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By ANDREW POWELL MUNICH \u2014 Verdi\u2019s Macbeth<\/em> is back, for its eighth run in six years at Bavarian State Opera<\/a>, this time to open the dressy Opernfestspiele<\/em>. The production\u2019s giant chandelier, plastic sheeting, silly tent and field of skulls are now globally familiar, even if they don\u2019t exactly transport us to 11th-century Scotland. Ditto its unison cast whizz during the witches\u2019 Act III Incantation, made possible by a reverse diaper process and plastic tubes. Obsession still trumps oppression (or patriotism or tyranny), as stage director Martin Ku\u0161ej<\/a> in 2008 saw the tale. Mute kid supers still enact the witches. Just don\u2019t look for a heath, castle, cave or Dunsinane Hill.<\/p>\n The dramatic instincts and opulent tones of Anna Netrebko<\/a> as Lady Macbeth ignited last evening\u2019s performance (June 27). After a 3\u00bd-month break from staged opera, the soprano brought voice to burn to this role debut and had apparently been expertly tutored for it. Her sound, often ingolato<\/em>, correlated little with her 2012 Giulietta or 2011 Adina here, but power and a new exploitation of her rich chest voice riveted the ear. Stage skills found her reveling in the excesses of the character without descending to caricature.<\/p>\n She read the letter at the start with Italianate declamation and fresh point. Vieni! T\u2019affretta!<\/em> and both verses of Or tutti, sorgete<\/em> paraded the value of a plush timbre skillfully deployed. She sailed over the orchestra and ensemble in a thrilling Act I Finale \u2014 Schiudi, inferno, la bocca, ed inghiotti nel tuo grembo l\u2019intero creato<\/em> being precisely what Hell should do with this staging \u2014 and rode other climaxes with comparable apparent ease. Act II brought contrast. After a chilling La luce langue<\/em>, she mustered a series of expressive, varied trills and strong coloratura for the banquet, Salva, o r\u00e8! \u2026 Si colmi il calice<\/em>, flatly defying expectations. She conveyed tameness and defeat in the Sonnambulismo<\/em>, which in Ku\u0161ej\u2019s concept involves no walking, and invested Verdi\u2019s last phrase with pathetic charm, touching the D-flat and then plunging with rounded certainty to \u201cndiam,\u201d albeit in something greater than the stipulated fil di voce<\/em>.<\/p>\n Simon Keenlyside<\/a> tried hard as Macbeth, a role he has already documented<\/a>. He observed the musical values of the part and summoned as much heft and intensity, fury and volatility, as his lyric baritone would permit, preserving beauty of tone. He paired credibly, magnetically, with Netrebko and faced the Act II ghost and Act III apparitions with reasonable histrionic flair, dumb dramaturgy notwithstanding. But he never resembled a killer or hesitant dope. Wisely, he saved his best till last, finding dignity and power for Perfidi! All\u2019anglo contro me v\u2019unite! \u2026 Piet\u00e0, rispetto, amore<\/em>. He was singing this next to and over the body of his queen when, awkwardly, the news of her death arrived.<\/p>\n If the misdemeanor of this Macbeth<\/em> is having the cast pee on stage, its felony is forcing Verdi\u2019s witches to sing from the wings. Pushed out of focus and balance, the Bavarian State Opera Chorus<\/a> toiled and failed to give the opening Che faceste? dite su!<\/em> its thrilling edge. And so it was for the Incantation, the Apparizioni<\/em> and the chorus Ondine e silfidi<\/em>, music dear to the composer\u2019s scheme. When they weren\u2019t being witches, though, the S\u00f6ren Eckhoff<\/a>-trained choristers achieved precise and penetrating results. Joseph Calleja<\/a> rang tenorial rafters with Macduff\u2019s Ah, la paterna mano<\/em>, the dynamic details well executed. Ildar Abdrazakov<\/a>\u2019s firm but agile bass delivered Banco\u2019s Come dal ciel precipita<\/em> in ominous shades, before the character\u2019s swift hoisting by the ankles and exsanguination, as Ku\u0161ej has it. The Bavarian State Orchestra<\/a> mustered warm lyrical playing that could turn dazzlingly martial where required, under Paolo Carignani<\/a>\u2019s idiomatic if measured command. His reading suggested exceptional thoroughness of preparation, as if a certain other maestro had provided background guidance.<\/p>\n Photo \u00a9 Wilfried H\u00f6sl<\/p>\n Related posts:
Published: June 28, 2014<\/span><\/p>\n
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