Opéra Royal de Wallonie - Liège / Rezensionen

The first of this revival, which will include six performances, is marked by the entry into the pit of the institution's new director, Louis Langrée, placed for the occasion at the head of the Orchester des Champs-Élysées. The chef's great dramaturgical sense and his knowledge of the French repertoire favor a beautifully crafted reading, embellished by a certain art of nuance. We must warmly congratulate Les Elements, a choral ensemble that delivers moments of incredible delicacy. The nine voices together are very satisfying. Thus Nicolas Legoux's Polonius, elegant baritone that we will find luxuriously distributed in this very small role. Thus, again, of the two accomplices, in turn Marcellus and Horatio then gravediggers, encamped with advantage by the tenor Yu Shao and the bass Goeffroy Buffière. Thus, finally, the extremely clear and powerful Laërte by Pierre Derhet whose line is skilfully conducted. If we are much less convinced by the performance of Sabine Devieilhe in Ophélie too confidential and simpering a nothing, we applaud Laurent Alvaro in a Claudius of healthy firmness. After the cancellation of the Diotima Quartet concert last week due to a positive Covid-19 test by one of its members [read our columnof January 18, 2022], then the avalanche of pitfalls experienced by the Opéra national du Rhin, which nevertheless managed to ensure the premiere of the French creation of Die Vögel [read our column of January 19, 2022], the mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot in turn reveals a contamination that we wish him to be asymptomatic. She is replaced by Géraldine Chauvet who lends Queen Gertrude a finely shaded timbre, capable of conveying the character's anxiety [read our chronicles of Reigen and Dialogues des carmélites]. Finally, two singers captivate the audience: Jérôme Varnier as a dark Specter, also served by an elongated physique with a serious face; Stéphane Degout, baritone-miracle of the title role, as he has often proven and still proves. The artists all display an exemplary diction in the service of a prosody that is not always simple, however. Special mention to Édouard Hazebrouck, one of the voices of the Elements, who, in the central pantomime, embodies a Gonzaga all of deceived loving sweetness.

Ambroise Thomas' opera Hamlet offers a large-scale musical score. To create it, the composer devoted about 8 years of his life to it, a time that is not negligible. Performed in cities around the world – New York, Barcelona, ​​Berlin or Brussels – this opera captivates with its proposals. One of its singularities is the highlighting of the psychology of the characters. The political intrigue, very present in the original play, gives way to the feelings, to the neuroses that torment Hamlet and those close to him. If the psychology of the characters becomes the guiding thread, these are particularly touching thanks to the vocal capacity and the acting of the opera singers. Stéphane Degout interprets a baritone Hamlet which passes without difficulty from sadness to anger, from madness to drunkenness. He embodies his character in such a way that all his emotions are felt through his body, piercing him from all sides. Beside him the Ghost of the Fire King has a truly ghostly appearance. This is accentuated by the deep and slow voice of Jérôme Varnier which detaches and makes each syllable last. His way of posing his voice, his “non-melodic” score transforms him into a man straight out of his grave, into a successful specter. All the characters are richly interpreted, but there is one that particularly stands out from the others. Sabine Devieilhe offers a grandiose Ophelia whose sensuality and love she has for Hamlet are enriched by her soprano voice, her dazzling vocalizations and by her body which expresses all its fragility, its sweetness, its sadness. On stage, she dazzles with her simple presence. In this opera, she becomes a central character and Act IV is entirely dedicated to her. Only one on stage who transforms her into someone captivating, a siren whose song catches the listener. Ophelia eventually becomes that mermaid she talks about in a song – “The mermaid passes and drags you under the azure of the sleeping lake.” – and will end its life at the bottom of the water.

Luckily, the music, quite disappointing in the first act, gradually takes on more substance. Manon remains for a long time a simple cooing machine, apparently devoid of any inner life, and Des Grieux hardly has the opportunity to exist as a character, but the score fortunately expands, and ends with a long and beautiful duet during the death of the heroine. The conductor Cyril Englebert seems to have taken the work seriously and avoids drawing it towards operetta. While contemporary opera opens its doors to her – she was an exceptional Madame Mao in Paris in Nixon in China – Sumi Jo persists and signs in her exploration of the repertoire to which her virtuosity destines her: after Fra Diavoloof the same Auber, which she sang in Paris and Liège , Manon Lescaut undoubtedly imposed herself, even if the artist no longer has the crystalline transparency of her treble, which the enthusiasm does not quite compensate for. scenic she demonstrates. Faithful to its recruitment policy, the Royal Opera of Wallonia continues to seek its tenors in Italy, but Enrico Casari 's Auberian Des Grieux is a much better pick than Alessandro Liberatore's Massétian Des Grieux. Seen regularly in small roles in Strasbourg, Rouen or Limoges, Enrico Casari finds here a role that is ultimately not very exposed, where he can assert a very pretty voice, despite an articulation that can still be improved. Same remark concerning the accent ofDenzil Delaere , a young Flemish tenor with a slightly sharp timbre. As the Marquis d'Hérigny, the Dutch baritone Wiard Witholt 's French is as stiff as his gait (accident during rehearsals or choice of director?), but the voice is opulent, if not having all the flexibility expected in vocalizing passages. How refreshing it is to hear the perfect diction of Roger Joakim en Lescaut alongside them ! With each of his interventions, we understand how a French comic opera could and should sound because, independently of the vocal qualities of each other, the theatrical component of the genre should if not come to the fore, at least be on par with the music. , which we are unfortunately very far from, except with the Renaud which allowsPatrick Delcour to compose a deliciously despicable character. Sabine Conzen 's Marguerite is also one of the few to express herself in clear French, unlike Laura Balidemaj 's Bancelin .

Auber's "Manon Lescaut" was also repeatedly put aside: Liège does not make the first attempt to snatch this charming piece from oblivion. In 1856 the joint work of the 74-year-old master of the opéra comique and the renowned opera rhymer Eugène Scribe was a respectable success, was performed 63 times at the Opéra-Comique and stood up again and again until 1882 – for example in Berlin, Stockholm and also in Liège a game plan. In 1975 Jean-Pierre Marty rediscovered the work and recorded it for the record; nine years later he conducted it in a staged production by Dominique Delouche at Verona's Teatro Filarmonico. But neither this production nor the others in Paris and Caen (1990), Wexford (2002) and Los Angeles (2006) inspired the fortune of this opera version of the once famous novel by Abbé Prévost. The singers only partly compensate for the helpless bloodlessness of the scene, which was already acknowledged with two strong boos during the break. Sumi Jo doesn't let himself be fooled in the agility of her coloratura, but neither in her timbre nor in her doll-like movements does she have the carefree, natural elegance of a young girl. Enrico Casari as Des Grieux proves to be a singer who can successfully fraternize not only - as at his house in Strasbourg - with character roles, but also with the fine line, the elegant intonation and the exposed high tones of Auber.

Vocaal zit er wel wat verschil tussen de zangers. Biagio Pizzuti die de pseudo-auteur Prosdocimo vertolkt, profileert zich terecht als de spilfiguur in het stuk. Zijn heldere bariton heeft de autoriteit om stap per stap het verloop van de intrige te bepalen. Hij beheerst zowel het absurde van de situatie als de diepere inhoud.

Biagio Pizzuti, dans le rôle de Prosdocimo devenu cinéaste marque par une puissance vocale redoutable. La voix du baryton porte et écrase tout sur son passage, à la mesure de l’autorité de son personnage. Les lignes vocales sont directes...