Recently in Reviews

ETO Autumn 2020 Season Announcement: Lyric Solitude

English Touring Opera are delighted to announce a season of lyric monodramas to tour nationally from October to December. The season features music for solo singer and piano by Argento, Britten, Tippett and Shostakovich with a bold and inventive approach to making opera during social distancing.

Love, always: Chanticleer, Live from London … via San Francisco

This tenth of ten Live from London concerts was in fact a recorded live performance from California. It was no less enjoyable for that, and it was also uplifting to learn that this wasn’t in fact the ‘last’ LfL event that we will be able to enjoy, courtesy of VOCES8 and their fellow vocal ensembles (more below …).

Dreams and delusions from Ian Bostridge and Imogen Cooper at Wigmore Hall

Ever since Wigmore Hall announced their superb series of autumn concerts, all streamed live and available free of charge, I’d been looking forward to this song recital by Ian Bostridge and Imogen Cooper.

Henry Purcell, Royal Welcome Songs for King Charles II Vol. III: The Sixteen/Harry Christophers

The Sixteen continues its exploration of Henry Purcell’s Welcome Songs for Charles II. As with Robert King’s pioneering Purcell series begun over thirty years ago for Hyperion, Harry Christophers is recording two Welcome Songs per disc.

Treasures of the English Renaissance: Stile Antico, Live from London

Although Stile Antico’s programme article for their Live from London recital introduced their selection from the many treasures of the English Renaissance in the context of the theological debates and upheavals of the Tudor and Elizabethan years, their performance was more evocative of private chamber music than of public liturgy.

Anima Rara: Ermonela Jaho

In February this year, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho made a highly lauded debut recital at Wigmore Hall - a concert which both celebrated Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and honoured the career of the Italian soprano Rosina Storchio (1872-1945), the star of verismo who created the title roles in Leoncavallo’s La bohème and Zazà, Mascagni’s Lodoletta and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

A wonderful Wigmore Hall debut by Elizabeth Llewellyn

Evidently, face masks don’t stifle appreciative “Bravo!”s. And, reducing audience numbers doesn’t lower the volume of such acclamations. For, the audience at Wigmore Hall gave soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn and pianist Simon Lepper a greatly deserved warm reception and hearty response following this lunchtime recital of late-Romantic song.

Requiem pour les temps futurs: An AI requiem for a post-modern society

Collapsology. Or, perhaps we should use the French word ‘Collapsologie’ because this is a transdisciplinary idea pretty much advocated by a series of French theorists - and apparently, mostly French theorists. It in essence focuses on the imminent collapse of modern society and all its layers - a series of escalating crises on a global scale: environmental, economic, geopolitical, governmental; the list is extensive.

The Sixteen: Music for Reflection, live from Kings Place

For this week’s Live from London vocal recital we moved from the home of VOCES8, St Anne and St Agnes in the City of London, to Kings Place, where The Sixteen - who have been associate artists at the venue for some time - presented a programme of music and words bound together by the theme of ‘reflection’.

Iestyn Davies and Elizabeth Kenny explore Dowland's directness and darkness at Hatfield House

'Such is your divine Disposation that both you excellently understand, and royally entertaine the Exercise of Musicke.’

Ádám Fischer’s 1991 MahlerFest Kassel ‘Resurrection’ issued for the first time

Amongst an avalanche of new Mahler recordings appearing at the moment (Das Lied von der Erde seems to be the most favoured, with three) this 1991 Mahler Second from the 2nd Kassel MahlerFest is one of the more interesting releases.

Paradise Lost: Tête-à-Tête 2020

‘And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven … that old serpent … Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.’

Max Lorenz: Tristan und Isolde, Hamburg 1949

If there is one myth, it seems believed by some people today, that probably needs shattering it is that post-war recordings or performances of Wagner operas were always of exceptional quality. This 1949 Hamburg Tristan und Isolde is one of those recordings - though quite who is to blame for its many problems takes quite some unearthing.

Joyce DiDonato: Met Stars Live in Concert

There was never any doubt that the fifth of the twelve Met Stars Live in Concert broadcasts was going to be a palpably intense and vivid event, as well as a musically stunning and theatrically enervating experience.

‘Where All Roses Go’: Apollo5, Live from London

‘Love’ was the theme for this Live from London performance by Apollo5. Given the complexity and diversity of that human emotion, and Apollo5’s reputation for versatility and diverse repertoire, ranging from Renaissance choral music to jazz, from contemporary classical works to popular song, it was no surprise that their programme spanned 500 years and several musical styles.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields 're-connect'

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields have titled their autumn series of eight concerts - which are taking place at 5pm and 7.30pm on two Saturdays each month at their home venue in Trafalgar Square, and being filmed for streaming the following Thursday - ‘re:connect’.

Lucy Crowe and Allan Clayton join Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO at St Luke's

The London Symphony Orchestra opened their Autumn 2020 season with a homage to Oliver Knussen, who died at the age of 66 in July 2018. The programme traced a national musical lineage through the twentieth century, from Britten to Knussen, on to Mark-Anthony Turnage, and entwining the LSO and Rattle too.

Choral Dances: VOCES8, Live from London

With the Live from London digital vocal festival entering the second half of the series, the festival’s host, VOCES8, returned to their home at St Annes and St Agnes in the City of London to present a sequence of ‘Choral Dances’ - vocal music inspired by dance, embracing diverse genres from the Renaissance madrigal to swing jazz.

Royal Opera House Gala Concert

Just a few unison string wriggles from the opening of Mozart’s overture to Le nozze di Figaro are enough to make any opera-lover perch on the edge of their seat, in excited anticipation of the drama in music to come, so there could be no other curtain-raiser for this Gala Concert at the Royal Opera House, the latest instalment from ‘their House’ to ‘our houses’.

Fading: The Gesualdo Six at Live from London

"Before the ending of the day, creator of all things, we pray that, with your accustomed mercy, you may watch over us."

OPERA TODAY ARCHIVES »

Reviews

07 Sep 2014

St Matthew Passion, Prom 66

Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra brought their staging of Bach's St Matthew Passion to the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, 6 September 2014.

Bach St Matthew Passion, Prom 66

A review by Robert Hugill

 

Originally created in 2010 and directed by Peter Sellars, this was far more than a concert staging; it was a fully dramatic production which sought to wring every last ounce of emotion out of Bach's epic work.

There was a strong cast and all but one had appeared in the original production, with Christian Gerhaher as Christus, Mark Padmore as the Evangelist, and Camilla Tilling, Magdalena Kožená, Topi Lehtipuu and Eric Owens as the soloists. Almost as important was the choral contribution from the Berlin Radio Choir, singing off the book like the rest of the cast.

The first surprise was how few forces Rattle was using. Each orchestra had just 15 strings in it and the choirs numbered 30 people each. The sound was lithe and light, fluid and flexible, with a nice bounce to it. But this was a very modern sound, giving the Bach a smoothness and surface polish which does not exist in period performances as the instruments die away faster. This was modern symphonic Bach, with intelligent nods to historical performance but without throwing out everything we might expect from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Needless to say, all of the many instrumental obbligatos were superbly played, often from memory as the instrumentalist stood out from the orchestra and joined the vocal soloists creating a real sense of duets and chamber music. Despite the large size of the Royal Albert Hall, this performance had many moments of intimate, chamber communication.

The choirs and orchestras were ranged round the edge of the stage, up onto the ramped seating. There were boxes for the singers to sit on (rarely used as they were often in motion), and the central stage area had an array of larger boxes (the biggest doubled as last supper table, bier and even massage table). All participants were in black, with the female soloists in gowns but with bare feet. My companion complained about the cut and fit of Padmore's trousers, and I noted that he was wearing brown shoes.

My problem with the staging was that it was never quite clear who these people are, and why they were reacting in such an extreme manner. Mark Padmore's Evangelist not only narrated the story but took on the role of Christ, enacting all of the drama, whilst Christian Gerhaher's Christus remained separated from the drama and never participated. That this was a re-enactment rather than a dramatisation was clear from the amount of meta-narrative. From the opening it was clear that the choirs were reacting to events which had already happened, but which the drama had not yet described. The solos were staged as being part of the drama, I lost count of the number of times Magdalena Kožená (singing the alto solos) had to rush on tossing her hair looking anxious, to run distractedly round the stage and sing a consoling aria to Mark Padmore. The arias were sung not as contemplations and meditations on the drama, but as part of it.

And this was the problem, everyone was reacting all the time, everyone was emotional all the time and there was a great deal of stage movement. Whilst, for some members of the audience it was clear that Sellars' dramatic narrative helped them appreciate Bach's work, for me it got in the way. There were many times during the performance when I simply closed my eyes and listened to the music.

There was indeed much to enjoy. Camilla Tilling made a poised soprano soloist, her cool demeanour belying the emotionalism in her voice. At times she sounded a little pressed, but then according to Sellars' narrative, she had every right to be. 'Blute nur' was sung with slim-line, elegant tones whilst there was a lovely dancing quality to 'Ich will dir mein Herze schenken' with some lovely perky wind solos. In 'Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben' the sense of a duet with the flautist, who stood on stage next to her, was palpable and the two combined with a profoundly expressive sense of line.

Whilst I might have found Magdalena Kožená's dramatics rather distracting, she was truly wonderful as the alto soloist. Her voice has a slight, interesting edge to it which I found very appealing and which made the quieter numbers profoundly expressive. From her first aria,'Buss' und Reu' she displayed a fabulous technique, singing the passagework smoothly and evenly (even though in that first aria she was giving Mark Padmore a massage). Here, and elsewhere, the music was always very light on its feet. 'Erbarme dich' was thankfully a quiet pause, with Kožená stationary on stage (for once) and joined by the violinist for a sublime duet. However, during Kožená's intensely intent account of 'Konnen Tranen meiner Wangen', Mark Padmore was distractingly in agony (he'd just been scourged) the whole time, and Kozena seemed to be cleaning his back.

The problem for me was that, here and elsewhere, the music is not a dramatic reaction to the events just proceeding but a personal contemplation, albeit a highly emotional one. By the time we reached 'Sehet! Sehet! Jesus hat die Hand', I was growing tired of Kožená's emotionalism.as she ran around hugging everyone. But if you closed your eyes, the aria was musically sublime.

The duet for soprano and alto at the end of part one, 'So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen' was expressive but lacked the contemplative poise which others have brought to it. Instead it was staged as high drama, with the two soloists rushing around the stage, giving an emotionalism which found its way into the music as well.

Topi Lehtipuu's tenor seemed to be having a slightly edgy day, there was a tense quality to the upper part of his voice which did not always lend itself to the music. But there was still a great deal to enjoy in his performance. He brought a nicely dramatic edge to 'O Schmerz' and 'Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen' and sang the recitative 'Mein Jesus scheigt' direct to the audience which gave it intensity, though the aria 'Geduld, Geduld', was sung to the solo gamba player, with the tenseness in his voice giving the aria a nicely nervy quality.

Eric Owens was the new member of the cast, replacing Thomas Quasthoff who had appeared in the 2010 production. Owens gave a committed, highly emotional and expressive performance but I found that his voice had a tightness and a dryness to it which did not appeal. Mind you, he had quite a physical role; during 'Gerne will ich mich bequemen' he was physically manipulating the prone Mark Padmore. In 'Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder', the solo violinist almost took the lead, playing aggressively at the prone Eric Owens.

Christian Gerhaher was a subtle and moving Christus, but he was placed behind the orchestra at the top of the ramped seating, and did not take part in the action. For part two he sang from various parts of the auditorium effectively a disembodied voice. I have great admiration for Gerhaher and have heard him give some superb performances. In the context of a simple concert performance of the work, his Christus would have been intensely moving, but he didn't stand a chance in Peter Sellars' highly emotional world and effectively he was repeatedly upstaged by Padmore and the rest of the action.
'
Mark Padmore was simply a miracle as the Evangelist. Whatever you thought of Sellars' staging, it was apparent that Padmore did everything that Sellars wanted. He created an intense, highly emotional almost overwrought protagonist which was played out in the music too. Padmore still has the apparently effortless control of his high register and the ability to colour notes, so that his Evangelist was highly communicative and able to fill the Royal Albert Hall with a whisper. I have heard Padmore sing the role before, and no doubt will do so again, but this was truly a performance like no other.

The singers of the Berlin Radio Choir were called upon to fully participate in the drama. They were not innocent bystanders simply commentating, they were there. The result was a highly dramatic and highly emotional performance, one that was visually, rather wearing, but which reaped rich rewards in the highly engaged vocal performance from the singers. This was some of the most intent, vivid Bach singing I have heard in a long time. not just in terms of dramatics, but in the quiet moments to. Some of the turbae were truly shocking, whilst some of the chorales were hushed and simple. For the opening and closing choruses of part one, they were joined by the choristers (both boys and girls) from Wells Cathedral and Winchester Cathedral.

The smaller solo roles were all well taken by members of the Berlin Radio Choir, each creating a little moment of drama. Jorge Schneider was Judas, Soren von Billerbeck was Peter, Axek Scheidig was Pilate, Christine Lichtenberg and Holger Marks were the Witnesses, David Stingl and Thomas Futzner were the Chief Priests, Isabelle Vosskuhler and Christina Bischoff were the Maids and Bianca Reim was Pilate's wife. The instrumental soloists were Daniel Stabrawa and Daishin Kashimoto (violins), Emmanuel Pahud and Michael Hasel (flutes), Albrech Mayer and Andreas Wiggman (oboes and oboes d'amore), Domink Wollenweber and Christoph Hartmann (oboes di caccia), Stefan Scheigert and Markus Weidmann (bassoons), Ulrich Wolff (viola da gamba) and the continuo group was Martin Lohr (cello), Lynda Sayce (lute), Raphael Alpermann and Jorg-Andreas Botticher (organs), Matthew McDonald (double bass).

My problem with the performance was that Sellars was forcing us to think about Bach's work in a particular way. Rather than universalising it, he was making us view it through his eyes. This was typified by the way the ending was staged, forcing the audience to sit in reverent silence at the end rather than being able to burst into applause.

Robert Hugill


Christian Gerhaher: Christus, Mark Padmore: Evangelist; Camilla Tilling, Magdalena Kozena, Topi Lehtipuu, Eric Owens; Berlin Radio Choir, Wells Cathedral Choristers, Winchester Cathedral Choristers. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Sir Simon Rattle: conductor, Peter Sellars: director. BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, 6 September 2014.

Send to a friend

Send a link to this article to a friend with an optional message.

Friend's Email Address: (required)

Your Email Address: (required)

Message (optional):