Past Production Reviews
4rigolo's tenor has an appealing combination of clarity, openness and warmth. There's never any doubt that a phrase will be well turned with any high notes hit cleanly. Technically, Grigolo is highly impressive when it's time for the pianissimi or fine dynamic control. His matinée idol looks make him thoroughly credible as the youthful poet, and if I'm going to nit pick, the one imperfection to point out is in his acting: he convinces completely when playing the ardent lover, less so as the desperate suicide. DiDonato's creamy-smooth mezzo is totally capable of anything that Massenet can throw at it and she sings Charlotte with an assurance that belies the fact that this is the first time she has done so on stage (she sang the role in concert in Paris in April). Timbre, dynamics and phrasing are all wonderful, but it's a very difficult role to characterise: Charlotte has to combine being the epitome of propriety and adherence to duty on the outside with repressed inner passions on the inside, allowing these to burst through to the surface only in the last act. DiDonato did a decent job of making so conflicted a character seem real, and she and Grigolo had good chemistry between them, but I don't know that I ever really suspended disbelief. Antonio Pappano brought some fine playing from the Royal Opera orchestra to bring us the orchestral colour and the romantic sweep of the piece. There were several well rendered instances of the Wagnerian trick (much emulated in film music) of letting the audience hear what's going to happen in the music slightly before the events actually happen on stage.Charles Edwards sets are easy on the eye (I particularly like the Act II promenade with its stone steps and acute perspective) and frame the action well; revival director Andrew Sinclair handles the action effectively: the scenes of domestic bliss in Act I, when Charlotte is being mummy to her gaggle of younger siblings, were nicely poignant. The orchestral playing is excellent, the production is highly competent all round and there are two great singers in the lead roles. If you're a Massenet fan, it's well worth catching.
A stagey child of the 80s would drool at the prospect of designs by William Dudley, costumes by Maria Björnson, lighting by David Hersey and choreography by Eleanor Fazan. And the dream team doesn't disappoint, with a vast, versatile split-level set that accommodates intimate exchanges and near-CGI crowd scenes involving the admirable Royal Opera Chorus with equal panache.Most of the singers raised the temperature, with Vittorio Grigòlo on top scenery-chewing form in the title role. The young tenor knows the value of firmly motorised arm gestures, and he has the chops to dispatch Hoffmann's showpiece arias with an overflow of passion. Few tenors fill the reverie that interrupts the 'Kleinzach' song with quite so much Italianate ardour. All that's missing is the vulnerability of a true romantic.Of his three loves, Christine Rice was a sultry Giulietta in Schlesinger's eye-scorching Venice act, while her extravagant vocal colours were matched by Sonya Yoncheva's silver-voiced beauty as Antonia, the doomed singer, in the next scene. (There are many good reasons, musical, textual and theatrical, why the order of these two acts should be reversed—and it often is these days—but the production is fixed.) Earlier, Sofia Fomina had given a tidy if unremarkable account of Olympia, the mechanical doll. Thomas Hampson was gleefully baleful as the quartet of bad guys, always with a glint in his eye and an implicit wink at the audience, and there was fine multiple-character work, too, from Vincent Ordonneau who, with his fellow Frenchman Christophe Mortagne (Spalanzani), set a standard of pronunciation that eluded most of his colleagues. No one, though, eclipsed Kate Lindsey as Nicklausse, Hoffmann's 80°-proof spiritual muse. The American mezzo's every appearance lifted this revival above the routine, and from the famous barcarolle to a stylish farewell her limpid tones had the warm glow of sugared absinthe. Santé. Les Contes d'Hoffmann runs in repertory at the Royal Opera House until 3 December.The performance on 15 November will be relayed to cinemas as part of the ROH Live season.
This year�s summer Festival in Verona honors star director Franco Zeffirelli by staging five of his productions: season opener Turandot, Aida, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, and Il Trovatore. This last production, which premiered in 2001 and was then revived in 2002 and 2004, featured a star studded cast, with Arena favorite Marcelo Alvarez in the role of Manrico and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in his Arena debut and Italian role debut as his rival Count Luna. The two singers did not disappoint: Alvarez, arguably the best Manrico of his generation, was perhaps not at his best and had to force somewhat in the first duet with Azucena; the perilous high note of the cabaletta was perhaps not perfect, but the dynamics of piani and forti were excellent and his performance was compelling throughout. Hvorostovsky�s performance was flawless. His nicely colored baritone voice is not especially large, but it is perfectly projected by means of a reliable technique. His accurate diction and theatrical skills were appreciable even on the large stage of the Arena. The women were also excellent: Maranne Cornetti as Azucena is perfectly cast both for the role, which she masters completely, and for the Arena, given the size of her voice and despite some imperfect diction. Sondra Radvanovsky�s performance as Leonora was somewhat uneven. The soprano started with some problems, which made the sound of her voice unpleasant at the end of her first aria with a missed note on which she also lost intonation. However she recovered afterwards and was especially compelling in the death scene after which she deservedly received the biggest applause of the evening. As usual, Zeffirelli not only directed the stage action but also designed the opulent medieval sets. The large space allows the director to follow his taste and use a large number of extras with knights riding horses during the soldiers� chorus. The ballet music composed by Verdi for Paris was inserted in order to allow the dance company El Camborio to perform (in costumes that could as well be those they also use for Carmen, which is playing on alternate nights). Conductor Marco Armiliato was making his debut at the Arena, which was perhaps the reason he produced a smaller volume of sound than usual from the orchestra. This had the welcome consequence that the singers could be heard unusually well. The evening ended in a triumph for everyone.
We went to see Carmen at the Arena Di Verona. We had 'cheap seats' that is sitting on the marble steps at the top of this Roman arena...which is all part of the experience and why we chose them. Why sit in a comfy seat at ground level when you can do it like the Romans and have a fantastic view of the Opera and everyone else! We weren't advised this in advance. but whish we had been that you can actually take food and plastic bottles of anyy drink in with you (and at 5 euros for a can of coke you need to!!) There is a great value eatery in the square outside called Brek Brek but if we'd known we would have enjoyed taking a small picnic. Carmen was a 5 hour opera! the marble steps weren't too hard on the bottom and you can hire cushions at 3 euros which goes to the Red Cross, but you probably didn't need them (or maybe I just have a very comfy bottom!) however it is hard to lean back because of the depth of the steps so if you can borrow a pillow or the like to stuff behind your back particularly for the long operas this would be advisable (as long as no one is sitting behind you you should be ok) A wonderful experience and well worth it if it's your thing.
