ROH - Otello

[underthecountertenor]

Anyone else going to this? I managed to score a reasonable amphitheatre return for opening night, and there are now a few more returns available. A little bird tells me that it's looking as if it could be very special indeed. Apart from anything else, Jaho as Desdemona is a mouth-watering prospect.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Going to the general rehearsal tomorrow and perf Monday week. Jaho is unmissable in anything and the rumour was that Kunde eclipsed Kaufman in the last run...

[underthecountertenor]

Going to the general rehearsal tomorrow and perf Monday week. Jaho is unmissable in anything and the rumour was that Kunde eclipsed Kaufman in the last run...

Yes - I'm excited at the prospect of hearing Kunde too.

[Prommer]

Had to leave the general at the interval. Very uninspiring, sadly. Let's hope and pray it perks up when the run actually opens.

Good things: Kunde can sing the role but sounds a bit old. Pretty poor stage acting.

Ermonela fine (and sure she will tug at the heart strings in Act 4). No chemistry with Kunde at all.

Carlos Alvarez is a classy singer, but needs a bit more bite and rasp in the voice for this role. Good acting and a valid interpretation. Insufficiently differentiated from Kunde - two ageing men! But I suppose that would be valid grounds for competing for the trophy Desdemona, so hey...

Pappano has much but not everything in place - but I fear he may be running out of steam at the ROH and need a change of scene. Nothing electric in the playing.

Sorry to be so meh about it - and of course there is every chance things will catch fire once the run begins. So caveats all round.

[underthecountertenor]

Had to leave the general at the interval. Very uninspiring, sadly. Let's hope and pray it perks up when the run actually opens.

Good things: Kunde can sing the role but sounds a bit old. Pretty poor stage acting.

Ermonela fine (and sure she will tug at the heart strings in Act 4). No chemistry with Kunde at all.

Carlos Alvarez is a classy singer, but needs a bit more bite and rasp in the voice for this role. Good acting and a valid interpretation. Insufficiently differentiated from Kunde - two ageing men! But I suppose that would be valid grounds for competing for the trophy Desdemona, so hey...

Pappano has much but not everything in place - but I fear he may be running out of steam at the ROH and need a change of scene. Nothing electric in the playing.

Sorry to be so meh about it - and of course there is every chance things will catch fire once the run begins. So caveats all round.

Wow. I had completely the opposite reaction in almost every respect.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I’m with UTC on this one . Thought Kunde was tremendous, Jaho had a slowish start but turned in a magnificent Act 3 and 4. The orchestra , chorus ( with many extras ) were on top form. Good to see Alvarez as Iago - I’ve seen plenty of rasping Iago’s - I prefer the ones that can sing.

[underthecountertenor]

I’m with UTC on this one . Thought Kunde was tremendous, Jaho had a slowish start but turned in a magnificent Act 3 and 4. The orchestra , chorus ( with many extras ) were on top form. Good to see Alvarez as Iago - I’ve seen plenty of rasping Iago’s - I prefer the ones that can sing.

Wholeheartedly agree.

[Prommer]

Wow. I had completely the opposite reaction in almost every respect.

To each, their own. Will be interesting to see the reviews!

[underthecountertenor]

To each, their own. Will be interesting to see the reviews!

For what it's worth (not much in my book, to be honest), those in so far are very positive about the soloists and orchestra, if less so about the production.

[Cockney Sparrow]

The Times yesterday “Russell Thomas: ‘Casting a black man as Otello is nothing to applaud' ” – just one of their clickbait type headlines nowadays (although it is a correct quote). There is an aspect of the Times nowadays that takes on the style and level of journalism of The Sun – of course another part of Rupert’s web of media interest.

On the way home from the performance last night I commented that Thomas was pretty much the vocal equivalent standard as Kaufman and much more dramatically engaged. A good performance and a voice well up to the part (but if you need superlatives look for another – although I’m not sure who is performing the role these days…..).
I had my doubts about Maltman as Iago (having heard him take on an oratorio role in the RAH he didn’t seem to have the heft for, a few years ago). However, his performance was a triumph – the full deal vocally and dramatically.

Bassenz as Desdemona was pretty perfect, and delivered a touching and sure final scene.

In Today’s edition, Rebecca Franks gives an approving crit, but again raises the diversity issue – criticising the overdue appearance of a Black artist in the title role, and “raising the issue” of the need for greater minority presence in the chorus and other creative teams at the ROH.

I don’t know what’s been going in the intervening hours, but my comment has gone into oblivion and comments are turned off for both articles. If they provoke “culture war” discussions the Times need to handle the discussion that follows, surely? And whilst there is a UKIP/ xenophobe aspect to some comment posters, the comments usually remain within the “community guidelines” – not least because their software puts controversial posts into pre-moderation and they also seem to have a list of readers whose posts are similarly quarantined until they are inspected (– as I found out a while ago, calling Johnson a Liar was not allowed – not sure about these days!)

[Ein Heldenleben]

The Times yesterday “Russell Thomas: ‘Casting a black man as Otello is nothing to applaud' ” – just one of their clickbait type headlines nowadays (although it is a correct quote). There is an aspect of the Times nowadays that takes on the style and level of journalism of The Sun – of course another part of Rupert’s web of media interest.

On the way home from the performance last night I commented that Thomas was pretty much the vocal equivalent standard as Kaufman and much more dramatically engaged. A good performance and a voice well up to the part (but if you need superlatives look for another – although I’m not sure who is performing the role these days…..).
I had my doubts about Maltman as Iago (having heard him take on an oratorio role in the RAH he didn’t seem to have the heft for, a few years ago). However, his performance was a triumph – the full deal vocally and dramatically.

Bassenz as Desdemona was pretty perfect, and delivered a touching and sure final scene.

In Today’s edition, Rebecca Franks gives an approving crit, but again raises the diversity issue – criticising the overdue appearance of a Black artist in the title role, and “raising the issue” of the need for greater minority presence in the chorus and other creative teams at the ROH.

I don’t know what’s been going in the intervening hours, but my comment has gone into oblivion and comments are turned off for both articles. If they provoke “culture war” discussions the Times need to handle the discussion that follows, surely? And whilst there is a UKIP/ xenophobe aspect to some comment posters, the comments usually remain within the “community guidelines” – not least because their software puts controversial posts into pre-moderation and they also seem to have a list of readers whose posts are similarly quarantined until they are inspected (– as I found out a while ago, calling Johnson a Liar was not allowed – not sure about these days!)

Yes my completely innocuous Times comment on the different handling of Othello’s blackness in the play and the opera (Verdi and Boito more or less excise it along with a lot else in the play) disappeared into the ether.
Good to hear it was a triumph for Thomas as there was some questionable remarks about him and the reasons for his selection on one web forum I saw . The underlying point is the global shortage of spinto singers especially tenors of whatever colour. We cannot afford to discourage anyone from the huge effort and talent it takes to assume these hugely demanding spinto roles. It’s a twenty year apprenticeship really.
There’s been a failure of opera houses in the US and UK to get the huge pool of vocal talent within the African American and Afro-Caribbean community interested in Opera. The number of times I’ve watched programmes like The Voice and thought she might make a terrific Mezzo with training . I guess the lure of pop is greater .Or maybe there’s just no exposure to opera . I don’t know.
Incidentlally I saw both Kaufman and Kunde at ROH and Kunde was better . In fact Kunde was magnificent. Kaufman stays too much within himself - you can just see the technical preparation.

[LHC]

I saw the dress rehearsal on Saturday morning, and would agree with you about Maltman, who I thought was tremendous as Iago. I too had doubts about whether he would be up to it, but he had plenty of power and there was real bite to his voice. His diction was excellent as was acting. I thought he completely dominated the performance and was by some way the best thing in it.

I’m afraid I wasn’t nearly as impressed by Thomas or Bassenz. Although Thomas’s singing was reasonably accurate and secure, I am not convinced he has enough heft for the part. I really missed the clarion tone you expect from the best Otellos, and he never convinced me that he was as wild or dangerous as Otello should be. I was probably spoilt by seeing Domingo in his prime as Otello with Kleiber conducting, but Thomas couldn’t hold a candle to him.

I thought Bassenz was better, and she certainly has enough voice for the part, but she wasn’t as moving as some of the best Desdemonas I have seen. Indeed, with the exception of Maltman, I didn’t feel that the acting was very convincing; this may be due to a lack of rehearsal time for a revival than a problem with the singers. Having looked at the reviews this morning, I found myself very much in agreement with this one:

https://www.bachtrack.com/review-otello-rustioni-thomas-maltman-bassenz-royal-opera-july-2022

With regard to his being the first black singer of Otello at the Opera House, while I agree the main issue is why it has taken so long, I can’t actually think of any obvious earlier proponents who might have been cast in previous performances. The number of people able to sing Otello is quite small at any one time.

Edited to add that I also wasn’t convinced by Kaufmann when this production was new, so would agree that Thomas is certainly no worse than him (and possibly a bit better in some respects). I hope he continues to sing the part; as he gets older and his voice darkens, he may well develop those aspects I thought were lacking at this stage in his career.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Yes my completely innocuous Times comment on the different handling of Othello’s blackness in the play and the opera (Verdi and Boito more or less excise it along with a lot else in the play) disappeared into the ether.
Good to hear it was a triumph for Thomas as there was some questionable remarks about him and the reasons for his selection on one web forum I saw . The underlying point is the global shortage of spinto singers especially tenors of whatever colour. We cannot afford to discourage anyone from the huge effort and talent it takes to assume these hugely demanding spinto roles. It’s a twenty year apprenticeship really.
There’s been a failure of opera houses in the US and UK to get the huge pool of vocal talent within the African American and Afro-Caribbean community interested in Opera. The number of times I’ve watched programmes like The Voice and thought she might make a terrific Mezzo with training . I guess the lure of pop is greater .Or maybe there’s just no exposure to opera . I don’t know.

I'm not sure what the remedy is, but instructing the ROH to get out there and just appoint ethnic minority singers and creative contributors doesn't seem the complete answer. Goes without saying that performing at that level is the very apex of an entire ecosystem - and that means from school drama/music making to academies and initial performance opportunities. How many minority participants are there at each level and - as you mention - what are their preferences. Proper research is needed into the whole environment before its appropriate to pin the blame on the ROH. What if said research points to the woeful state of state school teaching of the creative arts in this age of "focussed" education..........

Incidentlally I saw both Kaufman and Kunde at ROH and Kunde was better . In fact Kunde was magnificent. Kaufman stays too much within himself - you can just see the technical preparation.

Yes I saw Kunde and he delivered a very satisfying performance. Your comment about Kaufman resonates with me - too often he seemed to be standing there observing himself - and maybe too cautious - why, at that stage in his career take the risk of committing himself fully vocally. As you say, the role is one for the end of a very full apprenticeship, and Kaufman obviously feels he has lots more to take on.......

I know that Domingo is criticised as a baritone wearing tenor's clothing but his performance of Otello (IIRC not long before the ROH redevelopment) was thrilling and I've yet to experience its equal, so my superlative is reserved, so far, for him alone. Also, all of the Desdemona's have been wonderful - Te Kanawa, Julia Varady, Jaho amongst particular favourites but all of them performing so well.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I'm not sure what the remedy is, but instructing the ROH to get out there and just appoint ethnic minority singers and creative contributors doesn't seem the complete answer. Goes without saying that performing at that level is the very apex of an entire ecosystem - and that means from school drama/music making to academies and initial performance opportunities. How many minority participants are there at each level and - as you mention - what are their preferences. Proper research is needed into the whole environment before its appropriate to pin the blame on the ROH. What if said research points to the woeful state of state school teaching of the creative arts in this age of "focussed" education..........



Yes I saw Kunde and he delivered a very satisfying performance. Your comment about Kaufman resonates with me - too often he seemed to be standing there observing himself - and maybe too cautious - why, at that stage in his career take the risk of committing himself fully vocally. As you say, the role is one for the end of a very full apprenticeship, and Kaufman obviously feels he has lots more to take on.......

I know that Domingo is criticised as a baritone wearing tenor's clothing but his performance of Otello (IIRC not long before the ROH redevelopment) was thrilling and I've yet to experience its equal, so my superlative is reserved, so far, for him alone. Also, all of the Desdemona's have been wonderful - Te Kanawa, Julia Varady, Jaho amongst particular favourites but all of them performing so well.

Yes I saw Domingo twice in the role in the 80’s . Up there with Vickers as the greatest ?


You might be interested into this piece of Princeton research into why spinto singing is in decline . To summarise
1. Fewer live church / choral singing opportunities with especially a decline in Church singing in Italy
2.Young singers being hurried through the apprentice (E.g Mozart) roles too quickly and tackling the big roles too early or just deciding to build a career in those roles.
3. Directors being prejudiced against big voice singers who can’t act so well
4. Sets without flats that don’t throw the voice into the auditorium .

https://www.princeton.edu/~amoravcs/library/VerdiVoices

I note the Backtrack review mentions that Thomas’s voice was one size too small for the Opera house. That’s pretty common - same is true of perfs I’ve seen from Finley , Jaho, Georghiu. All fine in the stalls but not in the Amphi or even the balcony.
I note that Bryn Terfel who could hit the amphitheater as Wotan is now retiring the role. He’s only in his early fifties - plenty of bass baritones kept going with it into their sixties.

[duncan]

Saw this last night. An enjoyable and recommendable evening. Christopher Maltman the highlight and centre of attention throughout. A great performance, Verdi would have been pleased.

As others have said, Thomas is up there with the current best in the role but this is not an era of vintage Verdi tenors. Good, not yet great.

I didn't remember much about the production from the first run. It's decent but not revelatory. This makes it a considerable improvement on some recent ROH Verdi.