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Seen and Heard International, 21/03/2017 |
Michael Cookson |
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Giordano: Andrea Chenier, Bayerische Staatsoper, 18. März 2017 |
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A Compelling Production of Andrea Chénier and the Audience Cheered Long and Hard
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Italian composer Umberto Giordano’s four act opera Andrea Chénier was first
performed at La Scala, Milan in 1896. Most surprisingly its Nationaltheater,
Munich première was as recently as a week ago with this Philipp Stölzl
production starring Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros and tonight was its
third performance. Sung in Italian there were German surtitles but sadly
none in English which is disappointing for a major international opera
house.
For his libretto to Andrea Chénier Luigi Illica was motivated
by the life of the Romantic poet André Chénier (1762-1794) who was
guillotined during the French Revolution a few days before Robespierre
suffered the same fate. Giordano had written a couple of operas with only
modest success and the disillusioned composer stated that Chénier would be
his last bite at the cherry. Today Giordano is remembered almost exclusively
for Chénier categorised as an Italian verismo opera. Its setting in
revolutionary Paris featuring the aristocratic de Coigny family at its
Château seems a million miles away from the stifling rural village
atmosphere of the better known examples of the verismo post-Romantic
operatic tradition namely Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci.
Andrea
Chénier is a fast moving opera but Giordano and Illica scarcely had the
opportunity to develop greater characterisation of the main protagonists
although stage director Philipp Stölzl and his creative team did their level
best to bring the work to life. By comparison the 2015 staging by the Royal
Opera House, London directed by David McVicar also with Jonas Kaufmann in
the title role and Eva-Maria Westbroek as Maddalena worked even more
successfully and can be seen on the Warner Classics DVD/Blu-ray (review
here).
The period setting by designers Philipp Stölzl and Heike
Vollmer, vibrantly colourful and scrupulously detailed, provided a
convincing snapshot of some aspects of the French Revolution. Constructed on
mainly three levels the set represented a kind of upstairs/downstairs view
of life during the revolution. I suspect this production, which was being
filmed, may prompt some audience members to investigate this fascinating yet
dark period of history further.
In Act I the set of Château Coigny in
1789 was generally in the period style of ill-fated monarch Louis XVI. We
could see a cut-away section of the Château with the ill-fated aristocratic
family’s elegant rooms including the ball-room in the two upstairs levels
and the dingy servant quarters in the basement. Act II took place in 1794
during the so-called Reign of Terror. France had been in the midst of
revolution for five years and the King and Queen had been guillotined.
Dominated by Robespierre’s Jacobin party the government enforced show-trials
and undertook mass executions. The disconcerting setting was the area around
Café Hottot, Paris shown as a brothel a dingy gathering place for drinkers,
prostitutes and revolutionaries alike. We saw the downfall of Bersi, the
Mulatto maid to Maddalena, who has been reduced to prostitution. Act III was
the set of the Hall of the Revolutionary Tribunal with the austere greyness
of the building contrasted by the bold colours of numerous tricolour flags.
In the final act there were the dingy cells of Prison Saint-Lazare where
Chénier was held in chains, however, the set was totally dominated by the
huge guillotine in the courtyard above. Costume designer Anke Winckler made
the costumes true to the period providing much impressive detail.
Under the excellent music direction of Omer Meir Wellber the cast seemed
impeccably prepared especially the three principal characters. Decked out in
light brown suede frockcoat and trousers Jonas Kaufmann played the poet
Chénier with an intensity and concentration that increased as the action
progressed. Was Chénier’s attraction to Maddalena love or merely lust, and
was it noble to go along with her plan to die with him? Although starting
off rather tentatively at around 70% vocal power Kaufmann’s voice gradually
revealed itself in fine condition, characteristically warmly expressive and
compellingly projected. A highlight was in his Act II aria ‘Credi al
destino’ proclaiming his own destiny, where although pushing hard he
remained in control. However, at the end I felt I knew no more about Chénier
than I did at the start; which was probably down to Giordano and Illica.
Anja Harteros as Maddalena de Coigny attired mainly in a white dress did
come across as fresh and girl-like and gave a convincing performance.
Harteros’s voice is a most substantial instrument and she sang quite
wonderfully as demonstrated by her Act III showpiece aria ‘La mamma morta’
delivered with genuine meaning, telling Carlo Gérard how her mother died
protecting her. In the dramatic highpoint of the opera Kaufmann and Harteros
were simply stunning in their final duet ‘Vicino a Te’! Singing with a
wealth of passion that death will unite them forever. The image of the
guillotine in the background certainly provided a disturbing impact. Carlo
Gérard, the servant turned revolutionary official, must be a satisfying part
for a baritone. Tough and resilient on the outside whilst warm hearted and
emotional on the inside Gérard seemed driven by an innate sense of justice,
qualities which the compelling Luca Salsi took in his stride. There are more
stentorian voices around than Salsi but very few can communicate as much
emotional impact. A highpoint from Act III was his aria ‘Nemico della
Patria’ with Gérard torn by his feelings as he revealed his dissatisfaction
with the revolutionary regime.
J’Nai Bridges as the ladies-maid Bersi
turned prostitute made a lot of the relatively small role. Singing with
significant heft over the raucous music in ‘Temer Perché?’ the mezzo-soprano
confidently proclaimed she had nothing to fear from revolutionary spies. As
Madelon, the old blind woman, Elena Zilio delivered ‘Son la vecchia Madelon’
with real pathos as she asked Gérard to take her grandson for the
revolutionary cause. A fine actress Doris Soffel played Gräfin von Coigny
who seemed to relish hitting a poor servant girl with the end of her cane.
Under the tutelage of chorus director Stellario Fagone the Chor der
Bayerischen Staatsoper were in fine voice. The assured baton of Omer Meir
Wellber ensured the Bayerisches Staatsorchester played with gripping
excellence and argued the best possible case for Giordano’s music. Wellber
was wise to leave sufficient time for the applause after each aria of which
there was plenty. Captivating from start to finish Giordano’s flawed
masterpiece Andrea Chénier was presented in a compelling production under
stage director Philipp Stölzl and the audience cheered long and hard.
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