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Musicweb.uk.net |
Bettina Mara |
Puccini: La Bohème, Berlin, 1 March 2008
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Puccini, Bohème, Staatsoper unter den Linden
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A star-studded revival of Lindey Hume’s 2001
version of La Bohème made for a run of satisfyingly sold-out performances at
Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden, although the crowds were hardly drawn
by the staging itself. A nostalgic reference to the golden years of
Hollywood, complete with Musetta as a Marilyn Monroe look-a-like, it came
across as a randomly chosen, placating and interchangeable production,
though doubtless not devoid of appeal for those who associate fond memories
with these times, as Humes obviously does herself. Her contribution to the
program was a somewhat self-indulgent, though not altogether boring - piece
about her grandmother, designed to add color to the production concept.
On the contrary, it was Jonas Kaufmann’s long awaited “return” to the
German opera stage (as well as part of his launch into the Italian
repertoire) that made seats hard to come by. However, the handsome Bavarian
tenor, although a hot ticket by any measure, can hardly by considered a
discovery any longer at this point; it’s just that he had to be (somewhat
ludicrously) billed as “the new Villazon” and sign with Decca (his new CD
“Romantic Arias” was on display all over the foyer) for his fellow
countrymen to take such major notice of him. Singing Rodolfo was an ideal
opportunity for him to show them how much he has to offer – the lovely
timbre that is a feature of a voice packed with power. Luckily for him his
voice is very strong indeed - and he has tremendous stage presence and a
sensitive approach to his role - because whiz-kid Gustavo Dudamel regularly
cranked up the volume of his beautiful, fluid Puccini-phrases to fortissimo,
thus putting all the vocalists under quite some pressure). All in all, is
Kaufmann virtually too good to be true, or too perfect to come across as
truly moving? No, I would prefer to put that down to the indifferent staging
– one can hardly find fault with him for doing everything right.
Nonetheless, it seemed a shame that the audience paid him notably more
attention than his colleague Alexia Voulgaridou, thus attesting to the fact
that under the influence of too much media hype, the public often loses its
ability to simply listen / use sound judgement. Her Mimì had every bit of
the sweet quality of the soprano invoked by Thomas Mann in “The Magic
Mountain”, enhanced by a mysterious, ravishing dark quality which makes her
voice quite unique, the variety of shades seeming to become increasingly
varied as the story unfolded and the heroine’s death drew closer. Her
phrasing is flawless and she moves with the poise of one who has sung a role
countless times (her appearance in Bregenz with Villazon is available on
DVD, incidentally) but wh0 never fails to give a fresh performance, making
the lost-key-scene a reflection of Henry Murger’s musings on how love
springs from spontaneous inspiration, as if it were a form of improvisation.
And by the way, her first solo CD was released two years ago and well
received, but Arte Nova Classics is not as high-profile as Decca.
The remaining cast did well, although Anna Samuil as Musetta was just a tad
too shrill in her opening aria and Arttu Kataja sounded a bit thin at times
as Schaunard. Alfredo Daza was a reliable Marcello and Alexander Vinogradov
gave a poignant rendition of the coat aria. But above all, the entire
ensemble came together superbly in thegreat feat of team work that is this
opera, building up the tension brilliantly right up until the end when Mimì
breathed her last and an inspired young Dudamel led the orchestra from D
flat major to b minor.
All the Staatsoper really needs to do now is invest in a new production some
time soon – and since much is made of it in the lead program essay perhaps,
why not base it on the ingenious film by Kaurismäki – La Vie de Bohème? Or,
at the risk of sounding facetious, might I suggest they consider importing a
recent and excellent version by Graham Vick from as seemingly unlikely a
place as Athens (reviewed here.)
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