Past Production Reviews
5De esta forma Joan Anton Rechi ponía de manifiesto en un breve artículo del programa de mano sus intenciones en torno a la propuesta escénica de la ópera Adriana Lecouvreur de Francesco Cilea que ha diseñado para el Teatro Cervantes de Málaga. Una nueva producción con la que el coliseo malagueño corona una excelente temporada lírica marcada así por el verismo, habida cuenta de su apertura en otoño con el popular díptico verista de I pagliacci y Cavalleria rusticana y con la excepción del rossiniano Il barbiere di Siviglia, sin duda otro de los platos fuertes de la misma.
So geht Opern-Komödie heute, und auch musikalisch ist das sensationell. Vor allem zu vermerken ist das epochale Rollendebüt der jungen rumänischen Sopranistin Luiza Fatyol. Ihre Adina blüht nicht nur stimmlich (und darstellerisch), sie führt auch die Dimensionen dieses Charakters vor, die Entwicklung von der kapriziösen Intrigantin zur wahrhaft Liebenden.
The entire ensemble of this performance is absolutely homogeneous, which has to be a must with this opera. In addition to the great vocal performances, there is an enormous playfulness that is second to none. Just like Junbum Lee as Basilio, the ravishingly queer Master of Ceremony in this labyrinthine Wedding studio is sensational. Sebastian Ellrich's pink-tinted stage is as perfect a fit as Sandra Münchow's beautifully crafted costumes. This perfect coordination with the director, who is now in fact conjuring up a fantastic day on stage, ensures that the over-the-top comedy doesn't turn into slapstick
Megan Marie Hart hatte am gestrigen Abend ihr Debüt als AIDA. Die Sopranistin, Mitglied des Detmolder Ensembles, hatte bereits vor wenigen Monaten erst glanzvoll ihre erste LUISA MILLER an gleicher Stelle präsentiert. Und schon da fiel sie durch ihre ungemein warme Stimmfärbung, bis in die Tiefen ihres Soprans gehend, so überaus angenehm auf. Und diesen Eindruck wiederholte sie in ihrem persönlichen Rollendebüt als AIDA auf höchst eindrucksvolle Weise. Eine Stimme, geradezu wie erschaffen für diese speziellen Verdipartien und von hohem Wiedererkennungswert. Dazu mit einem Stimmvolumen, welches die tückischen Höhen ebenso wie die Tiefen dieser Partie erreicht und ausfüllt und dabei ist Frau Hart jederzeit in der Lage, mit ihrem Gesang die Emotionen der äthiopischen Königstochter dem Publikum so spürbar zu vermitteln. Neben dem gesanglichen Teil ihrer Rolle punktet sie aber auch mit ihrer sensiblen Darstellung dieser in vielerlei Hinsicht anspruchsvollen Partie.
Take the greatest masterpiece of German literature, translate it and betray it by transforming its philosophical message into a sequence of beguiling arias and – voilà! – you have Gounod's Faust, one of the world's most popular operas. But it was not always so. Faust was created at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris in 1859 with spoken dialogue. It met with critical interest, but not with public fervour. It would take several years to reach its “definitive” version at the Opéra, ten years later, with sung recitatives and a ballet. Born as an opéra-comique, Faust became a grand opéra. Audiences were ecstatic, but the critics were lukewarm. Jules Barbier and Michel Carré's libretto is structured in five acts – the third, the scene in the garden and the love duet, is the pivotal one, the second act presents the meeting of the lovers, the fourth the separation, all set between two acts that serve as prologue and epilogue. The work joins those by Berlioz (La Damnation de Faust, 1846), Boito (Mefistofele, 1868) and Busoni (Doktor Faust, 1924) also inspired by Goethe, but here the religious theme is predominant, so much so that Joan Antón Rechi, who is now directing it at La Fenice, transforms the Venetian theatre into a cathedral, with church pews instead of theatre seats and the audience in the boxes and galleries. The floor is initially covered by a cloth which, when removed, shows a mirrored floor reflecting the tiers of boxes and the lights from the sconces and the large glass chandelier that shine on the 18th-century theatre – completing its transformation into a ballroom for the waltz scene. It is set at the time of composition, with women in big skirts and men in military uniforms or double-breasted topcoats. The action takes place both in the stalls and on the stage: the sanitary distancing here becomes an effective dramaturgical choice by the Andorran, who does not renounce some directorial quirks such as the moving of the pews by two figures in black in a long silence marked only by their footsteps on the floor, or the gag of the photograph of the chorus lined up on stage for "Gloire immortelle", or the return of Valentin's ghost, dragging Marguerite away by her feet. But on the whole, it is an intelligent, dazzling production that reintroduces the splendour of grand opéra in a modern way, with lively acting and very effective action. Rechi also designed the costumes, while the beautiful effect of the light filtering through an imaginary church rose window was by lighting designer Fabio Berettin. Frédéric Chaslin is an expert in French music and gave a unified vision of the complexity of Faust, despite the fragmentary nature of the musical numbers with their astonishing melodic and instrumental richness. In the programme notes, the Parisian conductor (who is also a composer, pianist and writer) refers to Mahler as the only musician to have truly understood the essence of Goethe's work in his Eighth Symphony. In retrospect, these considerations came to mind after listening to some moments in the finale of Act 3 that actually recalled atmospheres that, for us, would be reminiscent of Mahler's music. The dramatic weight of Gounod's Faust slides into the female character of Marguerite, here soprano Carmela Remigio, a singer with temperament but little suited to the part: she was justifiably expressive but at the expense of a jagged vocal line, with unnatural register jumps, unclear diction and a general lack of brilliance, evident in her Jewel Song. Iván Ayón Rivas expressed himself in the title role with elegant phrasing and excellent mezza voci, but he always seemed to be pawing at high notes, which did arrive brightly, but were often excessive. Armando Noguera (Valentin) displayed great stage presence but also a strange emission in the lower register, while Paola Gardina, a delightful Siébel, was excellent and sensitive. The real sensation of the evening was Alex Esposito, who gave an excellent interpretation of Méphistophélès. The director turned him into a magician/hypnotist in top hat and tails, filling the stage with his presence even before the opera began, when he sat motionless on the last pew of Rechi's imagined church. From that moment, he does not have a moment's rest: we see him leap nimbly over the pews, then disappear and quickly reappear on the stage, confronting characters, subjugating them with his mind, always as invisible. He is seen only by those who have done evil – like Marguerite after the murder of her newborn child, when she clings to him instead of the faithless Faust. With this bass-baritone from Bergamo, there is no distinction between singing and acting. We marvelled at his vocal projection, his enunciation, carving the words without being cloying, and he displayed almost perfect diction. The scene of Méphistophélès' mocking serenade brought together the director's genius and Esposito's fine acting: as in a café chantant gig framed by a spotlight, he demonstrated his extraordinary theatrical talents and the audience compensated him with open applause and final cheers. This time, Gounod's Faust should have been titled Méphistophélès...
