Les Contes d'Hoffmann

by Jacques Offenbach (libretto Jules Barbier and Michel Carré)

seen by live streaming from Covent Garden on 15 November 2016

John Schlesinger's opulent 1980 production of this, Offenbach's last  opera, is being revived for the last time under the direction of Daniel Dooner, with sets designed by William Dudley and costumes by Maria Björnson. Conducted by Evelino Pidò, it features Vittorio Grigòlo as Hoffmann, Kate Lindsey as Nicklausse, Sofia Fomina as Olympia, Christine Rice as Giulietta, Sonya Yoncheva as Antonia and Thomas Hampson as the four villains Lindorf, Coppélius, Dappertutto and Dr Miracle.

Three of E.T.A. Hoffmann's stories are adapted to include Hoffmann himself as a character, to illustrate his failed love affairs, by way of explaining why in the Prologue he is a drunken wreck only capable of singing comic songs or descending into maudlin self-pity, and why in the Epilogue the opera singer Stella, with whom he is currently infatuated, leaves him for the odious but self-confident Lindorf. Hoffmann's young companion Nicklausse is unable in any of the stories to extricate his friend from his follies, but at the end is transformed into Hoffmann's muse who summons him to write rather than to destroy his life further.

Turandot

by Giacomo Puccini

filmed at a live performance on Sydney Harbour and seen on 15 September 2016

Puccini's final opera (left incomplete at his death) received a spectacular makeover on Sydney Harbour earlier this year under the auspices of Handa Opera. A floating stage on the foreshores of the harbour near Mrs Macquarie's Chair has the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and parts of the city skyline as its backdrop, and much technical wizardry to overcome any acoustic difficulties (the singers are, of course, miked for the occasion).

Béatrice et Bénédict

by Hector Berlioz

seen by live streaming from Glyndebourne on 9 August 2016

This rarely performed opera devised by Berlioz from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing forms part of the ubiquitous quartercentenary commemorations of the playwright's death. Directed by Laurent Pelly (who also designed the costumes) and conducted by Antonello Manacorda, with set designs by Barbara de Limburg, it features Stéphanie d'Oustrac as Béatrice, Paul Appleby as Bénédict, Sophie Karthaüser as Héro, Philippe Sly as Claudio, Lionel Lhote as Somarone, Katarina Bradić as Ursule and Frédéric Caton as Don Pedro.

The opera deals with only a small part of the play, omitting the entire Don John plot to discredit Hero, and thus the crisis caused by Claudio's rejection of her at the wedding. This renders Claudio even less significant as a personality, though Héro has a fine duet with her maid Ursule at the close of the first act concerning her approaching wedding, and the two join with Béatrice for an equally lyrical trio in the second act.

Jenůfa

by Leoš Janáček

seen at the Coliseum on 6 July 2016

This is a revival of David Alden's 2006 ENO production, which he directs once again. It is conducted by Mark Wigglesworth and designed by Charles Edwards. It features Laura Wilde in the title role of Jenůfa, Michaela Martens as her stepmother the Kostelnička, Nicky Spence as Števa and Peter Hoare as Laca.

This opera, based on the play Její Pastorkyňa ('Her Stepdaughter') by Gabriela Preissová, concerns the catastrophe which befalls Jenůfa and the family around her when she becomes pregnant by the feckless Števa (a cousin of some sort, at least by adoption). She hopes to avoid the disgrace by marrying her lover, since he has not been conscripted, but when he turns up drunk in celebration her stepmother the Kostelnička (the village sacristan), unaware of the situation, insists that any thought of marriage must be delayed until Števa can prove himself worthy. Števa's half brother Laca is in love with Jenůfa, yet he slashes her across the cheek in frustration. Later, even though he quails at the social disgrace, he offers to marry her, having been assured by the Kostelnička that the child has died. In fact, it is only once she has made this claim that the Kostelnička actually takes the child (a week old) out of the house and drowns it in the nearby frozen river. A couple of months later, on the day of the wedding, the baby's body is discovered, and though suspicion first falls on Jenůfa, the Kostelnička confesses, and admits brokenly that she thought more of her own disgrace than of her stepdaughter's feelings. Remarkably, Jenůfa forgives her stepmother as she is taken away for trial, and she also affirms her new-found love for Laca as the opera ends.

Götterdämmerung

by Richard Wagner

seen at the Royal Festival Hall on 3 July 2016

Opera North's semi-staged semi-concert production of Der Ring des Niblungen is performed in one cycle in London this week. Richard Farnes conducts the Opera North Orchestra throughout the cycle which is staged and lit by Peter Mumford. For the 'third day' of Götterdämmerung the principal singers were Kelly Cae Hogan as Brünnhilde, Mati Turi as Siegfried, Andrew Foster-Williams as Gunther, Mats Almgren as Hagen, Giselle Allen as Gutrune, Heather Shipp as Waltraute and Jo Pohlheim as Alberich, with Fiona Kimm, Yvonne Howard and Lee Bisset as the Norns and Jeni Bern, Madeleine Shaw and Sarah Castle as the Rhinemaidens.

The final instalment of the Ring cycle was in some ways the most thrilling, with the orchestra playing easily to its already high standard - fully detailed and both delicate and overwhelming when required. The singers reprising their roles - Kelly Cae Hogan and Jo Pohlheim - maintained their excellent presence, Brünnhilde radiant to the very end, and Alberich at his most sinister in the creepy conversation with his son Hagen, a thrillingly dangerous Mats Almgren. Mati Turi sang a fairly light-hearted Siegfried (unerscoring his fatal naivety) but was not in the same league as his Brünnhilde. As the hapless Gibichung siblings, Andrew Foster-Williams made a suitably spineless Gunther while Giselle Allen was a winsome Gutrune.

Siegfried

by Richard Wagner

seen at the royal Festival Hall on 1 July 2016

Opera North's semi-staged semi-concert production of Der Ring des Niblungen is performed in one cycle in London this week. Richard Farnes conducts the Opera North Orchestra throughout the cycle which is staged and lit by Peter Mumford. For the 'second day' of Siegfried the cast comprised Richard Roberts as Mime, Lars Cleveman as Siegfried, Béla Perencz as the Wanderer, Jo Pohlheim as Alberich, Mats Almgren as Fafnir, Jeni Bern as the Woodbird, Ceri Williams as Erda and Kelly Cae Morgan as Brünnhilde.

Once again musically this was an extremely satisfying evening, with the orchestra continuing its high standards of performance and the soloists giving rich and powerful interpretations of their parts. Jo Pohlheim and Richard Roberts repeated their roles from Das Rheingold and confirmed their stature as respectively a power-hungry and a self-pitying pair of brothers; here Alberich once again had to contend with both his brother Mime and with Wotan now disguised as the Wanderer, but most of Mime's energies were spent on the intractable problem of bringing up Siegfried and forging a sword for him. Mats Almgrem was Fafnir once again, menacingly growling off-stage for much of the time, but returning onstage for his death scene.

Die Walküre

by Richard Wagner

seen at the Royal Festival Hall on 29 June 2016

Opera North's semi-staged semi-concert production of Der Ring des Niblungen is performed in one cycle in London this week. Richard Farnes conducts the Opera North Orchestra throughout the cycle which is staged and lit by Peter Mumford. For the 'first day' of Die Walküre the cast included Michael Weinius as Siegmund, Lee Bissett as Sieglinde, James Creswell as Hunding, Robert Hayward as Wotan, Kelly Cae Hogan as Brünnhilde and Yvonne Howard as Fricka.

Once again, the orchestra, fully visible on the Festival Hall stage, revealed the fabulous richness of Wagner's score under the expert leadership of Richard Farnes. All manner of detail often lost in a less clear acoustic could here be enjoyed, especially in the quieter more intimate moments which develop the central concerns of the story. For example, the string playing accompanying the first moments when Siegmund and Sieglinde regard each other, even before either has any idea who the other is, was delicate and tender. The momentous conversation between Siegmund and the implacable Brünnhilde in Act Two was hushed and grave until Siegmund finally rejected the Valkyrie's call to Valhalla with unexpected but shattering vehemence. At the other end of the dynamic, the great set pieces of the ride of the Valkyries and the magic fire music were delivered with magnificent panache and assurance.

Das Rheingold

by Richard Wagner

seen at the Royal Festival Hall on 28 June 2016

Opera North's semi-staged semi-concert production of Der Ring des Nibelungen is performed in one cycle in London this week. Richard Farnes conducts the Opera North Orchestra throughout the cycle, which is staged and lit by Peter Mumford. For the 'preliminary evening' of Das Rheingold the cast included Michael Druiett as Wotan, Jo Pohlheim as Alberich, Wolfgng Ablinger-Sperrhacke as Loge, and Yvonne Howard as Fricka. 

The orchestra has unusual prominence in this performance, since it dominates the Royal Festival Hall stage, rather than being submerged in the usual operatic pit. This gives the players every opportunity to shine in the evocative and at times overwhelming textures of Wagner's music, and under Richard Farnes's direction they did not disappoint during this opening opera.

Tristan and Isolde

by Richard Wagner

seen at the Coliseum on 22 June 2016

Directed by Daniel Kramer (the new Artistic Director of ENO) and conducted by Edward Gardner (the previous Musical Director), this production features Stuart Skelton as Tristan, Heidi Melton as Isolde, Matthew Rose as King Marke, Craig Colclough as Kurwenal and Karen Cargill as Brangane.

Musically this was a fine production, with excellent orchestral playing supporting a wonderful Tristan and a fine Isolde, who seemed however to lack the stamina to deliver the final Liebestod with assurance. The supporting cast also sang with great warmth, and the diction in Andrew Porter's translation was clear.

Boris Godunov

by Modest Mussorgsky

seen by live streaming from Covent Garden on 21 March 2016

Mussorgsky's original seven scene version is directed by Richard Jones and conducted by Antonio Pappano, and features Bryn Terfel in the title role. 

This early version of the opera is episodic, with little or no explanation as to why Boris is initially sought after as Tsar, only to become unpopular later on. This may well be because the story is well known in Russia, and also because it was unwise to probe too deeply into court intrigue even though Boris reigned before the Romanov dynasty came to power.

Although two of the seven scenes concentrate on the emergence of the 'false Dimitry' (David Butt Philip), a monk who decides to impersonate the younger son of Ivan the Terrible despite the fact that the child was known to have been murdered, the rebellion thus fomented barely registers on the stage. The final scenes show Boris's unpopularity with the crowd, and then concentrate on his personal collapse and death.

Akhnaten

by Philip Glass

seen at the Coliseum on 10 March 2016

Directed by Phelim McDermott and conducted by Karen Kamensek, this production features Anthony Roth Costanzo as the Pharaoh Akhnaten, Emma Carrington as his wife Nefertiti, Rebecca Bottone as his mother Queen Tye, Zachary James as the Scribe, Clive Bayley and James Cleverton as courtiers and Colin Judson as the High Priest of Amon.

This opera from 1984 uses untranslated Egyptian and Hebrew texts and some English, mainly spoken by the Scribe. Rather than attempting a narrative of Akhnaten's reign, it depicts various ritualised scenes relating to his father's funeral and his own accession, his promulgation of Aten-worship (replacing the age-old pantheon of Egyptian gods), his founding of a new royal city, his neglect of political affairs, and his final demise.

Norma

by Vincenzo Bellini, libretto by Felice Romani

seen at the Coliseum on 24 February 2016

This production, originally created for Opera North and Die Theater Chemnitz, is directed by Christopher Alden and designed by Charles Edwards. Stephen Lord conducted; Katrina Sheppeard sang Norma (standing in at short notice for an indisposed Marjorie Owens), Jennifer Holloway sang Adalgisa and Peter Auty sang Pollione.

The opera, composed in 1831, is often regarded as the pinnacle of the bel canto style, even though its dramatic plot and detailed study of psychological torments and conflicts of loyalty makes it far more than merely a vehicle for virtuosic display. The part of Norma is indeed extremely difficult, but it demands good acting as much as brilliant singing.

Nominally set during a time of conflict between Romans and Gauls - with the Romans in some sense governing the province, but the native 'druidic' religion still flourishing - there is really very little attempt at depicting musically an ancient historical period. In this production, intriguingly set in a large space with apparently wooden walls, and with the huge trunk of a tree (incised with runes) dominating the stage, the Gauls are dressed in plain workmanlike garments reminiscent of Amish or Shaker communities, while Pollione and his friend Flavio (the only Romans we see) are dressed as prosperous nineteenth-century industrialists, repellently self-confident in black suits and top hats.

Pelléas et Mélisande

by Claude Debussy from the play by Maurice Maeterlinck

seen at the Barbican Hall on 9 January 2016

This semi-staged production was directed by Peter Sellars. The London Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Simon Rattle. Mélisande was sung by Magdalena Kožená, Pelléas by Christian Gerhaher, Golaud by Gerald Finley, Arkël by Franz-Josef Selig, Geneviève by Bernarda Fink, Yniold by Elias Madler, and the shepherd and the doctor by Joshua Bloom.

The Symbolist play of 1893 by Maeterlinck was transformed into an opera by Debussy which was first performed in 1902. It is unlike any other opera still regularly performed, hard to pin down but, when successfully produced, strangely compelling.