The WNO under David Pountney's music directorship has in recent years used common themes to link their opera productions within a particular season, such as the Liberty theme for a season including two Rossini opera serias and last autumn's Madness season pairing Orlando and Sweeney Todd. Typically the same set structure, though with different designs, is used for all operas in the season, which simplifies things for mounting different operas on successive evenings as the WNO often has to do on tour. It is also an economy in these hard times for all arts companies.
Pountney sometimes goes beyond merely using the same physical set across the themed operas though and has the same principal singers from the cast in the different operas. Here he has done what I think has not been done before and brought together all the episodes in the Almaviva/Figaro lifecycle in a single season: in chronological order, The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro and Figaro Gets a Divorce, the last a version of Beaumarchais' La Mėre Coupable reimagined by the Austrian playwright Ödön von Horváth in a libretto by David Pountney himself and music by Elena Langer. For this season Pountney commissioned the great veteran designer Ralph Koltai to create the sets. To increase the sense of linkage between the works, three of the principal characters in Mozart's Figaro, the Count, the Countess and Figaro, were sung by the same singers in the follow-on opera, Figaro Gets a Divorce (and there were other casting links, of which more anon).
Koltai's basic physical structure for the sets used in all three operas consisted of two large metal panels which could either interlock or open out completely and could revolve completely, enabling a swift change of scene by simply turning both panels round. The panels could easily be fitted with different 'skins' to present different scene settings. The design was simple and uncluttered but extremely flexible, often merely suggesting an atmosphere - very effectively especially in the Langer opera.
The 3 operas should, if one was following them chronologically through the lives of the protagonists, have been watched in the order Barber, Figaro, Divorce but I was unable to do that for various reasons and watched in the order Figaro, Divorce, Barber. Here are some brief thoughts on the three productions:
The Marriage of Figaro
I should like to pay tribute here to the conducting of Lothar Koenigs, who is leaving as WNO's principal conductor at the end of this season. He has been a terrific catch for WNO and I have never been to a performance of his that has disappointed. Here the performance really effervesced, with generally quick tempi yet allowing the music (and the singers!) to breathe when necessary. The opera was sung in English but the initial disappointment I felt about that decision quickly disappeared as the translation was a good one. The production was more conventional than otherwise with simple sets and minimal clutter. The Koltai panels created an appropriately oppressive effect for the Countess' bedroom in the second act, where they almost seemed to be closing in on her. And they worked well in the finale to the opera where combined with effective lighting, masks, disguised voices and similar costumes the confusion about identity was believable in a way it isn't often. Of the singers, I was most impressed by Anna Devin as Susanna, Mark Stone as the Count and Richard Wiegold as Dr Bartolo, though Elisabeth Watts after a hesitant start gave a moving performance as the Countess.
Figaro Gets a Divorce*
[PART-SPOILER ALERT]
Although Beaumarchais took the Almaviva story on from Le Mariage de Figaro in his play La Mėre Coupable, this opera relies more on the later play Figaro Läßt Sich Scheiden by Horváth. The setting is that the Count and his family plus Figaro and Susanno are fleeing revolutionary turmoil, war and dictatorships. Cherubino has supposedly been killed in the war to which the Count sent him, though that later turns out not to have been the case. The Almaviva family consists of their son Serafin and a ward Angelika whose origins are initially unclear. They are constantly moving from place to place, as exiles; the Count has turned to gambling; Susanna is desperate for a child by Figaro but he is unwilling to bring a child into this world of chaos; Serafin and Angelika are in love. But the whole family and the servants are prey to a ruthless official called The Major who is dedicated to their slow destruction (apart from Angelika, who he has his eyes on). How the plot develops, and how it concludes I won't divulge here except to say that though it is generally a dark opera it is not wholly without hope at the end.
Pountney's libretto has I think been heavily influenced by Berg's Wozzeck in structure - it moves in rapid, generally short episodes, almost cinematically. The flexible Koltai panels really came into their own in this opera above all, permitting swift movement from one scene to the next - in the pre-performance talk to the opera the dramaturg Sophie Rashbrook thought it would be difficult for future designers working on this opera to use techniques that were not similar to those used in this production (which Pountney himself directed). The music, by the young Russian composer, Elena Langer, also shows a significant influence of Berg above all though there is a mix of styles, including jazz and cabaret sections. Above all, the music is always moving the action of the opera along so that it rarely drags. I was impressed with the way it seemed to work well with the libretto.
The Barber of Seville
Every so often - fortunately not that often - WNO comes up with a complete turkey of a production. Sadly imv this is one such occasion. The last real WNO turkey I recall was the Butlins-set Cosi fan Tutte quite a few years back. What that had in common with this is men singing in shorts and a determination to employ every possible visual gag to ramp up the comedy. The effect here was a truly infantile level of humour, a sort of crashing Monty Python foot in which the audience is bombarded with a cross between Benny Hill and Carry On (complete with flatulence jokes). There was also a sort of Narnia wardrobe fixation in which people were constantly coming out of, or going into, wardrobes. I only stayed until the interval, though it seemed like an eternity, like being stuck in a room forced to watch a sequence of terrible British and American comedies. It was a pity, as the Koltai set design was again effective, the orchestral performance was fine and the singing by Nicholas Lester as Figaro, Claire Booth as Rosina and Andrew Shore as Dr Bartolo was commendable. Nico Darmanin as Lindoro/Almaviva was a real disappointment, with a thin, reedy voice though he might have been unwell or suffering from the ghastly comic business he was required to perform (including dressing up as a boy scout). Oh well - one to forget.
To sum up, despite the failure of one production (new productions are always a worthwhile risk and some failures are to be expected), I was glad to have seen the whole series of operas linking the story. It was an ambitious idea, and a real ensemble effort, showing that WNO is not afraid to tackle major challenges even in this tough time for opera companies worldwide. I was particularly pleased to see the 91-year old Ralph Koltai take a bow at both the Figaro and Divorce operas, and also to hear Lothar Koenigs conduct in his last WNO opera as Chief Conductor.
And I'd be interested to see the new Elena Langer opera revived at a later date.
*apologies for posting the Divorce review here and not on the thread which has been created, but I wanted to put it in the context of the whole theme
Pountney sometimes goes beyond merely using the same physical set across the themed operas though and has the same principal singers from the cast in the different operas. Here he has done what I think has not been done before and brought together all the episodes in the Almaviva/Figaro lifecycle in a single season: in chronological order, The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro and Figaro Gets a Divorce, the last a version of Beaumarchais' La Mėre Coupable reimagined by the Austrian playwright Ödön von Horváth in a libretto by David Pountney himself and music by Elena Langer. For this season Pountney commissioned the great veteran designer Ralph Koltai to create the sets. To increase the sense of linkage between the works, three of the principal characters in Mozart's Figaro, the Count, the Countess and Figaro, were sung by the same singers in the follow-on opera, Figaro Gets a Divorce (and there were other casting links, of which more anon).
Koltai's basic physical structure for the sets used in all three operas consisted of two large metal panels which could either interlock or open out completely and could revolve completely, enabling a swift change of scene by simply turning both panels round. The panels could easily be fitted with different 'skins' to present different scene settings. The design was simple and uncluttered but extremely flexible, often merely suggesting an atmosphere - very effectively especially in the Langer opera.
The 3 operas should, if one was following them chronologically through the lives of the protagonists, have been watched in the order Barber, Figaro, Divorce but I was unable to do that for various reasons and watched in the order Figaro, Divorce, Barber. Here are some brief thoughts on the three productions:
The Marriage of Figaro
I should like to pay tribute here to the conducting of Lothar Koenigs, who is leaving as WNO's principal conductor at the end of this season. He has been a terrific catch for WNO and I have never been to a performance of his that has disappointed. Here the performance really effervesced, with generally quick tempi yet allowing the music (and the singers!) to breathe when necessary. The opera was sung in English but the initial disappointment I felt about that decision quickly disappeared as the translation was a good one. The production was more conventional than otherwise with simple sets and minimal clutter. The Koltai panels created an appropriately oppressive effect for the Countess' bedroom in the second act, where they almost seemed to be closing in on her. And they worked well in the finale to the opera where combined with effective lighting, masks, disguised voices and similar costumes the confusion about identity was believable in a way it isn't often. Of the singers, I was most impressed by Anna Devin as Susanna, Mark Stone as the Count and Richard Wiegold as Dr Bartolo, though Elisabeth Watts after a hesitant start gave a moving performance as the Countess.
Figaro Gets a Divorce*
[PART-SPOILER ALERT]
Although Beaumarchais took the Almaviva story on from Le Mariage de Figaro in his play La Mėre Coupable, this opera relies more on the later play Figaro Läßt Sich Scheiden by Horváth. The setting is that the Count and his family plus Figaro and Susanno are fleeing revolutionary turmoil, war and dictatorships. Cherubino has supposedly been killed in the war to which the Count sent him, though that later turns out not to have been the case. The Almaviva family consists of their son Serafin and a ward Angelika whose origins are initially unclear. They are constantly moving from place to place, as exiles; the Count has turned to gambling; Susanna is desperate for a child by Figaro but he is unwilling to bring a child into this world of chaos; Serafin and Angelika are in love. But the whole family and the servants are prey to a ruthless official called The Major who is dedicated to their slow destruction (apart from Angelika, who he has his eyes on). How the plot develops, and how it concludes I won't divulge here except to say that though it is generally a dark opera it is not wholly without hope at the end.
Pountney's libretto has I think been heavily influenced by Berg's Wozzeck in structure - it moves in rapid, generally short episodes, almost cinematically. The flexible Koltai panels really came into their own in this opera above all, permitting swift movement from one scene to the next - in the pre-performance talk to the opera the dramaturg Sophie Rashbrook thought it would be difficult for future designers working on this opera to use techniques that were not similar to those used in this production (which Pountney himself directed). The music, by the young Russian composer, Elena Langer, also shows a significant influence of Berg above all though there is a mix of styles, including jazz and cabaret sections. Above all, the music is always moving the action of the opera along so that it rarely drags. I was impressed with the way it seemed to work well with the libretto.
The Barber of Seville
Every so often - fortunately not that often - WNO comes up with a complete turkey of a production. Sadly imv this is one such occasion. The last real WNO turkey I recall was the Butlins-set Cosi fan Tutte quite a few years back. What that had in common with this is men singing in shorts and a determination to employ every possible visual gag to ramp up the comedy. The effect here was a truly infantile level of humour, a sort of crashing Monty Python foot in which the audience is bombarded with a cross between Benny Hill and Carry On (complete with flatulence jokes). There was also a sort of Narnia wardrobe fixation in which people were constantly coming out of, or going into, wardrobes. I only stayed until the interval, though it seemed like an eternity, like being stuck in a room forced to watch a sequence of terrible British and American comedies. It was a pity, as the Koltai set design was again effective, the orchestral performance was fine and the singing by Nicholas Lester as Figaro, Claire Booth as Rosina and Andrew Shore as Dr Bartolo was commendable. Nico Darmanin as Lindoro/Almaviva was a real disappointment, with a thin, reedy voice though he might have been unwell or suffering from the ghastly comic business he was required to perform (including dressing up as a boy scout). Oh well - one to forget.
To sum up, despite the failure of one production (new productions are always a worthwhile risk and some failures are to be expected), I was glad to have seen the whole series of operas linking the story. It was an ambitious idea, and a real ensemble effort, showing that WNO is not afraid to tackle major challenges even in this tough time for opera companies worldwide. I was particularly pleased to see the 91-year old Ralph Koltai take a bow at both the Figaro and Divorce operas, and also to hear Lothar Koenigs conduct in his last WNO opera as Chief Conductor.
And I'd be interested to see the new Elena Langer opera revived at a later date.
*apologies for posting the Divorce review here and not on the thread which has been created, but I wanted to put it in the context of the whole theme
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