To Boo Or Not To Boo

NY Times critic Anthony Tommasini calls the Met’s new “Don Giovanni” “a production with no compelling point of view” adding that it “almost makes you yearn for those new stagings where the creative team is booed on opening night”. Director Michael Grandage apparently received respectful but unenthusiastic ovations for his traditional staging that was without stirring ideas. (In that it joins the club of boredom with Vienna’s “Don Giovanni” production that premiered last season.)


Maybe Tommasini should consider visiting the Wiener Staatsoper sometime where a week ago Jean-François Sivadier and his creative team were booed without restraint for their new production of “La Traviata”. After 3 hours of a minimalist staging (a few chairs and pillows, small backdrops showing meadows or sky, the words “Violetta” and “Traviata” scribbled on the wall - a helpful reminder for the audience of what performance they were seeing) it became quiet in the house before Sivadier’s curtain call while the audience gathered momentum for the loudest booing the Staatsoper has heard since, I believe, the catastrophe that was the new production for “Macbeth” two years ago. Despite a large number of traditionalists that would have loved to continue seeing Otto Schenk’s staging for another 40 years, there were many that were looking forward to Sivadier’s new ideas…and they were majorly disappointed.

 © diepresse.com

General Manager Dominique Meyer felt compelled to comfort his fellow Frenchman Sivadier by saying, “It’s not so bad!” and, “It’s not a sin to show something new. This is a strong production and it will survive.” Will it survive? Once the wonderful Natalie Dessay and her acting skills leave the Staatsoper after six performances all that will be left of this production are the chairs, pillows and backdrops. I am afraid that my prediction stated earlier in this place will come true: An era of Traviata concert versions awaits the Viennese audience.

A Fragile New Traviata

"I like this production a lot because it is very theatrical and also very fragile. Because if not everyone acts with a lot of energy and concentration everything disappears. There is hardly any decoration, the stage is almost naked, a few chairs, that's it. Everything depends on us," says Natalie Dessay about Vienna's new staging of "La Traviata" in an interview with DER STANDARD. "Often singers are just singers. Fortunately, not always. But only if they are also actors opera can be truly great."

After the dress rehearsal of this new production of "La Traviata" at the Wiener Staatsoper two things can be said: 1. This production does work well thanks to Natalie Dessay's wonderful acting. 2. With "singers that are only singers" and without long rehearsal periods we might as well do a Traviata concert version after this premiere run.


Jen-François Sivadier's "La Traviata" premieres Sunday, October 9.

Conductor Lottery

Fabio Luisi hurried to the Met's rescue after James Levine's accident where he now resides as principal conductor. This has left the Vienna Symphonics more or less without such. (Officially Luisi is keeping this position until 2012/13. One doesn't envy him for this commute.) Was it Luisi's new calling that gave momentum to the search for a new face to hand the baton over to? Be that as it may, this week the Symphonics announced that their new face will be 36-year-old Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan. He will start this job with the season 2014/15 which leaves the Symphonics without a music director for a year. He will also remain principal conductor of the Opéra National de Paris. A comparably tolerable commute, one may add.

 © www.philippe-jordan.com

Nafornita Makes Her Vienna House Debut

As previously discussed the Wiener Staatsoper so far has been very successful at hiding Cardiff Singer of the World 2011, Valentina Nafornita, who joined the ensemble at the beginning of the new season. I am happy to announce that she will be making her house debut as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, at last. Of course the house has failed to announce this on its deficient website where a minor role like Papagena does not show up in the cast list.

Cardiff Singer of the World In The House!

It is a sign that the Wiener Staatsoper lacks a sense of PR when the 2011 Cardiff Singer of the World joins the house's ensemble and it is not adequately communicated to the public.
Soprano Valentina Nafornita from Moldova won this year's Cardiff competition at the age of only 24 with these renditions of Korngold and Gounod, among others:

One would think that the addition of this striking young talent to the Staatsoper's ensemble would be worth a press release, a mention on the website's cover page or anything of the like but, alas, this apparently was only worth an empty page. So far she is not officially scheduled to appear in any performances which is also a pity. If the arrival of Nafornita at this venerable house was communicated appropriately, enough people would rush to the Staatsoper to find out what the fuss was all about. Not to mention the positive momentum of the international attention directed at Nafornita after winning such a prestigious prize.

But this is just an amateur's opinion who found out about these delightful news by happenstance...

Vienna's New Violetta

The Vienna State Opera is getting ready for their first premiere of the season. After approximately 300 performances of the perhaps a little dusty but still functioning production of "La Traviata" by director Otto Schenk they're throwing out the chaiselongue and bringing in an all new, (almost) all French and all modern production by Jean-François Sivadier as seen earlier this year at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.

© http://www.festival-aix.com

One may argue that vocally this might not be the best fit for Natalie Dessay but everyone who has seen this woman act before must simply be looking forward to being introduced to her Violetta.


One may also argue that a modern production that has obviously been created around the energetic and creative person of Dessay, the actress-singer, might not work as well with park-and-bark-approaches by other singers who will take on this role in the future. It is also to be seen how the production will do without long rehearsal periods where - as experienced in the past with long standing productions at this house - little details are lost and the functionality of a production is proved...or not.

On October 9th we will try to imagine how this new Traviata production might last for another 300 shows.

© http://www.festival-aix.com

99 Autographs of Rolando on the Wall, Or: How to Approach an Artist

I like to go to the stage door after a performance - not to get autographs or take pictures of the artists but to watch the goings-on and indulge in the performance after the performance. Some opera fans have always puzzled me: Academics who camp out at ticket offices to get tickets for the most wanted performances. Filthy rich people who pay $$$ for front row seats just to play games on their smart phones while Domingo is singing. Elderly ladies using their elbows to push other elderly ladies aside only to get a peek of Grigolo. Seemingly sophisticated people who travel far just to be able to say, “The performance was as dreadful as I had expected.” People you see at the opera about 5 times a week whose biggest aim in life is to get the 99th autograph (and after that the 100th, 101st, 102nd…) of Villazón but who know nothing about the art of singing, the history of the artform or even what opera it was they did see that very night. It is especially this obsession with autographs that I will never understand, hence the question I would like to pose today:


What do people do with 99 autographs of one single artist?


I have always pictured their homes wallpapered with these autographs. Is that for real? I understand the concept of using autographs as an excuse to be close to the artist you admire. After a while the artist will remember your face, though. At least when you get your 99th autograph they will know you. And yes, they will probably ask the same question: What the heck do you do with my autographs?!


Have people ever considered a different form of approaching an artist? Call me crazy but I suggest to simply talk to them instead. If you found their performance particularly marvelous tell them how much you liked it, what you liked about it. If you’re genuinely interested in the artist’s career, in that particular production, the evening’s performance you should be able to come up with some clever question. If you ask in a respectful way they will gladly answer your questions. And when they do, say ‘thank you’ and don’t forget to greet them in a polite manner before you leave. In short: Use common sense!


If you can’t come up with anything to talk to them about show a little respect for the person who just got off work and freakin’ leave them alone! ABSOLUTE NO-GO: Getting 20 pictures signed at once! You’re never gonna get rich selling those autographs on eBay.


I don’t want to be a hypocrite about this, I’ve only seen so much go wrong in the artist-fan-interaction when respect is the simple key for every human interaction!