I was looking forward to this, but it was a disappointing evening. Gergiev seemed to take it at a very slow pace but in reality probably not, as it finished well within the estimated time - I thought it was flabby without much drama. The first two acts dragged - Cassandra was bloodless, & the duet with Correbus lacking in everything. The final confrontation between the Trojan women & Greek soldiers was feeble.
The Carthage acts were better, with Dido much better vocally & dramatically & Anna really good. Unfortunatly Aenaeus was no match for Dido - his voice was inaudible (I was sitting in row N of the stalls, in line with the edge of the proscenium) for much of the love duet between him & Dido - you could tell he was supposed to be singing because his mouth was opening & closing - rather like a fish - but no sound coming out. At other times he was shouting more than singing.
The production (first seen in Paris in 2008) was a bit hum-drum; black overcoats & frocks for the Trojans, gleaming white with splashes of colour for Carthage, chorus milling about during processions & celebrations.
It gave the impresion of being thrown together & under-rehearsed - I wonder if too much attention is being given to touring to earn money? The four principal roles had double casts (for three performances), but two days before the first performance I received an email saying that the same singer would be performing Cassandra all three nights (no explanation of why the other had dropped out), & a week before an email saying that Narbal would be sung by the same singer on all three nights (interestingly the programme - presumably printed well in advance - only gave his name, & didn't mention an alternative singer). All of which suggests a company which doesn't place artistic values at the forefront of what they do.
The Carthage acts were better, with Dido much better vocally & dramatically & Anna really good. Unfortunatly Aenaeus was no match for Dido - his voice was inaudible (I was sitting in row N of the stalls, in line with the edge of the proscenium) for much of the love duet between him & Dido - you could tell he was supposed to be singing because his mouth was opening & closing - rather like a fish - but no sound coming out. At other times he was shouting more than singing.
The production (first seen in Paris in 2008) was a bit hum-drum; black overcoats & frocks for the Trojans, gleaming white with splashes of colour for Carthage, chorus milling about during processions & celebrations.
It gave the impresion of being thrown together & under-rehearsed - I wonder if too much attention is being given to touring to earn money? The four principal roles had double casts (for three performances), but two days before the first performance I received an email saying that the same singer would be performing Cassandra all three nights (no explanation of why the other had dropped out), & a week before an email saying that Narbal would be sung by the same singer on all three nights (interestingly the programme - presumably printed well in advance - only gave his name, & didn't mention an alternative singer). All of which suggests a company which doesn't place artistic values at the forefront of what they do.