From the chat of the dead
La Cieca invites all you Deadheads to chat during tonight’s Met season premiere of From the House of the Dead. The chat begins at 7:45 pm.
Synopsis (from metopera.org):
Act I
The yard of a Russian prison camp. Early in the morning, prisoners leave their barracks to wash. An argument breaks out, and there is talk of a new prisoner, a “gentleman” named Gorianchikov. When he arrives, the commandant interrogates him and demands to know what he has been imprisoned for. When Gorianchikov replies that he is a “political prisoner,” the commandant orders him to be flogged. A prisoner plays with a captured eagle whose wing seems to be broken. The others admire its defiance in captivity. The commandant orders a group of prisoners off to work. Among those remaining is Skuratov, who begins singing snatches of a song, annoying Luka. Skuratov dementedly recalls his former life in Moscow, then suddenly breaks into a frenzied dance and collapses. Luka talks about his previous imprisonment for vagrancy. He tells how he killed an officer and was flogged for his offence. The guards drag in Gorianchikov, beaten half to death.
Act II
Some months later, prisoners are working outside the fence of the camp. Gorianchikov asks the young Alyeya about his family and offers to teach him to read and write. The boy eagerly accepts. When the day’s work is done, bells sound from the town, announcing a holiday. Townspeople arrive and a priest gives his blessing. Some men ask Skuratov why he was imprisoned, and he tells how his love for a German girl named Luyza led him to murder the man she was forced to marry. For a long time prisoners have been rehearsing two pantomimes, which they now perform: the first about Don Juan, the second about a miller’s pretty and unfaithful wife. When the show is over, bleak reality returns. A whore passes and a young prisoner goes off with her. Gorianchikov and Alyeya drink tea, which infuriates some of the other prisoners, who think it “gentlemanlike.” One of them hurls a jug at Alyeya, who falls unconscious. Guards rush in to restore order.
Act III
Alyeya lies in the prison hospital, delirious with fever and watched over by Gorianchikov. In other parts of the ward are Luka, close to death, and Skuratov, now mad and crying out for Luyza. Another prisoner named Shapkin describes how a police officer, who interrogated him after he was caught in a burglary, almost tore his ears off.
Night falls and silence returns, broken by an old prisoner lamenting that he will never see his children again. Prompted by Cherevin, Shishkov tells the story of his imprisonment: he married a girl named Akulina who allegedly had been dishonored by another man, Filka Morozov. But Filka later revealed that he had been lying about his relationship with the girl, who was in fact innocent. When Akulina confessed to Shishkov that she still loved only Filka, Shishkov killed her. By the end of the tale Luka has died. Only now does Shishkov recognize him as his old enemy, Filka. The body is carried away. A guard arrives with orders for Gorianchikov to follow him.
A few hours later, the commandant, drunk, apologizes to Gorianchikov and tells him that he is free. His chains are knocked off and, desperately, he says goodbye to Alyeya, who will stay in jail. The prisoners release the eagle, whose wing has healed, to shouts of “Freedom!” The guards order them off to work, and prison life goes back to its routine.
What a relief that the voices began. Orchestral stuff before that didn’t sound like prime Jana.
Hello
Maybe not the greatest Janacek orchestral music, but ESP’s conducting is stunning. Whoa!
Sorry, EPS’s conducting…
Sounding better and better. I guess it was I who was not “warmed up.”
I thought it got better and better too.
I think this was the first time that Will & Margaret’s description of the sets and the staging actually made me wish I were there in the house watching this.
I am not familiar with this opera, but I am mesmerized by what I am hearing.
Can’t wait to see it on December 2nd!
Same here re: seeing the opera. Going to last performance on Dec 5.
The orchestra sounds amazingly wonderful tonight, in this!!
They’re very good. Having watched the DVD three times I wish I was seeing it!
Tonight they sound as good as any orchestra in the world.
The orchestra always sounds better than the singers.
This score has such propulsion to it, it’s like an engine. Amazing stuff. And the orchestra sounds terrific.
Stunning. The end of Act I (at least I assume that’s what happened just before the pause) was stunning. I’ve just started getting acquainted with Janacek in the last few years. Each new work I encounter seems better than the previous, and by many accounts this is his finest — or at least his finest opera.
I do have the video of this production, but I’ve intentionally refrained from viewing it, since I’ll get to see it on the 21st. I’m kind of glad I get to hear it first. The music very clearly heightens the distress, anger and despair, by interspersing moments of lightheartedness and hopeful color. I’ll be interested to see how (and even, if) that plays out in the staging.
Nemluvím ?esky
I’m SO glad you said that.
Peter Mattei sounded wonderful, much much different than Gerd. The tempos were much faster than on the DVD
Janacek really speaks to me. I am so glad I heard this.
That was lovely. Damn that pesky working for a living. I’d love to come to NY to see this.
I wish I lived anywhere within train or driving distance. I’d love to see it too.
One of the more musically interesting evenings so far this season
No Tosca-style booing here. Could be the biggest triumph of the last several seasons at the Met.
I came home from a dress rehearsal of Orfeo with David Daniels (wonderful!)and turned this on. I had seen the opera before and I was not much interested. This performance just sucked me in. I wish I were up there.
This is the first time I heard this opera. Being a non musically trained and ignoramus, I found the orchestral and choral part on Sirius stunning; but the vocal part colorlessly idiomatic that didn’t anything for me. I’d like to have a recording with only the orchestral and choral part. Period.
Constatine, I think you would appreciate the vocal score more when you understand that it is composed to reflect different dialects of the different prisoners. There is no melody per se, but the dramatic intensity of their emotional experience is reflected in the orchestral drive through folk song elements and many other pieces to give richness and intensit to the rather horrid existence many of these men have lived. If you read the libretto (which comes subtitled with the DVD) you will probably be able to appreciate it more. The final story told by Shishkov is especially moving and tragic. Peter Mattei sings it almost too beautifully. Gerd Grochowski sings in a more straightforward dramatic style on the DVD. I highly recommend you give it another shot.
I’m glad I heard this. I would love to see it live in the house. It was good to hear excited cheering from the Met audience.
This was a breathtaking evening at the Met. Many thanks to all involved. To find this kind of perfectly realized production of a score, I think you’d have to go back to such legendary productions as the first Wozzeck, the Merrill-O’Hearn Frau, and Dexter’s Carmelites and Billy Budd.
Chereau and company TRUSTED this wonderful music and they honored the work at every turn. I’m still completely stunned by what I heard and saw tonight.
I’m going down to the met tomorrow and getting tickets for several more performances. This sort of thing does NOT come along every day. Go.
Trusting the music is so important and in today’s regie, gimmicky environment is too often lost. How ironic that Chereau, a (perhaps unintentional) founders of the regie style, stages a production that brings opera to apparently closer to what the art form is supposed to represent, a union of music, acting, stagecraft, etc. Based on what I heard on the broadcast, I think Esa-Pekka’s conducting is more idiomatic than Boulez’s reading on the DVD. ESP is definitely in Makerras’s league.
Those of you who live in NYC and can see this production several times are so fortunate. The Frau and Carmelite comparisons may well be apposite (that original Met Frau still remains my most memorable evening in any opera house). As noted above, I’m seeing the very last performance of FTHOTD this season and after the prima broadcast, I’m anticipating it even more.
Lucky me. I hold 2 orchestra seats for Dec. 2nd.
Can’t wait. Janacek is a favorite of mine.
It is good to see such a positive reaction to Janacek’s work. It is also interesting that only 28 posts went up on Parterre last night, compared with the many hundreds that posted for Puccini a month ago, and other opening nights besides.
Please take our simple survey. Do you think that Parterre is a meeting-place for those with conservative tastes? Is Janacek simply not radio-friendly, a You-Gotta-Be-There kind of talent? Or perhaps in the final analysis it is a language thing?
Or you may have a theory of your own, in which event it would be good to hear it.
No, I don’t think Parterre Boxers are much more conservative than the general opera audience. And I don’t think Janacek is inherently radio-unfriendly. What is true is that this is a very unfamiliar work to most of us, so we tend to be too busy getting our bearings to have much to say about the performance while it’s taking place, beyond general impressions of how wonderful/horrible/incomprehensible it all is. (I’m looking forward to seeing it in two weeks.)
It may be that those of us listening were so enthralled by the performance that we weren’t posting. A lot of the posts are because Madame A or Tenor B sharped a note or the conducting was lethargic or whatever. Or because of the inane intermission chatter (which we were spared last night).
While it’s also true far fewer people were probably listening to the broadcast than Turandot my sense is most Parterrettes are open to worthwhile opera experiences of many types.
If it had been the prima of that incredible 1994 Met Death in Venice, posts would also probably been fewer than for, say, a La Gioconda prima. I just hope THOTD sales are better than the DIV boxoffice, which was catastrophic.
Can anyone who attended the performance tell us if the house was sold out?
I was listening but didn’t post because: 1. I had my eyes glued to the libretto; 2. there’s no “down time” in House, unlike most operas; and 3. yes, I was enthralled and deeply moved by what I was listening to.
I agree with Indiana L III: Parterre commenters seem to be about as conservative or not as the general opera audience.
As for me, I actually wrote a comment last night but didn’t submit it because it amounted to not much more than “I find this music so beautiful.” Not knowing the work, not having the libretto, I didn’t feel confident commenting on more than the music and the sound of the voices. I wish I could see this at the Met but will have to settle for the DVD.
As for Janacek not being well suited to radio, I disagree in general. THIS work, however, seemed to have many instrumental passages where I could tell something was happening on the stage (because of all the stage noise) but there were no words to guide me.
I agree that the lack of comments probably comes from the fact that most people are hearing the work for the first time. With the standard rep, there’s a comment every 15 seconds about this phrase or that note…
You’ve forgotten that there are no opportunities for divas in House of the Dead, kashania …
Ugh. I’m afraid MN speaks sense. Just yesterday, a friend was telling me that he’s not interested in seeing “Fanciulla” next year or the current “Otello” because there are no or few arias for women. People like what they like, but I wish the audience were greater for works like these. I for one really like hearing all that testosterone last night. I feel I can hear diva arias in every other opera so I appreciate the variety FTHOTD offers.
Desdemona has wonderful, heartfelt music, as most, or all, of us know and Fanciulla has a great score. Sad that so many people eschew such operas (and Falstaff, Pelleas, Britten, Janacek, etc.).
What House of the Dead clearly needs is the participation of Netrebko or Fleming, or better yet, Dessay.
Don’t forget Katherine Jenkins!
OMG. They could restage it a la “Cell Block H,” with all women prisoners and guards!
Funny, Cruz!
The house appeared to be sold out for the House of the Dead premiere. All seats in the family circle and balcony were filled, and all the side boxes, both view at angle and partial view were full, which usually indicates a sellout.
Excellent. I’m shocked that only 7 performances are scheduled.
Well papered, I hear!
Well, there are only three Lulus in May, and they seem to be selling fast.
cruz sf and others: House of the dead is not selling well. Despite what the Met would have you think, they are not having a very good season at the box office so far. Besides, janacek never sells well in new york. Anyone remember the half-empty jenufa w/ mattila and silja? What a pity that such incredible performances and music were appreciated by so few!
I would like to appreciate Janacek more. Word on the street is that Fleming wants to sing Jeunfa again (maybe at the Met?). She’ll draw in a bigger audience.
That is a shame. Hopefully, they’ll be able to revive it next season, when the economy might be more favorable for the audience.
Considering how expensive it is to launch a production, I’m surprised that any new productions are ever attempted. It must take years for the expenses to be recouped, much less show a profit. I read recently (on another blog) that the great Il Trittico production we just had here didn’t bank big bucks despite being sold out every (or nearly every) night.
As La Cieca understands it, a new production at the Met is always underwritten; that is, someone gives an earmarked donation to the Met that pays for the new sets and costumes, designers’ fees, and so forth. That’s why this current season the shows that were cut from the repertoire were all revivals instead of canceling new productions. I would guess that the thinking behind the Trittico was to build another Zeffirelli-style spectacle, though it may be that this is simply the way Jack O’Brien saw the piece, i.e., ginormous.
Interesting. I wonder if all opera companies work this way. Is there no other way to launch a new production because of the enormous costs?
I’m disappointed Trittico won’t be an HD broadcast. Maybe next year?
I doubt they Met will be re-running operas on the HD broadcast schedule. Trittico was already broadcast during its premiere. Maybe in a few years, they’ll start to repeat productions but not yet.
Good point re: Met sales. Top-priced 12/4 Figaro orchestra seats have dropped to $200. A few weeks ago I plunked down nearly $300 for a seat in the same section of the orchestra.
I don’t think the prices have dropped….is it possible you are noticing the difference between weekday vs. weekend performances or the egregious difference between “premium” isle seats and the $100 cheaper prime seats right next to them?
Ah, I have an aisle seat, so that explains it. Wanted a clear view of Luca. ; ))
Box office is always weak during the first couple months of the season. Tosca, Turandot, Rosenkavalier, and (surprisingly) Aida have all done very well; the Mozart operas were weak, as expected; I think the only surprise was the lack of interest in Faust.
Nonsense. I’ve attended several performances each of Rosenkavalier, Tosca, Aida, and Turandot which seemed to be sold out, even in standing room upstairs.
Mireille Delunsch will sing Jenufa next spring in Bordeaux. That should be fascinating. Beautiful theater, too.
yes Buster – she’s really something. I hope she’ll do it elsewhere eventually.
Just taking the opportunity to post this again, one of my all-time favorite videos:
Rapt: That’s a lovely video. Thanks for sharing.
they used the same damn set in Cardillac!! damn paris opera
kashania, Oh, was it? I missed it. I’ll look for it on DVD.
Maybe it’s me (naah), but I don’t think you can listen to a performance and comment (e.g. in a chat room) at the same time, and if I want to hear the music I turn off chat. As it happened, I was in the house last night and it seemed sold out, and a very social occasion. But Janacek is not as popular as Puccini, and they would have been foolish to give many performances to an all-but-unknown work with no prima donna. I intend to take advantage of this to attend again.
I’d only heard the opera before when NYCO did it – an unpleasing occasion, whether because in those days I did not yet appreciate Janacek (loved Jenufa, iffy on the rest) or because Christopher Keene was such a lousy conductor is hard to say. It didn’t play. I have my cavils about this production (yes I do), and about the opera in this space – it does not seem as well judged for the Met as Makropoulos and Jenufa and Katya are, it is not a grand opera, not terribly vocal or clear dramatically. If you have to project the “titles” on the midst of the stage and can’t figure out who the characters are, something is wrong. (Though onstage titles worked very well in Satyagraha – an undramatic, even oratorio-ish opera, not at all naturalistic.)
But the score as played sounded quite wonderful, very like Jenufa, the same yearning lyricism contrasted with the pounding, inhuman rhythms. The “coup de theatre” (which I knew nothing about beforehand) was a great shock, as it should be, kudos. (How do they sing in all that dust?) Mattei was extraordinary, but he always is – I’d rather hear him in “vocal” roles like Giovanni or Onegin – but any Mattei is better than none.
My reaction to the production is mixed, but then my reaction to most recent Met productions (Tosca, Sonnambula, Peter Grimes, Orfeo) has been UNMIXED, so this is an improvement.
As I said, I would like to go again – perhaps (like Damnation de Faust and P. Grimes) in a partial-view seat, to ignore the stage and focus on a splendid score splendidly performed.
Thanks to everybody for coming back to me on this. Love that “no divas” observation from Monty (22.1) and the selfless dedication to art demonstrated by messadivoce (20.1.1.2). I was intrigued initially because La Cieca polled readers prior to the new Met season, and by the time I clicked my choice, Janacek was in first place as the most keenly-anticipated production. Hence I wondered where everybody had got to.
Best of all, this work has engendered a positive (if comparatively low-key) response here. As Hans notes, this marks a substantial improvement on some of his recent Met experiences.
Selfless dedication to art? Moi?
Thanks to all for your commentary. Unfortunately won’t arrive in time to see inhouse, but will listen on Sirius.