Carmen Forever By Octavio Roca October 19, 2004 Bizet's legendary heroine still inspires artists and opera lovers. The woman is fascinating, no question about it. Little by little, we are still getting to know Carmen. The fascination is strong, and...
US countertenor who is a wow in Europe By Francis Carlin Published: October 28 2004 03:00 | Last updated: October 28 2004 03:00 It is always a good sign when you find a singer attending a performance of something else...
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Scientists dig up family skeletons Luke Harding in Berlin Wednesday October 27, 2004 The Guardian It has been a mystery for more than a century - is a skull in an Austrian basement really that of arguably the greatest composer...
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*New Repertoire Discoveries for Singers: An Interview with Michael Kaye* by Maria Nockin Did you ever wonder why that last Tales of Hoffmann you sang had all those photocopied sheets added in? Or why the version of "Butterfly" you learned...
Top composer Tavener turns to Islam for inspiration The Orthodox faith inspired him for more than 25 years, but after a rift with his spiritual adviser, the composer has rejected its 'tyranny' in a major work based on the Koran....
El sexo en la ópera no es sólo vulgar: ya nos aburre Fuera de la escena, la mezzo sueca es áspera y poco acogedora. Sus escasas sonrisas son un premio y sus respuestas son rápidas y precisas. Una evidente robustez...
Mistakes? I've made a few... (Filed: 04/10/2004) Pierre Boulez, the greatest and most uncompromising composer-conductor of our time, is mellowing as he approaches 80. He talks to Ivan Hewett However hard one normally prepares for interviews, there's always the feeling...
*Deborah Voigt withdraws from Vancouver Opera's production of Der Rosenkavalier* Vancouver, BC ~ American soprano Deborah Voigt, who was to make her role début as the Marschallin in the company's première production of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, has withdrawn from...
Many a tear was shed when soprano Licia Albanese sang. Now she is celebrating her signature work, 'Madama Butterfly.' Allan Ulrich, Special to The Chronicle Monday, October 4, 2004 Was she or wasn't she? Licia Albanese is adamant. "Diva? Hah!...
Deux reprises, des tournées, un DVD, le prix de la critique : La Belle Hélène par le tandem Minkowski/Pelly fut l’un des plus grands et des plus durables succès du Châtelet. De quoi donner envie de reconduire l’équipe gagnante dans un autre Offenbach : ce sera La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein. Mais à une condition : que la vedette en soit à nouveau Dame Felicity Lott, la plus française des chanteuses britanniques, dont la classe et le naturel s’imposent de l’opérette viennoise à l’opéra-bouffe français, en passant par la nostalgie du Chevalier à la rose ou le désespoir de La Voix humaine. Nous avons rencontré cette femme délicieuse début septembre, juste avant que le spectacle n’inaugure la nouvelle salle de Grenoble, «rodage» précédant les représentations parisiennes.
L'opéra au cinéma, entre chic et surprise LE MONDE | 30.09.04 | 14em5 La mise en scène d'opéra est, pour des cinéastes comme Benoît Jacquot, Atom Egoyan, Robert Altman... l'occasion d'expériences exceptionnelles. "Il y a dans l'opéra un truc qui...
In the October 2004 issue of BBC Music magazine, Amanda Holloway writes: The phrase most often used of Anna Netrebko is a 'package': stunning looks, acting ability and a gorgeous, effortless lyric soprano voice. The following is a profile...
By Jan Neckers The line of Decca-tenors seems to run straight from Del Monaco to Bergonzi to Pavarotti. Granted there are some intrusions by Giuseppe Campora, Giuseppe Di Stefano and Franco Corelli but their names are not widely associated with...
This is not a biography of the Jewish tenor. Just some personal thoughts on a few interesting aspects. Those interested in a biographical article and an outstanding discography better purchase the June 2000 issue of The Record Collector where your servant and Hansfried Sieben devoted more than sixty small print pages to the tenor. Those able to read German can still buy Alfred Fasbind’s biography published at the Schweizer Verlagshaus in Zürich 1992. It is still available in some German bookshops and maybe with the author himself (Rosenbergstrasse 16, 8630 Rüti, Switzerland).
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William Bolcom: The `Wedding' planner By John von Rhein Tribune music critic September 12, 2004 Elden is William Bolcom's middle name, but it might just as well be Eclectic. He's perhaps the most versatile "serious" composer now at work in...
![Dalibor Jenis [Photo by Vladimir Yurkovic]](http://www.operatoday.com/dalibor-jenis.gif)
“Everything in opera comes from Italy”, says Dalibor Jenis, who sings Renato in the current Royal Opera House Un ballo in maschera. “Italian is the language of music, my second mother language”
Bratislava-born Jenis was drawn to opera from a very early age, singing Mozart from the age of 19. He’s since become an Italian opera specialist, having in his repertoire roles like Germont, Don Carlo, Don Giovanni, Figaro, and many others. Renato is a particular favourite. “The role is very full, emotionally. Renato and Riccardo are good friends and good men, but everything changes from white to black. And then in the third act, the aria ‘Eri tu’, it’s so full of feeling. Renato is remembering the past happiness even when he’s in a tragic situation. He’s full of anger, yet he loves Amelia and is torn with different emotions. It is such wonderful music”.
Jenis first sang the part in Germany in a production where rehearsal time was limited, and the soprano changed. It wasn’t easy to develop the role and he was anxious. Yet once he started to sing it, everything came together naturally. He’s now sung the part many times, including Berlin and Vienna. The more he sings it, the more he finds in the character. “It’s like a vision, when you open a door and see a new room, so many interesting things to hear”.
This London production is especially rewarding. He was very impressed when he saw how the ball scene is staged. “It’s a very strong moment”, he says, for it’s the climax of the opera, and extremely dramatic. There’s a huge mirror which reflects the action, intensifying the dramatic impact. “When I first saw it, I was quite surprised at first but now I understand how perfect it is. There is movement everywhere. When Renato stabs Riccardo, those close by are frozen in shock. But elsewhere people are moving, running about, speaking quickly. It’s like two different worlds, happening at the same time”. Those closest to the killing are traumatized, while others move in agitation. “This is one of the best productions”, adds Jenis with enthusiasm.
The conductor is Maurizio Benini, with whom Jenis has worked for many years. “He’s a very good conductor because he knows what we singers need, it’s very natural. The orchestra at the Royal Opera House is one of the best in the world. When they play, it’s like every one of them is a concert master. For us singers, it’s great motivation to hear such good musicians”. Benini is good to work with because he gets on well with the cast and listens to what they feel. “It’s team work”, says Jenis. “It’s so good to have a conductor who is responsive. We can discuss things and find compromises because we respect each other”.
In his forties, Jenis is maturing well. New roles await : he wants to sing Rigoletto and Il Trovatore, for example. He’ll soon be singing a gala concert in Dresden of arias from these operas. “I like complicated characters like these” he says, “because they are interesting”.
“I think acting is as important as singing. Years ago, you could have fat singers who didn’t move much on stage but had wonderful voices and everyone was happy. Now people expect more.” Jenis is interested in the way small details and movement can make a characterization stronger. “I search every role to find moments when I can express things better”. Sometimes it’s as simple as changing position subtly. “I don’t like to be like a machine, doing exactly the same thing every time”, he says. “In life, things change all the time”. This keeps performance fresh and natural. “Even when we’re not singing, there is a connection between singers, which an audience can feel very clearly”.
Good acting isn’t all obvious movement. When Jenis was very young, he watched a Carmen, where the mezzo was in her mid fifties. She sang the Habanera so effectively that she was utterly convincing without having to overact. “She was so strong, she didn’t have to move a lot or “be sexy”, she acted with her face and her voice. I said to myself, “This is Carmen”.
Singing at the Royal Opera House means a lot to Jenis. He first visited when he wife was singing in Kát’a Kabanová. He was greatly impressed. “It looked wonderful and the orchestra played so well. I thought, “what a pleasure it would be to sing here”. To date, he’s sung at Covent Garden several times, in La Bohème, Cosi fan tutte, Madama Butterfly and Faust, the latter with Maestro Bellini and Ramón Vargas, with whom he’ll be creating this Un ballo.
“It’s such a pleasure to work in London at this house”, he says, “Because there is such a high level of professionalism, at all levels. We singers feel that they are all behind us, not just the musicians but all the staff. It’s so well organized and everyone takes responsibility and does their best. So we do our best, too”.
Anne Ozorio
Un ballo in maschera runs from 26th June to 17th July 2009 at the Royal Opera House, London.