Recenzijas par iepriekšējiem iestudējumiem
7Ruders’s detailed orchestral colours are never dull, swerving from the sweet tonality of Amazing Grace (quoted in the score) to aggressive dissonance, enhanced by a battery or instruments from harpsichord and piano to xylophone, bells, gongs, woodblocks, unidentifiable grindings and sizzlings and the insistent ambush of a large bass drum. Every aspect of the singing and production is impressive, fluently staged with a backdrop of drapes and a few mobile set pieces such as The Wall. The women of English National Opera’s chorus have many opportunities to shine, and do. The hardworking ENO orchestra excels.
Ruders and his librettist, Paul Bentley, have succeeded magnificently in transferring a book, much of whose action is in memories and internal monologue, to the stage. Flashbacks to Offred’s Life Before with her mother, husband, and daughter are back-projected black-and-white film. Act One ends with a birth — to the Handmaid Ofwarren, a moment of communal rejoicing — Act Two with a death, the whole framed by an academic symposium in which a historian in 2065 — Call My Agent!’s Camille Cottin — plays us Offred’s clandestine tapes, making it clear from the start that Gilead, like Nazi Germany, is a historical aberration.
Anita Hartig and Ellie Dehn share similar voice types, which makes their fourth-act shenanigans when Susanna and the Countess swap identities more convincing than usual. Each has a feather-light timbre – indeed, there were moments in "Dove sono" when Dehn's could have done with guy ropes to weigh it down – and they bring such airiness to their big duet, "Sull'aria", that they all but waft away on the breeze. The scene stealer in this revival is Heather Engebretson as Barbarina, who peeps in like a schoolgirl then pipes up like a diva. The young American is a name to watch and a perfect partner for Kate Lindsey's gangling, hopelessly priapic Cherubino. Of the opera's other comic roles, the great mezzo Ann Murray is on her best vinegary form as Marcellina, but the Bartolo and Basilio of Carlo Lepore and Krystian Adam are a touch under-characterised. Ivor Bolton conducts a ROH Orchestra composed of stay-at-homes from the company's Japanese tour, no doubt bolstered by deps, but the standard is as high as one would expect of a band bearing the house name. Despite some fastish tempo choices, matters are mostly (but not invariably) secure between pit and stage, so Mozart carries the day and bliss is king.
When it emerged that one of the world’s biggest companies had hired a young and almost completely inexperienced guy for their latest effort, many were perturbed. But Chris Addison proves them wrong in Emmanuel Chabrier’s L’Étoile which has opened at the Royal Opera House. The comedian — known for his role in The Thick Of It — plays Smith, a role which fits his acting and stand-up talents like a glove. It involves, after all, the kind of zany and bizarre plot that would turn Malcolm Tucker into a mute pile of flailing eyebrows.Kate Lindsey stands out in her turn as Lazuli; her singing on O petite étoile, where Lazuli thanks his lucky star is especially poignant. Ouf’s Couplets de pal (describing his penchant for impaling) is the perfect introduction to this opera’s dark humour.The acting across the cast raises the laugh levels as does a set inspired by Terry Gilliam’s work for Monty Python. The addition of many modern references — including verbal nods to the Mayor of London and the capital’s most famous consulting detective — gives L’Étoile unexpected twists when they are least expected. On the same night that Addison popped his opera cherry, director Mariame Clement opened her account in Covent Garden and conductor Mark Elder celebrated 40 years of waving a baton for the Royal Opera House. This low-profile and laudable production may yet lay the groundwork for more milestones yet.
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.
Olga Neuwirth - ORLANDO - WORLD PREMIERE - 08.12.201 Eric Jurenas as GUARDIAN ANGEL - Wiener Staatsoper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Presiding over all this is the GUARDIAN ANGEL: Eric Jurenas, whose smooth and full-bodied countertenor was a highlight…“ (New York Times) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "... Eric Jurenas brings a luminous countertenor to the part of the GUARDIAN ANGEL..." (Financial Times) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "... by the ethereal countertenor Eric Jurenas as GUARDIAN ANGEL..." (The Guardian) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „…rewelacyjny kontratenor Eric Jurenas jako Anioł Stróż (GUARDIAN ANGEL)…” (Polytika Kultura) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "... The countertenor Eric Jurenas as the GUARDIAN ANGEL and .... gave stand-out vocal performances..." (classicalvoicesamerica) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ".... Kate Lindsey ist ein/e überaus stark/e Orlando, ihr Schutzengel / GUARDIAN ANGEL ist der fabelhafte Counter Eric Jurenas...." (Salzburger Nachrichten) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „…Vigiando tudo isso tá o anjo da Guarda, Eric Jurenas, cuja voz contratenor suave e encorpada foi um destaque…“ (Estadão de Sao Paulo) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Und das ist ein Jammer, denn Kate Lindsay in der Hauptrolle singt ebenso großartig wie der Counter Eric Jurenas als GUARDIAN ANGEL…“ (BR Klassik) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...In weiteren wichtigen Rollen konnten der Countertenor Eric Jurenas als GUARDIAN ANGEL und .... gefallen….“ (Online Merker) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Beifall freilich auch für die Sänger in der soliden Regie von Polly Graham – allen voran für Kate Lindsey als koloraturenreiche(n) Orlando, Counter Eric Jurenas als GUARDIAN ANGEL, Anna Clementi in der Sprechrolle der Erzählerin – und für das Staatsopernorchester…“ (Wiener Zeitung) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Sie schaffen – wie auch ..... und Eric Jurenas (als GUARDIAN ANGEL) – hochkarätige Momente…“ (Der Standart) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „...Orlandos GUARDIAN ANGEL hingegen war in eine graue Decke gehüllt und sah eher aus wie der Tod, obwohl der fantastische Countertenor Eric Jurenas überaus warme und einfühlsame Töne ausströmte…“ (Klassik Info de) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ „…. Denn bei aller stilistischen Vielfalt darf sich Kate Lindsey immer nur in allzu kurzen Ariosi entfalten, bleiben erst recht die anderen Sänger des personalintensiven Abends letztlich zu Statistenrollen verdammt, sogar der Engel des Countertenors Eric Jurenas, der Orlando als ANGEL begleitet….“ (Süddeutsche Zeitung) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "... von den über 30 Gesangssolisten seien neben Orlando von .... und der Schauspielerin Clementi stellvertretend noch Eric Jurenas (GUARDIAN ANGEL) und ... für ein insgesamt hoch engagiertes und überzeugendes Ensemble genannt..." (Peter Sommeregger)
