Morgen und Abend

by Georg Friedrich Haas, libretto by Jon Fosse

seen at Covent Garden on 25 November 2015

This opera is receiving its world premiere at Covent Garden, directed by Graham Vick, designed by Richard Hudson with lighting by Giuseppe di Iorio, and conducted by Michael Boder, with Klaus Maria Brandauer as Olai (a speaking part), Christoph Pohl as Johannes (Olai's son), Helena Rasker as Erna (the wife of Johannes), Sarah Wegener as Signe (the daughter of Johannes) and also a midwife, and Will Hartmann as Peter (a friend of Johannes). It is based on Jon Fosse's novel Morgon og kveld.

The entire synopsis in the programme reads, in one sentence:

Morgen und Abend (Morning and Evening) is the struggle of Johannes into and out of life.

Clearly, we are not to expect a busy piece, given such a restrained precis.

In the first part, Olai is ruminating about sound and silence as he awaits news of the birth of his child. He is puzzled that all is quiet, considering that a birth is taking place, but he does not enter the room where his wife (named Signe) is. Eventually a midwife appears to tell him that he has a son, and that mother and child are well. He names the boy Johannes and looks forward to sharing the task of fishing with him.

In the second part (continuous with the first), we see Johannes, now a widower with a number of children of whom Signe is the youngest, named after her grandmother. Johannes cannot understand why Signe is distant from him, and why he can converse with his deceased wife Erne, and also with his deceased friend Peter. Eventually he realises that he is dead, and that Signe is reacting to finding his body; Peter explains that he has been sent to guide him on the next stage of his journey. 

The Force of Destiny

by Giuseppe Verdi

seen at the Coliseum on 18 November 2015

Directed by Calixto Bieito, designed by Rebecca Ringst and conducted by Mark Wigglesworth, this new production of Verdi's 1862 opera (with most of the 1869 revisions) features Tamara Wilson as Donna Leonora, Gwyn Hughes Jones as Don Alvaro (her lover) and Anthony Michaels-Moore as Don Carlos (her brother), with Andrew Shore as Friar Melitone, James Creswell as the Father Superior and Rinat Shaham as Preziosilla (a camp follower).

Musically this was a powerful production. The three leads sang and acted extremely well, Tamara Wilson in particular having a beautiful tone but wonderful power when she needed to soar above the chorus or the orchestra. At the same time, she portrayed a deeply insecure heroine whose indecision at the start (which generates the entire catastrophe of the opera) arose believably from a chronic state of nervousness, later expressed in extreme self-mortification. 

Her brother revealed a similar state of insecurity, masked by an inflexible reliance on his aristocratic code of honour; his proud utterances were belied by pathological physical gestures which reduced him from proud soldier to emotional wreck. The constant rubbing of his left temple, where Don Alvaro had touched him after the fervid swearing of blood-brotherhood, showed, as much as his sister's rocking and general self-disgust, the cost of misplaced aristocratic hauteur. In the meantime, Don Alvaro himself, protesting his own nobility (unrecognised by the others because of its Inca background) and attempting to find a way out of the trap of honour, seemed more sympathetic when restrained, but was subject to outbursts of rage which eventually proved his nemesis.

Carmen

by Georges Bizet

seen at Covent Garden on 16 November 2015

This is a revival of Royal Opera's 2006 production originally directed by Francesca Zambello (here directed by Duncan MacFarland) and designed by Tanya McCallin. It was conducted by Alexander Joel with Anita Rachvelishvili as Carmen, Andrea Carè as Don José, Gábor Bretz as Escamillo and Sonya Yoncheva as Micaëla.

A compelling reason for seeing this particular performance was to have been the appearance of Jonas Kaufmann as Don José, but as he was ill Andrea Carè took the part, and sang very creditably; he was received most enthusiastically by the audience, as were the other principals. Indeed, the musical standards were high, with clear and attractive singing, fine orchestral playing and good chorus work. Carmen was as wilful as might be, with a fabulously scornful laugh in the first act, and a superb dynamic range for the tricky arias. Don José was convincingly tormented and the fatal mixture of weak will and desperation was well conveyed, while Escamillo was a commanding presence as the celebrity toreador. 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

by Will Todd, libretto by Maggie Gottleib

seen at the Linbury Studios, Covent Garden on 6 November 2015

Directed by Martin Duncan and designed by Leslie Travers, this new opera was conducted by Matthew Waldren and featured Fflur Wyn as Alice with Robert Burt as the Queen of Hearts and James Cleverton as the White Rabbit. 

This adaptation of the two Lewis Carroll 'Alice' books was commissioned by Holland Park Opera in 2013 and has been revived by them each summer since. It transferred to the Linbury Studios for four performances this November, requiring a considerable re-staging, since in the Park the audience moved from scene to scene, whereas in the auditorium the scene changes had to be managed on the stage.