Fairytales often speak directly to our unconscious, revealing drives and truths that are not always apparent to our conscious selves. It is therefore not surprising that many tales are replicated across countries and cultures, even if the characters and details vary. The Slavic fable of Rusalka, for example, has counterparts with the French Melusine, Germanic Nixie and numerous others, including, most famously, Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Little Mermaid.” Although Rusalka is a simple story of a water nymph who relinquishes the power of speech so that she can become human to be with a prince with whom she has fallen in love, her motivations lie deep within the unconscious, taking in sexual awakening, resentment and a desire to return to an innocent state, and it was these aspects of the narrative that the director, David Radok, wished to explore.

A Journey Into the Unconscious

Although it is not a unique nor a particularly profound reading, Radok’s presentation, for which he also designed the scenery, was hugely successful. Not only did he capture the full dramatic and emotional dimensions of the work, but his ability to convey the drama within the context of Rusalka’s unconscious motivations was expertly rendered and allowed the audience to fully engage with his interpretation.

Act one opened to a stage that blended a large room in a house with windows and doors in a watery blue-grey colour with wooden walkways and reeds as would be found in a marshy area, and that stretched from inside the room to the outside world. This was Rusalka’s world; it was secure and safe, in which the walls represented the borders between the known and unknown, between innocence and knowledge. Rusalka, like many a teenager, was desperate to open the doors, to leave the secure and safe world behind, and to explore what else exists; the prince provided the impetus that awakened her sexual desires and thus set her on the path. Unfortunately, that door opens in only one direction; innocence is not something that can ever be regained.

Act two takes her into a world of luxury and frivolity, of betrayal and lust. It is a complex world of suffering, illusion and disappointment. Radok’s staging was brilliantly conceived to create the impression of wealth through chandeliers and the façade of a mansion and an outdoor area dedicated to dancing. He also ensured that Rusalka’s disillusionment was clearly portrayed through her detached meanderings between the dancers and attempts to find a way out through the dense undergrowth that surrounded the dancing area.

Act three finds her back in her original room, but everything has changed. The roof is leaking, and the plants are dying; everything looks to be in a state of decay. No longer human, but neither a nymph, she allows her resentment for the outside world to grow and retreats into her watery world, shuts the doors, and closes the shutters on the windows, but it is not innocence that she finds, only isolation.

It was a reading that fitted sympathetically with the surface fairytale narrative, with each complementing the other to provide a layered and satisfying staging. Radok also ensured that the visual presentation was sensitively developed to draw out the dramatic significance of the events and to manage the tensions. The costume designer, Zuzana Ježková, created a series of costumes that set the characters in the Victorian period, detailed to reflect the characters’ natures. The Water Goblin appeared slimy and unkempt in old blue and grey coloured garments, while the three wood sprites were in greeny blue, light shifts. Jezibaba’s blue and grey costume gave her the appearance of a matron or nanny figure. All appeared as if water was their natural habitat. The Prince and Princess, on the other hand, definitely came from the civilized human world and were dressed as wealthy Victorians of high status. It was the costumes of the chorus for the ballroom scene that really stood out. They were all attired in black with top hats, including the women, which gave them a sinister appearance; they were certainly not benign, nor did they act in a manner sympathetic towards Rusalka. The two worlds, the human and nonhuman, were visually clearly divided. Rusalka’s changing costumes reflected her movement between the two worlds but always in a way that ensured she appeared different from those around her.

Ivanović Oversees a Musically Engaging Performance

It was also a reading that complemented the score perfectly, which the conductor Marko Ivanović sensitively brought to life with the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre Brno. The pace and dynamic contrasts were carefully judged to support the onstage drama, if on occasions slightly understated, while the dance episodes were lively and graceful. It was also a reading that caught the beauty of the score.

Soprano Jana Šrejma Kačírková produced an emotionally compelling performance in the role of Rusalka. As the young and innocent water nymph, she was headstrong, rebellious, and yearning for love that she convincingly captured with a vocally expressive presentation, which she convincingly transformed into an insecure, bewildered and downtrodden young woman, before finally returning to the watery depths, hollowed out by her experience with humans.

Kačírková possesses a secure, resonant voice, which she uses with considerable skill to present emotional states, in which her pleading with her father and then with Jezibaba were particularly well developed as she coated her voice with longing and desire overlaid with an insistent determination to get her own way. There is also a pleasing energy in the voice so that even when singing in a more subdued manner, you could sense a restless spirit ready to explode at any minute. Her ability to move the voice freely enabled her to capture Rusalka’s disoriented state in acts two and three as she moved her voice flexibly across the range, with neatly placed accents and dynamic contrasts that expertly caught her pain and grief. It was, therefore, slightly disappointing that her rendition of the showpiece aria, “Song of the Moon,” did not really take flight; it was pleasant enough, and she allowed her emotions to strengthen as the aria progressed, but overall, it was too understated to convince.

Tenor Peter Berger made an excellent impression as the Prince, whom he played as a weak-willed and frivolous character, totally at the mercy of his fast-changing passions. Even as an old man, when he returns to Rusalka, full of remorse, to ask her forgiveness, he readily accepts her kiss that he knows will kill him. It appeared as the easy way out rather than an expression of deep love, despite his passionate pleading. Vocally, it was a role that seemed to suit him almost perfectly. He possesses a voice with a passionate, sweet-sounding tone that moves securely and with agility across the range, allowing for a lyrically strong performance, which he delivered with confidence and emotional force.

Vodnik, the water goblin, was given an engaging yet not wholly sympathetic reading by bass Jan Štáva. He was suitably anxious about and supportive of his daughter Rusalka but was abusive and sexually aggressive towards the wood spirits. His singing had a determined, even fierce, quality that gave him an imposing demeanour. Although certainly not lacking in beauty, his crafting of the vocal line was focused on promoting the meaning of the text, which he furnished with emotional honesty.

Soprano Eliška Gattringerová was thoroughly dislikable as the Foreign Princess. She was cynical, vicious and served only her own interests. Her voice had a harsh, strident edge, which she used forcefully and energetically to assert her will over both the Prince and Rusalka, whom she treated as an inferior.

Mezzo-soprano Václava Krejčí portrayed the witch, Jezibaba, as hard, unforgiving and cold, and treated Rusalka with total contempt. She possesses an agile, secure voice over which she exhibits excellent control, which she used to create a compelling vocal portrayal that captured her vicious and opportunistic nature. Her forceful response to Rusalka’s pleading in Act three was expertly rendered as she spat out her lines full of bile, which also showed off its nuanced colouring.

No attempt was made by Radok to hide the fact that the three wood spirits were based on Wagner’s Rheinmaidens; if anything, it appeared he wished to draw attention to the fact. With their greeny-blue costumes that evoked connections with the watery depths and their playfully cruel taunting of the Water Goblin, one could so easily have mistaken it for the opening scene of “Das Rheingold.” Played by soprano Doubravka Novotná, and contraltos Ivana Pavlu and Monika Jägerová, they acted their parts as a group, yet each managed to maintain an individual identity.

Baritone Tadeáš Hoza gave a solid performance as the Hunter.

The choir of the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre, under the direction of Pavel Koñárek, produced an energetic and beautifully sung performance, played out the dance routines wonderfully, and acted out their Act two roles convincingly to create an oppressive, even threatening presence.

Overall, it was a high-quality presentation, for which Radok must take a large share of the credit. It was an imaginative and dramatically convincing reading, which in no way is meant to belittle the contribution made by the orchestra or the singers, who all gave strong performances and made it the most successful of the four operas I reviewed at this year’s festival.

The post Janáček Brno Festival 2024 Review: Rusalka appeared first on OperaWire.

For the purposes of this article, our focus will be solely on vocal performances.

Semyon Bychkov leads music by Smetana, Dvorak, and Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass with such soloists as Evelina Dobraceva, Lucie Hilscherová, Ales Briscein, and Jan Martiník.

Performance Dates: Sept. 2, 2022

Semyon Bychkov leads seven performances of “Rusalka” starring Asmik Grigorian, Dmytro Popv, Jan Martinín, Jamie Barton, and Jana Kurucová, among others.

Performance Dates: Sept. 19, 2022 – June 2, 2023 

Pavel Cernoch and David Svec will perform music by Berlioz, Beethoven, von Weber, Dvorák, and Tchaikovsky, among others.

Performance Dates: Oct. 9, 2022

Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kozená will perform Five Greek Folk Songs by Ravel and Five Hungarian Folk Songs by Bartók. The concert also features Mahler’s ninth symphony.

Performance Dates: Nov. 16-17, 2022

Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kozená also team up for a concert of music by Dvorak, Krása, Gideon Klein, and Janácek.

Performance Dates: Nov. 22-25, 2022

Catriona Morrison and Christian Immler will perform music by Detlev Glanert. Semyon Bychkov conducts the concert, which also includes violinist Johan Dalene’s interpretation of Sibelius’ violin concerto.

Performance Dates: Dec. 8-10, 2022

The Martinu Voices will perform music by Britten and Novák. Lukás Vasilek conducts.

Performance Dates: Dec. 17, 2022

Václac Luks leads a performance of Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Ryba’s Christmas Mass with Slávka Zámecniková, Václava Krejcí Housková, Jaroslav Brezina, and Roma Hoza as the soloists.

Performance Dates: Dec. 20, 2022

Juanjo Mena kicks off the new year with a performance of music by de Falla, Montsalvatge, Rodrigo, and Turina with guitarist Pablo-Sáinz Villegas and mezzo-soprano Clara Mouriz.

Performance Dates: Jan. 1, 2023

Manfred Honeck conducts Mattias Goerne in music from such operas as “Tristan und Isolde,” “Die Walküre,” and “Der Fliegende Holländer.” The concert will also include Schmidt’s fourth symphony.

Performance Dates: Jan. 11-13, 2023

Soprano Barbora Rerichová will perform alongside the Czech Philharmonic Low Brass Ensemble. They will deliver music by Monteverdi, Boyce, Zelenka, Lehár, and Kucera, among others.

Performance Dates: Jan. 14, 2023

Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kozená return for music by Martinu and Schumann.

Performance Dates: Feb. 25, 2023 

Mezzo-soprano Jana Hrochová will appear alongside the Graff Quartet for music by Webern, Respighi, and Janácek.

Performance Dates: March 21, 2023

Daniel Harding conducts Schumann’s “Das Paradies und die Peri” with Christiane Karg and Andrew Staples as the soloists. The concert also stars the Prague Philharmonic Choir.

Performance Dates: April 20-22, 2023

Tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Vadym Kholodenko will perform “Winterreise.”

Performance Dates: April 23, 2023

The post Magdalena Kozená, Asmik Grigorian, Ian Bostridge, Pavel Cernoch, Mattias Goerne Headline the Czech Philharmonic’s 2022-23 Season appeared first on OperaWire.

Opéra Royal de Versailles has announced its 2021-22 season, featuring number of rarely performed operas and vocal works. Here is the full slate.

Opera 

André Grétry’s opera “Richard Cœur de Lion” features Rémy Mathieu as Blondel and Pierre Derhet in the title role. The cast will be rounded out by Melody Louledjian, Marie Perbost Antonio, Geoffroy Buffière, Jean-Gabriel Saint-Martin, François Pardailhé, Cécile Achille, Charles Barbier, Laura Jarrell, and Virginie Lefèvre. Hervé Niquet conducts a production by Marshall Pynkoski.

Performance dates: Nov. 11 – 14, 2021

Phillip Addis stars as Count Almaviva, and Valentina Nafornița portrays Countess Almaviva in Mozart‘s timeless opera “Le Nozze di Figaro.” Florie Valiquette performs Susanna, while Robert Gleadow stars in the title role alongside Giuseppina Bridelli, Lucia Cirillo, Gregory Bonfatti, Ugo Guagliardo, Cécile Achille, and Matthieu Lécroart. Gaétan Jarry conducts the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal in a production by James Gray.

Performance dates: Nov. 27 – Dec. 1, 2021

Luigi Rossi’s “Le Palais Des Sortileges” spotlights Victor Sicard as Orlando, Arianna Vendittelli as Angelica, Fabio Trümpy as Ruggiero, and Deanna Breiwick in the role of Bradamante.

The cast also includes Mark Milhofer, Lucía Martín-Cartón, Mariana Flores, Grigory Soloviov, Kacper Szelążek, André Lacerda, Valerio Contaldo, Gwendoline Blondeel, Alexander Miminoshvili, and Joy Alpuerto alongside Chœur de l’Opéra de Dijon and the Chœur de chambre de Namur. Leonardo García Alarcón conducts the Cappella Mediterranea in a production by Fabrice Murgia.

The opera is a co-production with the Opéra de Dijon and Opéra national de Lorraine.

Performance dates: Dec. 11 – 12, 2021

A concert version of Henri Desmarets’ opera “Circé” spotlights Caroline Mutel, Hélène Carpentier, Sébastien Droy, Nicolas Courjal, and Gaëlle Arquez in the title role alongside conductor Sébastien d’Hérin.

Performance date: Jan. 11, 2022

Karina Gauvin stars in the title role in Händel‘s “Alcina” alongside Mirella Hagen as Morgana, Kangmin Justin Kim as Ruggiero, Václava Krejčí Housková as Bradamante, Krystian Adam in the role of Oronte, Andrea Široká as Oberto, and Tomáš Král in the role of Melisso. Václav Luks conducts the Collegium Vocale 1704 in a production by Jiří Heřman.

Performance dates: March 10 – 13, 2022

Matthew Newlin performs the title role in Lully’s “Atys” alongside Samuel Boden, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Giuseppina Bridelli, Ana Quintans, Andreas Wolf, Gwendoline Blondeel, Michael Mofidian, Valerio Contaldo, José Pazos, Luigi De Donato, and Lore Binon.

The performances also feature the Chœur du Grand Théâtre de Genève and Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. Leonardo García Alarcón conducts the Cappella Mediterranea in a production by Angelin Preljocaj.

Performance dates: March 19 – 23, 2022

Matthew Locke’s operatic jewel “Cupid and Death” spotlights Perrine Devillers, Lieselot De Wilde, Yannis François, Nicholas Merryweather, Lucile Richardot, and Antonin Rondepierre. Sébastien Daucé conducts a production by Jos Houben and Emily Wilson.

Performance dates: March 26 – 27, 2022

Mathias Vidal stars in the title role of Rameau’s “Platée” alongside Jean-Christophe Lanièce, Marc Labonnette, Pierre Derhet, Lila Dufy, Jean-Vincent Blot, Marie Perbost, and Marie-Laure Garnier. Hervé Niquet conducts a production by Corinne and Gilles Benizio.

Performance dates: May 18 – 22, 2022

Finally, Mondonville’s “Titon Et L’Aurore” stars Emmanuelle de Negri, Marc Mauillon, Renato Dolcini, and Reinoud Van Mechelen and Gwendoline Blondeel in the title roles. William Christie conducts Les Arts Florissants in a new production by Basil Twist.

Performance dates: July 8 – 9, 2022

Concerts

Countertenor Franco Fagioli presents works by Girolamo Crescentini alongside conductor Stefan Plewniak.

Performance date: Oct. 2, 2021

Countertenor Mathias Vidal sings works by Jean-Philippe Rameau in a special concert. Gaétan Jarry conducts the Ensemble Marguerite Louise.

Performance date: Oct. 3, 2021

Soprano Florie Valiquette presents various works in a concert alongside conductor Gaétan Jarry.

Performance date: March 16, 2022

Sopranos Sophie Junker and Florie Valiquette perform Couperin’s “Leçons de Ténèbres” alongside conductor Stéphane Fuget.

Performance date: April 15, 2022

Male soprano Samuel Mariño and countertenor Filippo Mineccia present Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” alongside conductor Marie Van Rhijn.

Performance date: April 16, 2022

Soprano Melody Louledjian gives a concert alongside pianist Vardan Mamikonian. Chouchane Siranossian plays the violin, and Astrig Siranossian plays the cello.

Performance date: April 23, 2022

Sopranos Eugénie Lefèbvre and Danaé Monnié, and countertenor Clément Debieuvre perform a concert alongside conductor Thibaut Roussel.

Performance date: May 24, 2022

The post Valentina Nafornița, Gaëlle Arquez & Franco Fagioli Headline Opéra Royal de Versailles’ 2021-22 Season appeared first on OperaWire.

The opera will be staged in a new production by Jiří Heřman who is also the Artistic Director of Opera at the National Theatre Brno.

The famed opera will star Jana Šrejma Kačirková, Julie Šebestová, Václava Krejči Housková, Svatopluk Sem, Jan Šťáva, Petr Karas, Ondřej Koplik Jitka Zerhauová, Zdislava Bočková, Eva Štěrbová, Roman Hoza, and Daniel Straková-Šedrlová, among others.

The stream kicks off at 3 p.m. local time. That’s around 9 a.m. EDT and 6 a.m. PST for the start time. Repeat viewings will be available on the OperaVision website until May 17, 2019.

The streaming service is free through OperaVision, which, per its official website, is a project “supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe program, OperaVision builds on the success of The Opera Platform, with more contributing opera companies from more countries, under the editorial supervision of Opera Europa, the European association of opera companies and festivals.

“OperaVision brings together 30 partners from 18 countries and invites you to travel and discover the diversity of opera from wherever you want, whenever you want.”

Next up on OperaVision is the 100^th Anniversary Gala at the Latvian National Opera, which will star Marina Rebeka and Liudmyla Monastyrska, among others.

The post Operavision 2018-19 Preview: Watch ‘The Cunning Little Vixen’ From National Theatre Brno appeared first on OperaWire.