Opera Chic

Ivor Bolton (Temporarily) Joins the Blogging Fray

Ivor Bolton's lousy with the Salzburger Festspiele this summer. After opening the festivities on July 25 with Handel's oratorio, Theodora, he's also conducting Haydn's Armida and Stabat Mater -- a grand total just shy of 20 appearances. But as Mozarteumorchester Salzburg’s Chief Conductor, the British born & raised conductor is no stranger to Salzburg. This year, Bolton is the official Blogging Insider for the 2009 Salzburger Festspiele, and has been writing about his experiences every few days.

He'll be conducting the opening of Haydn's Armida tonight, with Christof Loy's direction. Annette Dasch is Armida, Michael Schade is Rinaldo, Mojca Erdmann is Zelmira, and Vito Priante is Idreno.

(Vito Priante as Idreno and Annette Dasch as Armida)

(Michael Schade as Rinaldo and Annette Dasch as Armida)

Click for more pics! 

Haydn's L'infedeltà delusa >>>> Pizzetti's Assassinio nella Cattedrale

In one part of downtown Milan last night, people were falling out of their seats and tearing out their hair in utter boredom. And we're not talking about a lecture on Biochemistry Engineering at Università Bocconi. Rather, we're talking about Teatro alla Scala's open rehearsal of Ildebrando Pizzetti's Assassinio nella Cattedrale (it opens this coming Friday, and OC heard that it was an absolute snooze-fest). As an antidote, there was something rather unique happening just a few blocks away at Milan's Conservatorio G. Verdi, as Società del Quartetto presented a concert version of F.J. Haydn's burletta per musica, L'infedeltà delusa, an endearing & quick opera-lite in two acts for 5 soloists and a small orchestra.

OC chose wisely the latter of the two events, and can report an evening of much needed Haydn opera love.

Haydn's rather obscure opera -- scored to Marco Coltellini's libretto for the Eszterházy court where Haydn was biding his time as composer, and whose royal family, namesake of the tasty dessert, the work was written for -- was premiered in July 1773 and was only heard on three occasions during Haydn's lifetime. It was written for a party in the royal Eszterházy palace to honor the saint day of the princess Maria Anna Luisa, widow of Paul II Anton.

While the recitative is full of snappy, witty retorts, the arias instead are sumptuous, descriptive, gorgeously harmonic, and gallop the plot throughout Haydn's theatrical narrative. This is the inception of opera buffa and undoubtedly paved the way for the later genre, and the framework of Rossini's patented convergences. 

There's a harmonic purity throughout the opera, scored in a major key (with just one aria in a minor key). The arias are well-distributed (with the exception of Vespina's) between the five singers, and the opera is an absolutely fluid, organic work where the language of the music forms the traditional narrative we're already accustomed to in Italian opera buffa.

Clicky the linky to read the review and to see cast photos!

Jens-Daniel Herzog's "La Fedeltà Premiata", With Bin Laden as Melibeo

The current production of Haydn's  "La fedeltà premiata"@ Opernhaus Zürich seems to have a pretty disturbing guest star -- a Melibeo that suspiciusly looks like Osama Bin Laden, with video messages and -- a red halo? fire? -- burning behind him -- included.

An interview with director Jens-Daniel Herzog and conductor Adam Fischer is here.

This production boasts dear Eva Mei as Amaranta; still, as an expat New Yorker Opera Chic is still creeped out by that kind of stuff, so OC might opt for the CD version, Bin Laden-less and nicely sung by la Ciofolina, instead.

More images after the jump, just click the link below.

In Sevillia for Haydn's Lo Speziale (On The Internet, At Least)

(Above: tenors Manuel de Diego, Juan Antonio Sanabria, and soprano Sandra Pastrana)

Tonight Teatro de la Maestranza de Sevilla is serving-up the opening night of Joseph Haydn's rare opera buffa from 1768, Lo Speziale. The ensemble offstage is petite, consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two horns, a bassoon, and strings. The modest cast follows with two tenors, one soprano, and a mezzo.

(Above: tenor Manuel de Diego and soprano Sandra Pastrana)

Patrick Mailler's production has costumes that turn singers into little dolls and stuffed animals with a seriously gothic flavor. The All-Spanish cast is led by tenor Manuel de Diego as Mengone, soprano Sandra Pastrana as Grilletta, tenor Juan Antonio Sanabria as Sempronio, and mezzo Angélica Mansilla as the pants role Volpino. This looks all kinds of awesome. And we're total suckers for ~the pants~.

(Above: Soprano Sandra Pastrana and Mezzo Angélica Mansilla)

(Above: Soprano Sandra Pastrana)

(Above: Soprano Sandra Pastrana and Mezzo Angélica Mansilla)

Haydn Go Seek @ Festival d'Aix-en-Provence: L'infedeltà Delusa

(Above: Soprano Ina Kringelborn as Sandrina in Haydn's L'infedeltà delusa)

The burletta, L'infedeltà delusa, by Joseph Haydn, opens on July 5 @ Aix-en-Provence. This production (by Richard Brunel) looks all sorts of awesome. Conductor Jérémie Rhorer leads Orchestra Le Cercle de l'Harmonie. It is my right as a French director to put everyone in antlers, bathrobes, and scythes while prancing around a forest of styrofoam cubes. Parle à mon k00...ma tête est malade.

Soprano Ina Kringelborn as Sandrina, soprano Claire Debono as Vespina, tenor Yves Saelens as Filippo, bass Andreas Wolf as Nanni, and tenor James Elliot as Nencio in in Haydn's L'infedeltà delusa)

(Tenor Yves Saelens as Filippo, soprano Ina Kringelborn as Sandrina, soprano Claire Debono as Vespina, bass Andreas Wolf as Nanni, and tenor James Elliot as Nencio.)

looooooooool @ this guy in the unabomber shades.