Rarely have I been as excited to blog about a performance as I am about tonight's concert at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. Filmed for television, it starred two of opera's hottest stars, with support from a first-rate orchestra and conductor, all performing a no-nonsense program of French, Russian, and Italian opera, as well as Zarzuela.
Unfortunately, as I left the theater about three-quarters of an hour ago, my most salient memories of the concert were two moments that Anna Netrebko would, I'm sure, rather forget. In her opening number and in the third and final encore, she messed up. In Juliette's waltz, she cracked (at length) on the climactic high C, but recovered beautifully. Her error in the Brindisi from La Traviata was worse: during the duo and chorus parts after Alfredo's solo verse, she forgot the words and covered her face with both hands, letting out an embarrassed yelp. Villazon was most solicitous, taking a large bouquet from her hands and placing it on the podium, along with some book (wrapped in blue plastic) that he'd been holding. The audience started singing the melody on la in solidarity, and Netrebko clearly knew she would be OK. She returned with Tra voi and stayed to the end, finishing on the glorious top note. UPDATE: OK, so, when I blogged on this I forgot to mention that after putting their stuff down, Villazon proceeded most charmingly to dance with Netrebko!!! How could I fail to mention that!!?? It was adorable.
As I look over my program and reflect on my memories, these two incidents are so minor compared to the many moments of sheer magic. Aren't those moments exactly what we're here for? And, I have to say, I find Netrebko utterly charming. Yes, she is also astonishingly, stunningly, staggeringly beautiful. And Escada and Chopard should win some sort of prize for those shimmering gowns and dazzling jewels.
Most of the program hovered somewhere between the mishaps and the magic. I've already covered the mishaps. On to the rest.
Overall, Netrebko has a radiant sound. It's a large, beautiful voice with a fast vibrato and an even tone. I've seen her in three stage roles (Gilda, Adina, Elivra), but this was my first time seeing her in concert. She's a very good actress and commands a stage with ease. But the concert format seems to make her nervous, and it shows. Maybe she has commented on this somewhere. She was at her best when she got in character. Perhaps her most disappointing number was Rachmaninov's sublime Zdes' khorosko. It's a peaceful, softly rapturous song. As Netrebko sang, she seemed to be considerably uneasy. Looking tense, she exerted tremendous effort, and singing this piece seemed to be painful and difficult for her. The soft high note (Da ty/"and you") came after much anxious thought. Compare Renee Fleming performance of this song (a live recording might be on the Tony Palmer DVD). Fleming seems to sing the entire thing in one breath. Netrebko, ever the performer, mesmerized the audience during the orchestral postlude, softly extending her arms. She was a sight to behold, as the sea of strings gently lapped behind her.
The first half contained two duets. As Manon in the Act III, Scene 7 duet (St. Sulpice), Netrebko was seductress extraordinaire, and her embrace with Villazon at the scene's conclusion set the room ablaze. She cherished the vocal line with luxurious portamentos. But, yet again, I have to wheel Fleming back in. Fleming sang the part to perfection at the Met on April 8, 2006, in her final complete performance of the role. Musically and dramatically, Netrebko didn't come anywhere close to the subtlely and depth of Fleming's interpretation. As I have said, one could write a dissertation on Fleming's use of dynamics alone in that performance last season. Yes, they are two different singers. But given that they're singing the same repertoire at the same time, it makes sense to compare them.
The duet from Tchaikovsky's Iolantha, however, was rather impressive. I love hearing music that's new to me, and there was much of it on this program. Featuring a prominent use of two harps, the scene contains lush Romantic writing, culminating in triumphant ending.
What a thrill to hear Violetta's Act I scene! And to hear two high E-flats! And to hear Villazon sing Alfredo's part from offstage! This was neat. But, again. The phrases that start on high D-flat, Netrebko starts an octave lower and does a leap up to them. To my ears, that doesn't work as an ornament. After hearing Angela Gheorghiu sing this to perfection at the Met last weekend, in a complete, total performance, I had a hard time with Netrebko's interpretation. Yes, she sang the notes, and she conveyed Violetta's struggle. But she had to think way too much about it. Ditto the aria from La Wally.
The two duets in the second part went over very well. Again, Netrebko and Villazon sang in character. The final duet from Luisa Fernanda closed with a remarkable moment: as Javier reached his hand out to touch Luisa Fernanda, whose back was to him, she raised her right hand and shook it in pained disapproval. It's the only thing I remember from the duet, and I'll never forget it.
O soava fanciulla, which closed the concert, was probably the best thing on the program. They walked off stage for the final Amors. That was magic. My mouth is watering for Netrebko's Mimi.
You may have noticed that I haven't said much about Villazon. Well, [to be continued...]
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56 comments:
Your observation about Netrebko's discomfort in concerts and recitals isn't your imagination. I've noticed it and she's been fairly open about this in a couple of interviews I've read. She has stated that she feels too open and exposed. I think she needs to be in character to sing at her best. Her opera performances are always where she shines brightest.
Out of all the most famous operatic performers she does the fewest recitals/concerts and her concerts almost always have someone else with her. I believe in one of the interviews it mentioned how her recitals could be counted on the fingers of one hand. I've only heard of two.
Interestingly, I heard a radio interview where she spoke of maintaining emotional control during a performance because of the ease in which a singer can lose themselves in a peformance or start crying. She mentioned how this works for actors (crying) but for an opera singer it could be catastrophic. I think Netrebko has a real issue with the sort of naked emotional exposure that occurs in recitals and concerts.
Thanks for this info! How very interesting. At this point, I can't imagine Netrebko giving a solo recital with piano. But that's OK, because she's stunning in stage roles, and she's doing a lot of good stuff, with more to come...
May I ask, would you (and the audience) have been as forgiving of those errors had it been any other performer? It seems people are cutting Netrebko A LOT of slack with her mess ups and cracked notes. If this were Gheorghiu, Voigt, Fleming or Matilla, you know that everyone would have been at their throats. And these ladies, especially Gheorghiu have just as much stage presence and skill, probably even more so than Netrebko.
She is a professional opera singer, and she is not new to this world either. She's in her mid-thirties and has been performing since her twenties, you'd think she'd have learned how to give people a smooth performance, concert or otherwise.
I have nothing personal against her, I'm just saying, are people being overly forgiving to a singer who may not deserve it?
I wonder, would you be as forgiving of all of these vocal errors and mess ups if it had been any other soprano? Itseems to me that everyone is cutting Anna Netrebko A LOT of slack when it comes to her singing. However, if Gheorghiu, Fleming, Matilla, Dessay or Bartoli have an off night or forget their lyrics and cracking notes, I think that the critics and audiences alike would be at their throats. She is not a new performer, she's in her midthrities and has been well known since her twenties, so why are we going soft on her? Beauty and charisma can only gain you so much respect in this world, and what Netrebko lacks in vocal technique and vocal mastery in general is becoming startingly obvious.
Hi second anonymous, thanks for your comment. I'm not sure that Netrebko has made a habit of cracking on high notes or forgetting lines. This sort of thing will happen (very) occasionally and the audience needs to be sympathetic. Parterre has clips of several train wrecks (maybe Netrebko's will find their way on that site), and they are certainly anomalies. Fleming (in Denver) and Heppner (at the Met), most recently, have had mishaps during broadcast performances, but their performances were otherwise excellent. It happens to the best.
I agree that Netrebko giving a piano recital would be a miracle. She seems to need hiding behind a character.
On the topic of singers cracking notes, Pavarotti very famously cracked a note at La Scala. More recently, Villazon himself, at a recital in Los Angeles(Costa Mesa), cracked a note and still received good reviews. It's a fluke that happens once in a while.
In terms of forgetting lines, Placido Domingo has been known to do this. In Netrebko's case it sounds more like nerves. She's sung that dozens of times without a problem.
I guess what I'm asking is,
Why is she allowed to mess up so consistently?
Take Roberto Alagna's 1996 Met Opera debut. He cracked a note and everyone flipped out. "Oh we are so dissapointed!" "He held the highC for only two seconds!" etc, etc. So now, why do we tolerate the fact that Netrebko cracked, was musically unprepared, and didn't have the vocal technique to perform in a relaxed, easy manner?
Again, this is not an attack on Trebs personally. I would wonder the same for any performer, why is it okay for some to mess up (and from what it seems, she messed up a lot) while for others, we threaten to strip them of their title of Opera SInger?
I also forgot to mention that the second encore was a radiant "Tonight" from West Side Story.
Strange, the only review I have seen so far, in Le Figaro, did not mention these mishaps. Very unfavorable, though.
THE BATTLE FOR RUSALKA
WHO IS THE THE REAL RUSALKA -- ANNA NETREBKO OR RENEE FLEMING?
When Renee Fleming was asked in an inverview what aria she liked to sing most, she replied instantly:
‘The Song to the Moon, from Rusalka, is my signature piece.”
I don't think people in general understand to what lengths Ms Fleming has gone to sing this song as she does. Amongst other things, she has shamelessly broken all Dvorak's rules to do so. In the process, moreover, she has left all other Divas at an unutterable disadvantage.
I cannot conceive of a more apt comparison than that sung by the very polished Ms. Fleming and the coleen from Krasnodar, Ms Netrebko.
While both Divas, Russian and American, are utterly adorable I have to confess a weakness. I am incurably in love with Anna Netrebko’s girlish ways and Russian voice. Above all else, I want to hear her sing Russalka at her best. As painful as it is to admit it, I feel at the moment that she has to learn some more discipline: and what’s even worse -- she has to learn it from Ms Fleming! Indeed, she cannot learn it from any other living Diva. There is no other way! I believe that Anna Netrebko can be the best Rusalka that (n)ever lived only if she can learn something -- something very precious -- from Ms. Fleming.
What could one accomplished Diva possibly learn from another? And how are all other Divas at an unutterable disadvantage? Surely these outrageous statements require an explanation -- if not an apology!
If one might be permitted to apologise after one has explained, the apology will be better appreciated. But first one should listen to these to Divas ostensibly singing the same song:
Let us listen to Anna Netrebko first, paying special attention to the final few notes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iLqXZHO45o&feature=related
The irritating props aside, this is really a wonderful Russalka. As ever, her voice is delicious dark chocolate. It is heavenly, glorious, full and rich, as a rose is rich. But there is the suggestion of a serious fault. It occurs in Russalka’s finish.
Now let us listen to Renee Fleming’s interpretation of this ‘same’ aria:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_lbJ1MaDeo
Anyone with an ear to hear will appreciate the colossal difference in the interpretation of the final cadence. But since the cadence is the climax, it sums up the whole song. Don’t let anyone tell you that the tail does not wag the dog; with its tail the dog, the fish and the Diva can lose their balance. And in Russalka this is most assuredly the case. In Fleming , therefore, all her labours are rewarded; she harvests all her previous toil and gathers her into the climax the cornucopia of the aria’s emotional angst. Anna, however, even if blessed with an unbeatable voice and a language advantage, allows her labours to be squandered: the technique of Fleming defeating by far the natural outpouring of Netrebko!
This, of course, is not Anna's fault. But, then, whose fault is it? How come they are ostensibly singing from two identical scores that sound so unmistakeably different? Is it the fault of her minders, trainers, and teachers?
I say ‘ostensibly’, because that is what we are led to believe. And in so far as Song to the Moon, was written by Dvorak in G flat Major and in ⅜ time, that is the case. But in examining the final cadence to the aria, we find a remarkable contrast between that sung by Netrebko and that sung by Fleming. But each of the Divas now appear to be singing from a totally different score. And so important is the final cadence that it must be explained, because it radiates meaning to the whole aria.
The aria has been so constructed by Dvorak that the final cadence -- indeed, the final few notes -- are the moment of the aria's great climax. To bring both climax and final cadence together is no mean feat on Dvorak’s part ; it demonstrates his genius in these matters.
But this cadential climax is also unusual in another way. In order to enhance its impact, Dvorak allows the cadence to dawdle close to a recitative base, then with the speed and assent of the entry to Nessun Dorma, it rockets upwards in sequential momentum to the high B flat in the Soprano’s register before crashing -- diving, in fact -- to a sudden sub-aquatic tonic.
It is truly wonderful stuff. But how is it claimed that Netrebko and Fleming are singing from a different score?
To understand what has happened is not easy.
if we listen to the following Divas singing the exact same aria -- say, Lucia Popp, Gabriela Benackova, Milada Subrtova and Anna Netrebko and Renee Fleming, it will soon become evident that Ms Fleming -- not Anna Netrebko -- is the odd Diva out. All the rest sing Dvorak's Russalka as directed.
Maybe the directions are the problem; for notwithstanding his emotionally powerful run-in to the cadential climax, Dvorak -- perhaps for other reasons -- only devotes two thirds of a bar to the high B flat, or in any event devotes a short note and a short-circuited resolution to a climax so meticulously prepared. And it sounds great. If you listen to any of the Divas -- or as in this case, to Anna Netrebko -- one will observe this final, almost chastising descent at the end. Indeed, one may go away with the feeling that they have heard a splendid aria well sung. Tens of thousands come to You Tube to hear it. But It is only when you hear Renee Fleming’s singular interpretation that the dawn breaks on a more revolutionary Russalka.
Russalka has prayed to the Moon to send her prince of love. After her prayer, she (as in Netrebko) submerges herself with girlish haste and almost Christian contrition. As we have seen, Ms Fleming is not in swimming mood, nor is she so easy to get rid of: she refuses to submerge so readily. Indeed, she prays most fervently -- movingly, in fact -- to an indifferent moon; but, when it comes time for her to take her departure, she refuses to play the role of the fat lady, she simply will not budge ; she remains on in office unapologetically rude, revolutionary and pagan to whatever end may come!
Where all the other Divas have gone, Ms Fleming will not go --not even for Dvorak! So, when Ms Fleming (as Russalka) climaxes, there is no diving into the safety of a Czech lake. On the contrary, the earth trembles. When she reaches the high B flat in the final cadence, far from bailing out modestly, she holds on to the B flat ‘for bare life’ (if one might use such an apt expression); indeed, she holds on to it forever, which is maybe twice, three times, ten times, longer than any other Diva (including Anna Netrebko) : so long , in fact, that the orchestra have packed it in and taken their break, while Ms Fleming, still vibrating in flagrante delicioso, sees the aria through to the last syllable of its emotional obligation : ‘durchgefuert’, as Schonberg would say! In this climax, she is the consummate creative artist - and I personally don’t care too much that she sings Czech in a Spilvill American accent: (which, incidentally , is where Dvorak spoke Czech to his Czech friends and ex-pats.)
Like a tigress protecting something primordial , and red in tooth and in claw, she wrings and tears at the tune’s hind-quarters until the entire aria is purged of its anaemic short breadths. She holds the tune to its organic high promise. She compels and hurls it to its logical and emotional conclusion. There she stands above the Gods on Olympus, vibrating in catharsis a B flat with which she consciously purges all that has preceded it, until the emotional charge has travelled cap-a-pe from its first to its last tonic, and has flowed into its final moonlit syllable. Only then are all issues resolved, only then is the aria allowed to close, not so much with a whimper as with a whimper after an earth-shattering, all-merciful, mother of all rumbles in the jungle!
Renee Fleming has re-written Dvorak; Dvorak would hardly recognise ‘his’ aria or understand the emotional re-orientation. In many ways,therefore, Russalka has become more Fleming than Dvorak, more American than Czech.
The only question pending is ; has she done the music and Rusalka a service?
By her prolongation of one well-chosen, emotionally strategic note, she has changed utterly the whole tone, balance, meaning, emotional discharge and general aesthetic of the Water-nymph's entire aria. In her person and in her performance a terrible scorching beauty is born!
But further, she has transformed Rusalka’ s B flat into an interminable primal scream -- a demand for human love from a cold world and a cold moon. In true pagan if not in American style, Ms Fleming commands the moon to provide her with a lover -- predating the Judeo-Christian opportunity to leap in and claim that Christianity would provide it, if the pagan moon didn’t . Of course, the one remedial belief is as cold and barren as the other, but Ms Fleming’s command , her anger, is immediate and modern. Russalka is the life-giving, life-affirming fertility of Sile-na-gig, or what many have called the ‘divine feminine’. She is not prepared to live without love -- nor will she put up with the excuses of a cold and distant moon.
Personally speaking, I can’t imagine any self-respecting Czech Water-nymph complaining about the new arrangement. It is true that Rusalka has undergone a process that is otherwise known as transubstantiation, where the nymph changes from an uncrucified but pining mermaid at the mercy of the moon to a goddess that commands the moon and the natural world to do to all women what is no more than its fertile and servile duty. From a Christian prayer to a pagan command is not an easy transition, but Ms Fleming has accomplished it in spades - so much so , in fact, that she has now made this beautiful pagan hymn unsingable in any other way except her way.
And I for one am most grateful for it, not lest becausee it is the specific business of the Diva to protect the Waternymph, whose entire species is very much in jeopardy of extinction by religious and other male war-mongers.
When I hear Anna Netrebko singing Russalka from Ms Fleming’s hymn-sheet , I know Waternymphs shall have been saved, I shall have gone to Heaven, and my prayers as well as my apologies shall be redundant!
Seamus Breathnach
www.irish-criminology.com
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Thank you for this information! How very interesting. At this point, I can not imagine Netrebko for piano solo recital. She is stunning, but it is difficult to stage because of the characters, right, and she had to come up with a lot of good stuff to visesavenu
Netrebko high notes or forgetting a line on crack, I made sure to practice with a human. Subjects of this kind are sometimes (most) will happen and the audience needs to be more sympathetic to the
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