Review - Der König Kandaules (Zemlinsky), Opera Gent, 24 April 2016

Der König Kandaules - Dmitry Golovnin
Nyssia - Elisabet Strid
Gyges - Gidon Saks
Phedros - Vincenzo Neri

Symfonisch Orkest Opera Vlaanderen
Dimitri Jurowski (Conductor)

Salome and Elektra by Richard Strauss were supposedly hard acts to follow both musically and storytelling by gone as far advance and daring than its time. The esthetic of art nouveau to portray obsessed women in theatre could divide opinion, and one would question the purpose of presenting brutal tales and madness on stage. Though moral dimension should not be the focus or spending moment to judge, but allow the emotional impact of blood and drama to fascinate us. Despite Zemlinsky did not finish orchestrating the whole score of King Kandaules, which the challenge was understandable coupled with ill health, the 1993 completion by Antony Beaumont produced a convincing case why this work could match the other two in full.

To avoid focusing on a primary motive that triggered off the murder throughout the performance, Andrij Zholdak added a level of complexity by repeating murder scenes in different forms according to characters. Instead of portraying a gender generalisation, which on surface only Queen Nyssia had the utter motive to kill, the staging demonstrated how individual's obsession was driven by own desire, and to create different motives triggering off the bloodshed. Everything took place inside a modern house with three floors divided each level into two rooms. In the opening scene, we saw the queen frightened by the rebellious children in the dining room on ground level, and the king also being dominant and violent towards her. A young male cleaner in naked top walked across the top level of the house by being explicitly sexual. It probably suggested the queen fantasised sexual desires but suppressed herself because of the environment. The children carried a gutted salmon but no ring was seen. An unhappy life was shown but the queen failed to find any courage to kill and looking weak.

The next part saw courtiers congregated in the room above the kitchen and focused on an overheard television, which showed actions in other rooms. Nyssia hated the children and became nasty by telling them off. Although the king was thought highly in authority wearing his armour and sword, he seems to be haunted by visions of death and that his world falling apart. He saw Gyges killing his wife in the kitchen and exposed a ring from the vault. The children also interchanged to a boy and a girl after being two boys at the start. They were stopped when one tried to hang himself. Gyges was also sexually erotic for the queen but mentally unstable to control himself. The illusion deepened when Gyges's wife stood alive again but then beheaded by him again. It became a nightmare for Nyssia with what she saw and later fell dead on the dining table. The courtiers laughed in the room when the horror happened and their moments of singing was atmospherically judgemental.

Zholdak signalled a new start in the beginning of act two by children shooting all courtiers and symbolically ended their perception. King Kandaules' desires were presented finally. He probably seeking a more comfortable situation imagining everyone were satisfied and behaved orderly in his household. A garden was set up in front of the house. The dining room was decorated with flowers, family orientated kitchen with fridge, nice sitting room for television and even a tanning bed in the dining room. Servants enjoyed their food and drinks in the kitchen. Raw meats were even being scattered around the house. It was as if they enjoyed a good and abundant life, but were silenced and obedient compare to before. The children were two boys again as what Kandaules seems to prefer. He also sat in a tanning bed while interacting with Gyges. Displaying gadgets probably to show himself a wealthy and content lifestyle, and hoping Gyges to respect him. The rather cool Nyssia did not come into the room at first but observing from above. He seems desired her to love him eventually when they sang the duet passionately.

The discourse of good life fell apart as the focuses turned to the perceptions of Gyges and Nyssia, and from there the situation in the house went downward from there. Gyges was portrayed mentally unstable to provide reason why he killed his wife in the first place besides attracted to Nyssia. The queen destroyed the flowers in the dining room and ripped off the kitchen interior. Servants performed fetish acts with the black servant slapped the bottom of the nearly naked young guy, who was the seductive cleaner of Nyssia before. There were even two rats mating each other on the bed in the top floor. Kandaules was in agony when Gyges killed one of the children, wrapped in a pastry skin and Nyssia did not return affections to him. Though here Gyges did not intend to kill the king and neither Nyssia had the courage to kill. He saw himself being crowded as ruler instead.

Ironically towards the end, Nyssia turned to be the most violent and cruel of all characters compare to the beginning when she suffered from an unhappy life with Kandaules. She saw him nothing good but a tyrant with cruelty. Distorted images of Kandaules set herself motivation to turn towards the path of murder: servants mincing meat suggested hurting the flesh; the children brought the beheaded mouses around; and the black servant was instructed to kill an elderly servant, who was probably been serving a long time. She feared for the same fate like the others and had Gyges to be the executioner. He threatened the children and also requested the servants to bring the fish into the the house, then killed them all including Kandaules. That was not the end though as Nyssia saw his ambition to be king after the slaughter and decided it would be best he died on her knife too. The queen finally achieved what she had been struggled with: to kill and destroy the life she hated in her way.

Zholdak's staging might look confusing with various illusions and difficult to distinguish which represented the reality or imagination. It could be enigmatic and shocking to see Gyges's wife and Nyssia being killed and brought back to life, along with extra silenced characters walking around the house, creatures were shown too with rats and fish. The ring itself might not be the focus visually but horrible things began to emerge after Gyges unearthed it from the vault. Occasionally we saw lightning effects probably to mark a change or highlight particular moment. But I felt the staging was on purpose to portray opposites of the beginning when the queen was unhappy to our knowledge. Throughout the whole viewing presented different circumstances connecting to what the main character in that scene perceived of the situation. The feeling of randomness highlighted the complexity of inner emotion. The staging also connected to the musical language as the first half being objective and impersonal, which connected to the courtiers' sarcasm. Later more romantic and passionate in the second half until the use of snare drums alike a the death march to capture the violence between the trio.

Like Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg, music for the role of protagonist was demanding in vocal range and required a heldentenor for the volume. The tessitura of the part was comfortable for Dmitry Golovnin's vocal range but his diction in German was far from ideal. It also took some time to warm up his voice as timbre not always comfortable for the ears. He was also rather stiff in action compare to Elisabet Strid, who was more flexible and mobile on stage. Her intonation was good and a pleasant voice with body. Diction also not always clear like Golovnin and the vocal projection would only work in this not too big theater. Powerful voice from Gidon Saks as Gyges and he was better with the words than his colleagues. Baritone by timbre but not too light in richness. Courtiers were sung by house singers and there were several promising ones worth for future hearing. Acoustic on the first balcony where I sat was fine and not too loud for balance. The brass section improved as they warmed up to avoid being harsh and not focus. I found the orchestral playing slightly out of shape in the first act that Dimitri Jurowski seems not getting a grip with the phrasing. He was more able to find the way to conduct in the more romantic and tune orientated second half. The orchestral playing also lacked some contrast in dynamic levels but dramatically effective to build the climatic ending. I hope the intellectually stimulating production will be shown again in future.

Review - Parsifal (Wagner), Teatro Real Madrid, 18 April 2016 & 21 April 2016

Gurnemanz - Franz-Josef Selig
Parsifal - Klaus Florian Vogt
Kundry - Anja Kampe
Amfortas - Detlef Roth
Klingsor - Evgeny Nikitin
Titurel - Ante Jerkunica
Bailarín - Joaquín Fernández

Coro y Orquesta Titulares del Teatro Real
Director - Claus Guth
Conductor - Semyon Bychkov

I had chosen to see the performances of Parsifal in Madrid twice not only because of the attractive casting, but a second viewing was essential for a thorough understanding of Claus Guth's insightful staging. My past experience of Guth's stagings of Der Rosenkavalier for Frankfurt opera and Fidelio at Salzburg Festival not always straight forward at first viewing. It took some time to digest and think on the directorial approach to make sense of the underlying messages and intentions. Although Guth's staging of Parsifal visually not always a beauty for the eyes, the interpretation seems conventional in sight but always there is a twist. Inevitably three debatable questions arose from discussions with my friends, which whether the directorial approach suggesting the work itself was religiously symbolic in the context of Christianity, the relationship between Amfortas and Klingsor a family one or brotherhood within an institution, why Amfortas struggled or even refused to perform the holy ritual and only Parsifal became the redeemer. The work itself had created endless interpretations but this review would address Guth's approach in context than making other assumptions, otherwise it would lose the focus and fail from a logical reflection.

Instead of a castle surrounding, the first act was set in a hospital for wounded soldiers, a reference to act three mentioning the casualties of wars. Guth's trademark of stage turntable showed us a reception area with staircase, another room in two floors and the other a large hall with balcony. Each section of the space has its defined purpose and points of actions. The messages were clear in scenes and circular movements of the turntable made a statement. The reception was on purposefully to be bleak and unwelcoming. Its purpose was what triggered off the story development, often the platform for Gurnemanz's narration of the past and preaching his thoughts. The hall was a display of members and large scene in scale.

The room separated in two half was most interesting with cases of the holy spear and grail on the upper level, in contrast to ground level where all woes and wrongdoings happened. Symbolically it associated with the paradigm of upper room: the last supper, washing of the feets, resurrection and Pentecost, which centred on the christian core belief in redemption of sins through the death and resurrection sequence of Christ. The room was not only for storage and display of mystical wonder, but importantly presenting the causes of what went wrong inside the institution among its leadership, and the pains Amfortas suffered from performing the ritual that supposedly to save the knights from destruction. The absence of either the holy item would bring harm by its power than doing good.

Gurnemanz's narration in first act saw Kundry being hapless to heal nor improve the situation. Even the herbs she brought from Arabia would only relieve Amfortas's sufferings but not improving. The scene of holy bath was not shown but one could assume nothing extraordinary. She was also trapped by her loyalties to both evils and goods. She saw the decline but ironically brought the destruction upon the Knights on behalf of Klingsor, as revenge on being treated unfairly by Titurel. Her seduction of Amfortas made him weak in flesh even as lord of lineage to the supposed powerful keeper of the sacred vessels. It was no wonder she laughed sarcastically by seeing wounded soldiers suffered on bed and the falling was destined as no one could prevent the destruction of themselves. Interestingly the doctors and nurses were supposedly to heal and care for the suffering ones, but their blind following of orders and rules indirectly accelerate the destruction.

I thought by portraying Gurnemanz as a ordained Christian priest was an indirect statement from Guth, which suggesting dated beliefs and ritualistic performance of the church were ineffective to renew this organisation. Forcing soldiers to sing hymns, falling to their knees to pray and worshipping were seen as abstract and alien, neither to inspire the members where they should be going forward to. He also did not prevent other soldiers nor the medical staffs to bully the dancer, who represented the pains and agony suffered by Amfortas by physical expression in movements. It was as the character just an ordinary soldier driven to madness by wounds from war, but we as spectator understood who he was portraying in actual.

Various approaches differed on who demanded Amfortas to perform the ritual and its purpose. For example from Munich, the Konwitschny's production saw the knights blaming Amfortas for not able to revive the tree of life and the life in bunker. The recent Viennese version saw a frantic male religious organisation put women and children as sacrificial prisoners in the dark dungeon but Amfortas was a character to perform. Guth saw differently by emphasising the role of Titurel more important than the other two. In reference to the close relation between the old King and Klingsor, the extra scene during the playing of prelude we saw Klingsor was visibly upset and crushed the wine glass when Titurel favoured Amfortas over a meal. Later the old king created the suffering by forcing Amfortas to perform the tortuous ceremony and opened his wounds for the supposed blood for eucharist. The ritual was an obsession/madness for desire than any miracle for the fragile souls and body.

I felt Parsifal's silence response to Gurnemanz's demand of answer was not foolish or incapable here, but shocked by the awfulness of the cruel ritual as witness. Amfortas desired for death to release himself from the burden made the point someone else would need another way to become a redeemer to bring upon the salvation. Parsifal understood to save the organisation from deterioration was to experience the sufferings and conquered the temptations. The holy tools were to be united for its divine power and he himself by experiencing holy wars would be one answer, just as Christ went to test in the wilderness for forty days and resisting temptations.

Though whether Parsifal acts as a copy of Christ's death and resurrection for redemption was not the the point Guth probably felt on the composer's objective in creating work. Salvation here was not at all spiritual but rather a management rescue process. Also to become the redeemer of a new belief it required three core elements: knowing his actual background and released himself from the past, which Kundry nor Amfortas failed to do so as they were trapped by the situation; the mentioned task to unite the holy tools but not using to wield power in wars and a physical endurance to overcome at hard condition; also the ability to resist physical and emotional affections.

Nowhere was the last point being mentioned as a sin, but love would not help the leader to stay strong and protect the institution from decay, which was a direct response to the ring cycle that Siegfried and Brunnhilde brought the downfall of gods than saving it. Thus, Parsifal would need to experience by resisting the temptation of falling in love with Kundry and remain celibacy for purity in order to become the redeemer. Instead of a colourful garden, Guth set act two like a ball in the fashion of Edwardian era. The realism made an intimate setting for the flower maidens and Kundry with flamboyant outlooks to keep the men falling under their spells. It was not a demonstration for lust or physical satisfaction, but guiding us through the process to search the purpose and role for the protagonist. Despite Parsifal and Kundry had moments of intense affections, in the end he realised it would require himself to release everyone from their agony by going one step forward than enjoying the earthly satisfaction.

Act three then presented the ultimate vision of what Guth felt the composer was experimenting with his philosophical construction for the new religion. Resisting the temptation of affection did not mean a total rejection of companionship. Parsifal had the silenced Kundry cleansed with water from the holy fountain after he received it from Gurnemanz. The baptism was a symbolic moment that a new way was found and received to transform the deserted hospital in a dilapidated state, which Gurnemanz still guarding for the foretold restoration and the expected new leader. Kundry in return cleaned Parsifal's feet with hair and rubbed with oil. While he blamed himself for their sufferings, he recovered the insane soldiers to sanity and stopped their agony. The implicit biblical references to the acts of Mary Magdalene at last supper and performance of miracles by Christ reinforced the argument that Guth saw the composer the biblical reference to construct his belief/new religion from the core Christian beliefs. One could not separate the two as it was the basis which Wagner built his theory on before evolving into a new ideology. Though the materials might be similiar but one could feel the difference in which two ideology develop.

The whole institution lost its direction and driven to illogical madness at Titurel's death and his funeral. The crowd themselves now demanding Amfortas the performance of the ritual, who would prefer dying to relieve his suffering instead, and thought it would save them all as the mad king thought. The entry of Parsifal with holy spear came to an unexpected development as result. It was odd and unexpected when Guth portrayed the protagonist to become the new military leader of the institute, a respond to Parsifal asking to be crowded king of all. The soldiers recovered from their wartime shadow, strengthened, atmospherically proud and glorified the renewed military might. Perhaps it was on purpose that we should feel uncomfortable by what perceived as an outcome, in parallel towards the end of First World War that celebration came first than a sorrow remembrance. We would find it politically incorrect for our time but one should be mindful back then it was the norm. The development was logical within the historical time frame and nothing shocking. Guth seems suggesting Wagner's search to construct his new religion actually a dangerous idea at the end, and in broad religion itself would create problematic idea like nationalism. We were also left with the open question as whether Klingsor and Amfortas, as they sat next to each other in the end, reconciled on what relation level? Could now Parsifal restore the glory or it was only the end of everything?



Musically in general the Thursday performance was better than Monday in terms of coordination and tempo. Semyon Bychkov knew better how to conduct the work than the disastrous performance of Beethoven fourth symphony I experienced in Rome few years ago. There were enough space in the playing that neither hurried or too slow. The Teatro Real orchestra could produce a magnificent sound particularly during climatic tutti moments with choral singing. Act two was most satisfactory by keeping a good momentum in shaping the music but sluggish sometimes in other two acts. That was probably why I felt the playing not always making the emotional impact despite refined playing. Board tempo was not a problem for this work but it needed some direction than suspending too much. There were also two obvious slips on Thursday with a cello entered too early after a fermata and the brass playing wrong notes in act one. Despite the mistakes, the hall acoustic should be credited for a good sound balance, which the orchestral sound never drowned out the singer and neither the singers had to be forceful with volumes.

I was not as critical as my friends about Detlef Roth's Amfortas that vocally he was capable and pleasant for ears despite losing some focus with phrasing towards the end  probably due to tiredness. Ante Jerkunica made an impression as Titurel not only because of the role emphasis more in Guth's staying, but also his voice delivered the impact of a rich sound filling the hall very well. Franz-Josef Selig might not be the most radiant Gurnemanz I heard so far because of his timbre not always had the warmth nor rich, nonetheless, he phrased the singing line in a good shape. Klaus Florian Vogt's Parsifal was probably the best available tenor at the moment that the tenderness and legato in his timbre still maintained the vocal presence and a wonderful sense with phrasing. He also did not have problem with the words for those who remembered him struggled with the prize song in Der Meistersinger from Staatsoper Berlin last year. Evgeny Nikitin was again vocally an underwhelming experience that he sang beautifully but lacked the projection like the rest. Anja Kempe was so far the better sung Kundry I heard so far in live. She had a healthy voice and could be beautiful from time to time. Her tessitura was more secured to nail the high notes at the dramatic moment in second act on Thursday than Monday. It seems Bychkov had adopted a quicker tempo to accommodate those texting and challenging vocal passages. The female vocal ensemble delivered probably the best sung version of flower maidens scene in my memory. Individual voices complemented each other very much and technically all capable without slips or making any ugly sound. The male chorus delivered a better sound of wall on Thursday than Monday. The German diction was clearly understood and maintained good intonation throughout. On Monday the amplification of female choral singing was problematic by being too loud and imbalance with the live singing. Intonation on high vocal registers were better though compare to Thursday which often went flat noticeably. In sum, very fine performances of Parsifal from Teatro Real that musically more even together with a well matched vocal cast. 

Review - 2016 Hong Kong Arts Festival - Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues, Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, 19 March 2016

24 Preludes and Fugues, Op 87 (Shostakovich)
Alexander Melnikov (Pianist)

Performing the whole set of Shostakovich's preludes and fugues in live was a herculean task both physical and technical wise. Despite in duration the concert lasted nearly three and half hours long, the evening was a revelation of one of the composer's more complex and introvert creation. Melnikov devised the concert into three parts by chronological order. The first group, nos 1-12, tended to be experimental, unexpected and lighthearted. Atmospherically varied from a masculine like thick structured prelude (no 6), dreamlike lullaby in the A major prelude (no 7), rhythmically tricky fugue in B major (no 11) to the scene of tempest of the G-sharp minor fugue (no 12). The theme of the first prelude made an example of the unexpected, which harmonically the C major theme from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier turned into dissonance passages before gradually returned to the calm and tonal opening.

The following group, nos 13-16, turned more inward and expressive on emotions. It was difficult to imagine the tenderness and lyricism in F-shape prelude and fugue (no 13) would progress into sarcasm, enigma and stormy chaos in the D-flat major fugue (no 15). The humour and progressive stance of the first group, playing with tricky rhythmic patterns and sometimes unusual sound textures like parallel octaves, were no longer there. Instead, it was moody and even strange at times how the music had developed, including the use of twelve tones out of the blue. In the last set, no 17-24, the composer gradually looking back into the orthodox church chants as basis for development. Patterns might be conventional but again turned into something different each time harmonically. The image became dream like and even surreal towards the end. Only the last one in D minor the music became very intense again to push for the ultimate climax in conclusion. It was also a statement that Russian traditional religious chants could become complex and intellectually sophisticated evolved like Bach fugues. The composer had found the voice, expressing his beliefs and discontent at the same time without reservation.

Since I sat in front of the pianist throughout the evening, one was captivated by his facial expression and the focus. Melnikov had a good touch in dynamic and wonderful sense how to phrase the music, not to mention the challenge to remember shaping all 48 sets of music in different forms and evolvements with directions. His concentration in the first group was at best and interestingly I remembered the sheer impact of momentum particularly when he built up the levels of crescendos. He was never aggressive even at loud moments or rhythmically challenged moments. The execution in transitions were always refined and the produced tone was appropriate to reflect the style of the music. Inevitably tiredness sunk in at the later groups and occasionally one could feel the physical demand and concentration fading away. Sometimes the playing was lost in shape for brief moment and even wrong notes happened as the pianist struggled for a fraction to archive what he wanted but the reaction was too late. I did not think pity though as it was an emotional journey and musical revelation of the composer's more intimate work after the symphonic ones. It could still have the depth and body of sound world even on a sole piano, not to mention the amazement how a simple religious chant could turn in sophistication musically.

Review - 2016 Hong Kong Arts Festival - Anna Netrebko & Yusif Eyvazov, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 8 March 2016

Sinfonia from La Forza del Destino (Verdi)
'Ecco, respiro appena, lo son l'umile ancella' from Adiana Lecourvreur (Cilea)
'E la solita storia del pastore' from L'arlesiena (Cilea)
'Tacea la notte placida...Di tale amor che dirsi' from Il Trovatore (Verdi)
'Ah! si ben mio...Di quella pira' from Il Trovatore (Verdi)
Prelude from Attila (Verdi)
'Gia nella notte densa' from Otello (Verdi)
'Non ti scordar di me' (Curtis)
'Un bel di, vedremo' from Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
'Toute mon âme est là...Pourquoi me réveiller' from Werther (Massenet)
'O mio babbino caro' from Gianni Schicchi (Puccini)
'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca (Puccini)
Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
'O soave fanciulla' from La bohème (Puccini)

Encores:

'Heia, heia, in den Bergen ist mein Heimatland' from Die Csárdásfürstin (Kalman)

'Nessun dorma!' from Turandot (Puccini)

'Libiamo ne' lieti calici' from La Traviata (Verdi)

Anna Netrebko
Yusif Eyvazov
Jader Bignamini (Conductor)

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

The expectation was high for this eagerly awaited performance by Anna Netrebko and her recently wedded husband Yusif Eyvazov as part of the tour to Asia. The length of the programme would have worth the ticket value at premium level, but mostly the diva herself made it a memorable evening whereas the rest did not always reach the same mark. Scenes from operas in verismo style filled the music list except one of Ernesto de Curtis's Neapolitan song. Interestingly, the majority were associated with intimate scenes of affections than violent ones, which hinting the honeymoon period of the couple was still in the air. First half of the programme was also a technical demonstration in compared to the second half, which consisted many short well known show-pieces.

Jader Bignamini took the risk to conduct the concert without scores throughout the evening, but his conducting style did not always justify the ability to do so. The overture from Verdi's La Forza del destino was structurally unsettling by rushing through that tutti strings were not always together. One suspected not much rehearsal time had been allowed to polish the music. Only until Netrebko came on stage and blown us away with her rich, powerful and radiant voice, also her dazzling stage presence and showmanship, which we could forget the conductor having the trouble to coordinate the tempo between the diva and the orchestra. The acoustic also helped her voice to fill the hall effortlessly and did not matter whether you sat in front of or behind. My first impression of Eyvazov was not a good one with his timbre lacked of warmth, hard, white hot in vocal colour and not much differentiation. One could credit him being able to sing a wide vocal range but a lot to think on phrasing when the tempo dragged a lot in the except from Cilea's L'arlesiena.

Another problem with Bignamini's conducting was he indicated the pulse on the beat than ahead. Inevitably when the orchestra responded it was already behind the targeted tempo and messy playing as result. The tempo he started the Cavatina 'Tacea la notte placida' from Verdi's Trovatore was too slow. It took some seconds before all parties gradually settled together and the diva took our breath away again with her beautiful singing. Her musical phrasing was unbelievably natural with impeccable breath control. In the Cabaletta 'Di tale amor che dirsi', she proved to have the vocal flexibility for dramatic coloratura despite a few slips in the top notes. I was not sure whether Eyvazov could make a spinto tenor as his timbre was too hard and thin for the lyrical passage in 'Ah! si ben mio' from Trovatore. The heroic moment 'Di quella pira' also sounded karaoke like that he was capable to sing it but barking top notes out did not make a good impression.

The ending scene from first act of Verdi's Otello was the weakest presentation of the evening. Eyvazov's timbre did not convince me he would be ideal to sing the protagonist part by lacking the vocal weight and richness in voice. Dodgy coordination moment again when the Bignamini took the tempo too slow at Netrebko's entry 'Mio superbo guerrier', and had to negotiate several bars before the singing and orchestral playing came together. Netrebko also sounded unsure how to put the phrasing in place and the singing lacked direction. The whole attempt fell short from producing a spellbinding end of the first half, and I reckon they need to go back to the drawing board for a rethink.

Second half of the concert began with an arrangement of 'Non ti scordar di me' by Curtis for duet, but a cheesy version being rather lively than the subtle rendition of the original. Then again Bignamini took a tempo too hurried at the start of 'Un bel di, vedremo' from Puccini's Madama Butterfly that only settled down when Netrebko started singing. Up to this point, he generally far from having a grip on what tempo should take each time. I felt most unsatisfactory when the stake of this concert was high and the conductor's quality did not match what the audience had paid for. The intermezzo from Manon Lescaut was the only item that he could lead the orchestra to play well, of course the music also spoke for itself with the sheer impact of emotions and glorious tunes.

Thankfully Netrebko's radiant singing turned our mind back to satisfaction again and again. The beautiful creamy rich voice took the breath away in 'O mio babbino caro' from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. Eyvazov also sang much better in Cavaradossi's Romanza than his French attempt in 'Toute mon âme est là' from Massenet's Werther. His lower vocal range was more pleasant for the ears and some differentiation in tone colour, compare to the forceful upper range. He also seems more familiar with the works and more thoughtful with phrasing than belting out a song. It was an odd choice though to select the very end of La bohème first act for the supposed finale of the evening. I would have prefer to start from Rodolfo's 'Che gelida manina' all the way to the end of act one for conclusion than those in the encores. Overall it was a great evening to hear Anna in live but the rest far from a memorable experience.

Review - 2016 Hong Kong Arts Festival - Shostakovich and Prokofiev, Teatro Regio di Torino, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 4 March 2016

Symphony No 9 (Shostakovich)
Alexander Nevsky (Prokofiev)
Encores:
'Va. pensiero' from Nabucco (Verdi)
Overture from Guillaume Tell (Rossini)

Orchestra & Chorus of Teatro Regio Torino
Daniela Barcellona (Mezzosoprano solo)
Gianandrea Noseda (Conductor)

Pairing two Russian works from before and after the Second World War make an interesting contrast. Alexander Nevsky is a bold statement of patriotism and dense in texture, whereas Shostakovich's ninth symphony being enigmatic and nothing definite. These works neither reflect the trademarks of the composers' compositional styles. Prokofiev turns into formalist and writing masculine angular music based on religious chants, in contrast, Shostakovich bears all the late Prokofiev style for being sarcastic, violent and ironic. Both works also bear a sense of being impersonal and not to stir up the inner emotion too much, but an objective reflection of the time. It is logically then to round off the concert with the two well know Italian pieces pouring out the long awaited sentiment and brilliant triumphal end as encores.

On the podium, Noseda always wanted to push the momentum but his conducting not always accurate with indications. The first movement of the ninth symphony emphasised on robust rhythm bites but with the orchestra rushing through it, the playing lacked structure and some untidy corners among the strings as results. Woodwinds were better in terms of tone quality and responsiveness as a section. They hold everything together even when Noseda was late to indicate entries and more natural in music phrasing, especially for the climatic end of the brutal and dark third movement. A battery of percussion later joined the chorus for Alexander Nevsky. The choir was slightly imbalance with the male parts more able to project the sound of wall than the ladies. Intonation was fine but the diction did not convince me, which I heard the vowels more than identifying each word. Daniela Barcellona had the right timbre for the mournful aria describing the field of the dead, though from where I sat at one side of the orchestra, she was underwhelming in vocal volume and difficult to understand her diction. The Guillaume Tell overture would have been brilliant if the flautist had rehearsed the tricky solo part beforehand than a quick sight reading on site. 

Review - 2016 Hong Kong Arts Festival - Rundfunkchor Berlin, Human Requiem (2 March 2016) & Lover (5 March 2016)

"Human Requiem", 2 March 2016, Loke Yew Hall, The University of Hong Kong

A German Requiem (Johannes Brahms), version for soloists, choir and piano four-hands arranged by Phillip Moll from the original transcription

Berlin Radio Choir
Soprano soloist - Sylvia Schwartz
Baritone soloist - Konrad Jarnot
Pianists - Angela Gassenhuber, Philip Mayers
Directors - Ilka Seifert, Sasha Waltz
Conductors - Nicolas Fink, Andreas Felber

"Lover", 5 March 2016, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre

Lover (Christian Jost), music-dance-theatre for choir and percussions

U-Theatre (Taiwan) and Berlin Radio Choir
Director - Liu Ruo-yu
Drumming Choreography - Huang Chih-chun
Conductor - Nicolas Fink

I never been a great fan of Brahms except his chamber works. His symphonic and choral works made an impression that being restrain on expressing his inner emotions and creative ideas. Nevertheless, I found this superlative performance of Brahms's Requiem by the Berlin Radio Choir, in a conceptual production of Sasha Waltz & Guests, a powerful and moving experience.

The stage choreography and light effects set up a visual interpretation of life and death in regard to the emotions and abstract visions of the religious sung text. Audience were encouraged to participate and involve while surrounded by musicians on the ground floor. Though I had taken the option to watch the performance from the balcony for acoustic balance and visual impression how it all came together. The first movement 'Selig sind, die da Leid tragen' began with choir members in circular flow among the standing audience. It was a mobile meditation to enact the life cycle in between sadness and happiness. The hall turned into darkness as the second movement began. A funeral procession was formed with the chorus carrying a lady in white lying on top of a pyre and pushing the piano on a mobile platform. The highly dramatic 'ritual' realised the sequence of death and gradually built up the climatic moment when receiving hope over sorrow.

The stage light then flooded on the altar where the lady in white lying in the fourth movement. The procession returned to a slower flow while the baritone narrated at the end of life souls and mind were given to the custody of god. At this point the chorus entered the stage platform at the other end of the hall. A playground with swings formed a metaphorical representation of garden Eden for eternal joy, which echoed the verses of psalm 84. Audience stood again and all looked at the representation of 'heaven'. The lady in white was resurrected and became the angelic figure telling the comfort and peace she found in the after life. The sixth movement then turned away from the journey of life, death and reborn to dwell more on the second coming of Christ. Bleak lighting was employed when the baritone sang passages of the judgement day from the first book of Corinthians from the balcony. The chilling surrounding gradually faded away when a lone stage light lit up directly at us. While the choir formed two long lines separating the audience, children processed out through a door to represent the power of creation and hopefulness. Then the hall gradually returned to darkness as the choir formed a square surrounding the audience to sing the epilogue that the faithful would receive the reward and blessing.

Towards the end, I understood more why the composer selected these biblical texts and the relation with the music. One could argue the staging was one way putting us into context but importantly it highlighted that delicate relationship between the human desires before and after death, whereas christian beliefs would provide that 'vision' whether one being religious or not. The text itself would also not make the same impact to bring out the sentimental emotions without the music and visual realisation of the concept. It was 'human' after all since we participated, and for centuries endlessly seeking after the same idealistic ritual and aftermath, thus, no surprise that I felt satisfied and fulfilled however naive the thought might be.

Musically, this chamber version offered a leaner sound texture that was refreshing for the ears and allowed the music to flow more vertically with directions. Impeccable clarity in diction and the rich body of sound produced many spellbinding moments of beautiful choral singing, particularly the sheer force of musical momentum in the second movement 'Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras', unaccompanied passage of the fifth movement 'Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit' and 'Herr, du bist wuerdig' in the sixth movement. Generally the male voice parts were better by using less vibrato and produced radiant tone colour. It took female voice parts, the sopranos especially, some time to coordinate tempos and intonation as a section. As a whole, the choir should be credited for not only acting around the hall while performing, but also sang the whole work from memory without the score. The two conductors managed to hold everything together despite the complexity of choreography, which was not easy for the sightline. They mostly kept the musical shape well enough except some chaotic moments in the fugue of second movement. Vocally the two soloists were disappointing though. Konrad Jarnot somehow lost the sense of phrasing and being unsettled with tempo in the third movement 'Herr, lehre doch mich'. I felt he improved later in the sixth movement, 'Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt', with the desired darkness in timbre and vocal volume for the authoritative opening. Sylvia Schwartz was the weakest link of the evening. Heavy vibrato in her timbre and wobble through the supposed angelic first half of the fifth movement 'Ihr habt nun Trauigkeit'. Diction was muddled as result and only her outlook redeemed the visual expectation. Polished and sensitive playing from the two pianists maintained the musical momentum throughout. They responded to the change of atmosphere by being tender or building climatic moments with flexibility.

'Lover' by Christian Jost was an attempt of intercultural art collaborations through Chinese martian arts and percussions, western choral singing, poems from ancient China and the American poet E. E. Cummings from first half of 20th century.

The evening began with a white man in blind, the protagonist, first came on stage while male dancers in black performing a ritual dance. It partially realised the scene of crying ospreys surrounding a lost man struggled to see the reality, but not so much magnifying the pain from longing a woman that far from reaching. Musically the next movement, based on Cummings' 'May I feel said he', was the most colourful of all. Drums, gongs, xylophone and guqin produced percussion effects to depict hesitations and psychological confusions when couple fell into love. The choral passage in contrast was more lyrical and tonal. Women in red dress joined in the dance but the blind man in white was sailing with long stick and holding a fish net. It was more a mind game of affections than physically passionate. The third movement, 'I like my body when it is with your body', was supposedly more body graphical vivid, though the stage choreography turned out to be a refined 'kung fu' demonstration. The white man unfolded his blind and became acrobatic in movements. Vigorous drumming was given but the lullaby like choral passage was most enigmatic. An abstract theme followed by lamenting the memories in bed at the day of doom. The singing became a form of meditation in the style of Tavener, slow, simple but surreal. Though I found the following drum solo a technical showcase rather than a devastation. Nonetheless, many would probably find it entertaining and provided some musical direction than the previous cloudy choral movement. Staging wise the last movement was most elaborate with big white plants hanging from the roof to realise the image of heaven, which the poem 'Shang Ya' specify the protagonist would merge altogether with earth. The white man wore a rich red coloured dress and finally reunited with the 'lady', but we could not be sure whether it was a human love or more.

I felt abstraction and simplicity would have worked when each domain connecting to each other rather than performing its conventional function in fullness. A storyline was not necessary but stage choreography often became a demonstration of artistic beauty than realising the abstract psychological states of the sung texts. It was also a pity to be restrained on physical contact even the imaginations were expressive on it. The underlined message, from physical desire of love and affection between man and woman magnified into the philosophical embrace of nature, was grand but randomness in context vaguely connected the poems as a whole. It was a good intercultural art experiment but lacked logical progression to make the message a powerful one.

The Berlin choir was positioned differently for the Hong Kong performance, which they sang from the orchestra pit than behind the percussion units. This might to do with the acoustic balance in the grand theatre but it left the backstage rather bare in darkness. Another problem was related to diction, which I felt the choir generally fell short from articulating both the Chinese and English sung text understandable for the ears. Despite more tonal than Philip Glass, musical textures mainly stuck with repetitive patterns and certain sound range in each movement. I hardly remembered if there were any corners with dramatic choral effects to emphasise certain words. It was no surprise that the choral singing hardly able to shape the music except every time an endless narration with many words. The impression might have been better if the sopranos would employ less vibratos, more secured intonation and younger voices to refresh the music for a clear sound structure. Christian Jost's conducting was more to keep everything together but nowhere near to that superlative Human Requiem performance three evenings ago. 

Travel - Chicago to Emeryville on the California Zephyr

Hi everyone!  My name is David and this is my first post on the Opera Fantastique blog.  It is also the first post I know of that doesn’t have anything to do with opera, but hopefully it is no less fantastic than any of Thomas’.  My focus will be more on food and travel, as I have little knowledge about opera.  I am without a doubt a major foodie, but am also an enthusiastic traveler to places both old and new – 58 countries and counting! 

I’m currently based in Chicago, and since I was young, one of my dreams was to ride the train across the continental United States, and I was recently finally able to fulfill that dream. 

(As an aside, my first post is about 6 months late.  I was meant to write about another trip I made to Jordan, but things got in the way, and so my first post will be about a trip that’s only 1 month old, rather than 6 months old.  Sorry Thomas.  Better late than never, as they say.)

In any case, one of the most famous train rides in America is run by Amtrak and runs from Chicago to Emeryville (which is a town near San Francisco, on the other side of the bay).  It’s called the California Zephyr, and from the moment I heard the name, I knew that it was a train ride I wanted to do, not least because the train traverses some of the best scenery the continent has to offer. 

I bought the tickets about 2 weeks ahead of time from Amtrak’s website, and selected the Superliner Roomette option.  There are three options on a multi-day journey such as this one – a standard train car seat, the Superliner Roomette and the Superliner Bedroom.  The Superliner Roomette and Bedroom both include meals in the ticket and a lot more privacy, with the difference being the Roomette offers space for only two people, while the Bedroom can fit four and has its own private shower.  Since I was travelling by myself for 52 hours, the Roomette seemed like the best option.  Gotta treat yo’self once in a while. 

The dining car, which is surprisingly nice.  Food was decent as well - big hit were the crab cakes and American breakfast.  It's communal seating, so a solo traveller like myself gets lumped in with other strangers.  

I boarded the train in Chicago on Thursday afternoon and made my way to my car.  Each cabin has its own attendant whose job is to take care of any emergencies you have and to turn down the bed in the evening when you sleep.  The room was about 4 feet wide, so it was actually difficult to sit and fit my carryon in the space provided – the attendant took one look at my suitcase and asked me, “First time, huh?  I can tell.”  Thankfully, as I was travelling by myself, the space constraints weren’t that bad. 

On Thursday, the train makes its way through Illinois, Iowa, and arrives in Nebraska in the evening.  In terms of scenery, here is what you need to know:  there is none.  Let’s move on. 

(Just kidding.  But it’s mostly farmland.  I think I read a book in the car most of the afternoon.  We did pass the Continental Divide somewhere in Illinois, which is quite interesting.) 

Typical view from the train on Friday.

On Friday morning, we arrived in Denver and after picking up more passengers, we made our way up the Rockies, with the train coursing its way through canyon after canyon and following the Colorado River as the train makes it way up to 9,000 feet in elevation.  It was spectacular to say the least.  And this was only the morning scenery.  I highly recommend making the trip in the winter if you like snow as part of the scenery – I’m sure it looks amazing in the summer too with all the lushness of the forest, but there’s something magical about winter scenery for me. 

Making its way up the Rockies.

On these long train rides, there is a single car that is devoted to “sightseeing” – the lounge car.  It boasts floor to ceiling windows so you can see outside and appreciate the vastness and scale of the mountains and rivers around you.  I pretty much parked myself here all Friday.  There’s no wifi on the California Zephyr, and since you are in the mountains there’s no cell phone service either, but it hardly matters on a trip like this.  I was able to get over my lack of Instagramming abilities reasonably quickly. 

The train tracks are to the right, following the snow-covered Colorado River.

After lunch, the train then heads down the mountains and into Utah, which is where the scenery shifts dramatically and quickly from mountains to desert.  The train made its way through Ruby Canyon, which is just as spectacular as the Rockies but in a completely different way.  There’s something about the Western United States that is just magical.  In the afternoon, the conductor also came into the lounge car and started pointing landmarks to us along the way – without him, I wouldn’t have been able to spot Monument Valley and Arches National Park way in the distance.  Another time, perhaps. 

Typical view from Ruby Canyon.

By the evening, the train arrives in Salt Lake City, and I set myself down for the second night on the train.  The Roomette consists of two seats facing each other, which at night flatten to make a single bed that is for one person.  And I mean one person.  Like, don’t even try.  The room does fit two, though, because above the seats is a platform that can be pulled down to serve as the top bunk.  Feel sorry for that guy though. 

Also, bring an extension cord because there's only one plug in the entire Roomette.

When I woke up Saturday morning, we are already in Nevada, and stopping in Reno in the morning.  After that the scenery quickly shifted back from desert to mountains as the train made its way up the Sierra Nevadas, following the Truckee River.  It’s honestly hard to say which I found prettier – the Sierra Nevadas or the Rockies - but they are indeed different types of vistas and landscapes.  Whereas the train basically has 2 feet of space on either side while going through the Rockies, it hugs the cliffside for most of its trip through the Sierra Nevadas, and in that sense there is more open space to appreciate the vastness of the landscape.  There is no right or wrong in that sense, but just heaps and heaps of natural beauty. 

One of the best views I ever woke up to.  This is from my bedroom window.

By lunch, we had started descending the mountains and I arrived in Emeryville by 3 pm – 1 hour ahead of schedule.

Making our way up to the Sierra Nevadas, following the Truckee River.

The view near Donner Lake.

In retrospect, those looking for a shorter journey would do well to start in Denver instead, because that's when the scenery really starts.  But those who enjoy spending nights on trains should definitely do it end to end starting in Chicago.  52 hours on a train isn’t for everyone, but I definitely caught the train bug, and look forward to the next long-distance trip on Amtrak.

Review - 2016 Hong Kong Arts Festival - Simon Boccanegra (Verdi), Teatro Regio di Torino, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre, 28 February 2016 & 1 March 2016

Simon Boccanegra - Roberto Frontali (28 February 2016) / Alberto Gazale (1 March 2016)

Maria Boccanegra - Erika Grimaldi

Jacopo Fiesco - Michele Pertusi

Gabriele Adorno - Giorgio Berrugi

Paolo - Gevorg Hakobyan

Pietro - Fabrizio Beggi

Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Regio Torino

Conductor - Roberto Abbado
Director - Sylvano Bussotti (Revival by Vittorio Borrelli)

I had encountered Simon Boccanegra in my opera going experience more than other popular works by Verdi like La Traviata, but the third viewing is still far from ideal. This revival of Bussotti's production from the 1970s with a recent revamp retain the feature of 'grand' scene settings and elaborate period costumes. Visually the staging made some impact in the council chamber scene with a rich blue mosaic backdrop alike the great hall of a Byzantine palace. Wave machine was employed to produce the coastline of Genoa in the background. Those after the grandeur of a stage set and argue opera should retain historical relevancy will probably applaud and enjoy.

However, I am not convince that the 'park and sing' choreography and stage set as backdrop would enhance the audience understanding of this opera. Genoa's ruling class is a microscope of the obstacles challenging Italy before and after unification. Unlike Rigoletto, it is also not so much about a class conflict but an ongoing bloodshed between local clad, which composer despised its existence into the unified Italy. Local hostile divisions and lacking the vision of a unified nation posed instability to the course of Risorgimento. One could argue the political tension is already demonstrated by the angry crowds in council chamber scene, councillor’s rivalry and plotted against the doge throughout the opera. But lavish costume and scene set are a display of quality workmanship than a visual realisation of the underlying message, neither establishing the theatrical atmosphere.

The complicated background of Amelia, or Maria, being kept away from knowing as the daughter of Simon, granddaughter of Simon's rival Jacopo, and Amelia's mother as the missing character, were also left to the audience doing detective work from the translated surtitles. I understand not everyone would enjoy the French opera director Olivier Py's approach in portraying every single details of the story in his production. Though his approach in Il Trovatore with extras to act out the troubled memory narrated by Manrico's mother fed the audience with background information, which I reckon is essential for staging Verdi's operas when we want to understand the recurring inner personal theme between father and daughter.

If theatrically the staging did not elevate an insight of the story, musically it would require a stellar vocal cast to keep the ears interesting. The line up from Turin Opera were generally technically competent and no ugly voice, but far from making an impression as a whole. Erika Grimaldi was so far the better Amelia I came across in live with the sheer impact in volume and note accuracy. But I found her timbre more a dramatic soprano than a spinto, which lacked the lyrical side of a soft spoken 'Gilda' in this tale. Giorgio Berrugi, who sang the role of Amelia's passionate lover Gabriele, was shaky with intonation in the second act big solo aria 'Cielo pietoso, rendila' and fell short from a climatic showcase. Same problem with singers as protagonist and Jacopo on different evenings that their timbre more suited in the dramatic first act, but lacked the warmth in tone desired in the expressive second half. I was disappointed by the baritone duet in the reconciliation scene that neither moving nor processing any radiant quality. Diction was generally passable though not Italianate enough, which probably suggested why the singing rather white hot in colour. Roberto Abbado should be credited for keeping the band together and very alert to the singer's rubato. The brass and wind sections were better than the strings for rhythmical precision and produced a rich body of sound. Tempo was generally on a broad side to keep tutti moments polished and elegant, but gradually sounded tiring for the ears and losing the momentum towards the end. 

Review - The Six Brandenburg Concertos (J S Bach), Hong Kong City Hall, 5th February 2016

Members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Directed from the Harpsichord by Benjamin Bayl

Nearly a year apart after the performance by Berliner Barock Solisten in The University of Hong Kong, another demonstration of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos was given by the members of Philharmonic Orchestra. Except the harpsichord, no other period instrument such as recorder or baroque flute was used this time, neither baroque bows for the strings. Also less vibrato in playing to aim for a more silvery and pure tone. The sequence was also in reverse order starting with the second concerto and ended the concert with the first. Strings only third and sixth concertos filled the mid section of both half, leaving the leaner structured fifth and fourth concerts before and after the intermission. I felt it was the right order for the programme with a fanfare like concerto to open the concert, the mid section being intimate and pastoral orientated, rounded off with the concerto that had the largest instrumentation of all.

Instead of an earthy and percussive sound from a period instrumental group, generally this time ensemble produced a more refine tone and being transparent in structure. It would be unfair to compare which combination is better because different sets of tone colours. Though I would prefer to retain recorders for the fourth and viola da gambas for the sixth, which was not difficult to realise the composer intended these instruments for a colourful musical texture. The variety of instrumental colours would also keep the music more interesting for the ears.

Technically this around the musicians were more even and at ease than an effortful marathon. With the conductor directed from harpsichord, the solo violinist could concentrate on playing the solo passages and avoid tiredness than performing two roles at the same time, a notable problem in period instrument performances I experienced in recent years. Jing Wang's intonation on the violin improved as the evening went on and never aggressive on bow weight in technically demanding passages especially the fourth concerto. Benjamin Bayl excelled himself in the virtuosic cadenza on the keyboard at the first movement of the fifth concerto. His approach in keyboard playing was quite swift in tempo and the phrasing had a dramatic sense for musical direction.

In terms of the quality of playing, as I was told with limited rehearsals, there were highs and lows in result. To begin the concert with the sixth concerto was a challenge for the solo trumpeter Joshua MacCluer to nail the fiendish showcase passages, not to mention playing the piccolo trumpet in F. He played most of the notes accurately despite some slips in the top and appeared rather relieved when it was over. There was also some issue with balance that the upper strings being heavy handed in volume and overshadowed the soloists. More thought on phrasing and intonation were actually put into concertos with less instruments. Exquisite playing during the trio with violin, flute and harpsichord in the second movement of the fifth concerto, particularly from the flautist Megan Sterling. The first concerto was somehow an uneven display that the wind section were far more accurate and functioned as a group than the tutti strings. Few more rehearsals would have polished the rough corners for a better impression. 

Review - Die Walküre (Wagner), Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 23 January 2016

Siegmund - Stuart Skelton
Sieglinde - Heidi Melton
Hunding - Falk Struckmann
Wotan - Matthias Goerne
Brünnhilde - Petra Lang
Fricka - Michelle DeYoung
Die Walküren - Sarah Castle, Karen Foster, Katherine Broderick, Anna Burford, Elaine McKrill, Okka von der Damerau, Laura Nykänen

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Jaap van Zweden (Conductor)

In contrast to Das Rheingold, which highlights the broad issues of greed, power thirsting, hatred and race supremacy, Die Walküre focuses on the dilemma and consequences that Wotan meets in attempt to protect the legacy of gods from the inevitable downfall. While the head of authority bears the duty to defend oaths, upholding laws and honouring promises, the moral dimension of siblings falling in love for each other, breeding offsprings with other women than the lawful partner, and distance manipulation of own children to achieve personal goals all became a tangled web.

Albeit my rather naive understanding of the work philosophy, I gradually believe that the main underlying message is not only a mirror reflection of the composer own struggles, but also how oneself negotiates with life when it evolves rather different from expectations and the plan. The composer's answer to the question by love/humanity/forgiveness is not straight forward and with a price: Siegmund was killed indirectly by Wotan through Hunding, forcing his daughter Sieglinde into hiding at dangerous area and punished the loyal Brünnhilde with the loss of immortality. The underlying message is that no one could avoid the difficult corners in life even with power, might and wisdom. On the other hand, Wotan’s tolerance of sibling’s passionate love and freewill to live as a liberal being were a progressive stance even for modern world. 

The philosophical complexity of the work also posed a challenge to the audience when this performance was presented as a concert version without the visual theatrical presentation. Unless one studied the plot thoroughly, this time the music language not necessarily painting the landscape and surroundings alike in Das Rheingold, but expressions of atmosphere, senses and inner emotions instead. Moments like Wotan killing Hunding at rage and ride of the Valkyries would be easier to visualise by physical actions than realising through the words. That also would help the singers to build their characterisation than standing still on stage. The acoustic between a concert hall and an auditorium of a theatre also made a different audio experience. It allowed musicians the space to make a bigger contrast in dynamic difference and the space for the music to sing more its beauty. Also without the obligation to maintain the theatrical momentum on stage, a broader tempo could be adopted to phrase the music but not dragging. The end result was more refined musical texture and a better sense of intimacy.

As a whole, the performance had exceeded my expectation and maintained the exact standard set as previously in Das Rheingold. Radiant singing from Stuart Skelton’s Siegmund that the tessitura sat comfortably within his vocal range, also an attractive timbre with the desired warmth, smoothness and vocal projection. Interestingly, he and Heidi Melton both took a rather broad tempo for act one, and each word was steadily phrased for a clear diction purpose. A poetic reading was the description, but for my waste it was slightly careful and they could have pushed the tempo slightly from Winterstürme towards the passionate climatic end. Melton was rich in mid range though silvery on the top, which I felt her timbre more suitable for Chrysothemis in Elektra than the more mezzo soprano orientated Sieglinde. Falk Struckmann as Hunding filled the hall with a rich body bass tone and I reckon he would be a better Wotan than Matthias Goerne. Petra Lang sang the Hojotoho of act two beginning rather brilliantly and produced that youthful fearless spirit of Brünnhilde. High vocal range fared better for her but some degree of unnaturalness of her singing style in mid range. Diction was often not too clear at that level and sometimes sliding one notes to another diminished the beauty in tone. The lower range was also audibly soft but the acoustic still helped to maintain the vocal presence. Michelle DeYoung made a fearsome Fricka with a sheer body of vocal volume and captured the essence of an angry wife vividly. The timbre of Walküren complimented each other effectively and one could detect several future potentials as lead Wagnerian singers for future. 

However, like last year, Matthias Goerne’s Wotan continued to be a let down from rest of the cast. I would not be too critical if it was not recorded for commercial release and understood it was a starting point for the role in future. Though it did not help when Goerne continued to dive in the score while singing and lacked visual communications with his colleagues. He was still far from identifying the structure to phrase the text and music in act two that virtually lacked any sense of characterisation while the role of Wotan was so important in this work. His rather dense texture in timbre also made the singing sounded a murmur and lacking difference in vocal colour. He was better in act three which the music seems more familiar to him and at least he would look up and sing to the audience. Still I wonder how he would eventually make an impressive debut in future at an actual production performance if there was not much of an improvement from last year outing.

The Philharmonic Orchestra was reinforced by a number of overseas players, particularly in the brass. It was an impressive sight to see six harps on the stage and at a concert performance one could have a better sense how the ensemble functioned together than at an opera house pit. I felt the orchestra was more well prepared in act two and three than the first. The roadmap was there and Zweden kept a good sense of flow that neither rushing or too slow, which accommodated the singers comfortably with the highly disciplined orchestral accompaniment. The band produced many beautiful moments especially in the emotional Wotan’s farewell and magic fire music. Again the rather Italianate warm tone somehow slightly too positive for the bleak setting of act one in hunding’s house. Though I really enjoyed rest of it that the leaner body of sound was refreshing and even had a sense of hope despite all the woes on the way. I am looking forward to the next instalment in a year’s time and hopefully a competent tenor will be sourced for the role of Siegfried.

Review - Symphonies Nos 1-9 (Beethoven), Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 11, 18, 27 November & 4 December 2015

Symphonies Nos 1-9 (Beethoven)

Soprano - Zhou Yuqian
Mezzo Soprano - Deborah Humble
Tenor - Charles Reid
Bass - Kwangchul Youn

The Chorus of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor - Jaap van Zweden

The Hong Kong cycle of the Beethoven Symphonies in the past month was another landmark development of the Philharmonic Orchestra. The strings sections had improved in tone colour and body of sound since Jaap van Zweden took over the directorship since 2012. Though tiredness sunk in as the week progressed and the musicians' stamina were tested. The wind sections did not always maintain the same consistency and responsiveness in playing as the strings which resulted in some untidy corners. The phrasing of music was good generally and in style to the textures of each symphony. I was relieved that Zweden did not repeat the heavy handed execution of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 few months ago with controlled conducting style and employed overpowering dynamics. He knew the road map mostly well enough of navigating the band through the marathon. His conducting style certainly worked better with certain symphonies but not a solution for all.

The cycle first began with the eighth symphony followed by the third, which supposedly to mark the contrasting themes during the composer's midlife creative period. The orchestral playing in the eighth delivered the warmth and a lively pastoral image with an Italianate flair. The strength of Zweden's conducting was that he allowed the space for the music to sing and breath, but never drag and maintained the level of momentum with a rather brisk tempo. It was a satisfying start, but later using the same approach on the third symphony, I felt it ignored the underlying ideology. The playing was polished and fine but made no contrast made in the produced tone and tempo spacing. One wondered where was the image of Prometheus, the mystical hero expressed as resistance to tyranny, when the funeral match sounded ever so positive without the feeling of lament or suffering. A monumental creation of a hero with great sentiments was not necessary but the outlook and philosophy should not be in absence. Neither the conductor nor the orchestra seems to grasp the thinking but only to structure the work just like the rest they came across.

The same problem continued with the Pastoral symphony in the following week, which the drawing board for programmed symphonies happened to be the weak point for the conductor and the orchestra. The playing was neat but it lacked a direction. The absence of momentum resulted in sluggish dialogues between sections and as a whole failed to craft the structure, despite some beautiful passages from the flautist. When the heart was not in place, one could hear the produced tone colour from the strings sounded bland and dull. It was not disastrous but created a misconception among the audience that the symphony failed to make a strong impression as the seventh during interval. Neither should both works be compared easily since the Pastoral symphony stood on its own to emphasise the rare tranquillity and calm mental state of the composer, instead of the tempest and thunderstorm came under the conflictive inner emotions.

By contrast, the seventh symphony in the second half was a success and brilliant as always. The orchestra was at home here. Varied tone colours, energy, phrasing and musical direction were all in display. It created the sense of drama and excitement that marked the characters of this symphony. After the confident and highly spirited first movement, the band gradually built up the pace from the solemn match in the second movement before reaching the climatic exultation in the last movement, which one felt the composer wholeheartedly thrilled about. Zweden's conducting also transformed that he knew where to indicate the orchestra and achieved the desired effects. The only minor problem was the trumpets occasionally under the pitch and I wondered whether it was necessary to use the German rotary ones than the usual B flat type.

The next instalment brought the second, fourth and fifth symphonies together. Besides being a stamina test to play three works in the same evening, more importantly, the compositional progression that Beethoven linked his suffering from deafness with inner emotional struggles. Both the second and fourth had a mysterious sombre like introduction before the return of optimism. Not so much in the style of some late Haydn's symphonies, but signs of the composer's depression battled against the effects of hearing impairment were there. By the last movement of the fourth symphony, showers of semiquavers at break neck tempo seems to suggest the composer not in the best of psychological state. After years listening to various performances of the fifth symphony, it was the first time I felt the work was not a natural triumphant for the composer to overcome the problem of hearing loss, but instead a forceful personal statement to hold the vulnerable mind together with a desperate optimism. On the other hand, the composer eventually found his 'voice' in the symphonies from the struggles and sufferings.

On the performance side it was the evening that the Philharmonic Orchestra managed to maintain the same consistency throughout their playing despite the physical challenge, and Zweden knew the three works well enough to provide a clear guide with his conducting. The woodwind section was also at their best form in this cycle with many fine playings and the presence of an intimate musical dialogues that not often the case. It was not surprised that the first violins gradually showing signs of tiredness with one or two tutti moments being fractions behind from the rest. Otherwise, musically it was an inspiring evening and the tale centred around the composer being vividly realised.

The final instalment was on purpose a contrast between the early and late periods of the composer's compositional style, but both the first and the ninth symphonies were also revolutionary in musical form and language. The first was not so much different in characters from the eighth. The Italianate warmth and pastoral image at harvest time summed up a happier time for Beethoven at his youthful years. The traditional first movement structure was placed in the last movement instead whereas the bold passionate opening movement echoing the styles of Mozart's late symphonies. Just like the eighth, the musical texture and tone colours worked very well to the core produced sound of the orchestra. The playing was never aggressive or overpowering and retained the sense of elegance and beauty that fitted perfectly into the pastoral scene. The band seems natural of its musical dialogues and Zweden was visibly pleased with the result at the end of first half.

The ninth symphony often only remembered by rousing choral passages in the last movement but what made it differed from other symphonies were the harmonic texture and structural progression. The first movement no longer in the shadow of classical period that major and minor keys interwoven together. Scherzo formed the second movement followed by an expressive and tranquil Adagio in the third movement. The tempo Zweden took in the first two movements were rather robust and swift. He pushed the orchestra to produce the momentum alike mounting on a chariot, and there were corners I felt the orchestral playing being unsettled and even sounded angry. Despite a rich body of sound resulted from the darker tone on the strings, the playing of the first violins made a raw sound that lost some of the silkiness it produced before. The NCPA chorus was fine in vocal volume and intonation, but mostly only vowels could be heard and difficult to make sense of their diction. The soprano soloist Zhou Yuqian was a last minute replacement and just about to match her colleagues in the quartet. I would still prefer to hear Deborah Humble and Kwangchul Youn singing other pieces in slower tempo than the machine gun like vocal sections of this symphony. Zweden's energetic conducting also caused some uncertain entries that the soloists were not together with the orchestra. Here the stirring coda felt to be an earthy celebration of ideology Beethoven believed in since Eroica Symphony but not quite the culmination marking the groundbreaking expression of the musical form.

Overall, I felt very inspired by this Beethoven cycle and the orchestra should congratulate themselves how much it had progressed all this years to achieve the current standard. Though more works need to be done on the brass and woodwinds to match the quality and consistency among the strings if it aims to improve further.

Review - The 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Philharmonie, 19 October 2015

Heitor Villa-Lobos - Bachianas brasileiras No. 1

Gabriel Fauré - Sicilienne from the Pelléas et Mélisande Suite

Gabriel Fauré - Berceuse from the Dolly Suite

Heitor Villa-Lobos - Bachianas brasileiras No. 5

Astor Piazzolla - Lunfardo (arr. for cello ensemble by Harold Noben)

Astor Piazzolla - Libertango (arr. for cello ensemble by José Carlí)

Astor Piazzolla - Revirado (arr. for cello ensemble by David Riniker)

José Carlí - Estampas de Palermo: No. 3 La Diquera (arr. for cello ensemble)

Astor Piazzolla - Adiós Nonino (arr. for cello ensemble by Julio Medaglia and Jacques Ammon)

Astor Piazzolla - Soledad (arr. for cello ensemble by Ludwig Quandt)

Horacio Salgán - A Don Agustín Bardi (arr. for cello ensemble by David Riniker)

Astor Piazzolla - Escualo (arr. for cello ensemble by David Riniker)

Astor Piazzolla - Tres minutos con la realidad (arr. for cello ensemble by David Riniker)

Soprano - Anna Prohaska

Dancers - Laura Fernández and Daniel Orellana

Originally I thought to mark the last night of my first stay in Berlin with a chamber concert would be a tame end, but the performance turned out to be one of the most enjoyable musical evenings. Items on first half of the concert were more in the category of 'serious music' and French influenced. One would need to concentrate and understand the musical language, but also to appreciate the beauty and unique harmonic structure by Villa-Lobos. In contrast, the second half focused more on rhythmic movements and melodic tunes. The music were sophisticated in its own way and never pedestrian neither hints of vulgarity. The arrangements for cello ensemble were appropriately selected and retained the sparkles and virtuosic display. On the programme Fauré's Sicilienne and the fifth set of Villa-Lobos Bachianas brasileiras were most familiar to me. When I heard Piazzolla's Libertango and Adiós Nonino, I felt ignorant not to take notice of the foremost Argentine Tango composer before. The majestic tone of the cellos enhanced the beauty of musical colour and emotions . The twelve musicians were technically superb by demonstrating a diverse tone colours in their playing, also maintained the momentum and musical shape. Anna Prohaska was spotted on with the intonation and the timbre to match the exotic colour in Bachianas brasileiras No. 5, but I was not too convinced by her diction and slightly lacking the drive of emotion in her singing. The dancers gradually unleashed the fireworks in passionate movements as the second half went on. The tango 'flair' in the music came to life visually and the dazzling outfits added a variety of colours onto the stage. As a whole, it was a well planned concert with the delights of musical discovery.