Royal Opera: Les Troyens

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

I heard that kauffman was to withdraw from this production. What a loss for the team! His health is getting worse?

Kaufmann withdrew from all operatic engagements in May and June. He did appear before the Champions League final in Munich, but mimed. Fans were worried it was something serious, but it seems he is getting back to vocal health and will resume his calendar shortly. He has already withdrawn from the Troyens prom performance, which I suspect is out of fairness to Bryan Hymel who has stepped in so valiantly at Covent Garden. http://www.jonaskaufmann.com/de/4/#34

[Prommer]

It is such a shame to relay this, but I have it on high authority that J. Kaufmann, whom I respect very much as a performer and as an artist, was in the case of Les Troyens not prepared to commit the time to rehearsals that the ROH required, and that, even when (after much soul-searching) they offered some compromises, these were dismissed as inadequate. In other words, this is not a problem confined to serial cancellers and obvious divas, but has become a deep-rooted and systemic problem even with those at the top of their game. The reason? The high demand for, and lack of supply of, top singers at the major international houses leading to artists knowing what they can get away with, especially when they can see the returns of concert tours compared to a run of performances even at a big house. They need to keep a toe hold at such places, but they also know that their demands will mostly be met, and that they need not devote much time to different productions of pieces they already have in their repertoire. Oh dear!

[Flosshilde]

But does that tally with IGI's comment that he withdrew from all operatic engagements in May & June?

[Prommer]

No, not at first blush - but apparently this is what he was asking for behind the scenes. I can only assume that, once he had elected to withdraw, a reason of illness was the preferred get-out rather than coming clean on these backstage manoeuvres, and that therefore he had to cancel other appointments that fell in the period for fear of his new performance policy becoming known and causing some collateral reputation damage.

[David-G]

I would not agree with Il Grande Inquisitor that the Carthage acts are weaker dramatically than the Trojan ones. I have never felt this with previous productions that I have seen. If that seemed the case here, I would put that down in part to the production, but also to our Dido being a less compelling actress than our Cassandra. Of course, the mood of the Carthaginian acts is quite different; less tense, and more expansive.

McVicar tried very hard to be faithful to Berlioz's intentions and to the spirit of the opera. I felt that if he did not always succeed, it was a very genuine attempt, and in consequence I enjoyed the production greatly.

Incidentally, we were told in no uncertain terms by David Cairns at the Study Day that dividing the opera into two parts was absolutely against Berlioz's intentions, and that one should NOT refer to "Part 1" and "Part 2" !

[Mandryka]

I saw this yesterday.

To turn the critical consensus somewhat on its heard, I vastly preferred the Carthage part to the Troy part and felt that Westbroek (who has been sharply criticised for her portrayal of Dido) was more memorable than Antonacci.

The arrival of Mercury at the end of the fourth act was a magical moment of theatre.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

If that seemed the case here, I would put that down in part to the production, but also to our Dido being a less compelling actress than our Cassandra. Of course, the mood of the Carthaginian acts is quite different; less tense, and more expansive.

Several friends who've seen the production (more than once) have said how wonderful it would be to have Antonacci as Dido as well... in which case they should head to the South Bank for the OAE's concert on 30th September, where she sings some of Dido's music, along with arias from Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride and Cherubini's Médée:

http://www.oae.co.uk/event/queens-he...eras-of-divas/

I saw this yesterday.

To turn the critical consensus somewhat on its heard, I vastly preferred the Carthage part to the Troy part and felt that Westbroek (who has been sharply criticised for her portrayal of Dido) was more memorable than Antonacci.

The arrival of Mercury at the end of the fourth act was a magical moment of theatre.

One of several friends who've seen multiple performances said that yesterday was EMW's best Dido by far. I agree that Mercury's arrival was spine-tingling - and 'Nuit d'ivresse' is such a wonderful duet.

[David-G]

I already have tickets for the OAE concert! I am greatly looking forward to it. The first time that I saw Antonacci was at an OAE concert in the early 90s, when she sang Ermione (Hermione) in a concert performance of Rossini's opera. This was one of the most stunning concerts that I have ever attended. She repeated the role a couple of years later at Glyndebourne, also with the OAE; that also had a terrific impact.

I found when watching Antonacci as Cassandre that I needed constant recourse to my handkerchief, as I constantly felt myself choking up with the intensity of the performance. Although Westbroek sang very beautifully, I am afraid that the handkerchief was not required. I am going to "Les Troyens" again on the 11th, and will be interested to see if my reactions are different in any way.

[Belgrove]

I too saw this on Sunday and agree with Mandryka. Antonacci sang with great sensitivity but was underpowered and frequently swamped by the orchestra, surprising since Pappano is usually sympathetic to singers. Her acting derived from the semaphore school of a past age (or a Peter Sellars production). The whole thing lifted in Act 4 from the song to Ceres by Iopas (the excellent Ji-Min Park), through the quintet to the love duet. This was exquisite and the highlight of the show, magically lit on stage. I found Westbroek a moving and sympathetic Didon. Hymel did well enough, but Enee strikes me as a rather unsatisfactory role, Narbal being rather more interesting as a character and musically. Opera has to provide a test for the principals, and this work provides challenges in full measure.

It is a work I have not seen or heard in any form, so my reactions are purely on the impact of the music in the theatre. It is a singularity, not having any obvious progenitor nor any subsequent children. Its adherence to the Grand operatic conventions makes it a museum piece rather than a work making a statement for today. The orchestration is sometimes stunning (the hushed pantomime accompanying the votive offerings by Hector’s widow and child was very beautifully played by the orchestra), sometimes vulgar and simply noisy rather than awesome. But it is the unique voice of Berlioz. It is neither a fresh paragraph nor full stop in the history of opera, perhaps an apostrophe?

I’ll listen again to the Prom performance, it being shorn of the busy and spectacular visuals that the stage presents (was that Baal or the Terminator looming above Carthage at the very end?) I’m really thrilled to have seen this, especially since it seems to have a once in a generation outing, but cannot help thinking that the infrequency of its production may be justified.

[mercia]

This is being streamed on July 5th on thespace.org

I've just stumbled across the space

http://thespace.org/items/s0000e78