ROH 'William Tell'

[Prommer]

Commenting about how tediously repetitive your tropes are. As I am in danger of being a pot calling the kettle black, I will now desist under a law of self-denying ordinance but check back in a week or so to see if you are still cranking the handle of pretentious twaddle and the artist-relativist fallacy. Oh God, wish I hadn't just said that...!

[Nick Armstrong]

Unless I'm very much mistaken as to the source of two loud boos in Act 3, I heard you before I saw you. The noise distraction caused me to look around, whereupon I saw a gentleman wearing what appeared to be a handkerchief over his eyes, fixed by a piece of wiring round his head. Did you buy this in Robert Dyas, or fashion it yourself? It looked like something had gone very wrong with Lawrence of Arabia, or indeed the Lone Ranger.
If you had to be there (as to which, see Stanfordian's comment above) and couldn't bear to look, why did you not just close your eyes? I'm afraid that you gave the impression that you were trying to make a statement. It was, frankly, extremely distracting (as was the braying noise that may or may not have come from you). You were getting some extremely odd looks from pretty much everyone in my row, of which you will, until now, have been blissfully unaware.
Amazing how many people I overheard talking enthusiastically and intelligently about the gesamtkunst, despite having had their eyes open throughout. I have to say that I agree with them.
Anyway, if you made it yourself, perhaps you can patent it. I give you a suggestion for free - the Regiemask. I look forward to it becoming all the rage amongst conservative opera-goers d'un certain âge.

[MrGongGong]

Commenting about how tediously repetitive your tropes are. As I am in danger of being a pot calling the kettle black, I will now desist under a law of self-denying ordinance but check back in a week or so to see if you are still cranking the handle of pretentious twaddle and the artist-relativist fallacy. Oh God, wish I hadn't just said that...!

You are not alone

[Don Basilio]

Otherwise known as 'responding to comments'. I'm not sure what you're doing.

Nobody has responded to the four specific moments in the production that I criticized. I'm sorry to be a bore talking about what I actually experienced. I'll know better than to comment in future.

[MrGongGong]

Nobody has responded to the four specific moments in the production that I criticized. I'm sorry to be a bore talking about what I actually experienced. I'll know better than to comment in future.

Had I been to see it I would feel qualified to comment on the specific points
BUT, alas, I only know from colleagues and what I have read so it's hard to discuss the specific details.

[Frances_iom]

...I'm sorry to be a bore talking about what I actually experienced. ...

I went + left before the final act - like you I thought the production traduced the libretto and presumeably the intentions of both composer + librettist - never having seen it done on stage I didn't want to remember this production (I find I usually recall a production if I hear the music again) - I can agree with all your points re the 1st two acts (I didn't stay for the last) - I just hope that under KH we don't have to endure a run of dismal productions (eg as was the case with ENO before their renovation)

[Don Basilio]

As I said, it wasn't as bad as some have made out. As the curate said, bits, my lord, are excellent. Writing my comments above made me realise what a powerful piece of writing Sois immobile is. I wouldn't have done so without this production getting it so wrong. And the notorious "rape" scence, toned down as it may have been since the opening, worked. If only the rest of the production had conveyed anything like the human passion.

[Prommer]

You are not alone

You see, we do agree! Deo gratias.

[Serial_Apologist]

You are not alone

I thought it was only "politics" that was supposed to bring out the worst in people on this forum.

[David-G]

Originally Posted by underthecountertenor Unless I'm very much mistaken as to the source of two loud boos in Act 3, I heard you before I saw you.

As this has been repeated let me just stress again that utct is indeed mistaken.

[Nick Armstrong]

As this has been repeated let me just stress again that utct is indeed mistaken.

[David-G]

I went + left before the final act - like you I thought the production traduced the libretto and presumeably the intentions of both composer + librettist - never having seen it done on stage I didn't want to remember this production (I find I usually recall a production if I hear the music again) - I can agree with all your points re the 1st two acts (I didn't stay for the last) - I just hope that under KH we don't have to endure a run of dismal productions (eg as was the case with ENO before their renovation)

I agree with you completely.

[jean]

Nobody has responded to the four specific moments in the production that I criticized...

I did have some thoughts about those, but went away before I committed my thoughts to screen.

I'll try to process them now.

[Flosshilde]

Nobody has responded to the four specific moments in the production that I criticized. I'm sorry to be a bore talking about what I actually experienced. I'll know better than to comment in future.

I did comment on the action accompanying the first act ballet, before your post. I found it convincing and helped to establish the close relationship between Tell and his son. And it did relate to the chorus' mention of an archery competition. But I will refrain from commenting further to avoid accusations of 'grinding on'.

[David-G]

I went this week. It is always good to see opera live and acted with world class musical talent, provided the basic plot isn’t changed (ie Idomeneo). There are silly distractions in most modern productions, but there were a different sort of silly distractions in "traditional" prods with cardboard cut-out scenery and dressing-up box clothes.

There were some good things in the production – the Act 1 finale was powerful and I admit to being moved at the final scene with a new sapling being planted by a child (far better than trying to show sun shining on cloud capped peaks, as required by the libretto).

Nontheless it was a bad production in that it hardly ever aloud the music and words to speak for themselves, but had to include endless business.

My specific criticisms would be:

Act 1 shows a coherent pastoral community. Tell is aware that it is overshadowed, but the community is shown in a state of innocence. Here the fisherman’s idyllic barcarolle is sung by an aggressive wino breaking into a depressive and uptight bunch. There was nothing to contrast with Austrian brutality.

The idyllilc nature of the community is expressed in three couples being blessed by the village patriarch, who then express their happiness in a dance, which was played charmingly. Not only did we not see the couples and the dance music accompanied an archery lesson for Tell and his son. A major aspect of the drama airbrushed.

In the great Act 2 finale, the text and music make it quite clear that three different groups of men gather for the conspiracy from different directions. Here the single group of the male chorus were revealed together on the revolve. No gathering.

The emotional heart of the work is surely Tell’s only solo as he sings to his son before shooting the apple. In a tense and threatening situation there is this stillness which doesn’t deny the anxiety. "Think of your mother" Tell sings. So in this production the mother has to be on stage, laying a table for supper. Abysmal. Idiotic distraction. (The shooting itself was managed quite well.)

I agree with all your criticisms - except that I thought that the sapling was twee and would have welcomed the sun shining on snow-capped peaks. And I would add to your list:

The whole business of the comic book and the toy soldiers was infantile and seemed plain ridiculous. On seeing the storm scene at the end done as a comic book, I simply despaired.

The business of bathing the children was completely irrelevant to the action, and was in very doubtful taste.

The whole idea of Tell's alter ego scuppered the drama. Him going round the table planting arrows, felling the soldiers one by one, just looked ridiculous.

The scene where Arnold visits his dead father's deserted house would have been very affecting - but we did not have that. Instead Arnold sung from a hospital bed. This fulfilled the requirement that every "avant garde" production must have a hospital bed; but it killed the drama.

Arnold's followers suddenly all dropping dead while they clustered round the hospital bed caused various people around me to burst out laughing.

The scene in the square at Altdorf (including the infamous "rape" scene and the shooting at the apple) was a complete mess. The Swiss were near-invisible, hiding in and behind the tree.

The rape scene was the only dramatic scene in the whole opera, and so swamped everything else, including the shooting at the apple.

It was hard to credit that Mathilde was a Hapsburg princess. She did not carry herself like a princess. I am sure that this was Michieletto's doing, not Bystrom's. Gesler's pawing her was distasteful and absurd.

The white walls plus soil plus tree long outstayed their welcome.

And above all - it seemed that the plastic soil acted as a sound absorber, and noticeably deadened the sound. Seeing Falstaff the other night, with a hard floor, the richness of the sound quality compared to Tell was amazing.