September 17, 2013: Otello in Vienna

2013-09-17 Otello (Verdi), Wiener Staatsoper

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Emilia = Monika Bohinec
Cassio = Marian Talaba
Rodrigo = Jinxu Xiahou
Lodovico = Alexandru Moisiu
Montano = Mihail Dogotari
Ein Herald =

Dan Ettinger, conductor

Director - Christine Mielitz
Stage-design - Christian Floeren

Costume-design - Christian Floeren

Siberian tiger and Anja Harteros (September 17, 2013)

2013-09-17 Otello (Verdi), Wiener Staatsoper
Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Dan Ettinger, conductor



The Siberian tiger, that was too easy. Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone from Sibiria.

With the words Otello and Argentinian that was José Cura, tenor from Argentina. But why did I say mountain lion. Well, I really wanted to say lion but they do not live in Argentina, mountain lions do.  Anyway Otello is called the lion of Venice and onstage José Cura was often on four legs like a powerful predator.

Anja Harteros is Anja Harteros, the German soprano.

News!! I now saw that sometimes the chorus was in black and red. The red on the black as red as blood. Other news sometimes the video showed clouds and not the raging sea, some times one could see something else and sometimes it was just black as nothing.

It really did not make much sense and it was boring. Boring color changes. The singing was glorious. Everybody deserved a much better production.  BIG NEWS! José Cura was well and in good humour. The nicest tenor ever!!

OD Travel & Photos
Original blog post

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com If you want to see more photos from my OperaDuets Travels, go to www.operaduetsphotos.com

September 14, 2013: Otello in Vienna

2013-09-14 Otello (Verdi), Wiener Staatsoper

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Emilia = Monika Bohinec
Cassio = Marian Talaba
Rodrigo = Jinxu Xiahou
Lodovico = Alexandru Moisiu
Montano = Mihail Dogotari
Ein Herald =

Dan Ettinger, conductor

Director - Christine Mielitz
Stage-design - Christian Floeren

Costume-design - Christian Floeren

2013-09-14 OTELLO (Verdi), Wiener Staatsoper
Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Dmitry Hvorostvsky

Conductor Dan Ettinger

When the opera started I thought the production would be about Martians and Otello coming home in an UFO. But no, this production was about colours. The light had a busy evening, going from all different colours. The coloring seemed to follow the score and the feelings. A wall of video of waters, the sea frothing in colors matching the partiture of Verdi (I guess). Other than that it was Desdemona dressed in white, angelic and pure (you know), the powerful ones in black and white except Jago, he is evil (you know). The people in black but red hands, and Nothing Explains That.

It was a very static production. The good news is: I did not fall asleep and José Cura was wonderful even though the production was eh, and he had severe back pain. Cura, the hero, fought to bring some real passion here. He even used the pain he was in physically to make his Otello really come through. A true warrior. Anja Harteros voice may not be perfect for poor, innocent Desdemona. But she is really the Soprano at the moment, wonderful in her Verdi roles. Hvorostovsky became better all through the evening, but I realised that I love deeper voices as Jago, like Ruggero Raimondi etc.


Poor Cura! After the opera he had to meet his fans at the stage door. Inside it was hot from all those fans. Outside it was rather chilly. He loved the conductor, Dan Ettinger. As a conductor himself he should know, and after so many Otellos, he knows.

OD Travel & Photos
Original blog post

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com If you want to see more photos from my OperaDuets Travels, go to www.operaduetsphotos.com

June 26, 2002: Carmen in Vienna

2002-06-26 Carmen (G. Bizet), Wiener Staatsoper

Carmen = Agnes Baltsa
Don José = Richard Leech
Escamillo = Egils Silins
Micaëla = Anja Harteros
Frasquita = Simina Ivan
Mercedes = Stella Grigorian
Zuniga = Goran Simic
Morales = Yu Chen
Remendado = Walter Pauritsch
Dancairo = Markus Nieminen
Lillas Pastia = Csaba Markovits

Jun Märkl, conductor



WIener Staatsoper
mittwoch, 26. juni 2002
107. Aufführung in dieser Inszenierung

Carmen
Oper in vier Akten (nach Prosper Mérimée) von H. Meilhac und L. Halévy
Musik von Georges Bizet

Dirigent Jun Märkl
Inszenierung und
Bühnenbild Franco Zeffirelli
KostümeLeo Bei
Choreographie Rafael de Cordova
Chorleitung Ernst Dunshirn
,

Tänze Rita Kommentisch
Rudolf Wächter
Christoph Wenzel
und das Corps de ballet
(A) Stipendiat des Herbert von Karajan Centrums

This time I will never forget the great duet at the end of the opera.
Carmen on June 26th, was the most memorable erlebnis than June 23rd.

No fault this time for the trumpeter in act 1. Agnes Baltsa seemed to be in a special mood. She did many thing she didn't do June 23rd. She was special. Unfortunately was the Escamillo Egils Silins not a better Escamillo today. Anja Harteros was still happily applauded with shouts of Bravo. Richard Leech and Agnes Baltsa seemed get better together. The duet "C'est toi!" was incredible. And it was murder on the stage, really shocking, believable. Simina Ivan and Stella Grigorian must be the best Frasquita/Mercedes I have ever seen.

Then the opera was over. I had my camera, with my small flash. But there were "big guns" there, flashed the lit out the almost the whole floor. Many flashes. AGNES BALTSA is GREEK, the diva reacts with fire, some threatening gestures to the parts of the audience, which she think is guilty. I felt myself being struck by lightening, even though my small camera, is just a little baby. Short small flash. Then AGNES BALTSA knows what to do, she must remember the most of the audience is innocent, and so she smiles and raises her arms in a gesture of thank-you.

I definitely do not dare to try to take a picture of Agnes Baltsa as she leaves the operahouse. Besides I don't have the time. I have trains to catch, I am going back to Scandinavia, and on June 28th I will see José Cura in Dalhalla, Sweden.

OD Travel + Photos

June 23, 2002: Carmen in Vienna

2002-06-23 Carmen (G. Bizet), Wiener Staatsoper

Carmen = Agnes Baltsa
Don José = Richard Leech
Escamillo = Egils Silins
Micaëla = Anja Harteros
Frasquita = Simina Ivan
Mercedes = Stella Grigorian
Zuniga = Goran Simic
Morales = Yu Chen
Remendado = Walter Pauritsch
Dancairo = Markus Nieminen
Lillas Pastia = Csaba Markovits

Jun Märkl, conductor



Wiener Staatsoper
sonntag, 23. juni 2002
106. Aufführung in dieser Inszenierung

Carmen
Oper in vier Akten (nach Prosper Mérimée) von H. Meilhac und L. Halévy
Musik von Georges Bizet

Dirigent Jun Märkl
Inszenierung und
Bühnenbild Franco Zeffirelli
KostümeLeo Bei
Choreographie Rafael de Cordova
Chorleitung Ernst Dunshirn
-

Tänze Rita Kommentisch
Rudolf Wächter
Christoph Wenzel
und das Corps de ballet
" Stipendiat des Herbert von Karajan Centrums

Carmen in Wiener Staatsoper, not a Premiere as in Zürich, but the 109th performance of Franco Zeffirelli's wonderful Carmen.

The sets was wonderful, the costumes too. Agnes Baltsa got better and better in the performance, Richard Leech was a wonderful Don Jose, Anja Hartelos was wonderful as Micaela. Frasquita and Mercedes was wonderfully portrayed by Simina Ivan and Stella Grigorian. I didn't like Escamillo, Egils Silins, but he was good. Needless to say I loved it.

OD Travel + Photos

May 30, 2010: Otello in Berlin

2010-05-30 Otello (Verdi), Deutsche Oper Berlin

Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Zeljko Lucic
Emilia = Liane Keegan
Cassio = Yosep Kang
Rodrigo = Gregory Warren
Lodovico = Hyung-Wook Lee
Montano = Jörn Schümann
Ein Herald = Lucas Harbour

Patrick Summers, conductor

Premiere
Sonntag, 30.05.2010, 18:00 Uhr
Dauer: ca. 3 Stunden | Eine Pause

D-Preise: 36,- | 62,- | 87,- | 120,- Ticket online kaufen
[zuzüglich EUR 2,- Service-Gebühr]

Giuseppe Verdi
Otello
Dramma lirico in vier Akten
Libretto von Arrigo Boito nach Shakespeares Tragödie OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE
Uraufführung am 5.Februar 1887 in Mailand
Premiere an der Deutschen Oper Berlin am 30. Mai 2010

In italienischer Sprache mit deutschen Übertiteln


Conductor
Patrick Summers

Director
Andreas Kriegenburg

Stage-design
Harald Thor

Costume-design
Andrea Schraad

Dramaturge
Katharina John

Choir Conductor
William Spaulding

Children's Choir
Dagmar Fiebach

Artistic-production-manager
Christian Baier





Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin


Kinderchor der Deutschen Oper Berlin


Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

It is all happening in a refugee camp. For those who loved this Otello, this is genius. For other people it is just a big question mark, why? Because it doesn't make sense. It does not do anything for the story. The refugees are interned in a camp. There is little to do except to watch and hope for some money and something to eat. To care about the African refugees that are in those refugee camps in Europe is a worthy cause, to use them are a mere backdrop for an opera is not.

There are nothing here to give you empathy for the refugees. They are simply the chorus, a mass of people. A heavily pregnant woman, children who are starting drinking alcohol and with drugs. Children who see too much. The children have to eat from the garbage brought in from the outside. The children are there so that Jago has his audience for his Credo. These children are not scared of hell, they are there. They are not scared of emptiness because that is all they have. The children can be played to be hide Otello when needed. They only cost a few coins and then you are a wall to hide behind because in this refugee camp nobody notices the children unless they need them.

But why care? It even starts with de-sensitive us. Before the music starts, the curtain goes up and the chorus just stands there, and then some of them put on black masks on their faces. Oh yes, this means that we should understand, what really? That we are all Otello? Or should it mean that there are Africans in this refugee camp. Or is that when those who loved this Otello understood that it happens in a refugee camp. Because for me it just told me that it is all a fake. Especially the Regie. It does not think or feel but most importantly it does not make the audience feel. Intellectually understanding the idea behind the Regie is one thing (and I found that hard) but Opera is Feelings not an University Degree.

And the there was the dancing in the background. But Otello is an Opera not a Ballet. It was not the worst idea but it was more distracting than giving anything to the audience. The people behind this Otello did not trust the audience to feel the pain of Otello and Desdemona. They even thought we needed children surrounding Desdemona in the scene Nel livido fango to understand how innocent this Desdemona is. No, Verdi and Boito have already made us aware. We are not stupid.

In the end there was a lot of Buh's and some Bravo's for the people behind this production. For the singers it was BRAVO's all the time. So much so that those who wanted to Buh the production team all the time did not do so much when the singers was there.

In the critic I have the read there seem to be a trend if they loved the Regie they did not like the conductor and vice versa. The singers were all wonderful, loved the sound of the chorus, and orchestra. I think Patrick Summers did well. The Children chorus was good.

Yosep Kang was wonderful as Cassio. Anja Harteros was the best Desdemona I have seen. José Cura was superb as Otello. Zeljko Lucic was Jago, good singer and actor. Liane Keegan has a great voice that soars. She not only has a big voice but a big body too but luckily here she was simply Emilia, Jago's wife and Desdemona's friend and not a caricature of a big woman.

BRAVA, Anja Harteros
BRAVA, Liane Keegan

BRAVO, José Cura

Blog post: Premiere of OTELLO in Berlin May 30, 2010


OD Travel + Photos


For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com If you want to see more photos from my OperaDuets Travels, go to www.operaduetsphotos.com