Humperdinck wrote this
opera in response to his sister’s ‘loosely’
dramatised version of the Grimm fairy
tale. In this production parts have
become a pantomime ‘loosely’ based on
Humperdinck’s opera: so really an open
sesame for whatever the director
wants with two qualifications: first,
excellent acting and second, some serious
singing.
As the gushing Renée
Fleming reminds us in her introduction,
it is traditional to put on this opera
at Christmas/New Year. This film of
the production at the Metropolitan Opera
House New York, was recorded on New
Year’s Day 2008. It gets little bums
on big seats and, via live simultaneous
worldwide cinema broadcast, it intends
to widen its audience-base, about which
more anon.
It might be an exaggeration
to say that to take the magic away from
a fairy-tale is to emasculate it, but
by replacing The Wicked Witch with a
pantomime dame (played by a man, of
course) is getting towards that. To
replace the angels guarding our two
heroic children in the magical dream
sequence with lumpen unattractive Disney
type chef characters presenting a banquet
is just that; particularly when you
allow those children to tell each other
later of their dream of the angels.
That is either careless or contemptuous
of audience attention to detail.
As I have said, there
is more to this production, updated
to the 1950s than the ‘loose’ approach
to direction, but just to get the last
‘loose’ point out of the way, I think
that the translation is also somewhat
loose or free with its approach to the
text. The ‘more’, oh so much more, is
the acting and singing. Sung in English
it is fundamental that the diction is
clear: and what a crackingly good job
the singers make of this particular
hurdle. It takes effort but the reward
is a clearly told story – which brings
into sharp relief some of the points
I have made above.
Alice Coote (Hansel)
and Christine Schäfer (Gretel)
are splendidly matched; physical build,
costume detail, vocal balance with some
stunning mutual support in duets. It
is tempting to take the singing as a
‘given’ and concentrate on pin toes,
half mast socks, a brave boy running
out from behind his sister and darting
back again having delivered a defiant
response, smocked dress and shirt; but
those are indeed the ‘givens’ which
are presented so well. Yes they are
adults acting as children but they carry
it off enchantingly.
Although in the opening
scene Schäfer, at the lowest point
of her register, speaks, as opposed
to sings, the occasional word, later
at the same level she produces a generously
creamy sound. Her middle and highs are
ringingly clear with a relaxing tonal
beauty. I particularly enjoyed the honey-toned
piano of her opening of Act 2
with gentle colouring.
Generally Coote does
not have many opportunities for individual
vocal display but at all times she demonstrates
a beautifully toned legato. Throughout
the opera she and Schäfer are an
excellent vocal foil for, or complement
to, each other. I doubt that I will
hear and see a more movingly delivered
evening prayer, entitled here Where
each child lays down its head
(track 17)
Rosalind Plowright
is an outstanding Gertrude (Mother).
She displays with awesome clarity the
despair caused by grinding poverty.
The make-up is excellent - an example
is the peroxide blonde hair with long
dark roots. Let’s not forget a down-market
twin-set and pencil skirt – she even
manages the haunted look of terrible
hunger. She produces a somewhat harsh
timbre before her interrupted overdose
- a modern fairy-tale indeed. When food
arrives she converts herself to the
busy wife and tones down her timbre
upon her husband’s arrival to match
his rounder sound.
Powerfully built Alan
Held as Peter (Father) looks anything
but ground–down - let us not cavil:
pace Deborah Voigt and ROH. Having
had a successful broom-selling day,
he is the epitome of the workman flushed
by alcohol and his own achievement.
Held’s rich baritone reflects this;
a huge theatre filling deep brown sound.
His portrayal of the witches in At
night it’s a gruesome and sordid place
(track 10), with strong dynamics, is
suitably intimidating.
The ‘bonus’ explanation
of the Sandman is of a very very old
person that "you might see in a
hospital or old folks’ home". Visually
there would be no possibility of recognising
Sasha Cooke, or anyone else under those
prosthetics, but fortunately her voice
is unimpaired. With a slightly crisp
timbre, balanced by gentle colours,
her piano and pianissimo
sound the ideal givers of sleep.
Lisette Oropesa, in
1950s green day frock with pink ‘marigold’
gloves and pathetic little wings on
her back, is more Fairy Liquid than
Dew Fairy. Although when seriously above
the stave she sounds uncomfortable,
she produces a mid-range smooth sound
with a very controlled and impressive
vibrato to awaken her charges.
Philip Langridge, cast
as The Witch but here more The Dame,
including having his face pushed into
a large cream cake, takes to the role
with undisguised glee. He skips about
the stage as one many decades younger.
An audience ‘boo’ or shout of ‘he’s
behind you’ would not have been entirely
out of place for this portrayal. His
years of stage experience show in so
many ways but importantly in keeping
the action bubbling along at a merry
pace. Vocally the years are beginning
to tell but truly only ‘beginning’.
There is still the superb phrasing and
clarity of diction which even this almost
frenetic performance cannot conceal.
His tenor still has that recognisably
clear tone for those occasions when
he stands still long enough to become
Humperdinck’s witch as opposed to Jones’
dame.
There is only one word
for the orchestral performance under
Jurowski: stunning. He tones down the
Wagner of the overture and emphasises
the lyricism. For me there are many
suggestions of hymn tunes of the nineteenth
century - Humperdinck composed this
between 1890 and 1893 - which he melds
into a flowing musical introduction.
He brings out the soft textures – particularly
in the Prelude to the last act where
his deceptively relaxed style keeps
the brass in rein whilst letting other
wind and the strings hold sway. Even
The Witches Ride at the end of act 1
is a disciplined affair, not helter-skelter,
but with controlled urgency giving way
with perfect pace variation to the scene-setting
for the wood.
A word must be said
about the chorus of children – not least
because Renée Fleming excitedly
tells us that her daughter is one of
them. They are best described as "bright-eyed
and bushy-tailed", enthusiastic,
responsive with the clarity of voice
that is the hallmark of the carefully
trained little person – although some
of them are not so little.
That brings me back
to the production. The gingerbread children’s
sight should be restored by the laying
on of Gretel’s hands with its biblical
connotations and their limb release
by Hansel’s recital of the spell. Here
the spell does both which for me reduces
first the impact of this moving resurrection
and second the force of the finale as
written, and maintained in this production,
of God holding out His hand in need.
This performance is
one of many, broadcast live to cinemas
around the world, as part of the Metropolitan’s
drive towards greater accessibility
– a pseudonym for widening the audience
base to increase the percentage of tickets
sold for each performance the better
to balance the books: and there is nothing
wrong with any of that. It is to be
applauded loudly. And it may well work
in the very large cities, I do not know,
not having attended such venues or seen
the figures. Those performances that
I have attended in two small towns have
only attracted disappointing numbers
(cinemas about only 20% full) and not
youthful attendees at that. However,
from little acorns .... we can only
hope.
As I have said above,
this DVD is of the live performance,
and the viewer will see no difference
between the large cinema screen and
the home screen. The advantage of either
is the opportunity for close-ups of
orchestra or cast but that is also its
inherent disadvantage against the live
performance. I have to watch what the
cameraman or video editor decides I
shall watch; it is excellent for this
production but absolutely not so for
another similar live-to -screen performance
I attended.
I am assuming that
this production attracts you because
it is "updated". A more conventional
production is the Deutsche Grammophon
(00440 073 4110). The sound was recorded
in 1980 and the performance filmed in
1981. A conventional production, directed
by August Everding, with some equally
strong singing: some flying broomsticks,
but not of Harry Potter standard, and
a strong performance from Sena Jurinac
as the witch. Accepting that it is inevitably
dated my only real reservation would
be that the Fassbaender and Gruberova
‘children’ do not match the childish
behaviour so captivatingly displayed
by Schäfer and Coote.
The almost opposite
of that production approach is to let
act 1 look after itself (so to speak)
and then to let the characters from
a selection of fairy tales have free
rein first on brilliant silhouettes
and then moving in and out of the woods.
Make the angels staircase a children’s
slide, the angels themselves a deliciously
outrageously be-costumed ballet and
the witch a siren becoming a modern
‘I want to be loved’ devil. That is
Katharine Thalbach’s production for
Dresden (Euro Arts arte edition 2055888)
For another review
of the Metropolitan production do not
miss that of my colleague Simon
Thompson.
Finally I would mention
the question of value for money. With
the Metropolitan production coming out
at only slightly over half the cost
of the other two mentioned DVDs then
for me there is no contest.
Robert McKechnie
A virtuoso musical
and acting performance ... see Full
Review