Opera Highlights of 2005

My opera-going close to home has been very limited this year due to Opera North going into recess during the refurbishment of the Leeds Grand Theatre and the crushing of Scottish Opera by the Scottish Executive ('opera is not a Scottish art form').

I have been very fortunate, however, to be able to catch a lot of opera on my travels. These included my first visit to the Vienna Staatsoper and to the Canadian Opera Company as well as return visits to opera in New York, Munich and Amsterdam.

Here then are my nominations for the best (and worst) of what I saw in 2005. Some of the categories were very clear (Villazon in both his nominations and Pappano in his). Others were more difficult: did Simon Keenlyside's Billy Budd edge out John Tomlinson (Claggart and Wanderer) and Marcelo Alvarez (Riccardo and De Grieux); Did Renee Fleming beat Ceclia Bartoli (in "Il Turco in Italia")?

At the end of the day I limited myself to one nomination in each category. And here they are!

Best performance overall: “Billy Budd” (ENO)
Worst performance overall: “Il Viaggio a Rheims” (NYCO)
Best Production: Caurier and Leisner “Il Turco in Italia” (ROH)
Worst Production: Doris Doerrie “Rigoletto” (Bayerische Staatsoper)
Female Singer: Renee Fleming (Desdemona – ROH; Manon – Met)
Male Singer: Simon Keenlyside (Billy Budd – ENO)
Conductor: Antonio Pappano (“Otello”, “Siegfried” – ROH)
Female newcomer Hasmik Papian (Norma – Netherlands Opera)
Male newcomer: Rolando Villazon (Romeo – Vienna Staatsoper)
New entrant to the Heavenly Choir: James King
Complete recording: “Tristan und Isolde” (Domingo, Stemme, Pappano)
Recital CD: French Arias (Villazon)
Non-opera highlight: St Petersburg Philharmonic: Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” (The Sage Gateshead).

"Sylvia" on Christmas Day Television

I thought this was a marvellous showcase for the Royal Ballet - and at a prime time slot on Christmas Day.

Both the ballet itself and the production looked splendid on the small screen. Indeed I think I enjoyed this more than when I saw the production at the ROH last season.

All the dancers were excellent. The bravura (rather than subtle) leading roles suited Busell and Bolle perfectly. Indeed he was the epitome of the handsome hunk, and what about those leaps! Not to mention those shoulders! And those legs!

Thiago Soares gave another memorable dramatic performance as Orion. I am looking forward to seeing him in a ballet in which he is not the 'baddy'.

I really enjoyed Bussell's commentary and introductions and the backstage shots brought the whole thing excellently to life.

A marvelllous afternoon's viewing and an excellent advert for the Royal Ballet.

The Three Masses of Christmas

A unique feature of the Christmas liturgy is the pattern of three Masses for Christmas Day (at midnight, at dawn and during the day) each with its own scripture readings and ‘proper’ texts.

The oldest Mass is the Mass during the day, which originated in Rome in the early fourth century. This Mass seems to mark the origins of the celebration of the Feast of Christmas.

The Mass at midnight is a slight misnomer: the Roman Missal only provides a Mass 'in nocte' not 'media nocte'. The Gospel implies that the birth of Jesus took place during the night but the time is never specified as midnight. The midnight tradition seems to follow a figurative interpretation of a passage from the Book of Wisdom [18, 14-15]: 'While all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course thy almighty word, O Lord, came down from Heaven from thy royal throne'.

Celebration of the Night Mass originated in the fifth century. The Day Mass was then celebrated at St Peter's and the Night Mass in the Basilica of St Mary Major to which relics of the crib were brought in the seventh century.

The Mass at dawn was the latest of the three to appear, being celebrated first in the sixth century. This originated with a request from the Byzantine Governor in Rome that a Mass in honour of St Anastasia should be celebrated on her day (what we now know as 25th December) and in the Church dedicated to her. This was then 'fitted in' at dawn (all of these Masses being then celebrated by the Pope). When Rome ceased to be part of the Byzantine Empire the tradition of the Dawn Mass remained but its text was altered into a second Mass of the Nativity. Prayers commemorating St Anastasia remain as part of the Dawn Mass even in the 1962 Missal.

Sick of all this Bach

Radio 3's "Bach Christmas" has got to be one of the most tedious broadcasting misjudgements ever.

I cannot think of any composer who would benefit from having all his music played end-to-end for day after day and if there is such, Bach certainly isn't the one.

There was not even an "Opera on 3" slot on Saturday evening because JSB was such a dreary old fart he didn't write any!

I have been driven to listening to Classic FM.

Rita Hunter

It is now nearly four years since the operatic world lost one of its great characters with the untimely death of Rita Hunter. Rita Hunter was a very large lady with a voice and personality to match.

I first saw Rita as Leonora in Verdi's "Il Trovatore" at the Theatre Royal Newcastle in 1971 or 72 and was overwhelmed by the size of her voice and her control of it. Then I discovered her in Wagner.

To me she still is Bruennhilde, the central female character in the Ring cycle, because it was through her and Reginald Goodall that I first really got to know the Ring. I can still vividly remember a performance of "Twilight of the Gods" at English National Opera in 1977 during which she just poured glorious sound into the theatre. I have never heard power singing to better it.

Someone who never heard her asked me to describe what made Rita a 'major' singer. I could name three things.

Firstly, the sheer size of the voice. She could fill a big theatre like the London Coliseum with no trouble at all, and by fill I really mean fill, not just be audible. In smaller theatres such as the Theatre Royal the size of her voice was overwhelming.

Secondly the roundness and warmth of the voice. Even when singing the heaviest parts she never lost the focus of her voice or her roundness of tone. Other super-power sopranos I have heard (Birgit Nilsson, Gwyneth Jones) had something of a cutting edge to the voice that projected it across the orchestra. Rita's voice rode the orchestra without that edge.

Thirdly her attack on high notes. She could hit exposed and difficult high notes without (as some do) approaching them from below or (as others do) hitting them in a slightly timid fashion and then either tuning them in or then opening the voice out. With Rita it was - bang - and you were there, no messing.

Rita's greatest performance on CD is as Bruennhilde in Wagner's "Twilight of the Gods" conducted by Goodall. Another excellent recording is last year's Opera Rara issue of what was originally a BBC recording of Verdi's original "Macbeth".

A recording for which I have a personal soft spot and would recommend to anyone is a live recording of the wonderful recital she gave at Wyndhams Theatre in 1977. This was a very special occasion, at which I was actaully present. No Wagner, but some operatic favourites (including Butterfly and Mimi) were interspersed with Ivor Novello, Haydn Wood and Oscar Strauss. The whole thing is quite charming. You will not find this CD in the shops but it is available on the internet via http://members.iinet.net.au/~tallpoppies/

CDs of the Year 2005

This year’s CD releases have been dominated by one opera set: the new recording of Wagner’s "Tristan und Isolde" conducted by Antonio Pappano and with Placido Domingo as Tristan.

A new recording of a major Wagner opera is always a bit of an event but this has a lot to make it special. Firstly it is announced as the last studio opera recording from a major recording company; secondly it is the chance for Domingo to record a major role which he has never sung on stage; thirdly it is a performance of a standard to hold its own with any already in the catalogue.

I am not generally a big Domingo fan but this is a stupendous performance, sung with a firmness of voice that is near miraculous for a man in his mid-sixties. His German diction (which has let him down in the past) is much improved and his insight into the anguish of the third act is irresistible.

He is well matched by the Isolde of Nina Stemme and the eloquent King Mark of Rene Pape. A studio recording allows such luxury casting as Rolando Villazon as the Young Sailor and Ian Bostridge as the Shepherd.

Pappano’s conducting is as fascinating as I would have expected. After a very slow prelude (he takes longer than Goodall!) the music surges forward as passions rise. The Covent Garden orchestra play as if they are the best opera orchestra around – which I think they probably are.

The other opera recording of significance which has come my way this year is the new recording of Britten’s "Death in Venice", which won the opera recording of the year award from Gramophone magazine. Britten’s last opera, and some (not I) would say his greatest, this is given a vivid and committed performance by a cast led by Philip Langridge, Alan Opie and Michael Chance and conducted by Richard Hickox. I find this is a an opera particularly well-suited to CD. On stage the constant changes of scene can be fussy and distracting and I have never seen a performance of the dance scenes that convinced.

Away from opera, something rather special comes with a recording of Eugene Ysaye’s solo violin sonatas. Ysaye was a noted violin virtuoso at the turn of the last century and he wrote his violin sonatas in the 1920s, dedicating each one to a leading violinist of his time. The violinist on this recording is Thomas Zehetmair, one of the most highly regarded virtuosi of our own time.

Why do I recommend this, you may ask?. Well firstly, it came top in the 'instrumental' section of the "Gramophone" awards. As importantly, Zehetmair is music director of the Northern Sinfonia and can be heard conducting and (even better) playing just over the river at the Sage, Tyneside's wonderful new concert hall. Finally it is a brilliant CD, the music clever, charming and thrilling and the violin playing is simply amazing.

ENO Billy Budd 10 December 2005

I was at this production on Saturday and thought it was a brilliant evening. I think that "Billy Budd" is Britten's operatic masterpiece and one of the greatest operas of the twentieth century.

The performance was dominated by a breath-taking performance by Simon Keenlyside in the title role. I must confess I had wondered if he could still carry the role in his mid-forties (I believe he is 46) but he triumphed. He still is in terrific shape and was not in the least embarrassed by spending half the evening with his shirt off. The physical energy and gymnastic ability of his performance was amazing yet he was also able to portray Billy's vulnerability. The scene before his execution was almost unbearably moving and sung with an intensity and beauty of tone. As he sang while doing his gymnastics, I was left wondering where on earth does he get his breath from? This was truly a great interpretation, difficult to imagine being bettered.

Also in super star territory was the Claggart of John Tomlinson. Almost unrecognisable without his beard and with white 'horror' makeup, he oozed evil and cruelty. His Act I encounters with Billy set the flesh creeping with his frustrated desire. The voice shows signs of wear and tear now but remains a mighty instrument.

Not quite in the same league was Timothy Robinson's Vere. Much of what he did was very good with some fine singing and (Deo Gratias) clear diction. But his acting was rather passive and he lacked the vocal weight for some of Vere's heavier moments, such as the outburst with Claggart in Act II.

The smaller parts were all very well taken with special mention for James Edwards as the novice (including some brilliant body make-up after the flogging) and a wonderful Dansker from Gwynne Howell.

Both chorus and orchestra were superb, as was Andrew Litton's conducting. On the evidence of this performance, it seems that ENO have made a bad mistake not signing him up as music director.

Neil Armfield's production was the only aspect of the performance about which I had any serious doubts. The scenery (Brian Thomson) is a large hydraulic lift and a number of stepped platforms that attach to it. There was nothing to suggest a sailing ship about it and having the chorus 'miming' pulling on ropes was really not acceptable. The scenery was kept in almost constant motion, even during some of the scenes. There were some misjudgments: Vere's cabin was set too high so it was difficult to see from the stalls what was actually going on. There were however some effective stage pictures and the anonymity of the set did allow the performers themselves to 'make' the drama.

All in all, this was a thrilling evening, with a performance of true greatness from Keenlyside.