Features
Eugene Onegin at the Royal Opera House
Gerald Finley leads a strong cast, but the staging is a little much ...
…suited to Johann Strauss’ operetta Wiener Blut, also set in the early 19th century.
The scene-stealing role of Prince Gremin, Tatyana’s older husband in the final act, was taken by German bass Hans-Peter König. In his touching aria, this burly general took an aptly confiding tone as he praised his wife’s virtues, the voice deep caramel in colour. Diana Montague and Elizabeth Sikora brought authority, finesse and insight to Tatyana’s mother and nurse, while the chorus made a powerful impact, whether as peasants, partygoers or aristocrats.
The palpitating ebb and flow of the score eluded Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, well known in the UK for his work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, but this remained a musically fine performance of this best loved of all Russian operas – a work of far more perception and humanity than this histrionic staging allowed.
…Recent
Eugene Onegin at the Royal Opera House
Salome, Sacrilege and the Censor
San Francisco's new beginnings
Comments
|
sabine 2008-03-25 11:47:00 |
A little too harsh (Report) Well, I rather liked the production. It was simple but not so self-consciously modern as some productions can be. I enjoyed the seasonality of it. I rather liked the water and the ice and the peasant scenes were fun. Let's face it, those peasant songs are sentimental, so having garish idealised 'peasant' costumes worked rather well. However, I do admit that those huge paintings were a bit of a distraction. As for the singing, it was fantastic. |
|---|
