Instead of playing it safe and relying heavily on the massive firepowah of Camilla Nylund's voice and cleavage, Jossi Wieler and partner-in-operatic-crime Sergio Morabito chose the high, furry, brothelastic road for the Salzburg production of Rusalka that opened last night. Unflattering granny apparel, big plushies and general mayhem took over while Nylund (with whom we shared an unforgettable experience at la Scala, an otherworldly Beethoven IX conducted by Daniel Barenboim), Piotr Beczala (with whom we shared a bad experience, a Rigoletto at la Scala where his Duke was notable essentially for cracking twice on La Donna E' Mobile) and the rest of the cast.
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Unsurprisingly, even the jaded Salzburg rich dudes and their wives had something to object to the Wieler/Morabito production values; but the singers escaped unscathed, thankfully. Adoptive Clevelander Franz "Frank" Welser Moest whipped the Cleveland Orchestra into a quite controlled frenzy -- as much as FWM can, at least.