Prima la musica, poi le parole

Opera Australia 2010 Season

Opera Australia launched its 2010 season on Wednesday night. I gather subscribers received their booklets today. I am knee deep in media releases. So it's time to start talking. When I'll stop is anybody's guess.

It is, as has been pointed out, a very GFC sort of season: on the conservative side, with perhaps more than the usual number of moneyspinners. In a single season, we'll see Tosca, La traviata, Rigoletto AND Le nozze di Figaro — all perpetual favourites — not to mention a musical (A Little Night Music) and surely the most lucrative of the company's G&S productions, The Pirates of Penzance with Anthony Warlow doing his best Captain Jack Sparrow. But then again, there are surprises lurking beneath that conventional surface. Tosca and Figaro are both new, modernised productions with what looks like definite feather-ruffling potential; and Traviata and Rigoletto are familiar productions but very strongly cast. 

Maybe the feeling was that the presence of a brand new and much-hyped Australian opera was filled the risk-taking quotient on its own: certainly Brett Dean's Bliss is looking more exciting by the second. It's slightly disappointing, if not entirely surprising, to note that this season breaks two recent habits: at least as far back as 2006 (which is where my memory starts) the company has produced one baroque work and one Russian or Czech opera in every season, but the line-up for 2010 contains neither. Just quietly, I can live without the baroque for a year — Pinchgut fills that gap better anyway — but I hope that the absence of anything Slavic is a one-off. If Opera Australia doesn't give me a Katya Kabanova soon, I will have to consider drastic action. 

Casting seems mostly pretty solid, although there are a few headscratching choices, and evidence that Fiona Janes's concerns about the misuse of younger singers (whether or not to the detriment of their elders) were not unfounded. But there are also some very exciting prospects indeed, and a couple of promising imports. Not too many of the latter, though: this is a season full of familiar Australian names. 

It's not hard to see which singers the company has latched on to as its Future Stars, although it can sometimes be hard to see why. The established headliners, however, are out in force: we have good vehicles for Emma Matthews, Peter Coleman-Wright, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Dennis O'Neill, Aldo di Toro and of course she whose name is bolded more times in the media releases than anyone else's, Cheryl Barker. Not too many scandalous absences, although there are a few from whom we might have liked a more substantial presence. Joshua Bloom appears in Melbourne only, much to my dismay and that, I suspect, of many other Sydneysiders. Jonathan Summers, who I think is one of this country's finest singing actors (of any voice type) will be a wonderful Giorgio Germont, of course, but I'd have loved to see him in an even more prominent role. There's nothing for the excellent Emma Pearson either, but I imagine that's just a matter of time. 

But others among my favourites have some juicy roles ahead: Shane Lowrencev as one of three Figaros, Lorina Gore as Honey B in Bliss (I'd have liked her as Susanna or Sophie too, but that's just being greedy, I suppose), Rachelle Durkin as both the Countess Almaviva and Britten's Tytania, and Catherine Carby as — swoon — Octavian. There's also a significant role début for a Young Artist, when the very promising David Corcoran takes over as the Duke of Mantua; and in the same production, David Parkin returns to sing Sparafucile, the role he sang when he won Operatunity Oz back in 2006, now with an ensemble contract and a prestigious scholarship under his belt — proof that TV talent show fame sometimes is the real thing.

And with all that (and much more) in mind, my top five picks are probably Bliss, Tosca, Midsummer Night's Dream, Der Rosenkavalier and La Sonnambula. Not necessarily in that order. Of course, this is all (well, some of it is) subject to change: there's always the possibility of something like Fidelio, which far exceeds my expectations. Although, let's be honest: not that much chance. As seasons go, this one's not exactly unpredictable. 

 Right. That's the short version. Now comes the play-by-play. Come with me if you dare...

Fidelio

I posted briefly and breathlessly about Fidelio the day after it opened. Usually by now I would have written something longer about it but, quite apart from the lack of time, I wasn't sure there was really anything much to add. It's very rare that I manage to say everything I want to in a single paragraph, but this one came pretty close. That said, I'm still me, so there is more to say. 

I liked Elizabeth Stannard's last minute Leonore enough that, having decided I needed to see the show again, I booked for the very next performance on the off chance she'd still be singing. She was, and I continued to like her very much. Her voice does occasionally get swamped (more in Act I than Act II) and her acting is a little bit Dickensian urchin meets Cherubino, but she's still mightily impressive, and would be even without the special circumstances. 

However, the soprano I'm saving my best adjectives for is our Marzelline. Lorina Gore is completely fabulous. Marzelline has the distinct advantage of singing one my favourite arias in the whole repertoire, but Lorina won me over well before we got to that. Just her opening tiff with Jaquino was enough. She's girlish and spirited, but never silly, and she slices beautifully through all that orchestration without sounding effortful or harsh: she's always audible and always adorable. And she handles that aria (which always has me in tears) beautifuly, then promptly outdoes herself in the quartet, where her radiant singing and the dreamy look in her eyes are just heartbreaking.

It's just rave after rave with this show. Who next? Julian Gavin is extraordinary as Florestan. As good as he was in Butterfly, I still was not expecting that clear, strong, beautiful sound which emerged from the dark depths at the beginning of Act Two. Nor was I expecting him to tackle that unsingable first aria so magnificently. He's dignified and sensitive and when the going gets tough, his singing gets sensational. He's a genuinely heroic Florestan. Colour me stunned. I can't wait to hear whatever he sings for us next: I suspect it might be Massenet's Des Grieux, which is role I would love to see him in.

Stephen Smith is an utter delight as Jaquino. He's a natural actor, always engaged with the action even when he's not singing, or singing only in ensemble (case in point: the end of Act I of Manon Lescaut, where his Edmondo actually manages to draw one's attention away from Teddy) and his light, bright tenor seem to get more interesting with every role. Stephen was sick for the second performance, however, so instead we heard Andrew Brunsdon. And I have to say, while he might not be as immediately adorable as Stephen, he may actually be a better vocal fit for the role: the sound is stronger and more Germanic. He also looks very German. Actually, almost disconcertingly so. Meanwhile, Conal Coad is his usual amiable self, a warm and paternal Rocco with a voice to match. He's lovely in the fun of the opening scenes and just as engaging when events take a more dramatic turn. 

Even the smallest roles in this Fidelio have been impressively cast. Martin Buckingham and Andrew Jones are our two solo-ing prisoners, and both sing very well indeed. Particularly Jones, whose luminous baritone was a bit of a revelation to me. The chorus en masse are just as excellent, in fact probably more so. There are really not many sounds in the world to beat that of the men of OA's chorus in unison: here, as in Billy Budd, they are magnificent. And of course, there's Warwick Fyfe right at the end as the magnanimous Don Fernando, very noble and authoritative and for once not really gormless at all. I will say it once again, though: he looks like Napoleon. It isn't just the costume, although that helps.

Yes, you have seen through my cunning plan, I am indeed saving Peter Coleman-Wright for last. That's what you do with the best, isn't it? There are a lot of performances to be excited about in this show, but none quite so electrifying as Peter's Don Pizarro. Over dinner before the show, we were discussing Australian Scarpias, and neither of us having seen Peter in the role, we wondered how well he could pull off pure evil. Well, his Pizarro answered our question in about two seconds flat. He's absolutely terrifying. He delivers his opening speech with the menace and perfect German of a movie Nazi and then moves into an absolutely bloodcurdling "Ha! welch' ein Augenblick" which is truly one of the scariest things I've ever seen on that stage. The rest of his performance is at the same superbly malevolent level, his acting and singing so dark and so compelling that one can't help but be drawn to him, irredeemable as he is. And he tops it all off by very charmingly playing up the villain act in the curtain calls: on opening night, he met the audience's pantomime booing with a suitably melodramatic swirl of his cape, and at the following performance, raised his arms skyward like some mad dictator. He is brilliant. If the rest of the show were a disaster, it would still be worth seeing just for his Pizarro.

Not done yet, but nearly there. Just two more raves. Jonathan Darlington has caused me to fall quite swooningly in love with the AOBO. Beethoven helps too, of course. They sound so sublime in the overture that at the second performance, I thought: if this was it, and there was no singing, that really would be just fine. Once the singing starts, of course, that feeling subsides, but only a little: this is still some of the most beautiful playing I think I've heard from this orchestra. 

My final words of praise are for the production team. John Gunter's design is lavish and bold and a wonder to behold, especially the towering, brutal sets. There's an ingenious set change for the final scene: very impressive, although I can't quite bring myself to join with those actually giving it its own round of applause. Serious kudos too to lighting designer Nigel Levings: there's a lot in this libretto about light and darkness, and his imaginative lighting engages nicely with all of that. 

However, it is to Cathy Dadd that I really doff my non-existent hat. Michael Hampe's production is seventeen years old and completely traditional: the sort of thing which could quite easily lose its magic in revival and end up unfocused and dull. But this Fidelio is none of those things. It's vibrant and downright riveting theatre, just as vivid as if it were a brand new production. That's helped by the presence of so many individually excellent performances, of course, but Dadd deserves high praise indeed for the way she's drawn all that brilliance together into such a triumphant whole. I said it before and I'll say it again: See This Show. 

Ahimè

I have a feeling I promised (to you and/or myself) that I would try to act like a vaguely sane person and not blog about every single one of my eight Manon Lescauts. Well, it's not as if you believed me anyway, is it?  Tonight was the fifth. I'm not going to dwell too exhaustingly long on it, but I do want to write a little about what happened in Act Four, as much as my own aide-mémoire as anything else. 

It began much as usual. Every time is different with you-know-who but the differences are generally on the small and subtle side. So for the first half, it was as different and as freshly detailed as usual and no more, except with perhaps a touch more angst. And that was something I thought I'd sensed in this Manon right from Act One, so it wasn't wholly unexpected either. 

The big change came in "Sola, perduta, abbandonata". Suddenly, Cheryl let loose, with a rendition which was much much rawer and more full of absolute pain than any of the previous three. A bit rougher around the edges than usual, certainly, but in the very best, most meaningful and moving way. It was an even more physical performance than the others have been. Just crushingly intense in every way. And all the usual blocking for the aria fell away; the progress upstage to lean against the back wall on the final "Non voglio morire! Amore...aita!" was gone, she stayed downstage doing her own gutwrenching thing, body bent and voice brimming with excruciating desperation.

That emotion permeated what little remained of the final act. I had already spent the whole evening feeling sadder and more sympathetic for Manon than ever before and tonight, for the first time, her death brought me to tears. And almost to my feet. But that didn't seem quite appropriate (and it's hard to direct a solo standing ovation at one person, though I have tried it) so I settled for leaning as far forward as I could in my front loge seat while madly clattering my best and noisiest (and only) heels, which I had worn for just that purpose. Evidently des Grieux is not the only one moved to irrational outbursts by Manon Lescaut. 

Fidelio

Two problems in posting about opening night of Fidelio last night. One is that I have to leave for Manon Lescaut in about twenty minutes. The other is that I don't know where to begin. 

Should I start by expressing my extreme admiration for Elizabeth Stannard, who substituted at very short notice (she only got into town the previous day!) for Nicole Youl as Fidelio/Leonore, and managed so magnificently that, had there been no announcement, one could easily have believed she'd been the cast from the beginning? Should I start with the terrifically terrifying Peter Coleman-Wright, whose Don Pizarro is the stuff of the very best sort of nightmares and who is on his own quite enough reason to see this show? What about the gorgeous Lorina Gore as Marzelline or Stephen Smith as her irresistible Jaquino? Or maybe I should start with Julian Gavin whose clarion tenor was a wonder to behold? There's even Warwick Fyfe, for whom (as I have said before) somebody really needs to write an opera about Napoleon: he's the spitting image. And Conal Coad, who brings real heart to Rocco the jailer. Let's not forget the Opera Australia chorus, especially its men; or Jonathan Darlington's inspired leadership of the AOBO. And what about Cathy Dadd, who has managed to make a revival of a seventeen year old traditional production look like something newly and brilliantly conceived?

You see my dilemma. I was completely blown away by this show last night. Not just because it was so good, I suspect, but because it was not a show I expected to be so stunning. I was looking forward to it only in moderation, and lo and behold, it exceeded my every expectation. In terms of all round excellence, I'm quite happy to go out on a limb and declare this Fidelio the best show of the Winter Season so far, and, with Madama Butterfly* (and probably Peter Grimes to come) perhaps the best of the year. Twenty-four hours ago I couldn't have imagined saying such a thing; now I'm practically ready to shout it in the streets. See this show!

*oh, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk as well, obviously. 

Young Artist Final

A few more words about Opera Australia's Young Artist Program audition concert, although Bryce Hallett has already covered the nuts and bolts of it quite nicely in the Herald. I remain as conflicted as ever about whether and how much to write about competition situations, but a blanket ban would deny me the chance to heap praise, so I have to write something.

I love it when a competition goes the way I want it to. After the first round (one aria) each, I Tweeted Samuel Dundas and Nicole Car as my favourites; after round two, I added Jane Parkin, who was in principle my favourite from the beginning: I just wasn't sure whether she'd done herself justice in her first aria. 

The longer I sat and waited for the result, the more I felt and hoped that Jane would take the prize. I don't think she necessarily gave the most perfect performances on the night, but more than anybody else, she demonstrated that entry into the program was the obvious next step in her career — and that she had all the skills and raw (and not-so-raw!) material to benefit greatly from it. She also has a distinctive and interesting voice which can fill that problematic theatre. I also think she's just a fabulous performer and love to see a personal favourite of mine moving up in the world. Besides, whatever the difficulties of the Handel she began with (Alcina's "Ah, mio cor"), her "O marno to je" (I still think the world of her for choosing to make a signature piece of Rusalka's other aria) was abundant proof that she is the Real Thing. She gets extra kudos for making an entry at high speed in serious heels and launching into an aria which is, well, not exactly easy going. 

I was absolutely thrilled with Nicole Car. Not just because she sang so well, but because she was so much better than the last time I heard her, in the 2008 Mathy semi-finals. She sang "Non mi dir" in both competitions, and improvement was quite remarkable: no doubt something to do with the fact that she's sung Donna Anna (for Victorian Opera) in the interim. She came back with a gorgeous "Depuis le jour", such a contrast to her first aria in every sense, and it was lovely and just as characterful. If this is how far she's come in less than a year, then she's definitely a talent to be fostered. 

Samuel Dundas is one of those baritones — you know the type — who just exude star quality the moment they wander out on stage, and then manage to back it up with a real voice and musical sensitivity. He gave us a Mozart Standard — "Aprite un po' quegli occhi" — and managed to put his own hilarious spin on it, then came back with something utterly unexpected, a very Italian and melancholy aria from Puccini's Edgar, of all things, and somehow managed to pull that off brilliantly as well. He provided that crucial moment in any singing competition: the moment when you get to forget that it is a competition and just enjoy the performance. I also saw him as Arlecchino in Victorian Opera's Ariadne auf Naxos, where he sailed perilously close to stealing Zerbinetta's thunder. 

With a panel of five terribly distinguished and high-powered judges (Anthony Legge, Ian McCahon, Andrew Greene, Peter Coleman-Wright and Yvonne Kenny, for heaven's sake) the eight finalists are no doubt facing a vast quantity of detailed and genuinely useful criticism, so I'll refrain from adding any of my own to the pile and shall instead just list a few of the things that made me especially happy. First, well done to all three baritones (Samuel Dundas, Matthew Thomas and Hadleigh Adams) for contrasting their tried-and-true Mozart arias with interesting rarities: with selections from La jolie fille de Perth, Tito Manlio and Edgar on offer, I might even have forgiven a "Hai gia vinta la causa". Maxine Montgomery was just impossibly adorable as Frau Fluth in "Nun eilt herbei". I have real respect for Victoria Lambourn for beginning with an aria as delicate and exposed as Mignon's "Connais-tu le pays". And after a rather ordinary "Dies Bildnis", it was great to see Martin Buckingham let his hair down — literally and figuratively — for such a warm and genuine "De' miei bollenti spiriti". 

That will do. We already know the result. Jane Parkin and Samuel Dundas will enter the program next year, and Nicole Car will follow in 2011. Just as it should be. I was so excited by the result I may have made a slight spectacle of myself. Well done to all. 

Winners

The winners of tonight's final of the 2010 Opera Australia Young Artist auditions are as follows:

1. Jane Parkin

2. Samuel Dundas

3. Nicole Car (who will join the program in 2011)

I'll write a bit more when I get the chance, but for now let me just say that this was pretty much exactly the way I wanted and expected it to go. It had to be those three in some order, and the order chosen is spot on. I'm not at all surprised that the five judges came to a unanimous decision. And I'm so pleased about Jane. I've been determined for two years — since the first time I saw her — that she was one to watch, that she ought to be moved from the chorus into solo roles, and I'm delighted to see that coming to pass: first OzOpera and now this. It's all very good news. 

And the winner is...

My sidebar poll on prospective Music Directors for Opera Australia closed on Friday night, by which time the question had become slightly irrelevant: the company has now announced that it will instead seek to appoint a full time Artistic Director and subsequently a Chief Conductor. However, many of the candidates for MD might well be considered potential Chief Conductors, too, so feelings about them are still of interest.

Of the candidates listed by name, Ascher Fisch held the lead for almost two weeks, but at the last moment was pipped at the post by Oleg Caetani, who gained 20% of the total vote. Fisch remained in second place at 16%. Other strong contenders, at 10% each, were Patrick Summers and Mark Elder. They were followed, in descending order, by Emmanuel Joel-Hornak, Richard Armstrong, Anthony Walker and, in last equal place, Paul Daniel and Alexander Briger. 

Suggestions in the "other" category ran as follows (at least one of these is a joke, but I'm reproducing the whole list for interest's sake):

Johannes Fritzsch (x2)

Giovanni Reggioli (x2)

[This means both Fritzsch and Reggioli place ahead of Daniel and Briger in the overall result.]

Andrea B*celli [sic - I'm hoping the asterisk might stave off a flood of Google referrals]

Andrea Licata 

Sebastian Weigle

Anthony Pasquill

Daniel Tianhao Liu

In other news, Joy FM show The Fool and the Opera ran a very nice interview tonight with Cheryl Barker, in which she confirmed two very important matters: firstly, that she is utterly charming, and secondly, that she will, as rumoured, sing Tosca in the 2010 season. In fact, what she said was "at the end of this year" which suggests this Tosca might, like Butterfly did this season,  be set to open the 2010 season at the tail end of December 2009. Keep an eye on the above-linked TFATO blog for a podcast of the full interview.

Tosca, sei tu

A nice appearance by Antoinette Halloran on this evening's Spicks and Specks. (People are already searching for her and landing here. Hello Googlers. You might like this link. And it's Antoinette, not Antonia. And no "O'" before the Halloran.) From this we learnt, among other things, that: she's lovely (we knew that already); she's recently engaged (congratulations!) to a fabulous tenor; and, most notably (to me) she's singing Tosca next year.

Since Tosca is already on my OA Futures list, with Cheryl Barker slated to star, I'm going to go ahead and assume that, as with Butterfly, Cheryl will open the season and Antoinette will take over later in the run, allowing the company to give this warhorse an appropriately lengthy season.

Antoinette's status as Australia's Puccini Soprano seems assured now, though I hope she won't completely abandon the non-Italian repertoire. Her Stella in Streetcar remains my favourite of her performances; a hint in the comments here that we'll see her in Floyd's Of Mice and Men is therefore welcome news. 

Wishing and hoping

With the bare bones of Opera Australia's 2010 season starting to filter through, my thoughts turn immediately — and maybe yours do, too — to casting wishes. 

Top of my list is Catherine Carby for Octavian, a swoonworthy prospect, especially since, if the reports are true, she'd be singing opposite Cheryl Barker's Marschallin. And after her Queen of the Night, I'm very keen to hear Emma Pearson in something else: Sophie, perhaps, or the title role of Manon. José Carbo's website already lists his plans (Lescaut, Count Almaviva) for next year, so there's no need to wish, although even more roles for him would always be welcome. Given the tenor drought, I'd like to think that both Aldo di Toro and Carlo Barricelli will be returning: my first thought is Aldo for Des Grieux and Carlo for Cavaradossi, in the Tosca we're told will star our Cheryl. The list as it stands suggests no obvious star parts for Jacqueline Dark, so I'm hoping that one (or more) of the operas I haven't found out about yet will contain something for her — preferably something beyond this year's string of (gorgeous) bit parts. Similarly essential is Jonathan Summers: my vote's for Scarpia, at the very least. More would be better. Peter Coleman-Wright's website, like José's, saves me the trouble of wishing — I'm increasingly excited about his turn as Harry Joy in the world première of Brett Dean's Bliss. Patrick Togher promises a 2010 return by Joshua Bloom: if it's in something already on the list, my guess is the revival of Le nozze di Figaro — speaking of which, how about a wildcard newcomer as Susanna? About time we had some fresh lyric soprano blood. (Or failing that, maybe Sarah Crane! I love Tiffany Speight as much as anyone, but she deserves a chance to branch out.) I don't know La fanciulla del West well enough to have any particular wishes about it, although it would be nice if Anke Höppner, who is WA Opera's Minnie this year, was also ours. Perhaps the hardest of the bunch to cast is Partenope, although if past seasons are anything to judge by, the heroine will be Emma Matthews and/or Rachelle Durkin — though I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer a third, as-yet-unknown soprano in the role. Maybe even (gasp!) an import. I would like Dominica Matthews in the contralto role, however, since I wasn't able to hear her Orlando. 

I could go on like this forever and ever, of course, but I think I should stop myself there for the moment and turn the game over to you, Australian readers. Assuming the operas on the list are confirmed, who would you like to hear in them? And, if it's not the same question, who do you suppose has been cast?