Beethoven, Fidelio: (New Production Premiere) Soloists, Orquestra de la Communitat Valenciana, Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana, Zubin Mehta (conductor), Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, Spain 25.10.2006 (NP)

 

 

Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia

 

 

Production
Musical Direction :Zubin Mehta

Direction, Scenery and Costumes: Pierluigi Pier’Alli

Lighting: Guido Levi

Cast
Don Fernando: Carsten Stabell
Don Pizarro: Juha Uusitalo

Florestan: Peter Seiffert
Leonore: Waltraud Meier
Rocco: Matti Salminen
Marzelline: Ildikó Raimondi
Jaquino: Rainer Trost
First Prisoner: Manuel Beltràn Gil

Second Prisoner: Nahuel di Pierro

 

 

Thunderous applause, loud “bravos” and other admiring noises followed this first night performance of Fidelio at  Valencia´s new Opera House. In the presence of Her Majesty the Queen of Spain after whom the theatre is named, Valencia enjoyed an unforgettable inauguration of the first opera season in the new house, marking the return of opera to the city after nearly a thirty year absence. The result surpassed all expectations and even the hall's acoustics, which had given some trouble during the opening concerts last year, seemed very much improved.

There can be no doubt that the singers were the evening´s main attractions. Waltraud Meier combined her dramatic vocal talent with an outstanding gift for acting and used her magnetic presence on stage to transmit Leonora´s strength of spirit admirably. Peter Seiffert (Florestan) sang the second act´s initial aria with captivating expression and proclaimed himself as the best character performer of the moment. At the duo “Oh, namenlose Freude!” it seemed as if the two singers were engaged in a game of complicity that went beyond of the plot, achieving so much together that the audience forgot about Meier´s lack of flexibility in some passages. Matti Salminen (Rocco) exhibited a big and powerful voice and was able to stamp his own character on the role. While Juha Uusitalo´s Don Pizarro lacked malice and meanness, the Finnish bass-baritone did show off his considerable vocal skills to dramatic effect and while Ildikó Raimondi is infinitely resourceful in the vocal field too, her interpretation of  role as Marzellina lacked the personal and creative touch.

 

The stage design by Pierluigi Pier´Alli was spectacular, with scenery symbolizing captivity, introducingthe audience to the plot by means of  lights, projections and moving digital images. The costumes were sober and faithful to Beethoven´s time period and location.

The orchestra, “Comunidad Valenciana” played with brilliant precision, power and cohesion, especially in Leonora Overture nr. 3, guided by Zubin Mehta's masterly direction. The choir, which does not usually perform staged opera and which usually sits or stands when singing, moved rather rigidly on stage and had some difficulty with the pronunciation of the German words, especially in the final chorus. Even with this limitation however, the production was a great success.

Nieves Pascual

 

Photographs © Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia 2006