Scottish Opera / NOS, 25/02/2018
From Russia with Love
Rimsky-Korsakov - Tchaikovsky - Stravinsky - Walton - Mussorgsky
National Opera Studio
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Stuart Stratford
These Sunday afternoon concerts from Scottish Opera are usually performed with the orchestra up on the stage, and the soloists in front of it. It was therefore a surprise, arriving in the theatre today, to find the orchestra in its usual position, in the pit, and the stage curtained as normal before a performance. It was a pleasant surprise to find that this concert of (mainly) Russian operatic excerpts was not just going to be a "stand and sing" affair, but semi-staged scenes, using the set of Flight (see the last entry), and direction by Max Hoehn who also staged The Fiery Angel last December.
The National Opera Studio, founded in 1977 and supported by the UK's six principal opera companies, offers around a dozen places each year for singers fresh from music college, but not yet full-time professionals. The young singers usually get some sort of residency with one or other of the opera companies during the nine-month course, and perform concerts of opera scenes in London. This is, I think, the first time one such concert has come to Glasgow, and the programme was designed to fit in with Scottish Opera's Sunday season of Russian opera.
They began with the opening of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel, the orchestral Introduction and the Astrologer's presentation of the Cockerel, then followed up by the Hymn to the Sun from Act 2. As the lights went up on the set, we got the first laugh of the afternoon, for King Dodon - lazy, foolish and autocratic, as per the supertitles's description - was represented by a large head of Donald Trump, with a Romanov beard and moustache. Unfortunately, the Astrologer, Feargal Mostyn-Williams, was quite unsuited to the role. Mostyn-Williams is a counter-tenor, and I dare say there was some racking of brains to find a role for him in this Russian opera context - it's not a common voice in Russian music, at least not before the 20th Century, and the only examples I could think of demanded forces unavailable for this concert. However, the Astrologer is most definitely not written for a counter-tenor, and the best approximation in Western Europe for the required voice is the French haute contre. Mostyn-Williams's soft-grained timbre was too delicate for this crystal-sharp music. Carly Owen fared rather better as the Queen of Shemakha, sounding easy in the high register.
Skipping over the aria from Rimsky-Korsakov's Kashchey the Immortal, which was unimpressive on all counts, we came to a short scene from Tchaikovsky's comedy Tcherevichki, with a nice performance from Bechara Moufarrej as Vakula, ardent admirer of village beauty Oxana, though not blind to her defects. At the very climax of his Act 1 arioso, he was a little swamped by the orchestra, but otherwise quite appealing. The first half of the concert ended with a selection from Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, the opening scene of Act 1, Anne's scene concluding that same act, and the opening of Act 2. Lorena Paz Nieto was a fine Anne, with a fresh, sweet tone and a good, ringing top C to conclude her cabaletta, while Andrew Henley sang well enough, and was dramatically convincing as Tom, but I'd have liked a bit more steel in his tone, it was a little flaccid in quality.
Up to this point, the concert had been pleasantly entertaining, but not especially noteworthy. However, right from the start of the second half, everything kicked up a gear or two, beginning with an extract from William Walton's The Bear. It was maybe stretching a point a trifle to include this, but having had The Rake's Progress - which, though undeniably by a Russian composer, is sung in English - the precedent was there, and Walton's one-act farce is based on Chekhov. Sinéad O'Kelly amused herself and us by delivering Popova's sardonic lament for her deceased husband in a mock-Russian accent and a fruity mezzo-soprano, while Hoehn made witty use of the "Me Too" hashtag in the staging.
Next came a substantial scene from Mussorgsky's sprawling historical fresco, Khovanshchina, the first half of the third act. It can be difficult to make a selection from Khovanshchina, as the chorus plays a vital role and is frequently present, but this worked very nicely, beginning with Marfa's romance, progressing to the confrontation with Susanna, then Dosifei's intervention, and concluding with Shaklovity's earnest prayer. This was the key piece of this concert, the longest continuous extract and the best performed on all levels. The orchestra, already sounding crisper and more colourful during the Walton, really came forward now, full of Mussorgsky's subtle touches. Polly Leech was Marfa, her mezzo warm and creamy. Carly Owen was a sharp, but never shrill, Susanna, while Emyr Wyn Jones was a steady, strong-toned Dosifei. Edmund Danon presented Shaklovity's scene as a party political speech - it's more of a private meditation, in context, but this worked well enough - with earnest conviction.
O'Kelly returned, again excellent, to sing Marina Mnishek, from Boris Godunov, as the bored socialite with dreams of grandeur. It would have been nice if the scene could have been extended into the encounter with Rangoni (which Danon could have taken on) but it was probably too awkward to round off satisfactorily without the presence of a chorus. Finally, the whole second scene of Act 2 of Eugene Onegin, the duel scene, with Lensky's great aria. Satriya Krisna was Lensky, with some work still to do on the nuances of expression, and a little on his legato, but otherwise quite satisfactory, and Danon returned as Onegin, good in the brief duet, although again, those reiterated "Nyet" at the end could have done with more varied inflection. Jones was a bluff, stolid Zaretsky. Onegin will be closing the main-stage season for Scottish Opera in May, which means that the orchestra has probably already started on rehearsals; at any rate, they were playing particularly well here (aside from one instant of slightly queasy tuning from the double basses) with lovely, liquid sounds from clarinet and oboe especially.
These young artists are the next generation of principals in our opera houses, and there's certainly plenty of promise. On the basis of this, Moufarrej, O'Kelly, Leech and Jones should start making a mark very soon, the others maybe a little later on, when they've refined their interpretations. The National Opera Studio has long since proved its worth - its list of celebrated alumni is truly impressive - and I hope we can see more of their work in years to come.
[Next : 8th March]
Rimsky-Korsakov - Tchaikovsky - Stravinsky - Walton - Mussorgsky
National Opera Studio
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Stuart Stratford
These Sunday afternoon concerts from Scottish Opera are usually performed with the orchestra up on the stage, and the soloists in front of it. It was therefore a surprise, arriving in the theatre today, to find the orchestra in its usual position, in the pit, and the stage curtained as normal before a performance. It was a pleasant surprise to find that this concert of (mainly) Russian operatic excerpts was not just going to be a "stand and sing" affair, but semi-staged scenes, using the set of Flight (see the last entry), and direction by Max Hoehn who also staged The Fiery Angel last December.
The National Opera Studio, founded in 1977 and supported by the UK's six principal opera companies, offers around a dozen places each year for singers fresh from music college, but not yet full-time professionals. The young singers usually get some sort of residency with one or other of the opera companies during the nine-month course, and perform concerts of opera scenes in London. This is, I think, the first time one such concert has come to Glasgow, and the programme was designed to fit in with Scottish Opera's Sunday season of Russian opera.
They began with the opening of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel, the orchestral Introduction and the Astrologer's presentation of the Cockerel, then followed up by the Hymn to the Sun from Act 2. As the lights went up on the set, we got the first laugh of the afternoon, for King Dodon - lazy, foolish and autocratic, as per the supertitles's description - was represented by a large head of Donald Trump, with a Romanov beard and moustache. Unfortunately, the Astrologer, Feargal Mostyn-Williams, was quite unsuited to the role. Mostyn-Williams is a counter-tenor, and I dare say there was some racking of brains to find a role for him in this Russian opera context - it's not a common voice in Russian music, at least not before the 20th Century, and the only examples I could think of demanded forces unavailable for this concert. However, the Astrologer is most definitely not written for a counter-tenor, and the best approximation in Western Europe for the required voice is the French haute contre. Mostyn-Williams's soft-grained timbre was too delicate for this crystal-sharp music. Carly Owen fared rather better as the Queen of Shemakha, sounding easy in the high register.
Skipping over the aria from Rimsky-Korsakov's Kashchey the Immortal, which was unimpressive on all counts, we came to a short scene from Tchaikovsky's comedy Tcherevichki, with a nice performance from Bechara Moufarrej as Vakula, ardent admirer of village beauty Oxana, though not blind to her defects. At the very climax of his Act 1 arioso, he was a little swamped by the orchestra, but otherwise quite appealing. The first half of the concert ended with a selection from Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, the opening scene of Act 1, Anne's scene concluding that same act, and the opening of Act 2. Lorena Paz Nieto was a fine Anne, with a fresh, sweet tone and a good, ringing top C to conclude her cabaletta, while Andrew Henley sang well enough, and was dramatically convincing as Tom, but I'd have liked a bit more steel in his tone, it was a little flaccid in quality.
Up to this point, the concert had been pleasantly entertaining, but not especially noteworthy. However, right from the start of the second half, everything kicked up a gear or two, beginning with an extract from William Walton's The Bear. It was maybe stretching a point a trifle to include this, but having had The Rake's Progress - which, though undeniably by a Russian composer, is sung in English - the precedent was there, and Walton's one-act farce is based on Chekhov. Sinéad O'Kelly amused herself and us by delivering Popova's sardonic lament for her deceased husband in a mock-Russian accent and a fruity mezzo-soprano, while Hoehn made witty use of the "Me Too" hashtag in the staging.
Next came a substantial scene from Mussorgsky's sprawling historical fresco, Khovanshchina, the first half of the third act. It can be difficult to make a selection from Khovanshchina, as the chorus plays a vital role and is frequently present, but this worked very nicely, beginning with Marfa's romance, progressing to the confrontation with Susanna, then Dosifei's intervention, and concluding with Shaklovity's earnest prayer. This was the key piece of this concert, the longest continuous extract and the best performed on all levels. The orchestra, already sounding crisper and more colourful during the Walton, really came forward now, full of Mussorgsky's subtle touches. Polly Leech was Marfa, her mezzo warm and creamy. Carly Owen was a sharp, but never shrill, Susanna, while Emyr Wyn Jones was a steady, strong-toned Dosifei. Edmund Danon presented Shaklovity's scene as a party political speech - it's more of a private meditation, in context, but this worked well enough - with earnest conviction.
O'Kelly returned, again excellent, to sing Marina Mnishek, from Boris Godunov, as the bored socialite with dreams of grandeur. It would have been nice if the scene could have been extended into the encounter with Rangoni (which Danon could have taken on) but it was probably too awkward to round off satisfactorily without the presence of a chorus. Finally, the whole second scene of Act 2 of Eugene Onegin, the duel scene, with Lensky's great aria. Satriya Krisna was Lensky, with some work still to do on the nuances of expression, and a little on his legato, but otherwise quite satisfactory, and Danon returned as Onegin, good in the brief duet, although again, those reiterated "Nyet" at the end could have done with more varied inflection. Jones was a bluff, stolid Zaretsky. Onegin will be closing the main-stage season for Scottish Opera in May, which means that the orchestra has probably already started on rehearsals; at any rate, they were playing particularly well here (aside from one instant of slightly queasy tuning from the double basses) with lovely, liquid sounds from clarinet and oboe especially.
These young artists are the next generation of principals in our opera houses, and there's certainly plenty of promise. On the basis of this, Moufarrej, O'Kelly, Leech and Jones should start making a mark very soon, the others maybe a little later on, when they've refined their interpretations. The National Opera Studio has long since proved its worth - its list of celebrated alumni is truly impressive - and I hope we can see more of their work in years to come.
[Next : 8th March]