Scale model
Opera is about the possibility of transformation. An unassuming woman can walk in through the theater’s stage door and emerge on stage as fiery princess capable of making the walls rattle. Alas, these transformations inevitably fail to stick. Every Turandot must hang up her crown; every Elektra must put down her ax one final time. All performers must live with the regret of no being able to perform. Still must it not be better to have been able to perform and then regret what one can no longer be than to never to have tried? This question is at the heart of Barrie Kosky‘s new production of Dvorak’s Rusalka for the Komische Oper in Berlin.
Doesn’t Rusalka have the same story as The Little Mermaid except that it has the original un-Disneyfied unhappy ending where the mer-soprano kills her true love and is condemned to hell? Well, yes, but as one would expect of a good Regie production, conveying the plot of Rusalka, which Kosky does exceptionally well, is only half the job of the opera director. He must also present the “meaning” of the work, which he sees as an allegory for the life of a performing artist.
The set, such as it is, is a shallow room with a single narrow door and a bench. It is painted and decorated to match and extend the proscenium onto the stage. Whenever the door at the back opens, one only sees an inky blackness. The playing area then is meant to be seen as a performance space, defined by the actions that take place in it and completely independent of the world around it. It is the world that Rusalka wants to inhabit, so she can enact the feelings she so desperately wants to experience.
Rusalka slithers into this space, unable to stand or do much other than express her wish to portray a human. She cannot actually be a human because she lacks soul. This is a daunting task for any artist and the Water Gnome, who is seated up in the balcony, warns her that she is playing to a very tough room, but she persists. Her performance is tentative, touching and ultimately unconvincing She tries to dance with the Prince in Act II and has two left fins feet.
She fails as performer because she has no soul and is a cold fish, literally and figuratively. After she is rejected and contemplating her miserable situation at the start of Act III, her world implodes around her. In the most striking image of the opera (spoiler alert) and indeed one of the most stunning visual effects I’ve seen on the stage, the stage wobbles and destabilizes around her as when in a sci-fi film reality appears on the verge of collapse. She ends the opera trapped in a hellish limbo.
I found this interpretation of Rusalka to be a very compelling one and my only significant criticism of the production (other than the fact that it featured extraordinarily noxious stage tobacco) was that it explored this perspective very intermittently and I would have expected this perspective to be more integrated with the staging. Still there was ample satisfaction to be found in Kosky’s telling of the story.
True, there was little for purists to find comfort in. No trees, no moon, no Mylar pretending to be water. Even the witch Jezibaba was not the funny-creepy none too threatening crone that we have come to expect. She was truly intimidating and the scene where she transforms Rusalka into a human was brutal and gruesome. Poor Rusalka was splayed on a metal cart; the witch cut off the fish skin on the lower half of her body; yanked out her fish skeleton, and then force-fed her the blood and entrails of a cat who had been fed the required ingredients to make the transforming potion.
We saw the second cast of the production; nonetheless the overall ensemble was extremely tight and there were two standout performers. Keep your eyes out for the Latvian soprano Asmik Grigorian who sang with a fine balance of delicacy and ardor. She had power on reserve for the big climaxes and a seemingly limitless amount of energy necessary for the very demanding staging. Mirka Wagner, in the much smaller role of the First Forest Nixie (as Anna Russell might call her) made a very striking impression in her luminous solo in the last act.
Jeffrey Dowd was rather a strapping cipher as the Prince, but this seemed to be the director’s intention. His voice sounded constricted in the big climaxes and he struggled with the difficult music at the opera’s very end. Manuela Bress was suitably intimidating as Jezibaba and Jens Larsen was both imposing and tender as the Water Gnome. Barbara Schneider-Hofstetter whooped and grimaced her way through the role of the Foreign Princess. One hopes for her sake that both were intentional. Patrick Lange, the music director of the Komsiche Oper, led an energetic, soulful performance that struck me as very loud. Given the relatively small theater, the singers could still penetrate the din
This is the third high-profile production of Rusalka in Europe this season. Each one has found very different ways of telling this story of this very grim fairy tale. I’m not sure why she is this year’s Regie It Girl, but I’m envious of European audiences that get to experience this hearty feast while we back in New York we have a Rusalka production that is all empty calories.
This is the third high-profile production of Rusalka in Europe this season. Each one has found very different ways of telling this story of this very grim fairy tale.
Does anyone know if any of these Rusalkas will be available on DVD in the future?
Yes, the Bayerische Staatsoper’s production was filmed in October (directed by Kusej, with Kristine Opolais and Klaus Florian Vogt). It was based on the Natascha Kampusch case--Rusalka imprisoned with her sisters in her father (the Water Goblin’s) basement, escapes but is too damaged to survive. It was disturbing and extremely moving, I think it was the best thing I saw last year.
I heard this broadcast (I think it was this one) on the internet and I though Ms. Opolais was absolutely a dream as Rusalka. Thank you, UZ.
Then we have the ballet of Ondine with Hans Werner Henze’s music telling the same story.
OT: excuse me, Dawn, but wondering what people thought of today’s HD. I don’t about anyone else, but the whole thing was worth the last few moments with Joseph Calleja. Sniffles from me and many other audience members.
Listened on the wireless -- thought Calleja sounded wonderful.
Also thought it was an amusing and salutory reminder of how daft the Parterre rumour mill can be -- back in February, based on her Paris Cleopatra, we were all ready to declare Dessay over, the cancellation of these Met Lucias almost a dead cert, whereas in actual fact she did a fine job. Yes, I do think that she sounds that bit more raggedy than she did last time around in Lucia at the Met, but still more than on top of it, and it was a brilliant portrayal.
You mean the same Parterre rumour mill that had the MET buying out Deborah Voigt’s contract for the upcoming Walkures???
Or had Jonas Kaufmann “re-thinking” his addition of SIEGMUND to his rep and cancelling all said Walkures?
if only the rumor about voigt were true…
Indeed -- LP -- a lot of these ‘rumours’ appear to be based on wishful thinking, although possibly not Kaufmann reconsidering Siegmund. However, I am sure some of JK’s fans are concerned about him taking on such a demanding role for the first time at the Met without trying it out elsewhere.
Yup. Those rumors. All from the same source, probably.
BTW, The Voigt Walkure Twitter Watch Project continues:
Sat -
@debvoigt: Too many words!!! Brunny, you’re killin’ me!
Ladies and gentlemen: La Cieca would like to remind you that a gossip is only as good as her sources, and, in general, La Cieca is very proud of the accuracy and precision of the sources who do provide information to her. However, no one is omniscient, and even the more careful sifting of information can at times result in an inaccurate or (as sometimes happens) fortuitously incorrect conclusion.
If, for example, La Cieca is passed along information that Singer X is considering canceling an engagement, and then, a few weeks later, she hasn’t canceled, that may mean she never considered the cancellation (in which case La Cieca’s reporting was wrong) or that she did in fact consider and made the decision not to cancel: which means La Cieca was right about the “considering” part.
Again, remember that it is gossip, which means it is not presented as fact, but rather as something that seems to be a reasonably reliable rumor. “Reasonably reliable” does not mean 100% or else I would be reporting it as news, not as rumor.
As for the “I told you so” attitude evident in some of the comments above, here’s what La Cieca has to say: if you have something useful to add to the parterre community, then for God’ sake add it instead of sitting on it and then gloating when La Cieca gets the story wrong. We’ve had this discussion before about the whole “I have plenty of background information on this issue but I’m not telling” attitude. If you’re going to boast about how smart you are, you’re going to have to share. Otherwise, you can boast somewhere else.
La Cieca, I think that what you call the ‘I told you so attitude’ has much more to do with the comments of the cher public than it does with the posts themselves.
It wasn’t you or your sources who predicted the imminent demise of Dessay’s career, it was the comments.
As for ‘boasting’, I certainly don’t have any inside information, and I’ve never claimed to. I’m just amused that Dessay should sing such a successful run so soon after so many people here were saying that she’d definitely cancel because she was definitely finished.
Thank you, La Cieca. I have no inside information. I do apologize if my posts had an “I told you so” feeling to them. I would say, though, that many of the comments in response to gossip posted here (not the items themselves) have a feeling of “I know better than all of you and this gossip is absolutely true. Now let me say as many negative things as I can.”
As I’ve said in the past, the negativity and “piling on” to negative information is uncomfortable to read. Of course, I’m speaking primarily now of the recent Voigt rumors -- using quotes that seemed almost gleeful at a performer’s difficulties.
Given the number of comments regarding the gossip items, I think it’s only fair to point out when these items do not turn out to be true -- or at least the outcome predicted does not happen. That helps us all remember what you pointed out -- this is gossip not fact and we all need to be aware that (and yes, some items do turn out to be very true).
Yes, I made a similar observation about the ‘end’ of Dessay’s career a couple of days ago.
I thought she sounded wonderful on radio- she has a dramatic vividness I don’t remember her having at the beginning of her career. I’m staying at my mum’s for a few days and during ‘Spargi d’amaro pianto’ mum said ‘Even if you had no idea what the story was you’d know what was happening to this woman’ and she was right.
I have to confess I was only half-listening, but she sounded on top of it. She’s a canny performer — not that her singing has ever given me much pleasure, I have to confess. It always takes me a while to get used to Calleja’s plaintive sound, but I enjoyed his final scene. I like Tézier very much indeed — lyrical and virile at the same time. (Much prefer him to, say, Keenlyside in middleweight repertoire.)
Too much confessing going in my previous post!
RE: ZW’s review. It was spot on for the performance he saw. That subsequent performances were so much better (to the point of being fantastic for some) is an indication that a run should have several reviews to do the artists justice. Unfortunately there are apparently not enough resources to do this. That is one reasons that sites like Parterre are such an important part of the “critical scene”.
I thought that even with diminished vocal resources, Dessay made more of the role than most sopranos would. The way she colors the words, her pointed diction, is still a joy to hear. The wonderful echo effect of her voice is still there. She now obviously is careful about her high notes, and they do have a thin, straight quality, but she’s recaptured the beauty of the notes between the staff. Her scattershot approach to the music that was so present in La Sonnambula was not there. I’m not sure Dessay will ever sing this role again, but it was a joy to hear a soprano come back from such severe vocal troubles.
I now look forward to hearing her La Traviata next year. I have a feeling that she will capture a lot more of the frailty of Violetta’s character than Popsy.
… and she will sing a line rather than a disjointed sequence of notes. But she will need extra-high red f**k-me-pumps.
I enjoyed the first HD of this production more. I’m not deaf to what, in this kind of music, Netrebko cannot do as well as Dessay can (even the Dessay of today), but I prefer Trebs’s rich, ample, healthier sound, and I found her a more appealing presence, perhaps for trying less hard. I liked the men of the ’09 better too, although Calleja made it awfully close for tenor honors. Not close at all is the conducting. Armiliato may not be some great Italian maestro for the ages, but he phrased with a really sweet rhythmic lilt and sway, not only in the big moments but in the music that links them, which too often passes for nothing. Summers (who just keeps turning up in these broadcasts) made the whole score sound so banal that it was almost anti-Donizetti propaganda.
I agree that Trebs has the far more appealing sound right now. Trebs’ voice is thick, lush, a real glamor sound. But in terms of understanding the role, the music, and coloring the words for dramatic effect, I thought Dessay was superior to Trebs. Dessay even now can make the cadenza from the Mad Scene sound like a real flight of fancy from a distubed mind. Her voice sounds inherently more fragile and sadder than Trebs. I also think that Dessay has a lovely little-girl quality to both her voice and her stage persona that works very well in this role, particularly in this production.
Glad to see some discussion of today’s HD transmission. I remember being disappointed last time ’round that Dessay wasn’t on the big screen, and today I feel my disappointment was justified. Netrebko (for all the richness and beauty of her tone) can only go so far in mining the possibilities of this music and its libretto. Dessay was so much more in the moment, paying attention to every word and phrase. Much more satisfying as an all-round performance. And even vocally, I much prefer the cleanness of her runs and shading of the vocal line. I know some will say her high notes aren’t what they used to be, and maybe if she had been singing this role 10 years ago or so, she would have added all sorts of interpolated acuti, but really, the high notes were pretty impressive. I did not feel at all that the acting was over-the-top (as she is sometimes accused of) and certainly, the fragility of her appearance really suits this production. The men were very good as well, over all, I preferred them to two years ago. The production itself is very good, and much more successful I think than Zimmerman’s other two MET forays (neither of which was much good at all). I agree that we should be looking forward to Dessay’s Traviata which, may not turn out to be one for the ages, but still, I think, will be probing and more than adequately vocalized.
I was very impressed with the HD presentation even though I saw the premiere this season. As a matter of fact after seeing the opera in house I made it my business to see it in HD because I wanted to see Natalie’s performance up close. In house I found Natalie’s performance so riveting but up close it was even more intense. I sat right in front of the screen today so that I could soak up every bit of the performance. I can’t even begin to say how many times I have listened to Lucia’s mad scene from recording and today it was the first time that I really connected to the character. I didn’t hear the pretty music like I always heard before. I saw a woman acting out oppression and singing of her destruction. I shed a lil tears meanwhile the woman behind me was distraught, tissues and all. I haven’t cried for an opera since I first listened to Price’s Butterfly and realized that Pinkerton was coming back to take his son with his new bride as if Butterfly were merely his babysitter. Natalie Dessay has earn my highest regards for an artist. It is so great to see her up close and the effort she puts into her work. It is great that she is singing opera today and I am alive to enjoy. I would be there for her Violetta.
Calleja made a believer out of me today with his singing and though his acting was noticeably improved today, he really really need to take some lessons with someone. He is a big guy but so were nearly all the men on stage, but the others moved with considerable ease and with a better understanding of the character. Nonetheless his singing was superb and that is the most I can really ask of him.
Tezier looked so much like Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) I half expected him and Calleja (who was looking like a Hagrid to me) to draw out wands and cast spells a la Harry Potter during their confrontations. He oozed with contempt and sleaziness. He was very good. Money well spent today.
BTW. I do like these HD but come on now people, not everything is suppose to be in HD, I don’t want to see Mary Zimmerman so close up because I can see food particles between her teeth. She also needs to me a more concerted effort to appear less disheveled while on TV. Back in 2007, she looked as if she were forced into the dress she was wearing amidst major protest. You are on HD lady, we can see everything much to our chagrin. I was also all up in Renee’s bosom..No. No. Have nothing against her but really not looking for someone to be flashing me some titties at 2 in the afternoon. Also a suggestion to the Met. I don’t want to see the stage hands talking to each other for 20+ minutes. Why not show clips of other performances or something? That would be far more entertaining that watching people doing pull, push and throw stuff around. And please won’t the hosts stop being so rude and dismissive to the people they are talking to because they have to cut the conversation short. How about we use that stage hand time to do the interviews.
i told you so… i told you so… i saw this twice in the past 2 weeks… she was fantabulous.
I also really salute Dessay for coming back from such a bad vocal crisis after the Sonnambulas. I believe she had another surgery, and a soprano with less determination would have dropped Lucia. Not everything in her voice works, but she’s able to do a lot with the voice she has left.
For a good comparison of how between 2009 Dessay has been able to refocus her voice, so that she can produce the tone without thinning or shrieking:
and
Yes, at times one could wish for a fuller sound, but I don’t know, I hear a lot of beauty in the way she sings this music.
I missed today’s HD and radio broadcast, but I did go on Wednesday night, and I thought I was in a Twilight Zone episode. I entered the theater thinking that Dessay was going to act like a corpse (hints from the TT Times review) and sound like post-surgical Julie Andrews (hints from the blogs about her impaired vocal resources). I saw/heard neither. She sounded as good as I remembered. She sang grace notes within a cadenza. She sang both the flute and soprano parts in the added cadenza. On Wednesday night, her pitch was perfect (one D had bizarre timbre, but it was completely on pitch).
I loved Calleja. I attended the performance with a few opera novices, and he totally injected them with meth, because by now they’ll be crashing and buying more tickets.
And kudos to the orchestra, particularly Act III final scene.
Where was the armonica?!?!?!?! Why no armonica?!?!?!?! The flute was lovely, but it is not an armonica.
jfmurray, the neg. review in the times was not by TT, but ZW, and yes, he totally missed the boat.
Thanks, Lucky Pierre -- I forgot it was Woolfe’s review.
Dessay might have just been out of sorts for the Cleopatras, of course. She’s obviously a feisty little cookie, but only human. And perhaps Cleopatra actually sits a bit low for her, since it’s a part high mezzos can sing too. The best bit of Dessay’s voice is its upper-middle, isn’t it? (The one time I heard her live that was my impression. I was surprised by how well it projected.)
Well, I also think that we have to accept that Dessay’s vocal instrument is a fragile one, and there will be some nights when she can get it all together, and other nights when she can’t. I’m really happy for her though that for *this* run of Lucia’s, she clearly looked at the score, decided what her voice could do and what it couldn’t, and focused on *singing* the role instead of jumping all over the stage. As a result she gave one of the best performances I’ve heard her give in years.
louannd,
Didn’t see the HD (will wait for PBS) but thought Calleja was wonderful. The question arises when was the last time a tenor took on three signature roles in one season (not counting last minute fill-ins) to such almost unanimous acclaim. I know it used to happen when Jussi et al roamed the earth and I’m sure someone will be able to freshen my memory,but it seems to me that in JC we have a truly great singer who without the Rolando/Vittorio hype has earned the affection of people who love opera. I think JC is what I would call an Opera Animal. He loves to sing and share his gift and we love him for it.
OT: The Met is releasing the Netrebko Don Pasquale on DVD. http://www.metoperashop.org/product/detail/1161.aspx
YES!! They chose my favourite picture for the cover
Thanks, Ms. Fatale (Dawn, if I may) for such a wonderful review. Stuck here in increasingly springlike Manhattan, I am living vicariously through you and your formidable traveling companion. And I feel all the danger of that.
My apologies to Ms. Fatale for being too familiar. Thank you for reminding me, Ms. Alto.
Actually, it’s Miss. I’m saving myself for Juan Diego Flórez.
You could post as MrsLecomteD’Ory. But I will try to remember Miss Alto.
Actually, I’m going to the dress rehearsal of that tomorrow morning, and I have a feeling he’s planning to pop the question then! That will make me la comtesse d’Ory!
Maybe when(if) he sings in Rigoletto you could be the Duchess of Mantua. That would be cool. Although, given the Duke’s roving eye, you’d have to keep him on a short leash.
OT: re: boris godunov,
what was shuisky doing in the court of marina in act III? that wasn’t very clear to me from the plot.
Here’s a clip from the Munich “Rusalka”, directed by Martin Kusej and with Kristine Opolais as Rusalka:
Monty -- it’s a Scandinavian kind of name for a Prince -- as in Prince Erik of Sweden, who was, I believe, one of Elizabeth I’s many unsuccessful suitors.
It would be much more princely if Disney spelt it with a ‘k’ at the end, don’t you think? (And I was just being provocative, Rdf. As I’m sure you know, Eric is a popular forename in France, for instance, just seriously out of fashion chez nous.) I think something like ‘Florian’ is much more princely, but Disney audiences would probably think it’s a girl’s name. Like a client of mine who thought Konstantin was a girl’s name …
Erika is, of course, the German for Heather. Dr Klemperer could never pronounce Heather Harper’s name, so he called her Erika, presumably while he was chasing her around the piano with his walking stick.
Yes there were a few bumps along the way with Dessay’s Lucia in HD. But ultimately I forgave them all because she broke my heart.
After Calleja’s Tomb Scene I had dissolved into a puddle of tears. The lady sitting next to me handed me a tissue as she was in the same state that I was.
I respected and admired Dessay’s performance more than I actually really liked it. My hat off to her for using her current vocal state to bring something really special to her performance. However, I just don’t see how she is going to get through Traviata with her voice in such shape. You could tell throught the Lucia that she was saving herself for the mad scene. Her singing up until then was really underenergized, especially in the sextet. I am sure that if you were watching it that didn’t matter at all, and like I said, this was truly a case where the total was greater than the sum of its parts. But Violetta is not a role where you can hide and wait for the big moments. She is all big moments and, as opposed to Lucia, she doesn’t really have a lot of time to rest in between. I sincerely hope she can do in Traviata what she did in Lucia because it will be magical if she does. I also think she could be devastating in a samll house doing Violetta. We’ll see.