The lull before the storm

A few months before 2009 winner Ekaterina Scherbachenko makes her Covent Garden debut as Tatyana the race to succeed her as BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2011 begins with The Final of the Welsh Singers 2010. Just as with the big boy competition the final is held at St David's Hall, who are now selling tickets for the final on June the 28th.

The four finalists are balanced neatly at fifty-fifty of the human species with Catrin Aur Davies and Rebecca Afonwy-Jones representing the gals with John Pierce and Samuel Evans sticking up for the boys. The winner will follow 2008 winner (gal) Natalya Romaniw and represent Wales at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2011.

The jury is made up of some hangers on and general leeches who go by the monikers of Elaine Padmore, Rebecca Evans, Julian Smith, Robert Tear and some bloke who calls himself Bryn Terfel. Dubious looking bunch if you ask me.

Behind the looking glass with WNO

If you're in the vicinity of Llandudno this coming Saturday you may like to avoid the usual weekend extreme sport of playing chicken with your overdraft and pop down to Venue Cymru and enjoy a free WNO behind the scenes day with activities for all the family to enjoy (apart from any Don Jose wannabes). Full details of what to expect can be found by downloading a pdf file from WNO's website. And if you're taken with what you see why not take in a performance of Carmen that same evening?

Carmen - WMC 4th of March 2010

WMC

If there's one thing more daunting than putting on another performance of Carmen, it has to be writing about another performance of Carmen. Everything's been said, picked over and pulled apart to leave original thought a single mote in Miss Havisham's drawing room. But as I've begun to write, I'll carry on until the burnished dust settles, and I've laid my thoughts bare on WNO's recent effort at the Armadillo.

The production itself is an ochre dessert, concocted by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser that due to its sparse nature levers the duty of storytelling firmly towards the performers both on stage and off. Visually it's like dipping your eyes into a Rothko painting and entering a dream like state of existence, with the sole sparks of liberty belonging to the crowd in the final act. This solemn, sparse atmosphere inhabits the characters themselves. Carmen (Patricia Bardon) isn't a feisty senorita but rather a slightly worn, cynical creature who begrudgingly ensnares the luckless Don Jose (Gwyn Hughes Jones), her declarations of la liberté false and hollow as she appears incapable of imagining escaping from her fate. For his part Jose haplessly falls for Carmen, though his violent nature is revealed at telling moments within the opera so that his descent into a murderous rage appears a realistic outcome. Acting as the catalyst for the tragic denouement Escamillo (David Soar) is a more cunning, calculating creature than he is normally portrayed as being, which adds life to what can sometimes be a cardboard character.

Bardon, on this night, sang with a mild chest infection that was only audible on one or two occasions – otherwise her deep mezzo allowed for her world weary Carmen to be fully realised. The striking aspect of her portrayal was that with an array of showpiece arias at her fingertips she could have been forgiven to have indulged in some showboating, but she bought into the direction whole heartedly and gave a well drawn, yet instinctive performance.

Jones, a regular with WNO and no stranger to the role of Don Jose gave a beautifully sung performance that was both a strength and a weakness. As the supposedly naïve Jose his tenor was an ideal vehicle for expressing the character's emotions, but as the path to jealousy and finally murder was travelled I was hoping for a touch more danger to his performance, which never came. Whether this is down to the lyrical nature of his voice, or a desire to conserve his voice (this was the third performance of four spread over eight days) I'm not sure, but it was the only troubling fault I had with his vocal performance.

Soar, as Escamillo, was once again in great voice – an evenness of tone throughout his range allowed him to do justice to a tricky character introduction that has undone far more celebrated singers than himself. I'm in no way suggesting anything about him as a person but he played the role of a scheming Escamillo with assurance, especially his calculated thankfulness towards Carmen for being his saviour. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.

Of the remaining cast members the one who made the biggest impression, in the most irritating of roles in opera (to my mind at least), was Sarah-Jane Davies as Micaëla. Where others have shrieked, squawked and generally made a mess of this irritatingly bland character she gave a refreshingly controlled and clean performance. A member of ENO's Young Singers programme she has a promising future given time and measured advice.

Curiously, given that I'm not a conducting expert the star of the evening for me was Frederic Chaslin. I've seen a few Carmen's, in one way or another, but this was the first time I was consistently made aware of how wonderful the score is. Okay, I know that the arias can tend to pull the ear's attention given how memorable they are, but under Chaslin's watchful eye the orchestra of WNO had me bathing in a musical oasis from beginning to end and I began to hear things I hadn't heard before. Whether or not musicologist's will say he veered off course with the score as Bizet intended it to be played I have no idea, but it was an orchestral performance that demands praising. Such a shame then that during the curtain call the stage manager curtailed Chaslin's and the orchestra's ovation with a too hasty curtain drop.

As ever the chorus get an undeserving solitary sentence proclaiming their brilliance, but really – there is nothing else I can say about them.

For all the positives it would be unforgivable of me not to highlight an aspect of the production that does need working on and that's stage violence. The fight scenes are a touch laboured, and I would beg the revival director to allow Carmen to perish without screaming, as it was more Carry on than Carmen. But these are miniscule, mote sized quibbles that can be corrected with no trouble whatsoever.

Familiarity can breed contempt, but once in a while it can give birth to a surprising discovery, and thanks to the efforts of all involved this Carmen makes you realise that there is more than just the tunes to fall in love with. And next time stage manager – let Chaslin have his moment in the spotlight as he will have earned it.

Yellow Flower Power Day!

Okay, so this isn't a post on opera, but I thought I'd share my wearing of a daffodil with you to celebrate St David's Day / Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant. It's a day that brings about a curious mix of emotions that run from pride in celebrating the country and the people of my mamwlad to a tinge of melancholy in knowing that as much as I want to see us become an independent country, replete with all the usual bickering, infighting, resentment that exists in all countries, I know that this will probably never happen.

But sh$$ dude, it's a sunny day - leave the moping to another time! Here's a bit of Bryn Terfel singing Suo Gân and another enjoyable Welsh export of recent years, The Stereophonics, having a bash at Dakota. To finish off there's the English version of Ar Hyd y Nos, as sung by the great Paul Robeson - who wasn't Welsh officially but is in the hippyish Brotherhood of (Wo)Man mood I'm in today.

The Abduction from the Seraglio - WMC 20th of February 2010

Le photo from WNO

As I was freezing moi backside off while crossing over to the Armadillo last night I was wondering if I wouldn't have preferred to have been at home watching women in skin tight lycra throwing themselves down a snow covered hill in Canada instead of spending the night watching one of Mozart's lesser known pieces that had garnered a mixed bag of reviews the previous week. If everything I had read was to be believed then I was going to regret the chance to miss Lindsey Vonn's backside juddering along with more tempi than the best known bit from Rossini's William Tell Overture.

Pushing all this to the back of my mind I made way upwards, upwards, upwards to the home of the visiting confused ("Where are the toilets?") and the short of cash (me). For the opening overture we were treated to a map of Europe / Orient and, erm, well the knowledge that everything was to take place on board The Orient Express at the beginning of the 1920's. The production, born in America under the midwifery of James Robinson has echoes of Crosby / Hope Road Movies with a bit of The Three Stooges thrown in. The comedy is played to the extreme – perhaps a bit too much because after a while the jokes that are funny have been diluted by one crotch joke too many. Another slightly troublesome aspect was the insistence of Robinson to keep in clunky Muslim jokes involving veils and trussed up servants that would have had many audience members flashing to memory banks of the happenings of recent years. But all in all the set is a dream to look at with all the action set onboard a train partitioned off into various carriages. The next time I'm travelling long distance I want that train!

Playing the thanklessly straight roles of Konstanze and Belmonte were American soprano, Lisette Oropesa and Irish tenor Robin Tritschler who were a visually believable couple. I'd been looking forward to Oropesa singing since I saw her in a recent Met production of La Rondine opposite Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna and, in a small world coincidence myself…okay, not myself but Marius Brenciu, a former winner of Cardiff Singer of the World. Her opening rendition of Ach ich liebte was competently sung, if one or two of the money notes were pinched – but given this is her opening aria a certain amount of common sense must come into play. Where she showed her intriguing promise was in a heartfelt Welcher Kummer that was sung with understanding of Konstanze's position and not as a vanity exercise that can happen with this aria with some singers. Her lover, Tritschler possesses a beautifully clean tenor that did justice to the decision to cast him as a replacement for the originally named Colin Lee (who, unfortunately, has admittedly bigger fish to fry these days). Tritschler played the dashing hero with aplomb. My only regret is that as beautiful a voice he has, it lacks strength when called upon to compete with an orchestra.

As the comedy duo Blonde and Pedrillo, Claire Ormshaw and Wynne Evans performed with a keen sense of comedy and character. Lancashire born Ormshaw proved again that she's a pocket rocket with a rich middle to her voice and she made for a feisty Blonde. Carmarthen Tenor Evans (yes, the Go Compare tenor) gave an energetic performance as Pedrillo and was the focal point of much of the laughter on stage – but don't be fooled into thinking it's his slapstick that has got him onto the stage, he has a voice with plenty of steel when he needs it.

The remaining performances were given by Greece's Petros Magoulas as Osmin – an assured performance given that he had to wear an enlarged costume that took some skill in manoeuvring around the stage. Although he didn't put a foot wrong I would have preferred a gruffer voiced Osmin to battle against Pedrillo. Pasha Selim was played suavely by Simon Thorpe – doing more than justice to a role, and admittedly a libretto that is hardly Shakespearean in its depth.

One criticism I would make is that with the set design the chorus were forced to sing from too few spots and through too many pieces of furniture for their sparkling cameos to have the energy they give to the work as a whole.

Criticisms over the orchestral playing have been laid at the door of conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini that I thought overly harsh. Sure the opening overture was slightly hampered by a tinsy winsy slow tempo that felt a bit disjointed, and there were one or two occasions where a more flowing approach to the score would have been appreciated but these were exceptions on the night I attended.

Despite my doubts it was worth a trip out – in the scheme of things it may not be the most profound production to have ever graced an operatic stage, but with the never ending breadth of misery available to opera goers it's always worth remembering that life is more than just about tragedy – and Mozart, being the canny bloke he was understood this. Leave the grieving diva alone for a night and enjoy a Marx Bros style night out.

WNO 2010 / 2011 Season

Creeping up like a ninja with roses the WNO 2010 / 2011 Season Subscription Booklet came in the post a few days ago, and thanks to my super postie it was free from any snowage damagicus. Unfortunately financiage damagicus appears to have struck WNO with a shortened season of productions bringing the number down to a worryingly catwalk model size seven.

The immediate difference from recent years is the unsurprisingly large number of Germanic works given that this is Lothar Koenigs' debut season as Der Meister der Mensch von WNO. The remaining three operas are provided by Italian opera. But life being what it is things aren't quite that simple as this is the Year of Eternal Light, WNO's series devoted to the opera of Germany and Austria, so if we're going to get technical then the score is Gerstria 5 – Italia 2.

So the question is, who, what, when and where Mrs Fletcher?




Photo by Frédéric Desmesure taken from Canvas Management website.

Conducted by Lothar Koenigs the Season opens in Autumn with Giuseppe Frigeni's production of Fidelio that began life at the Opera National de Bordeaux in 2007. Heading the cast is veteran tenor Dennis O'Neill as Florestan and Lisa Milne as Leonore. Being a slightly big sucker for Beethoven I'm looking forward to this chorus friendly production but with a Mars bar sized chunk of apprehension at the possible Hugh Hefneresque age difference between Leonore and Florestan. Saying that I'll eat a double slice of Marmite humble pie if Dennis O'Neill has me going back for more Dungeons & Pizarro.



Photo from WNO

Next up is a revival of Dominic Cooke's and Julian Crouch's fantastical The Magic Flute that deserves to be sung in German, but is instead sung in English*. Among the cast are Elizabeth Watts (Pamina), winner of the Song Prize at Cardiff Singer of the World 2007 and WNO regular Peter Wedd (Tamino). Waving the stick is Gareth Jones. It's Mozart so you can expect serene tunes as well as the ear-piercing Queen of the Night number.



Photo by Clive Barda from MusicWeb-International

Returning to conducting duties Lothar Koenigs sets the tempi for a revival of Neil Armfield's take on Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. This, I admit, is a new one for me but the return of Sarah Connolly to WNO is worth a mention. When the final curtain closes on this at the WMC the WNO will be packing their bags and going off on tour, not to be seen until February 2011.

With the last of your Gran's Christmas shortbread biscuits picking up more damp than a train station waiting room WNO's spring begins with a brand spanking new production of Johann Straus II's Die Fledermaus – the name on the wrapping this time is John Copley, so the eyes will be in for a treat. Again I'm meeting this one for the first time but know enough to realise that I won't be the only one in the audience to be thinking, "What's Batman doing on the stage?" Among the cast are WNO regulars, and also husband and wife combo, Nuccia Focile and Paul Charles Clarke. The conductor for this one is Thomas Rösner.



Photo by Brian Tarr from Spaghetti Gazetti

Move over Sachertorte – the pasta's coming! Returning a tad quicker than I would have thought wise, Il trovatore, Verdi's tale of bad parenting and misplaced matches breaks up the Fest. I'm not averse to Verdi, or Trovatore, in the least (he makes up a substantial pile of CD's / DVD's / programmes / tea-towels in my music collection) but I would have preferred to have seen something else by the man with the elegant tash. Saying that the cast looks ooohhhhh with Gwyn Hughes Jones making his debut as Manrico, Katia Pellegrino reprising her role from 2007 (how will she have developed in the intervening years?) and David Soar making his regrettably sole appearance of the season as Fernando. Add to the brew David Kempster as Count di Luna and Patricia Bardon as Azucena and my grumbles have given way to, "Pass me a pocket anvil, I'm off to work!" Andrea Licata returns to his recent stomping ground.

With summer returning in who knows what kind of shape Mozart gets another run out in the form of Così fan tutte. A new production by Benjamin Davies is given a youthful cast including the promising baritone Gary Griffiths as Gugliemo making his professional company debut with WNO and Camilla Roberts as Fiordiligi. Daniele Rustioni conducts.



Either it's Clive Barda or Brian Tarr behind the lense, but I know the picture was taken from MVDaily

The last offering is Puccini's Turandot, directed by Christopher Alden. Lothar Koenigs conducts a cast including Gwyn Hughes Jones as Calaf and Rebecca Evans making her role debut as Liù in what will probably be the biggest selling production of the whole year. Do I need to write anything else about it? Oh yes, Lothar Koenigs conducts this final production in what is his first true year as Music Director.

On the whole it looks an interesting batch, perhaps one of the Strauss' could have made way for something else as I'm not sure if they'll be too similar (castigate me now if you want to) but all in all the choices make a welcome break from the Italian opera that has been the mainstay in recent years. I can't hide my disappointment at the shrinking number of productions and wonder whether Die Fledermaus should be the production with the most dates (six, compared with an average three and a half for other productions).

Outside of the production area WNO are continuing with their meet and greet ventures that are worth going along to if you have the time and I'm happy to see that their audio described performances and touch tour are returning again to the WMC. Ticket prices at the WMC have in most cases held firm, although the top price tickets are now fifty pence from the £40 barrier.

The main booking dates are...

From now until the 12th of February is Friends of WNO Subscription Postal Booking.
12th of February Public Subscription Postal Booking.
15th of March Friends of WNO Individual Opera Postal Booking.
26th of March it's a free for all online, telephone, postal, in person but no pigeon post.

I can't finish without a little thank you to WNO & EMI for the surprise taster CD for the 2010 / 2011 Season with excerpts from EMI's catalogue and introductions by WNO's Dramaturg Simon Rees that came with the booking forms. A nice little touch that gives a flavour of what's to come.

* Explanation time. In my humble / berkish opinion there's something disappointing when the original language the work is composed for is elbowed out of the way to make things apparently more accessible for linguistic novices in the audience (yes, me). Part of the charm of opera for me is sometimes being freed from meaning and knowing everything that's going on and enjoying the sounds coming from the stage. The music quite often lets me know what's generally going on, and in many ways discovering the nuts and bolts of character's actions takes a pleasurable while to settle in my wood block. And let's face it, English is not the nicest language for opera singing…

Sweeping it under the carpet

There are times when I think to myself, "You know HairMan, I wouldn't mind seeing that again." No, not the reflection of my hair in my thrice hourly polished mirror, but certain productions that grab me by the seat of my pants. One such production was the 2007 WNO co-co-co-co production of La Cenerentola that wasn't to everyone's taste, but which I thought mirrored the fun nature of the work. Anyway, by the magic of DVD my hair can enjoy it once more. The slight difference being a different cast involved with Juan Diego Florez and Joyce Di Donato leading the way.

Of course there'll be people saying out there that this doesn't technically qualify as the same production I saw, which I'll acknowledge with a "Yes, you are sort of correct." On the other hand I liked the comic book setting so much that I'm willing to put up with the second string cast on this DVD...

[Stand up for WNO moment here - the cast I saw led by Colin Bell* and Marianna Pizzolato were worth combing my hair for]

One slight quibble with the DVD is that the recording is overly tipped in favour of the singers and the orchestra seems to be playing backstage while drinking sangria (apologies for lame stereotypying segue into the fact that this was shot in Barcelona).

* This, of course, should have read Colin Lee - but while writing this up I was listening to Erasure...