Tidligere produksjonsanmeldelser
4Naast de dubbele bezette genoemde grote rollen was er een luxe aanbod in de kleinere. De drie dames, allen speels, vocaal net zo verrukkelijk als theatraal, waren op voortreffelijk. Taylor Burgess (1ste) en Lucie van Ree (2de) en Maria Koshiishi (3de) waren dynamisch, zongen precies en loepzuiver en zonder ook maar een moment het ensemble te overstemmen, klonken hun individuele bijdragen heerlijk.
The Dutch National Opera Academy and the NJO have joined forces for 'Die stumme Serenade' by Korngold . The "comedy with music" is performed in the context of the NJO Muziekzomer Gelderland and is highly recommended! Go see that! The eight young and enthusiastic singers of the Dutch National Opera Academy (DNOA) all deliver a top performance. They act with spontaneity, dance wonderfully and sing the genre with class. The Dutch soprano Zinzi Frohwein has already shown at the IVC that she has a feeling for this music style and here portrays the actress Silvia Lombardi perfectly in all her facets. The French baritone Clément Dionet is also completely in his element as the couturier Andrea Coclé. Incidentally, the dialogues have been inventively edited, so that only three actors are needed instead of nine. The eight-piece chamber orchestra of the NJO (National Youth Orchestra) is conducted by the Flemish conductor Etienne Siebens . Siebens has the difficult task of conducting with his back to the singers, but knows how to coordinate the whole perfectly. The musicians succeed in evoking the atmosphere of operetta and twenties revue songs and overwhelm the listener with the exuberant jumps and sighing glissandi of Korngold. DNOA has long had the idea that the singing students are only suitable for Mozart operas – full-length 'Le Nozze di Figaro' (2013), 'La Finta Gardiniera' (2012), 'La Clemenza di Tito' (2010), 'Così fan tutte' (2009) and 'Don Giovanni' (2008) – where after the student's first aria you already know what the rest of the evening will sound like. But it is these productions such as 'Die stumme Serenade' that demand the utmost from the singers and in which opera training is performed at its best! Six performances of 'Die stumme Serenade' in Arnhem had been announced, but because of the stampede on tickets, there are even two extra performances. Go see that!
The main subject of the opera is schizophrenia, the psychological crisis undergone by Clara, the heroine. Without a doubt this is a subject exceptional in an operatic work, yet at the same time one highly characteristic of the past century, in which arose thorough scientific studies of this serious mental illness. The atmosphere of The Mother of Black-Winged Dreams makes reference on a literary and theatrical level to expressionism, aspiring to extract and disclose the innermost experiences concealed within the individual. There are in the text too references to American culture and history, including popular cartoons, allowing us to discern in the psychological problems which beset Clara a source in the form of childhood trauma. The Mother of Black-Winged Dreams did not come about in a manner typical of opera. Hanna Kulenty, holding ready in her imagination the entire emotional and dramatic layer of the work, turned to the librettist, Paul Goodman, with a suggestion for a text on the subject of schizophrenia. It could therefore be said that the music was first to appear. Kulenty interfered in the text, demanding such features as multiple repetitions in order to obtain the effect of a verbal and musical mantra. She aspired to a blend of theatre and opera, for she is taken to be an opponent of traditional opera. In this no doubt lies the origin also of the double cast. The Mother of Black-Winged Dreams was presented to the public for the first time on 9 December 1996 at Theater im Marstall in Munich, the press stressing the suggestive power of the music. Following the success of the opera at the Münchener Biennale, Hanna Kulenty began to be regarded popularly as one of the most eminent among Polish composers.
Nikki Treurniet and the Polish-Dutch soprano Zofia Hanna share the role of Cendrillon and Maari Ernits and Deborah Saffery share the role of Prince. Hanna puts in a strong performance during the premiere. She combines a glowing timbre and smooth voice with great empathy. Ernits not only distinguishes himself with a voice that is as powerful as it is lyrical, but also gave her character – balancing between dominance and vulnerability – a great psychological depth. Add to this the two perfectly singing and acting sisters (Vera Fiselier and Laetitia Gerards) and the snippy stepmother (Mia van Essen) and David Visser as Cinderella's father and you have a cast with which you can show yourself when it comes to talent development. Also surprising is the idiosyncratic approach of the young director Caitlin van der Maas. She once worked as assistant director to Johan Simons and, in addition to theater, she was also involved in music theater to a modest extent. With Cendrillon (her first real major classical opera) she demonstrates a refreshing and unconventional view of the genre. She moves the acts to the backstage happening around a contemporary talent show. The king from the original libretto becomes record executive Mr. Le Roi and the prince becomes pop star Prince. It is a fresh, cheerful performance with a meaningful dramatic underlay, because her Cinderella is more than a fairy tale. It is also about social oppression, exploitation and (sexual) discrimination. The raw reality is opposed to romantic love. An interesting approach, which also works theatrically! However, there is still something to be said for her directing: she wants too much at once. The constant running and trotting on stage, the excess of film images, the sparse moments of rest: it is sometimes quite chaotic in which you as a spectator can discover little line. But all in all, this Cendrillon an excellent production, not in the least by the excellently performing Residentie Orkest, which, conducted by Walter Althammer, skilfully balanced between French frivolity and German romanticism.
