernanda 

Plácido Domingo (Vidal Hernando); Nancy Herrera (Luisa Fernanda); José Bros (Javier Moreno); Mariola Cantarero (Duchess Carolina); 

"The production at the Teatro Real in Madrid was a top-of-the-range version...Vidal is a peach of a role for Domingo: his voice easily commands its baritone range and he dominates the action, convincingly heroic in voice and figure and still able to project a greying virility in the style of Sean Connery. Nancy Herrara as Luisa and Jose Bros as Javier gave fine support." (The Independent)

Torroba: Luisa Fernanda