December 27, 2014: Luisa Miller in Zurich

2014-12-27 Luisa Miller (G. Verdi), Opernhaus Zurich

Graf von Walter = Vitalij Kowaljow

Rodolfo = Ivan Magri

Federica = Judith Schmid

Wurm = Wenwei Zhang

Miller = Leo Nucci

Luisa Miller = Elena Mosuc

Laura = Hamida Kristoffersen

Carlo Rizzi, conductor

Philharmonia Zürich

Chor der Oper Zürich​ 

Musikalische Leitung - Carlo Rizzi

Inszenierung - Damiano Michieletto

Bühnenbild - Paolo Fantin

Kostüme - Carla Teti

Lichtgestaltung - Hans-Rudolf Kunz

Choreinstudierung - Jürg Hämmerli

Carlo Rizzi conducted. He had now more gray hair but as most vigor as before. Last time, and first time I saw this opera was in 2000 (March 4th) also in Zurich and with the same soprano as Luisa Miller. Elena Mosuc was great as Luisa, even better than in 2000, and she was great in 2000 also. Ivan Magri was a just as wonderful as Rodolfo just like Elena Mosuc as Luisa. Such beautiful voices and acting beautifully too. Leo Nucci was a powerful Miller. The most surprisingly beautiful voice was the voice of Vitalij Kowaljow. Conte di Walter was just so pleasing dressed in beautiful white cloths and such a beautiful voice one could almost forget that he is one of the villains. Judith Schmid was Frederica and she was all and more that one could wish for as Frederica. 

The use of revolving stage was overused and the chorus was treated more like props. And then we had Wurm sung beautifully by Wenwei Zhang. Maybe I should call him Wormtongue. A villain is Wurm there is now doubt that it is true. So the director makes him look and act as a villain in all times. There is now need to make him move his neek and head in strange ways just to make him villainous the director should have been much more subtle. Other than the overuse of revolving stage, using chorus as props and setting Wurm up as just villainous it was a wonderful production of Luisa Miller.

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December 27, 2011: Macbeth in Oslo, Norway

2011-12-27 Macbeth (Verdi), Den Norske Opera & Ballet (Oslo)

Macbeth = Claudio Sgura
Lady Macbeth = Itziar Martinez Galdos
Banquo = Magne Fremmerlid
Macduff = Daniel Johansson
Malcolm = Brenden Gunnell
Kammerdame = Christel Elisabeth Smith
Lege = Jens-Erik Aasbø
Macbeths tjener = Natanael Vasile Uifalean
En morder = Østein Skre
Duncan = Roald Nygård
Fleance, Banquos sønn = Sondre Paalgaard

John Helmer Fiore, conductor
Den Norske Opera & Ballet

Director - Stein Winge
Scenography and costumes - Tine Schwab
Lighting design - Frank Evin

The director was Stein Winge with scenography and costumes by Tine Schwab. This production of Macbeth by Verdi was neither a scandal nor a dramatic tragedy. Neither, a sad word. It was good but not great. It was a production that managed the scenes with the witches well but did not manage to make us (or at least me) care about the characters.


The magnificent bass Magne Fremmerlid was Banquo and did a superb job. The young Italian baritone Claudio Sgura was Macbeth. The singing of Sgura was great, his acting too, but he was not given a big palette to draw from. Stein Winge's idea made Macbeth from first note a flawed and weak man, and so he was from beginning to end. Lady Macbeth was sung by Itziar M. Galdos, who started weak but ended with a breathtaking sleepwalking scene. Brava!! But in the first aria of Lady Macbeth Stein Winge made her go from one side of the stage to the other aimlessly, so against the music and the words, not wonder Itziar M. Galdos even sounded unfocused. Luckily from the first aria she was simply better and better. The whole house should have stood up and cheered after the sleep walking scene but then Claudio Sgura was onstage and it was in so many ways Claudio's show. Daniel Johansson was Macduff and his rendition of Macduff's aria was one the best I have ever heard.

What is the problem with Macbeth, the opera of Verdi? Usually one talks of the supernational elements, the witches, and that Verdi was not his best in this elements. But in this production those scenes worked well. Some critics disliked the fact that it was just women in anoraks, but I disliked the laughter of the witches. The main thing was that it worked. The way Stein Winge incorporated the witches and some symbolic in the rest of the opera was exciting. He made us think that some of the women (all) of the royal court was also witches.

The King Duncan is no virtuos man if one is going by the way he imposes himself on the Lady Macbeth and jovially "Macbetto!!"  to Macbeth and gives Macbeth a medaille. As all goes to the party, Macbeth remains alone. Why? Because in this production Macbeth is essentially a loner? Or just because the opera has to go on. Macbeth has many of these loner moments, or just laying down passively, or fainting. Who can care for this man? Does the Lady? Is she really the strong one of the two? Who is Lady Macbeth and what is her motivation? The portraits of Macbeth and his Lady are just skin deep, so the opera is boring but the music is glorious. The scene from Macduff comes to wake up the King, the murder and procession of the dead body of Duncan is just glorious. A highlight.

It is sad to see so many opera dirctor is doing the same thing, in Macbeth a refugee choir with their photos of loved ones. I started to think about copyright, whose photos and was permission given to use these photos in this way. Frankly I found it disrespectful. And was there even a need to use photos, no, I think we would have understood the plight of refugees without it.

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