Review - Jonas Kaufmann & Helmut Deutsch, Shenzhen Concert Hall, 11 November 2017

Die Forelle (Schubert)
Der Lindenbaum from 'Winterreise' (Schubert)
Der Jüngling an der Quelle (Schubert)

Der Musensohn (Schubert)
Lust der Sturmnacht (Schumann)
Erstes Grün (Schumann)

Wanderung (Schumann)

Frage (Schumann)

Stille Tränen (Schumann)

Invitation aux voyage (Duparc)

Le manoir de Rosemonde (Duparc)

Chanson triste (Duparc)

Phidylé (Duparc)

3 Sonetti del Petrarca (Lizst)

Heimliche Aufforderung (Richard Strauss)

Wozu noch, Mädchen (Richard Strauss)

Breit über mein Haupt dein schwarzes Haar (Richard Strauss)

Ich liebe dich (Richard Strauss)

Befreit (Richard Strauss)

Freundliche Vision (Richard Strauss)

Cäcilie (Richard Strauss)

Encore:

Zueignung (Richard Strauss)
'Dein ist mein ganzes Herz!' from The Land of Smiles (Lehár)

'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca (Puccini)

Jonas Kaufmann (tenor)

Helmut Deutsch (piano)

Jonas Kaufmann and his regular accompanist Helmut Deutsch gave a substantial programme, comprised of lieder, Italian songs and mélodie, for this recital in Shenzhen. Besides a showcase of singing in three different languages, it was also a technical demonstration of varied vocal styles and emotions.

The recital began with lieder by Schubert and Schumann, which focused on diction clarity, line shaping and tone control. Audience familiarity was probably in mind with Die Forelle as the first item, which Kaufmann sang in a bright tone and flowing momentum. He started Der Lindenbaum gently and poetically phrased the lines. The tone colour switched dramatically during the violent mid section before tranquility returned in the music. Falsetto was used to keep the lullaby like Der Jüngling an der Quelle stayed on the dreamy state. Tuning was on the verge of going flat during Der Musensohn, and the tessitura did not feel comfortable despite the heroic approach.

Among all the pieces, Kaufmann seems musically less successful with Schumann's works. One felt he lacked a clear road map how to shape the music and diction was often muffled. He belt out Lust der Sturmnacht in full but that lacked differentiation of vocal colours. Phrasing felt rather random at first in Erstes Grün yet eventually became more focused and flowing. Wanderung was more suited to Kaufmann's rich timbre with the vocal energy sustained through the heroic gallop. The depth of stillness was realised in Frage, but the singing was too covered for Stille Tränen despite tenderness on the upper range achieved by using falsetto.

For Invitation aux voyage, a smooth transition from chest voice to falsetto instead and did not force his way up to the higher vocal range. The French vowels helped to brighten his timbre and his singing seems more at home than previously. He approached Chanson triste rather dramatically and operatic, with the vocal colour became more muscular and darker. The overall effect was majestic and highly romantic for the lyrically expressive passage, yet a warmer tone was preferred than the hard edged tone. Phidylé began alike a nocturne before emotions sank in. Tenderness maintained and momentum was subtly paced that encapsulated the focus. Dynamic contrast and emotional intensity built into a rich sentimental coda.

Despite disturbance from mobile phone ringing and loud coughing at the start of the three sonnets by Liszt, it did not affect Kaufmann's concentration. He was smooth with the interval jumps in Benedetto, and carried a hopeful impression on the romantically expressive passage. There were more contrasting emotional changes in Pace non trovo which began with a dramatic recitative. The climax was broad and full as the singing turned operatic with a commanding voice. Tuning on Falsetto was lesser secure but words were poetically phrased for a tender closing. Sentiments returned in I vidi in terra angelici costumi and intense as the emotions heightened. It all came to a tender resolve but one felt Kaufmann's covered tone slightly unique for the ears. Compare to his French, his Italian diction also felt less natural and artificially produced as my friends felt.

Interestingly, one reckon Kaufmann was more passionately with the songs by Richard Strauss and the emotions expressed by his singing had a personal touch. A bold and expressive start to Heimliche Aufforderung in a commanding tone, then story telling like that was appropriate as a drunken song. Tessitura and the vocal colour suited to Kaufmann's timbre and vocal range very well. The smooth and convincing impression also added to the emotional intensity. In turn, Wozu noch was tender in a relaxing tone with more falsetto employed, and the lines were poetically phrased. Instead of a soft sing to Breit über mein Haupt dein schwarzes Haar, Kaufmann gave a rather heroic account that felt alike a wholehearted embrace of the text than indulgence on sentiments. Ich liebe Ich too was operatically rendered and the dramatisation made a definite declaration of affection. Vocally he carried a lot of energy and very bright on the vowels on top of the thick piano part.

Calmness returned to the rather invert looking Befreit, with more legato in a broad shape to develop the sentiments. The crescendo was beautifully built up for a prayerful closing. Kaufmann switched to his covered tone again for the dreamy and soft Freundliche Vision. The softness was kept with pianissimo sustained through for a spellbinding effect. Elaborate piano part in Cäcilie while emotionally tense for the final heroic and commanding finale. Familiarity again formed the final part with encore from The Land of Smiles, which once was the only known western opera in China under the close door era, and a fitting final piece from Tosca, 'E lucevan le stelle', to conclude this enjoyable vocal feast. Helmut Deutsch should be credited for his seamless and sensitive accompaniment on the piano, who was an experienced specialist after years of partnering Kaufmann and many other great singers like Hermann Prey. His playing was alike a cushion to support the singing and never overpower with careful balance on dynamics and keyboard touch.

(Photo credit: MNA 牛耳藝術 Facebook page)

Review - Simon Rattle, Seong-Jin Cho & Berliner Philharmoniker, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 10 November 2017

Don Juan (Richard Strauss)
Piano Concerto in G (Ravel)
Encore: Clair de lune (Debussy)
Symphony No. 4 (Brahms)

Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
Sir Simon Rattle (conductor)
Berliner Philharmoniker

The revisit of Berlin Philharmonic to Hong Kong marked the final Asian tour with Simon Rattle as its chief conductor, before Kirill Petrenko to assume the role in 2019. Besides local public screenings of both performances across the city, orchestra principals like Emmanuel Pahud and Amihai Grosz also gave their own recitals in town. Despite steep ticket price, with the top category charging nearly four hundred US dollars, the performance quality was as high as expected with many memorable moments. Over the two days a diverse programme was given ranging from Russian to Korean, though the first evening focused on the core German repertoire with Ravel's piano concerto sandwiched in between.

The full bodied sound, at the dramatic opening of the symphonic tone poem 'Don Juan', made a thrilling sonic impression. With such great energy, swift tempo continued at the following soft passage before rubato culminated the built up to a crushing climax. The intensity stayed throughout the gallop, but lacked some dynamic contrast at the mysterious flute leading interlude. The lyric like oboe solo was beautifully played while the strings sustained the soft and ethereal impression. The horns responded with a majestic and confident announcement of the main theme. During the thick and expressive transition, the orchestra managed not to create a vigorously violent tone. Rich tutti playing with sheer momentum drove the energy forward at the recapitulation of the highly romantic expressive theme. Though it could have been more patient with the tempo at the moody coda than too eager in reaching the end.

Probably due to where I sat behind the orchestra, the hall acoustic did not help to project the solo piano too well in the Ravel and sounded rather distant. Seong-Jin Cho's playing was rather stiff at first, in contrast to the energetic orchestral playing which was crisp and carried more direction. One felt the orchestra had a clear road map in mind and produced much colourful playing to the witty and jazzy passages. Elegant harp solo at first and Cho began to play with more momentum towards the end of the first movement . He finally sank into the performance when the lyrically expressive piano solo was given at the start of the second movement. His touch and dynamic achieved a fine balance with the vast space and carried the direction. Sublime winds' solo followed in their entrances and maintained a flowing impression that the tempo neither drag nor in hurry. The cor anglais played its solo beautifully and accompanied by the piano for a sweet and dreamy song without words.

Slick playing began the third movement with woodwind being smooth and secured in their jazzy passages. A rather playful piano part for Cho who maintained the lightness yet also the weight to keep the direction forward in the gallop. Excitement continued among the orchestral playing with transitions seamlessly woven together and accommodated the soloist with consideration on dynamics. For encore, Cho selected Clair de lune to continue the French theme and also a foretaste for his forthcoming album on piano works by Debussy. Not only he played elegantly, but also a good musical sense of phrasing the line naturally that never lose the intention. Even at the elaborated development that his playing was not aggressive and the smoothness sustained throughout. His exquisite touch on the tranquil music held me spellbound and deserved a second hearing in future.

Despite I generally had difficulty to appreciate Brahms's symphonic work generally, the high music standard that being set at the first half kept me interested in what to follow after the intermission. The fourth symphony itself was one that I struggled to understand. Like Tchaikovsky's sixth symphony, the composer would have a rather cheerful third movement but followed by a rather gloomy ending for the sake of seriousness. The first movement was also enigmatic and far from having a clear expression. Instead, the performance gave a rather different approach to the symphony than what I expected. It convinced me that the composer could have been less restrain on his emotions after all. Yet the orchestra took some time to settle at first by being uncertain and untidy in the syncopated entries. There was a level of eagerness to hurry the tempo along, while the strings were heavy footed with the pizzicatos and vibrato heavy. Structurally dialogues between strings and winds did not synchronise naturally and lacked the seamless connection that was effectively executed early on. Momentum gradually regained when reaching the lengthy echo of suspended main theme between parts. The lush tutti sound poured out the emotional tragic sentiments in full and crushingly violent at the coda.

In contrast, the second movement began with the winds playing a broad and majestic dance motive. Sectional entries were seamlessly woven together and stayed on the same dynamic level throughout. The strings entered confidently and expressive on emotions, which carried the sonic intensity but not explosive. It gradually built up the sentimental climax into a rich and vast sound world. The sonic depth gloriously rang out in the hall before calmness hold the emotions back once again. The overall approach to the third movement focused on romanticism than the celebratory mode. Sunshine and positivism broke through the cloudy closing of the previous movement, yet the playing remained majestic and lush than hastening through. Entries were closely connected, and the music was phrased into one long breath so that the intensity was kept throughout.

These all left room for a natural development when the tragic bleakness returned at the beginning of the last movement. Heavy vibrato on strings might not be the current fashionable performing style, but it had expressed the emotions effectively in full at this point. Yet the orchestra did not indulge with the sentiments but kept the momentum forward. Exquisite flute solo on the sorrowful theme answered by some hopeful glimpse from the brass. Violent respond on the strings instead, and was breathtaking to hear the crescendo being built in seven steps as one progressively more intense than before. Ebbs and flows of emotional tides in contrasting dynamic aimed for a tense coda, which culminated the wall of sound into a rich sonic ocean with depth. It took the breath away and worth even the expensive cost to hear this great orchestra on another musical inspirational high point.

(Photo credits: Berliner Philharmoniker; Cultural Presentations Section of Hong Kong)

Review - Die Frau ohne Schatten (Richard Strauss), Staatsoper im Schiller Theater Berlin, 2017 Festtage

Burkhard Fritz (Die Kaiser)
Camilla Nylund (Die Kaiserin)
Michaela Schuster (Die Amme)
Wolfgang Koch (Barak)
Irene Theorin (Baraks frau)
Roman Trekel (Die Geisterbote)

Staatsopernchor & Kinderchor
Staatskapelle Berlin
Zubin Mehta (Conductor)
Claus Guth (Director)

Although this opera is often regarded as the magic flute of Richard Strauss, its metaphorical symbolism is more complex than a relative straight forward fairy tale of redemption. It examines how the empress discovers herself through the mystery of birth and death, and the search for a shadow is the key witness to life. Like Salome and Elektra, the dealing of death is the rite of passage to prove oneself existence. Yet by resisting tricks and redemption, she gains the shadow eventually than slaughtering.

Claus Guth's production conceived the tale as the empress negotiated her conscience within a surreal world of nightmare and illusions. She was first seen as a dying patient being unconscious in a sanatorium. Her nurse became a devil figure that manipulated and possessed her mind. She left no room for the empress to consider an alternative, but put her under the spell to lure Barak's wife into a moral trap that would lead to renounce her shadow. Though the temptation was presented alike a fantasy with parallel figure of Barak's wife in glittering outfit while the fishes as infants sang the enchanting chorus, and later a naked young man covered in gold appeared as a physical wonder. On the other hand, the nurse was the aggressive option which the empress could take to become mortal and avoided from separating from the emperor. Yet that contradict with her original and pure form as gazelle, which we noticed from the animal headed figure appeared throughout in parallel.

The animals added to the mysterious and dream like impression, also reinforced the fantasy side of the story. They appeared as mortals but their actual forms were the shadow itself and never separate, at least from the empress's perspective. The falcon represented the messenger of the empress's father, who did not appear until the judgement scene. It also became a haunted reminder to the empress that her fate was hold by him. They sometimes also became the silent companion as she reflected alone. Their existence realised the inner thoughts and emotions delicately that what the empress would have desired. Like Guth's staging of Der Rosenkavalier before, the abstract recalling of the past, present and future magnified the psychological state of the protagonist bounded by doubts and contradictions. Rest were as sequence of her decision making, which constituted the process of self examination.

The question in the room though was whether the empress actually had any affection for the emperor. It seems not when she appeared in agony by the emperor's declaration of love for her, and her gazelle collapsed on the ground with wounds the same time . Later in the second act after the falcon warned again, the emperor even wanted to straggle the empress as he thought she was being unfaithful by lurking into a human household. Neither in the third act they appeared together again but stayed in distance, though their gazelles showed forgiveness to each other. Claus probably felt was never the empress's intention to mend the broken relationship and the past encounter resolved subtly.

Yet through Barak and his wife did the empress discovered what true love could lead to the happiness of fertility and satisfaction in life. Even the two had a rocky relation as the wife being dissatisfied and despised anything associated to Barak at first. She managed to resist the temptation of a young man in golden outlook that the nurse conjured up to tempt her. Barak himself was genuinely tried to save the relationship from falling apart despite the emotional frustration and rejection. At the judging chamber they rediscovered each other and in support of the other one finally. The reconciliation inspired the empress to fling off the mental control from the nurse, emperor and her father. She threw away the potion that the doctor gave to her and confronted her mental depression directly. It was an emotional transformation as she saw her gazelle dead but then a spear reminded her the past alike hearing voices in her head. The recollection motivated her to put on the animal head as a metaphorical connection of her body and shadow by gaining it eventually. The dreamy world collapsed and the empress awaken from the hallucination, where she saw her nurse again. She appeared to feel the peace and supported by her who was no longer the devil as before.

A strong cast of singers were assembled that elevated the performance to a most satisfying vocal feast. Camilla Nylund showed no sign of tiredness or strain throughout the demanding vocal part as the protagonist. Not only she had a powerful and rich projection, her diction was very clear with the smoothness in switching register. The ascending vocal cries were gloriously sung in sheer intensity. Her characterisation of the empress progressed naturally and displayed the complex emotions as it evolved. Although Burkhard Fritz did not have an extensive singing part in the role of the emperor, the love theme of act one was romantically and expressively rendered. His timbre carried the warmth and rich tone, with the legato sustained throughout. Michaela Schuster had a more dramatic vocal style as the nurse compare to other roles which were more lyrical orientated except Barak's wife. Her mezzo timbre was rich with a healthy voice, also carried the urgency and intensity during violent moments. She also had the devilish outlook with the chilling gaze, and realised the aggressiveness of the nurse by being a controlling figure.

Wolfgang Koch phrased the words and music poetically in his smooth and pleasant timbre. His singing never become over sentimental, remained majesty in style and carried the depth in the characterisation. He saw Barak as a sensitive figure who tried to be reasonable and patient with his difficult and temperamental wife. I was also amazed by the powerful singing from Irene Theorin who was in a different vocal level from her approach to Brünnhilde. She brightened up her diction for clarity and her tessitura sat comfortably within the vocal range. Her dramatic singing sustained the emotional impact at the romantically expressive passages. The reconciling duet between her and Koch in act three was intimately passionate and rich that created a powerful sonic climax.

Under the baton of Zubin Mehta, bright and beautiful tone sustained among the orchestral playing and not overtly dramatic yet still carried the excitement. Majestic and beautiful brass playing echoed the woodwind's ethereal passage towards the end of act one, a contrast from the strange and grotesque torments perceived before. Sorrowful cello solo realised the sadness as the empress reflected, while the lower strings played the love theme tenderly. They drove the emotions forward as later the music became increasingly violent and devastating. Such emotional contrast again was spellbindingly effective in the sublime violin solo as the forgiveness was marked symbolically. The orchestra in turn gave a crushing blow as the empress shook her dead gazelle in distraught. Then bell like strings' playing responded to the dream and surreal state as the past been recalled when the emperor met the empress for the first time. Musically the standard as a whole was high and equally balanced for a glorious performance. The staatsoper should consider revivals than the current tame season being offered at the renovated opera house.

(Photo credits: Clive Barda/Royal Opera House London; Hans Jörg Michel/Staatsoper Berlin)