the spanish panic
New York-centric as she is, La Cieca cannot help but sulk when she hears that the Met is in line for Nicholas Hynter‘s “rather limited” staging of Don Carlo that opened last night at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.Â
According to Dominic McHugh, writing at musicalcriticism.com,
Nicholas Hytner’s new staging – a costly co-production with the Metropolitan Opera and the Norwegian National Opera – is, for me, a disappointment … [T]he production satisfies few of Verdi’s more interesting dramaturgical ideas, says nothing new about most of the themes elaborated in the libretto and strikes me as rather limited in its stagecraft.
Almost without exception, the big arias and monologues were delivered with no attempt at expressing the text, be it Elisabetta’s ‘Tu che le vanita’ or the King’s great soliloquy ….
But for an opera which has such potential for beauty and grandeur, Bob Crowley‘s designs are curiously lacking in inspiration. Act I shows us white plastic trees, two white tree stumps and a piece of white sheeting on the ground to represent snow; the cloister of San Yuste is represented by a pitifully basic tomb with ‘Carlos’ written on the side; the wall in Act II, Part 2 looks as if it’s been made out of giant Lego bricks with a cross-shaped hole in the middle; and the King’s Study scene has rarely been so emptily or dully staged in my experience. All the symbolism has been too broadly painted – religion and the loneliness of power are represented but not explored to their full potential – and on the other hand, the loud shouting and jeering of the chorus during the condemnation of the heretics in Act III is wildly excessive …
On the other hand, Rolando Villazón wins enthusiastic praise for the “elegance of line” and “classical nuance” of his singing, which the reviewer found “deeply moving.” Not surprisingly, though, “Villazón was occasionally a little too neurotic in terms of acting.”
The Met Futures page is currently under construction, so La Cieca can’t check this, but it seems that Villazón’s Carlos is one element of this production that will not make the journey to New York. Instead, we get the plastic trees and the Lego cloister.
La Cieca—
Just for the sake of fairness/balance…a link to the other review I’ve found of the DON CARLO production…a rave. For the purposes of context, Dominic McHugh was the only major Brittish music critic to have panned the Pelly REGIMENT when it played at Covent Garden. Just FYI…
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/don-carlo-royal-opera-house-lo
to abandon the john dexter production for this? franco zeffirelli must be spinning in his grave
Back in 2001 I attended a “Don Carlo” performance in Dublin that featured an all-Russian cast, with no one I’d ever seen or heard before (or since). The singing was OK — it was a small venue so the voices didn’t need to be huge — but the most striking element was having the stage covered in leaves. It was much like last year’s “Onegin” at the Met in that respect. What is it with Russians and dead leaves?
Here’s a functioning link to the rave review
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/don-carlo-royal-opera-house-london-842111.html
OMG Zeffirelli died and went unnoticed!!!
Oliverio, perhaps Signor Zeffirelli intends to emulate Carlos V. (“E la voce di Franco!”)
Say what you will about this production, Simon Keenlyside seems to be having a very good time indeed.
Maybe due to the staging. So why panic?
To be honest, the orange wall WAS hideous, the tomb WAS pitiful (though “bombastic” rather than “basic” would seem the more appropriate description) and the heretic scene was painful to watch (and not in a good way). But these faults were glaring only because the rest of the direction and set design was so strikingly good. Hytner’s use of space and minimalist (though monumental) architecture somehow managed to seem entirely fresh, and rarely has lighting been used so effectively in a production of the opera. Vocally, Villazon’s occasional cracks and wobbles were a cause for concern – not because they detracted seriously from his magnificently intense performance, but because they may herald further dangers down the road. Poplavskaya was a disappointment, through and through; the part may be a demanding one, but presumably ROH knew that already when they cast her to replace La Gheorghiu. McHugh is absolutely right, however, in praising Furlanetto – his was a truly outstanding performance (and vastly more convincing than Pape’s version at the Met last year).
this is an abomination capable of limited praise only in London. The cast is acceptable for a small house like covent garden, Villazon must have a death wish. Don Carlo is NOT for him or Vargas the two I have seen recently. Lego is right and plastic train set trees/ this is coming here?