Royal Opera: Les Troyens

[Mandryka]

I saw this yesterday.

To turn the critical consensus somewhat on its heard, I vastly preferred the Carthage part to the Troy part and felt that Westbroek (who has been sharply criticised for her portrayal of Dido) was more memorable than Antonacci.

The arrival of Mercury at the end of the fourth act was a magical moment of theatre.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

If that seemed the case here, I would put that down in part to the production, but also to our Dido being a less compelling actress than our Cassandra. Of course, the mood of the Carthaginian acts is quite different; less tense, and more expansive.

Several friends who've seen the production (more than once) have said how wonderful it would be to have Antonacci as Dido as well... in which case they should head to the South Bank for the OAE's concert on 30th September, where she sings some of Dido's music, along with arias from Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride and Cherubini's Médée:

http://www.oae.co.uk/event/queens-heroines-and-ladykillers-three-eras-of-divas/

I saw this yesterday.

To turn the critical consensus somewhat on its heard, I vastly preferred the Carthage part to the Troy part and felt that Westbroek (who has been sharply criticised for her portrayal of Dido) was more memorable than Antonacci.

The arrival of Mercury at the end of the fourth act was a magical moment of theatre.

One of several friends who've seen multiple performances said that yesterday was EMW's best Dido by far. I agree that Mercury's arrival was spine-tingling - and 'Nuit d'ivresse' is such a wonderful duet.

[David-G]

I already have tickets for the OAE concert! I am greatly looking forward to it. The first time that I saw Antonacci was at an OAE concert in the early 90s, when she sang Ermione (Hermione) in a concert performance of Rossini's opera. This was one of the most stunning concerts that I have ever attended. She repeated the role a couple of years later at Glyndebourne, also with the OAE; that also had a terrific impact.

I found when watching Antonacci as Cassandre that I needed constant recourse to my handkerchief, as I constantly felt myself choking up with the intensity of the performance. Although Westbroek sang very beautifully, I am afraid that the handkerchief was not required. I am going to "Les Troyens" again on the 11th, and will be interested to see if my reactions are different in any way.

[Belgrove]

I too saw this on Sunday and agree with Mandryka. Antonacci sang with great sensitivity but was underpowered and frequently swamped by the orchestra, surprising since Pappano is usually sympathetic to singers. Her acting derived from the semaphore school of a past age (or a Peter Sellars production). The whole thing lifted in Act 4 from the song to Ceres by Iopas (the excellent Ji-Min Park), through the quintet to the love duet. This was exquisite and the highlight of the show, magically lit on stage. I found Westbroek a moving and sympathetic Didon. Hymel did well enough, but Enee strikes me as a rather unsatisfactory role, Narbal being rather more interesting as a character and musically. Opera has to provide a test for the principals, and this work provides challenges in full measure.

It is a work I have not seen or heard in any form, so my reactions are purely on the impact of the music in the theatre. It is a singularity, not having any obvious progenitor nor any subsequent children. Its adherence to the Grand operatic conventions makes it a museum piece rather than a work making a statement for today. The orchestration is sometimes stunning (the hushed pantomime accompanying the votive offerings by Hector’s widow and child was very beautifully played by the orchestra), sometimes vulgar and simply noisy rather than awesome. But it is the unique voice of Berlioz. It is neither a fresh paragraph nor full stop in the history of opera, perhaps an apostrophe?

I’ll listen again to the Prom performance, it being shorn of the busy and spectacular visuals that the stage presents (was that Baal or the Terminator looming above Carthage at the very end?) I’m really thrilled to have seen this, especially since it seems to have a once in a generation outing, but cannot help thinking that the infrequency of its production may be justified.

[mercia]

This is being streamed on July 5th on thespace.org

I've just stumbled across the space

http://thespace.org/items/s0000e78