Review - The Fair at Sorochyntsi (Mussorgsky), Komische Oper Berlin, 9 April 2017

Cherevik - Jens Larsen
Khivrya - Agnes Zwierko
Parasya - Mirka Wagner
Kum - Tom Erik Lie
Gritsko - Alexander Lewis
Afanasiy Ivanovich - Ivan Tursic
The gypsy - Hans Groning

Vocalconsort Berlin
Choir and Orchestra of Komische Oper Berlin

Henrik Nanasi (Conductor)
Barrie Kosky (Director)

Musically this lesser known opera by Mussorgsky has all the varieties from melancholy to lyric sentiments, and the rather dramatic choral version of night on bald mountain, which is arguably the composer's most familiar tone poem. Though the plot is rather naive in contrary to its wide spectrum of music styles. It centres on the villagers' superstition of a haunting tale and their fear trigger bizarre yet comical reactions. The gypsy plays the role of a wizard that attempts to make people afraid psychologically. Alongside there was a romantic affair between a young couple, but complicated by their feelings and parental interference. The sole dramatic high point is the witches' sabbath when hell broke loose with demonic figures, but that is a nightmare vision of Gritsko and none actually happen in the village. By morning, normality resumes and happily ever after for Gritsko and Parasya.

Nevertheless, this time it was the production itself and musical execution that lifted the appeal to this not so inspiring libretto. The opera choirmaster David Cavelius made choral arrangements, of Mussorgsky's songs and dances of death and the Hebrew song by Rimsky Korsakov, to be sung

between scenes. Accompanied by the pluck string instrument Balalaika, the choral singing reinforced the Russian folk context yet felt religious than the irony expressed in the lyrics. Even so the music colour was dense and sung under dimmed lights, which added that haunting sense of death in mind. Though one would probably more appreciate the arrangement on upper level, where I sat, to admire the fresco while the choir sang from different parts of the hall. One experience a hair raising moment when the rich choral voices flooded from behind during the fourth song called 'Field Marshal', which depicted death commanding the fallen soldiers. But those at the boxes or stalls might not share the same experience as they sat in the dark and not much to look at.

The strength of Barrie Kosky's staging was the humourous touch through exaggeration, command of a fluid dramaturgy and also retained a level of seriousness to the tale. The chorus sang magnificently

even under complicated choreography including dancing wildly, and adjusted their singing colour accordingly. One could sense the excitement when the crowd went arm in arm at the celebration. The silly quarrels and incidents between Cherevik and his wife Khivrya were particularly hilarious during the chaos at the kitchen. She was at no mercy to slap her drunken husband, breaking eggs on his forehead when he slept on the kitchen table, and woke him up by putting his hand on the stove. Her short fling with Afanasiy developed into a comical affair when she tried to hide him from Cherevik. She first mistakenly by throwing the cake cream into his face and in hurry put his head inside a chicken. As the crowd recounted the ghost tale of red coat, Afanasiy sudden bizarre appearance scarred them off.

After Gritsko gave the eerie and melancholic lullaby describing death put a sickened baby into eternal sleep, the feast of devils saw animal headed figures filled the stage. Again Kosky's big scene choreography was effective as a spectacle and unleashed the wildness in full. Pigs and cockerels

jumped and serenaded along to the music of night on bald mountain. A pig headed leader commanded the devils and the rest wearing high heeds joined in the colourful feast. Though afterwards the return to normality in a plain staging and Russian folk costumes, it felt losing the theatrical focus and dramatically lacked a continuity from before. The choral Hebrew song was sung again in a candlelit set up to finish the opera but one wondered the purpose of it. It also felt the sequence was alike clusters of events than a build up towards a climatic point, which was why one felt the story was not inspiring and questioned the attractiveness of it.

The magnificent bass tone from Jens Larsen filled the hall with his powerful projection. Clear on diction and flexible to change his vocal colour to fit into different emotions. He portrayed Cherevik as a bossy but drunken and clumsy figure. Agnes Zwierko had the richness of a mezzo in her timbre, but her singing sometimes vertical in direction and not always sustained the full value of the notes.

Both Mirka Wagner and Alexander Lewis possessed the youthful and lyrical vocal colour. Though Lewis was more consistent in sustaining the warmth and projection in his singing, also more able to convey the emotions such as the anguish and frustration when Gritsko met opposition from Cherevik to marry Parasya. Wagner vocally sounded thin at first in Parasya's song of disappointment and timbre rather unique, only later produced a fuller tone as her emotion gather as the village celebration went in full swing. The choir was generally in good intonation and produced a sound of wall that not many opera choruses consistently able to. Though a few hesitations that affected the tuning and momentum probably due to unable to see the conductor clearly and no prompter on stage. The orchestra under Henrik Nanasi produced many dramatic playing with urgency to maintain the music flowing forward. It produced a more bodied tone and tidier coordinations than my previous encounters of the same group. As a whole, the music had the edge this time for atmospherically beautiful whereas the production would benefit from some rethinking to be on the same par.

(Photo credits: Monika Rittershaus, Komische Oper Berlin)

Review - Oslo Philharmonic and Vasily Petrenko, 2017 Hong Kong Arts Festival

14 March 2017:
Peer Gynt Suite No 1 (Grieg)
Cello Concerto No 1 (Shostakovich)
Symphony No 2 (Rachmaninov)

15 March 2017:
Excerpts from 100 Folk Tunes from Hardanger (Tveitt)
Cello Concerto (Elgar)
Symphony No 2 (Sibelius)

Oslo Philharmonic
Truls Mørk (Cello)

Vasily Petrenko (Conductor)

A fine selection of symphonic and concerto works from the late romantic period up to the post war period were given by the leading Norwegian orchestra. Though the weakest moment happened at the start in the iconic Peer Gynt Suite by Grieg. Whether due to Petrenko being impatient with the tempo or the orchestra was sight reading the score, woodwinds' dialogues depicting the scene of rising sun in the well known morning mood were messy at entries. Their playing lacked a flowing momentum with much hesitation and uncertainty in direction. Strings' sorrow theme on lamenting the death of Aase were more secured and flowing. It achieved a spellbinding pianissimo, but one could sense that Petrenko rather preferred to move things forward than indulging broadly. Strings were also able to produce the lightness and dynamic contrast in the tipsy dance like third movement. Though the wild gallop at the hall of the mountain king was somehow underwhelming that lacked the energy by its indifferent playing.

Shostakovich's first cello concerto in turn marked a contrast from the optimistic sunny outlook by an enigmatic impression. It began with the solo cello playing at the end of fingerboard, and felt like ironic and restless. Solo horn's entry though was late and not secure with tuning. Screaming winds and heavily scored solo cello part continued until it came to an abrupt end. A sorrow start to the second movement by the solo cello again and this time inward looking yet tragic. Violas and clarinet played a gloomy and lifeless Russian folk tune, later increasingly eerie and grotesque as the music became more dissonant from the celesta and strings. Emotional anguish was realised by the solo cello with double stopping in wide interval jumps and irregular rhythmic patterns. It made a dramatic contrast to the lament expressed at the meditative start of the third movement. The orchestral response was sarcastic but the tone quality of the horns did not match the rest. A stormy coda with wild cries and hurried gallops from the winds and strings. For encore, Truls Mørk played a movement from Bach's cello suite that carried a sense of solitude.

Emotional outpour and the unending search for positivism in Rachmaninov's second symphony finally gave assurance and hope, which departed from the sadness that dominated the first half. Despite a bleak and dark beginning, emotions gradually culminated and eventually some glimpse of positivism. Beautiful strings playing at the dance like section, subtle and seamless in the romantic driven dialogue between parts. Ebbs and flows of movement produced waves of emotional charge, though constantly negotiated between tragic and optimism. Brass made devastating cries that heightened the tension and conjured a rather tempestuous scene. In turn, strings responded with a sweet tune at the unison lyric passage before plunging back into the intense conflict. Momentum sustained as the playing descended into the lower range with an explosive ending to the first movement. Romantically rich tune began the second movement with a fiery gallop, which the strings' attacks were dramatic and swift. The heroic ride developed from a fast and passionate drive into a full scale of wildness. Horns' tone quality improved at forte with a sheer dramatic impression.

Calmness returned at the third movement with a sublime and tender clarinet solo. Strings responded to Petrenko's indications on dynamic difference, and again created waves of emotions to build climatic points one after another without any lingering. The dialogue between solo clarinet and violas had a wonderful sense in phrasing the lines. Ethereal sweetness rounded off the third movement in a sublime heavenward climax. Sheer brilliancy during the triumphant and carnival like start to the last movement, which the orchestral playing flowed with strong direction. It was answered by a sweet and expressive passage before a stormy transition returned. The contrast was marked by the dynamic change from the softest dynamic into another muscular climatic point. A resounding finale as the match towards the coda coupled with fanfare to give an ultra romantic send off. It was definitely a very memorable and brilliant deliverance from Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic.

In terms of produced tone quality and technical security, the second evening had the edge as the orchestra felt more at home with the hall acoustics. Tveitt's adaptations of folk tunes showed a variety of orchestral effects and moods even short in durations. The gallop built on a witty folk tune until it reached an explosive end in Friar-foter. A sorrow theme was played on the strings which began the next movement titled 'Du' with a haunting impression, but softened up by the winds playing a sweet tune. Percussive effects was focused in the following Langeleik tune with pizzicato and col legno on strings. Instead the brass played a deformed tune at a muscular tutti section near the end for a sarcastic portrayal of a drunken wedding party. The last movement, titled 'Hardanger ale', was majesty in style and had some influence of the blue music. A tipsy theme on the brass developed into a glorious fanfare, joined by the whole battery of percussions, for a colourful and festive finale.

For me, Elgar's cello concerto is a difficult piece to understand compare to his other works. Whether because it dwells on raw emotions in full tragical sense, or the absence of a noble and sentimental theme, one never know how to embrace the enigmatic outlook. Truls Mørk employed a lot of vibrato in his playing at the sorrow start, which accommodated by the lower strings and winds at a considering pianissimo. Though the climb to the end of fingerboard was not entirely smooth, Mørk probably preferred a more relaxing tempo whereas Petrenko tried to push the orchestra's playing forward. Interestingly tuning was not too good at first position even with a lesser reach for the fingers. Strings were more able to shape and dramatise the music from the moody part into a charging tremolo. A romantic and emotional start to the middle movement, which was tender and meditative throughout. Orchestra remained sensitive to dynamic balance and never overwhelm the soloist. The solo cello took the lead again in the third movement with an emotional outpour yet tragic by style. Notes heavy on the solo part compare to the flickering texture in the orchestral parts, which rhythmically more energetic in driving the momentum forward. Towards coda, it again went into a negotiation between mixed feelings with melancholy strings one hand and sorrowful solo cello the other. The unending gallop at soft dynamic rather bewildering by its infinite direction and left an open end impression where it was heading to.

The ice cold vast landscape in Sibelius's second symphony was the answer, but Petrenko also injected much thoughts and insight in his conducting to aim for a dramatic rendition with sonic impact. Strings and winds began the dance like opening in a rich bodied tone and passionate playing to draw out the emotions in full. Tempo was on the swift side made a strong sense of direction to sustain the energy and momentum. Blazing brass fanfares that muscular in sound with urgency to drive the music further forward. It made a fiery impression and injected more warmth to the tone colour. A moment of tranquillity returned at the beginning of the second movement when the bassoon played a noble folk tune with pizzicato on the lower strings. Though the peace was broken again by the explosive and emotional strings' parts against the devastating tragical calls from the winds. The image was increasingly bleak and violent til the end, while brass made a strong lead in the midst of the ebbs and flows of emotions. Despite the reappearance of the folk tune, it did not have the meditative stillness but tempestuous instead.

The storm continued into the third movement that reinforced dramatically by the brass again. There was a brief moment of lush sunny passage from the woodwinds but yet quickly restated by violence, which was rather sturm und drang by composition style. The last movement was sentimental and expressive as the strings built up a lush and majestic triumphant theme. It reached a solemn and heavenward climax but the negotiation did not stop. A variations on the theme followed until reaching an emotional outpour of an expressive theme. Lower strings in turn played a mournful chromatic march and developed into a thick textured furore. Even so, the coda was a victory over darkness after a long crescendo and blazing brass for a resounding finale. As a whole the performance managed to paint the picture vividly and one could felt the dramatic surroundings of nordic countryside.