SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Manolis Kalomiris,  O Protomastoras (The Masterbuilder) : Greek National Opera - co-production with the Athens Megaron  Conductor: Elias Voudouris, Alexandra Trianti Hall, Athens 29.1.2008 (BM)

The legend of a bridge that demands a human sacrifice, based on a tragedy by none other than Nikos Kazantzakis, is the plot of this little known Greek opera, last performed in 1951. Composed in 1916 when Kalomiris was a mere 33 years old, it is full of beautiful, almost Wagnerian melodies and harmony, in line with the principles the "Greek National School" of composers which he himself established, and is not without the odd element of Hellenic color.

Sadly, that is just about the extent of the good news. Thomas Moschopoulos’ staging is definitely bad news, ignoring almost all of the indications set out in the original score - and not only that the plot is supposed to unfold in the Greek countryside, either in ancient times or during the period of nationalist uprising. I’m actually quite partial toward contemporary opera productions, when the libretto lends itself, but this one was set – where exactly? Angelos Mentis’ costumes were in the same vein, a boring assortment of styles and periods making absolutely no sense at all. On top of that, there was only a bare minimum of movement and acting, the peasants and builders were portrayed by dancers only (complete with unimaginative choreography by Martha Kloukina) and the gypsies, a requisite part of the story line, were missing altogether. The chorus was sitting under the bridge, pretending to be a river – well, here was at least one interesting idea, but the novelty soon wore off.The sets by Lili Pezanou, were minimal but functional, and her idea to use an iron bridge worked well - though one wondered about its striking similarity to the one advertised on the curtain during intermission by the construction corporation sponsoring the performance.

The orchestra, though certainly capable of better, seemed feeble. Its dynamic palette was poor and there were rhythmic inaccuracies causing important moments to be lost for the dancers. Although far better than in the past under its new director, Nikos Vassiliou, the chorus was uneven, the women’s voices sounding limpid and strong while the male section remained ineffective and at times rhythmically imprecise too, like the orchestra.

As to the soloists, Russian tenor Avgust Amonov as the Masterbuilder was perhaps the poorest of the cast, with no color to his voice and a total lack of high notes, not mention his failure to do anything faintly resembling acting. Smaragda (a role sung by Maria Callas in Athens in the 1940’s, by the way) was portrayed by an admirable Kerri Marcinko, sounding fluent and clear, and even managing to produce excellent Greek diction. Alexandra Papadjiakou as the mother was not having one of her better days, with rough patches in her middle range. Dimitris Platanias, however, was in top form as the Master, with a strong baritone and almost palpable musicality, and exactly the same goes for Christophoros Stamboglis, who lent his bass to the Old Man. Mina Polychronou also did well as the Singer, but although she is Greek it was impossible to understand a word she sang. Rumor has it that apparently there would have been some more than adequate Greek singers available to sing the two lead roles – but their physical appearance was not deemed to be satisfactory. Especially in the case of the title role, perhaps those responsible should have gone for the voice… since all things considered, the money for a ticket to might have been better spent on a recording of this intriguing opera.

Bettina Mara

(With thanks to Michalis Patseas for his substantial input)

Pictures © Stefanos

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