February 13, 2004: Andrea Chenier in Vienna

2004-02-13 Andrea Chenier (Giordano), Wiener Staatsoper

Andrea Chenier = José Cura
Maddalena di Coigny = Norma Fantini
Carlo Gérard = Renato Bruson
Bersi = Elina Garanca
Gräfin di Coigny = Waltraud Winsauer
Madelon = Mihaela Ungureanu
Roucher = Boaz Daniel
Pietro Fléville = Hans Peter Kammerer
Fouquier Tinville = Goran Simic
Mathieu = Wolfgang Bankl
Abbé = Benedikt Kobel
Incroyable = Michael Roider
Hauhofmeister = Marcus Pelz
Dumas = Peter Köves
Schmidt = Johannes Wiedecke

Marcello Viotti, conductor
13. Februar 2004



ANDREA CHÉNIER
(82. Aufführung in dieser Inszenierung)

Dirigent: Marcello Viotti
nach einer Inszenierung von: Otto Schenk
Bühnenbild: Rolf Glittenberg
Kostüme: Milena Canonero
Choreinstudierung: Ernst Dunshirn



Beginn: 19.30


about Andrea Chenier


ANDREA CHENIER, Wiener Staatsoper 13.2.04.

Wonderful production of this most known opera by Umberto Giordano. But I must confess that I was not convinced this was José Cura's best performance as Andrea Chenier. Not that I regret coming to Vienna for this Andrea Chenier. It was interesting to see Renato Bruson as Carlo Gerard and Norma Fantini as Maddalena di Coigny.

But I found the overall impression was not convincing . But the house agreed on Boaz Daniel as Roucher was wonderful. In my opinion José Cura acted Andrea Chenier wonderfully, but sang less good. Pronunciation and timing was somewhat lacking. Renato Bruson was great as Carlo Gerard, but unluckily for me I find his voice a little too hard. Norma Fantini also great as Maddalena, but lacked some of the vocal weight that I heard she had when she sang Aida in Munich (2002). Margareta Hintermeier did not sing the role of the Countess (Maddalena's mother) and I wonder if not that would have made a difference, more weight and drama in this small role.

Madelons aria is always a highlight in the 2 act, but this time it could have easily been overlooked. It is usually quite emotional to listen to this aria. And when the judges came in the judgement scene I did not feel any weight and could not see who they were and neither did I feel the terror that the people feel when the terrible judges come. So act 3 was a little blass.

In the whole the crowd scene was not really good represented on the stage. Very few angry men did get into the gilded house during the party in act 1, the house guests outnumbered them. The crowds was really small and in this huge stage it almost looked stupid, it is afterall supposed to be Paris, a rather overcrowded city.

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January 13, 2007: Tosca in Zurich

2007-01-13 Tosca (G. Puccini), Opernhaus Zurich

Floria Tosca = Norma Fantini
Mario Cavaradossi = Marcelo Alvarez
Baron Scarpia = Ruggero Raimondi
Angelotti = Tomasz Slawinski
Mesner = Giuseppe Scorsin
Spoletta = Andreas Winkler
Sciarrone = Rolf Haunstein

Nello Santi, conductor




Tosca - Puccini
In italienischer Sprache


Deflo/Frigerio/Squarciapino/Hämmerli


Dirigent
Nello Santi


Inszenierung
Gilbert Deflo


Bühnenbild
Ezio Frigerio


Kostüme
Franca Squarciapino


Lichtgestaltung
Jürgen Hoffmann


Choreinstudierung
Jürg Hämmerli



PAUSE NACH DEM 1. AKT BEGINN: 19.30 UHR
ENDE:22.15 UHR


It was a wonderful opera evening. Ruggero Raimondi was a great Scarpia, Marcelo Alvarez was wonderful as Cavaradossi and so was Norma Fantini as Tosca.

The disappointment was the conductor Nello Santi who was almost killing the beautiful music, Tosca was mostly played painfully slow with sudden unreasoned faster parts. The Regie by Gilbert Deflo was not helping, as awkward moments in act 1. And deciding that Tosca would shoot herself rather that leaping from the Castello was really bad. Especially since both the shooting of Cavaradossi and later by Tosca was really too quiet. Not that one could not hear it but it didn't even hit our nerves. The scenography by Ezio Frigerio was probably one reason it was sometimes hard to hear the singers. The glass walls was just not reflecting the sound but it was giving reflects of the singers and the monitors which was a bit disturbing. And then there so not a huge or even big painting of Maria Magdalen, just some painters papers which really make the acting much more harder to do realistically.

After the opera, no Ruggero Raimondi in sight but delightful Marcelo Alvarez and the nicest soprano of all, Norma Fantini made the evening perfect. Marcelo Alvarez was most generous tenor meeting his fans and making everybody enjoy it deeply. And Norma Fantini was the warmest and nicest person you could meet. At the stage door a huge success for the fans. And I could go to the hotel with a big smile in my face. NORMA FANTINI, the power of nice!!!!


January 2007: Tosca in Zurich (2007-01-13)

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June 16, 2002: Aida in Munich

2002-06-16 Aida (G. Verdi), Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich)

Aida = Norma Fantini
Radames = Dennis O'Neill
Amneris = Nadja Michael
Ramfis = Carlo Colombara
Amonasro = Alexandru Agache
Re d'Egitto = Gerhard Auer
Un messagero = Francesco Petrozzi
Sacerdotessa = Annegeer Stumphius

Zubin Mehta, conductor



Bayerische Staatsoper
Staatsintendant Sir Peter Jonas
Generalmusikdirektor Zubin Mehta
Sonntag, 16 Juni 2002
5" Abonnement Serie 26
Aida
In italienischer Sprache mit deutschen Übertiteln
Oper in vier Akten
Libretto von Antonio Ghislanzoni
Musik von
Giuseppe Verdi
Musikalische Leitung" Zubin Mehta
Inszenierung David Pountney
Bühne" Robert Israel
Kostüme Dunya Ramicova
Choreographie' Nils Christe
Licht' Mimi Jordan Sherin
.Chöre" Udo Mehrpohl

Tänzer:
Aida'
Ein MannChristian lanole
Eine FrauValentina Divina
Amneris'
Zwei FrauenSaskia van Bosch, Chantal Gagnebin
Radames'
Zwei MännerVincent Loermans, Marc Mondelaers


Das Bayerische Staatsorchester
Der Chor und Extrachor der Bayerischen Staatsoper
Mitglieder des Bayerischen Staatsballetts (Ballettdirektor Ivan Liska)
Musikalische Assistenz' Massimiliano Murrali
Abendspielleitung: Markus Koch
Bühnenmusik: Gregor Raquet
Inspizienz' Nikolaus Ehlers, Holger Haase, Ruth Wieman
Souffleuse' Carmen Sylva Schileru
Lichtinspizienz' Hilde Harrer
Übertitel' Ingrid Zellner
Übertitel-lnspizienL Antonia Walther
Anfertigung der Bühnenausstattung und Kostüme in eigenen Werkstätten
@ G, Ricordi & Co" Mailand
Die Bayerische Staatsoper dankt Elfriede und Andreas Zäch und den Freunden des Nationaltheaters tür die großzügige Unterstützung der" Aida"-Produktion.
Nationaltheater München
Beginn 19.00 Uhr
Pause nach dem 2. Akt, ca. 30 Min. Ende ca. 22.10 Uhr


Zubin Mehta conducts. When the curtains go up, I see the scenography, and my heart sinks to the bottom, but Zubin is conducting, and the singers are excellent. They are all excellent. NADJA MICHAEL is a magnificent AMNERIS. What a great voice! Her slender body and big voice and a great actress too. NORMA FANTINI must be one of the best
AIDA's today, big voice. RAMFIS is also the best voice I have heard for long. Alexandru Agache is naturally a great baritone, but his pronunciation is not as clear as could have wished for. Dennis O´Neill is good as RADAMES, he looks like Pavarotti, but I still am not quite a fan of this Welsh tenor. Act 1 + 2 were together as one act, then 30 minutes pause, and then Act 3+4 together as one act. Luckily the
second half was much more to my liking as scenography. And wow, was there a great mezzo there in Nadja Michael, like in the duet with Radames in the fourth act, I have never heard it sung better. It was such a great performance, that even though it seem to ordinary to walk from the performance at minimum applause, people stayed on and
on. I was naturally one of the last to go.

Another 6 stars, the scenography gets only 3, 0 for act 1+2, 6 for act 3+4.

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