January 17, 2016: Otello in Wiesbaden

2016-01-17 Otello (Verdi), Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Otello = José Cura

Desdemona = Cristina Pasaroiu

Iago = Matias Tosi

Cassio = Aaron Cawley

Roderigo = Benedikt Nawrath

Lodovico = Young Doo Park

Emilia = Celeste Haworth

Montano = Nathaniel Webster

A Herald = Christian Balzer

Bianca = Rosa Alt

Leo McFall, conductor

Chor, Extrachor, Jugendchor & Statisterie des Hessischen Staatstheaters Wiesbaden, Hessisches Staatsorchester Wiesbaden

Director - Uwe Eric Laufenberg

Stage Designer - Gisbert Jäkel

Costume Designer - Jessica Karge

Lighting Designer - Andreas Frank

Chorus Master - Albert Horne

Dramaturgy - Regine Palma

Once again and it is Jose Cura as Otello. This time in Wiesbaden.

He was great and this time one could understand why Otello behave as he does because this time we have a Jago who you can see how other people could trust hime. He is a villain, no doubt about that and nothing good is in him.

A great cast. Amazing Otello, Desdemona and Jago. All the other roles was also well. And we have Bianca.

The person-regie was amazing, all the details was there. I really did not like all the sexing and alll that, men are are brutes, women are whores. So cheap to go that way.

So some love and some meh!

OD Travel & Photos
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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

May 26, 2016: La Forza del Destino in Wiesbaden

2016-05-26 La Forza del Destino (Verdi), Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Der Marchese von Calatrava, Pater Guardiano = Young Doo Park
Donna Leonora = Hui He
Don Carlos di Vargas = Carlos Alvarez
Don Alvaro = Richard Furman
Fra Melitone = Patrick Carfizzi
Curra, Preziosilla = Romina Boscolo
Mastro Trabuco = Benedikt Nawrath

Christoph Stiller, conductor
Chor, Extrachor & Statisterie des Hessischen Staatstheaters Wiesbaden, Hessisches Staatsorchester Wiesbaden

Inszenierung nach Immo Karaman
Spielleitung Magdalena Weingut
Bühne Timo Dentler
Kostüme Okarina Peter
Licht Andreas Frank
Choregrafie nach Fabian Poska
Chor Albert Horne
Dramaturgie Stephan Steinmetz

If only Jose Cura had been Don Alvaro... 

Now, we had second tenor Richard Furman as Don Alvaro. And that meant we had a weak link. Hui He was a strong, vibrant Leonora and with an equally excellent Don Carlo in Carlos Alvarez. The rest of the cast was also strong singers. Richard Furman acted well but his voice was sweeter and softer than the rest so his Don Alvaro was lost in this Forza del Destino.

I enjoyed very much this Fra Melitone, Patrick Carfizzi. Here was a strong singer and great actor and his role in this production was most believable. Unfortunately this production was bad, good and bad ideas were flouting around making little sense. Some scenes had some sense but in the end the whole structure was lacking. So: Production rubbish but Patrick Carfizzi as Fra Melitone was great. Fra Melitone was an idea that worked and often Fra Melitone is just stupid, here he made sense.

I guess that making the singer singing Marchese di Calatrava into Padre Superior was supposed to make an profound effect to the story and that was not really realized in the production. The same was true about making Curra = Preziosilla was a bit better but still in the end made no sense.

Putting La Forza del Destino in our times, or rather World War 2, was also damaging to the whole opera. Without Hui He and Carlos Alvarez or singers in that calible as Alvaro, Leonora and Carlo there is no need to put yourself into this production. The poignant end is no longer poignant!!!

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OperaDuets 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