| A personal and dynastic clash, laced with high melodrama and tragedy |
Welsh National Opera |
| Welsh National Opera- Mazeppa , Wales Millennium Centre , May 27, 2006 |
Welsh National Opera has another awesome musical hit on its hands with this bruising emotional powerhouse.Much has changed at WNO since the company first scheduled its bold Russian project, most notably the departure of its young St Petersburg musical director Tugan Sokhiev, no doubt the catalyst for the venture. Fortunately the company’s commitment to bring a wealth of music from that nation and tradition to Wales, particularly the lesser known gems such as Mazepa, was not diminished. And more is to follow. Perhaps gem is a somewhat misleading term for this dark and dramatically exhausting four hours of theatre, based on Pushkin’s poem Poltava, and as brooding and menacing a Russian work as you could imagine. This is extremely meaty fare, a personal and dynastic clash, laced with high melodrama and tragedy all swept along with Tchaikovsky’s evocative music that makes this an operatic opportunity that just must not be missed. While the wunderkind Sokhiev is long gone from the pit another conductor from the powerhouse that is the Mariinsky, Alexander Polianichko, gave us much to savour in this sweeping epic of an evening. Similarly the casting of two Russian female principals, Tatiana Monogarova and Marianna Tarasova, ensured an authentic flavour with the most glorious singing. Add to that three male principals of remarkable vocal style and character realisation and a richly sung and intense drama was ensured. The evening was an undeniable musical triumph with both principals and chorus alike demonstrating the company’s strength and depth in taking on such challenges and excelling. The story tells of the romantic and political ambitions of Mazepa, a 70 year old military leader fighting for Ukrainian independence from the Russian yoke. Directors Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser have had a somewhat mixed time of it in recent years with WNO and news that the pair was updating the work from the 17th to the late 20th century added an extra frisson of anticipation to the proceedings. It makes perfect sense to look at the position of Ukraine in the time of Russian expansion under the Tsars and compare it to the wars between the republics that have followed the collapse of the Soviet empire. It doesn’t add an awful lot to the appreciation of the opera but fortunately neither does it distract from the intensity of the music and beauty of the singing. The pair still can produce inspired touches. The crowd in Act Two, for example, gathers around a TV screen in Café Sputnik watching the prisoners approach their execution We are presented with austere and functional settings for the unfurling drama inhabited by drab Eastern bloc workers and the political elite and the obligatory pack of black-suited secret service agents complete with earpieces and revolvers. Cold and menacing, Robert Hayward carried off the characterisation of a chilling Soviet-style tyrant with aplomb, a ruthless dictator but genuinely in love with Mariyana. Also love struck is the equally doomed Andrei sung by Hugh Smith who particularly delighted with his Act One love aria. Both men were seemingly totally at ease singing in Russian. Outstanding was Gidon Saks who sang and acted a totally sympathetic Kochubei, here transformed into a heavy, 70 year-old man, broken by the loss of his beloved daughter to a man who he had regarded as a friend and comrade. From the opening scene in her family home to the opera’s close amongst the ruins of the building after Mazepa’s defeat at the Battle of Poltava soprano Tatianna Monogarova as Mariyana makes a harrowing journey from obsessive girl to insanity. While the physical direction in the mad scene was more than a tad overdone the singing was sensational. There is a further performance at Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday, May 27 and the company’s tour includes a performance at the North Wales Theatre, Llandudno on Saturday July 8. |
Reviewed by: Mike Smith |
This review has been read 1716 times There are 115 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
