Rinaldo, Glyndebourne; Die Meistersinger, Fulham Opera; Das Rheingold, Grimeborn

[lennygoran]

A friend sent me this review--I've never seen Rinaldo and would love to see it done sometime in the NYC area. Regards, Len



Opera review: Rinaldo, Glyndebourne; Die Meistersinger, Fulham Opera; Das Rheingold, Grimeborn

Sensational singing — and not only from the break-dancing countertenor — makes this Rinaldo a hit


Hugh Canning



Fresh from his triumphs in Italy, in 1711 the brilliant, enterprising Georg Friederich Handel hoped to make his mark in London, the then business capital of the world. He was 25 when Rinaldo opened to rapturous public acclaim, not only for its brilliant and moving music, but also for Aaron Hill’s scenario and staging, which exploited the taste for multiple scene changes, magic effects and, famously, the release of a flock of starlings into the auditorium preceding Almirena’s exquisite Augellette (Little birds).


Rinaldo remained Handel’s most performed opera in his lifetime, constantly revived and tinkered with for changing casts, but it is by no means his greatest work in Italian. Its plot, based on the exploits of French knights during the First Crusade, is deemed too remote and stuffy for modern sensibilities.


Or so it seems at Glyndebourne, where Robert Carsen’s 2011 production, set in a schoolroom and playground, has been revived again, with its most convincing cast to date. It is the musical highlight of a mixed season in East Sussex, thanks to marvellous singers and the conducting of the Russian debutant, Maxim Emelyanychev, a star in the ascendant. His Handelian credentials have already been displayed in concert (Serse at the Barbican last year), and at Glyndebourne he revels in the dazzling solo for harpsichord that Handel wrote for himself as an obbligato in Armida’s Act II showstopper Vo’ far guerra (I will make war).


Carsen’s solution to the Rinaldo “problem” is not to take it seriously at all. A tongue-in-cheek approach to Handel is certainly not taboo, but in Bruno Ravella’s faithful revival, this romp, with its latex-clad Armida and a Rinaldo who cycles in the air against the backdrop of a huge moon, descends into silly farce in Act III. The school idea wasn’t original in 2011 and now looks dated, like a St Trinian’s farce.


Much of the singing is sensationally good. The rising countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski, originally cast as Eustazio, steps into the title role magnificently, holding us spellbound with his great lament Cara sposa (My dear betrothed) when Almirena is abducted by Armida’s amazons, and thrilling us with his jaw-dropping bravura in Venti, turbini (Winds and whirlwinds). He has everything for Handel’s heroic castrato parts, even without break-dancing in the gardens. Tim Mead, as the Christian leader Goffredo, is not outshone vocally, even if the music, written for a woman, casts him as second fiddle.


The other star is Giulia Semenzato’s captivating Almirena, singing the opera’s hit number, Lascia ch’io pianga (Let me weep), with artless grace. She outshines Kristina Mkhitaryan’s charismatic Armida, who one hopes will acquaint herself with a less emphatic Handel style when she sings the greatest of his enchantresses, Alcina, at Glyndebourne next year. The soft-grained Patrick Terry replaces Orlinski as Eustazio, with grace if not great volume, and Brandon Cedel is superb as Argante, Armida’s henchman, making a highlight of their premature “triumph” duet.


London’s fringe opera companies become ever more ambitious, with Fulham Opera and the Grimeborn festival offering Wagner at bargain prices. Fulham’s Die Meistersinger was more ambitious, well conducted by Ben Woodward, simply staged by Paul Higgins and decently sung, especially by Ronald Samm, exciting if not especially Teutonic as Walther, and Catharine Woodward as a feisty Eva with a big, keen-edged soprano. It was let down by Keel Watson’s Sachs, who hadn’t had enough time to learn Wagner’s longest role and resorted to using the score. The small amateur chorus was excellent; the orchestra, unruly horns apart, valiant.


Grimeborn’s Das Rheingold — given in the abbreviated orchestral reduction by Jonathan Dove — was far more rewarding, thanks to Peter Selwyn’s impressive choice of soloists, notably Paul Carey Jones’s nobly sung Wotan, whetting the appetite for his Longborough Ring. Seth Carico was a commanding Alberich — far too young and good-looking for the role, but a catch for the festival — and Kiandra Howarth suggested huge Wagnerian promise as Woglinde and Freia. But there wasn’t a weak link in this young cast.


Julia Burbach’s thoughtful staging, built around a Valhalla constructed from cardboard boxes (Bettina John’s designs), was far more effective than many others I have seen in traditional theatres, if short on effects such as Alberich’s transformation into dragon and toad. If it’s true Selwyn is planning Dove’s mini-Walküre next year, I will be there.

[lennygoran]

A friend sent me this review--I've never seen Rinaldo and would love to see it done sometime in the NYC area. Regards, Len

Wow now I just checked and Glimmerglass is doing it next season! Regards, Len

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — With The Glimmerglass Festival’s 2019 season approaching, the Cooperstown-based opera and musical theater company has announced programming for 2020, as well as the 2020 Festival’s pair of Artists in Residence.

The 2020 Glimmerglass Festival’s mainstage productions will include Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Wagner’s Die Feen (The Fairies) and Handel’s Rinaldo. Selections for the season serve as a survey for the development of these famed creators, with the slate featuring formative operas from Wagner and Handel, as well as masterworks from Mozart and Rodgers & Hammerstein.

The Festival will also feature the world premiere of the youth opera The Jungle Book by Kamala Sankaram and Kelley Rourke, as well as a brand new adaptation of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, directed by Eric Einhorn. A compact, contemporary take on Mozart’s opera, Così? will upend the classic battle of the sexes, exposing and examining all manner of gender stereotypes. Così? will be presented with piano accompaniment in the Pavilion.

[John F]

New York City Opera performed Handel's Rinaldo in 2000; the cast included Christine Goerke in her pre-Brünnhilde days. Even before that, the Met staged Rinaldo in 1984 with a cast including Marilyn Horne and Samuel Ramey. But maybe you weren't so interested in Handel opera back then.

[maestrob]

New York City Opera performed Handel's Rinaldo in 2000; the cast included Christine Goerke in her pre-Brünnhilde days. Even before that, the Met staged Rinaldo in 1984 with a cast including Marilyn Horne and Samuel Ramey. But maybe you weren't so interested in Handel opera back then.

We saw that production in 1984, and it was stunning with great singing, including Eva Podles in her MET debut. The opening aria by Horne featured her singing on the prow of a 20 foot ship entering stage left, which promptly fell over backwards, while Horne hung on for dear life, delivering her to stage level without a missed note to great applause. I do wish the MET had broadcast it on TV and made a DVD later: It was a truly memorable production. Horne had originally sung the role in Houston in 1978, so she was at her peak in 1984. Podles's singing was stunning as well, with crystal-clear articulation and powerful low notes.

[lennygoran]

New York City Opera performed Handel's Rinaldo in 2000; the cast included Christine Goerke in her pre-Brünnhilde days. Even before that, the Met staged Rinaldo in 1984 with a cast including Marilyn Horne and Samuel Ramey. But maybe you weren't so interested in Handel opera back then.

Wow, I missed them both-I was a subscriber to the Met in 1984 but missed it-what a shame-with Ramey and Horne no less! Also I was going to NYCO in 2000 and blew that one too-below is a great review for the NYCO production. Regards, Len


Superb Rinaldo at New York City Opera

by Philip Anson / October 31, 2000

The New York City Opera (NYCO)’s most highly anticipated production of the autumn 2000 season was Handel’s Rinaldo. Despite a few glitches, the show was thrilling. I went three times (the last time I made such an effort was for the NYCO’s production of Handel’s Xerxes).

NYCO boss Paul Kellogg loves to combine a highly combustible mix of hot young American singers (for Rinaldo, countertenor David Daniels and soprano Christine Goerke) and a crack team of clever designers and directors. The result of so much talent on one stage can be unpredictable, yet this is exactly the sort of memorable show that Kellogg pulls of on an almost annual basis, both at Glimmerglass, his upstate New York summer company, and increasingly at the NYCO.

In the controlled environment of Glimmerglass, Kellogg can hardly go wrong. The cozy, acoustically grateful Busch Opera house was his principal asset when he recently confected scrumptious productions of Handel’s Partenope and Tamerlano. The New York State Theater is not nearly as desirable venue. The undistinguished union orchestra, short rehearsal times, and the auditorium’s iffy acoustics (now problematically “enhanced” with amplifiers) work against perfection. So when Rinaldo emerged bright, witty, and entertaining on opening night (Oct. 31, 2000), it was a triumph of mind over matter.

Rinaldo’s Italian libretto by Aaron Hill, adapted from Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata, tells the fantastical tale of Christian knights on a crusade to free Jerusalem from Muslim rule (sounds familiar). Rinaldo loves Almirena, daughter of the Christian general Goffredo, and agrees to prove his valour in the Holy Land to win her hand. But infidel villains oppose the righteous Christians. Armida, Queen of Damascus (and part time sorceress) agrees to help her lover Argante, King of Jerusalem, defeat Rinaldo. Armida wreaks havoc with her dragon-drawn chariot and mob of Furies, captures Almirena, and seduces Rinaldo. Eventually Rinaldo escapes to rescue Alimirena. The rival armies clash, the Christians win, and the heretics are converted. Handel has clothed this improbable medieval fantasy in some of his most delicious melodies, snappy rhythms, and well-crafted arias.

The NYCO’S new production by Francisco Negrin and Anthony Baker floats in a timeless fantasyland where Crusaders in antique costumes play with giant plastic chess figurines amid wall-length mirrors, exploding harpsichords, and dry ice fog. The materials and technology are 20th century, but the aesthetic of spectacle is firmly Renaissance in its inspiration. Call it the Medieval Postmodern style.

The costumes are chic, witty, and color-coded: the Christian good guys (Goffredo, Eustazio, Rinaldo, Almirena) wear historically authentic capes, doublets, and armor. The bad guys (Armida, Argante) wear rakish, flamboyant black outfits with big shoulders. Argante’s flowing burnouse is trimmed with tiger skin, Armida’s slutty bustier/ballgown is accented with leopard. Curved scimitars and upturned boots completed their “don’t mess with me” costumes.

The performing space is framed by non-representational moving panels, walls, and top and side curtains that move in and out. Sets change frequently, with admirable fluidity. The Christian palace is backed by a white wall, with armor on displayed in a recess. Argante’s evil abode is a black upholstered wall topped with gold Arabic calligraphy. Armide’s den is panelled with tarnished mirrors and furnished with a seductive leopard upholstered couch. This background of the primal elements of sky, air, earth, and water was certainly preferable to the clutter of realistic architecture and furniture.

Armida (American soprano Christine Goerke, photo left) made her entrance singing her vengeance aria “Furie terribili!” atop a large marble cube, which later served as a prison for Rinaldo and his beloved Almirena. Goerke proved an excellent Handel singer, bringing technical ability, power, and sensitivity to her slow and fast arias. As an actress, Goerke’s campy humor reminded one of Bette Midler, with a dark touch of Morticia Addams and Madeleine Kahn. Her spectacularly campy “coups de theatre” and buffo shtick had the audience in stitches.

Soprano Lisa Saffer was a bright, sparkling presence as the goody-two shoes heroine Almirena. Her aria “Lascia ch'io pianga” was lovely. Her “Augelletti, che cantate”, accompanied by soprano recorded solo, was also charming. In faster arias, she occasionally seemed somewhat taxed by the long lines.

SedovRussian-Israeli bass Denis Sedov (photo left) as the villain Argente was the revelation of the evening. He’s a bass-baritone (although sans basso notes) with a huge, thrilling, masculine sound that filled the hall and sent chills down one’s back. From his opening aria “Sibillar gli angui d'Aletto”, the tall, thin 27 year old dominated the production. His deep, flexible, colorful voice has a molasses-rich, exotic, silky, growling timbre that reaches across the footlights with extortionate urgency. His voice is also flexible, as if custom made for singing Handel and Rossini. His arias excited the loudest applause of the evening, and his curtain applause was even longer and louder than headliner David Daniels’s. Critics compared him to Samuel Ramey and the late Norman Treigle. The good news is that he’ll be singing Escamillo soon, and will surely develop into a superb Faust, Mephistofeles, and Iago.

Canadian countertenor Daniel Taylor made his overdue NYCO debut in the secondary role of Goffredo, the wimpy king. Goffredo was originally sung in Handel’s 1711 production by a castrato. His arias “No, no, che quest'alma” and “Sorge nel petto” displayed the pure, clean line of Taylor’s voice familiar from his early music recordings. The latter aria got a huge ovation, proving that Taylor’s mellifluous slow singing can't be beat. His coloratura arias ( “Mio cor, che mi sai dir?”, etc) were impressively dispatched, with stratospheric high notes. But one sensed Taylor was happier singing the slower melodic music. In ornithological terms, he’s more of a dove than a canary.

The justly-celebrated countertenor David Daniels (photo left) was below his usual excellent level. On opening night he sang feebly, almost as if marking. From his facial expression it was obvious he was physically struggling to hit all the notes in his killer part. A few days later (Nov. 9) he had improved, acting more freely, and throwing in grace notes, but he was still not as good as he has been in years past. The middle voice was still sweet and inveigling, and his coloratura was accurate, but the power wasn’t there. One assumes he was sick. On opening night the rapid divisions of “Venti, turbini, prestate” were slurred, though they were better focussed a week later. His famous aria “Cara sposa” was dragged out until it seemed self-indulgent. “Or la tromba in suon festante” was stylishly impressive, but one yearned for the volume, guts and, yes, cojones a female mezzo or alto would bring to this role. No countertenor can compare with the thrills delivered by a Marilyn Horne, an Ewa Podles, or a Jennifer Larmore.

The only serious blemish on this show was the presence of Australian countertenor Christopher Josey as Eustazio, with an unpleasant nasal timbre and pitch problems. For some strange reason, Eustazio’s three excruciatingly long arias (da capos repeats and all) were left intact, while the roles of Daniels and Taylor were cut. In minor roles, Kevin Burdette was suitably craggy, hollow-voiced old Magician. The three sirens’ trio “Il vostro maggio” was deliciously harmonized. The spooky/silly, vaguely Hindu, blue-faced dancers representing the Furies (choreographed by the brilliant Ana Yepes) were a wonderful addition. The choreographed battle scene was also stylish.

The controversial NYCO sound system has been vexing listeners recently, since no one can trust their own ears. The system’s presence was not as obvious during Rinaldo as it was during Roberto Devereux earlier this season, when Lauren Flanagan sounded just as loud singing into the wings as she did when facing the audience. But I noticed that the orchestra (parterre) seating (the most expensive in the house) has become acoustically unreliable. From the supposedly prime location of the 8th row center, the band sounded muffled and distant, and the singers were strangely feeble. Other patrons seated in the parterre confirmed this impression. From the first ring, the sound was fine.

Credits:

Goffredo ............. Daniel Taylor
Rinaldo .............. David Daniels
Almirena ............. Lisa Saffer
Eustazio ............. Christopher Josey
Herald ............... Steven Goldstein
Argante .............. Denis Sedov
Armida ............... Christine Goerke
First Siren .......... Heather Buck
Sirens ................. Jennifer Hines, Kate Aldrich
Christian Magician ... Kevin Burdette

Running time: 3 h. 15 min.

A New York City Opera presentation of the opera in three acts with music by George Frideric Handel and libretto by Giacomo Rossi. Conductor, Harry Bicket. Directed and designed by Francisco Negrin and Anthony Baker. Lighting, Allen Hahn; choreographer, Ana Yepes. Supertitles Cori Ellison.