DVD: Rattle Walküre from Aix

Die Walküre. Aix-en-Provence 2007. Production: Stéphane Braunschweig. Cast: Eva Johansson (Brünnhilde), Robert Gambill (Siegmund), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Sieglinde), Sir Willard White (Wotan), Lilli Paasikivi (Fricka). Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin Philharmonics.

Stéphane Braunschweig´s Walküre may perhaps best be described as Wotan´s human test tube, conceptually rather similar to Claus Guth´s recent Walküre in Hamburg but executed with an additional touch of aesthetic psychoanalysis.
A postmodern Freudian test tube with the characters moving in confined, virtually bare and closed Freudian spaces limited by elegant geometrical lines, symbol-laden steps and with stunning light effects applied. A very beautiful production allowing for focus on the music without losing scope of the drama on stage.

Robert Gambill both looks and acts the part as the weary Siegmund, but struggles with actually singing it. Eva-Maria Westbroek is simply superb as Sieglinde and is probably the finest jugendlich-dramatische soprano of today. Mikhail Petrenko looks like a second-rate Russian mobster with ditto authority as Hunding. Sir Willard White is dramatically, if not at all times vocally, superb. If Eva Johansson manages to control her quavering notes under pressure and her tendency to neurotic acting she will be a great Brünnhilde. Lilli Paasikivi was furthermore fine as Fricka.

Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonics were simply splendid in what will be Sir Simon´s first Ring Cycle in 2010. Slow tempi, poignant string and brass sections with plenty of energy and tension. I´ve previously considered Sir Simon Rattle more proficient in the non-conducting areas of his job (communication, programming etc) than in actually making the music. That he is such a fine Wagnerian conductor is the surprise of the year, so far. At least to me.

The complete televised performance on which this DVD is based is now available for free viewing at YouTube.

This is a review of the DVD release, also available on bluray.

Eva-Maria Westbroek and Robert Gambill from Act 1:

Ride of the Valkyries:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Sir Willard White: 4
Eva Johansson: 4
Eva-Maria Westbroek: 5
Mikhail Petrenko: 3-4
Lilli Paasikivi: 4-5
Robert Gambill: 3

Stephane Braunschweig´s production: 4

Sir Simon Rattle: 5

Overall impression: 4

DVD: Damnation de Faust from Salzburg with Fura del Baus

Le damnation de Faust. Salzburg Festival, Felsenreitschule 2ooo. Director: Fura del Baus. Cast: Paul Groves (Faust), Willard White (Méphistophéles), Vesselina Kasarova (Marguerite). Conductor: Sylvain Cambreling with the Staatskapelle Berlin. Further information here.

When this staging of Berlioz´ Damnation de Faust by the Catalán theater troupe Fura del Baus opened at the 1999 Salzburg Festival it was rapturously received by press and audiences alike.

And indeed Fura del Baus has created a staggeringly spectacular and grandiose production, in in one of the best operatic stagings I have encountered.

A gigantic transparent cylinder is placed center stage in and around which most of the action takes place. The cylinder is a melting furnace. From the accompanying booklet we learn that Faust, like everyone else, daily empties his psychic substance (the milk cylinder on his back) in the cylinder, advancing to a suicide attempt when he, during a total eclipse throws himself into it. Through a connecting tube of the cylinder the re-forged Faust meets his shadow, Méphistopheles. Méphistopheles and Faust are unseparable, like night and day, confusing Faust´s real and fragile soul (Marguerite). As she is Faust´s soul, Faust is forced to make a pact with Méphistophéles to rescue her, when she flees from the unlikely pair. Méphistophéles and Faust then plunge into the melting furnace - Faust accepts his shadow side - Méphistophéles has won.

State of the art cybertechniques are used to astonishing effects. The backdrop consists the intrinsic arches of the Felsenreitschule, extraordinarily successfully integrated into the stage. Shatteringly beautiful and powerfully symbolic.

Sylvain Cambreling has received much praise for his conducting. Slightly surprising to me, as I find he lacks the powerful and dense reading capable of revealing the full depth of the score.

Willard White is a superb Méphistophéles - if only it had been an acting role. As one of less than a handful of singers around, he has the necessary Méphistophélean authority. Vocally, however, he unfortunately competes with the greatest basso cantantes in history, and while he does the declamatory parts well, I miss the beautiful voice in parade arias such as the Serenade ("Maintenant chantons..) and the Aria ("Voici des Roses").

Paul Groves is a lyrical Faust, appropriately overpowered by Willard White, especially dramatically. Vesselina Kasarova has a sort of androgyne air to her appearance, which makes her particularly intriguing as the black Marguerite, Faust´s soul.

In my opinion, it is simply not possible to mount a better staged production of Damnation de Faust. If only this production could be copied and pasted into Gounod´s Faust it would be absolutely revelatory.

The epilogue (Remonte au ciel ame naive):

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Paul Groves: 4
Willard White: 4
Vesselina Kasarova: 4

Fura del Baus´ concept: 5

Sylvain Cambreling: 4

Overall impression: 5

DVD: Aix-en-Provence Falstaff tragedy with Willard White

Falstaff. Aix-en-Provence 2001. Production: Herbert Wernicke. Cast: Willard White (Falstaff), Geraldine McGreevy (Alice Ford), Marcus Jupither (Ford), Yann Beuron (Fenton), Miah Persson (Nannetta), Charlotte Hellekant (Meg Page), Nora Gubisch (Mrs. Quickly). Conductor: Enrique Mazzola with Orchestre de Paris. Further information here.

Fist of all, this Falstaff is no comedy. For once, Falstaff is not the laughable, fat figure.
Willard White´s Falstaff is a virile, somber man, being ousted by society. Why, the staging does not reveal, though the accompanying booklet states this to be racially motivated, as Willard White is the only black man on stage. Though the racist angle is not obvious from watching the minimalistic staging, which take place in a single room lined with wooden walls with the characters wearing period costumes. Admittedly, there is a certain 19th century Southern State feeling to this production, though I may not have had this impression had I not read the racism comment in the booklet.

Willard White is a superb stage actor, who plays Falstaff like he was Filippo of Spain. Though his voice is rather dry, it doesn´t really detract from his fine performance. Small wonder Charlotte Hellekant´s fine Meg has an affair with him.
Of the others, Miah Persson shines as Nanetta, while her upcoming husband is more anonymous. Geraldine McGreevy unfortunately does not make a good Alice Ford, being rather shrill and devoid of charm.
Neither does Enrique Mazzola really make the orchestra bubble, though bubbly may not be an aim to this almost tragic Falstaff.

The DVD direction is of unusually low quality, often the camera focus on singers not relevant to the action. Distinctly similar to the appallingly poor filmed Zurich Tannhäuser, and as it turned out, the DVD director was the same: Chloe Perlemuter.

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Willard White: 4
Geraldine McGreevy: 2
Marcus Jupither: 4
Miah Persson: 5
Yann Beuron: 4
Nora Gubish:4
Charlotte Hellekant: 4

Wernickes staging: 3

Enrique Mazzola: 3

Overall impression: 3

Haitink conducts Parsifal at the Royal Opera, London

So why is the Royal Opera staging this not-very-short-and-undemanding piece after the equally not-very-short--etc. Ring? Simply because when asked, in what and when to make his return to Covent Garden, Haitink had said "Parsifal. 2007". More information on the performances here.

Earlier this year in Zürich, Bernard Haitink conducted a fine Parsifal. Also the London-reviewers (list below) universally praised Haitinks conducting an the singers, especially Sir John Tomlinson and Petra Lang. Though not much praise was allocated to recently deceased Klaus Michael Grübers staging..

Reviews:

The Stage
The Observer
The Times
The Telegraph
The Independent
Musicalcriticism
Intermezzo
MusicOMH