| A season of three revivals |
Welsh National Opera |
| Welsh National Opera- Magic Flute / Eugene Onegin , Wales Millennium Centre , March 3, 2008 |
This is very much a season of three revivals with the only real interest being the singers taking the leading roles.Very fortunately the revival of this surrealistic nightmare of Magic Flute is Rebecca Evans who is in a league of her own singing a Pamina that is so perfect in every way it is tempting to never go to see another Flute. Dramatically the Grammy Award winning singer knows how to capture a role and make it her own and the singing is sublime – a Mozart artist that ranks with the very best Wales has ever produced. The only possible downside is that Rebecca is so extremely good she outshines everyone else on the stage. Perhaps they raise their game in the process but apart from the fun and cheeky Papagano, prettily sung by BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Lieder Prize winner Neal Davies, I have not heard the other principles. American tenor Russell Thomas is a strong voiced Tamino with enough stage presence to cope both with Mozart and Schikaneder's original pantomime nonsense and the dire staging by Dominic Cooke, here revived by Bejamin Davis complete with all manner of Magritte inspired nonsense that adds nothing to the tale. And please take the crawling baby dolls back to the shop. American soprano Laure Meloy sang a crisp Queen of the Night coping admirably with the vocal fireworks that we love so much. Her three ladies, sung by Joanne Thomas, Anne-Marie Gibbons and BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2005 Welsh contestant Camilla Roberts were in fabulous form, dressed and maids with scarlet whorish petticoats and sung gloriously. David Soar is growing into a splendid singing force to be reckoned with and I look forward to hearing sing Sarastro as the years go by and we have even more richness and gravity in the voice. Next we had the John Macdonald staging of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin which gave us a lovely Tatyana from Penarth-based Nuccia Focile and a real thing Onegin from Moscow-born baritone Rodion Pogossov . I didn’t find Paul Charles Clarke’s Lensky the finest thing the singer has done. To my ear his voice does not sit as comfortably with the role than some of the other heroic tenor parts he has flourished in. Interestingly it was with the next revival we are to be offered next week, Peter Stein’s 1988 production of Falstaff – yes, with Bryn Terfel in the title role – that the now husband and wife team of Paul and Nuccia met singing Fenton and Nanetta. Alexandra Sherman sang an absolutely perfectly characterised Olga while Madame Larina and Filipyevna were charmingly sung and realised by Naomi Harvey and Kathleen Wilkinson. Brindley Sherratt sang Prince Gremin with gravitas and style deserving his warm reception at the curtain call. Michael Clifton-Thompson was both delightful and daft as Monsieur Triquet. But it was indeed Rodin Pogossov that was the interest of the show in a role that is hard to make either realistic or certainly sympathetic. He has to make the progression from the arrogant, cold and remote to love struck and desperate in one huge leap. Vocally and dramatically that journey succeeded. What does not quite arrive at the intended destination is Macdonald's production, here revived by Caroline Chaney , helped in no small part by the long and frankly unnecessary scene changes. How long does it take to shove a few hedges around the stage and speaking of moving around the stage could we just discard with the pillars and let the chorus do what they do best – sing – instead of play in and out the dusty bluebells or whatever the Russian version is. The costumes are gorgeous, and I am sure the dancing is authentic enough and the sets pretty in that minimalistic sort of way. But the waiting and waiting dilutes rather than heightens any sense of drama or tension. Alexander Polianichko in the pit had a massive task on his hand as the original production conductor was Tugan Sokhiev who excelled with the music of his native land, although the rest of the story of his time as musical director of WNO less happy matter. No worries in this department as Alexander is from the same musical stable and excels. Fortunately those who have tickets for Falstaff have no such worries as Peter Stein’s production remains a total joy. |
Reviewed by: Mike Smith |
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