Robert Carsen is an opera director who can be relied on to introduce some innovations, but not so many as to put him into the category of despoiler. He was responsible for the fine version of Handel’s Semele (reviewed in the Taipei Times on Jan. 9), for example, and has now come up with a Der Rosenkavalier with similar characteristics. Octavian arrives by horseback with his silver rose, and the third act takes place in a brothel rather than the intended “inn.” But the essential qualities of Strauss’ masterpiece come through notwithstanding.
The virtue of this pair of DVDs, newly issued by Arthaus (previously they were available from TDK), is that they’re in considerable measure equal to the greatness of the score. Originating from the Salzburg Festival of 2004, this version is musically ravishing, with the Marschallin of Adrianne Pieczonka and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra its brightest stars. The visuals are generally excellent, too, but the heart of the opera — the bittersweet love of the Marschallin and Octavian, and its being superseded by the young love of Octavian and Sophie — is presented with genuine heart-breaking power.
There are three moments in this opera that have to be exemplary if the whole is to come off — the Marschallin’s monologue at the end of act one, the first meeting of Octavian and Sophie early in act two, and the trio between the Marschallin, Sophie and Octavian that all but ends the work. Whereas the trio of episodes are not here unbeatable, the first one is, and the truth is that every moment we see and hear Pieczonka is ravishing. Her singing and acting are as one, and the emotion she brings to the role is exactly what it should be. Angelika Kirchschlager as Octavian is also vocally fine, though her “male” movements leave something to be desired. Miah Persson makes a lovely Sophie, while Franz Hawlata as Ochs — younger and with more of a baritone feeling to his voice than is usual — also suits the general conception.
What is this conception? Basically it’s to emphasize the sexual. The Marschallin and Octavian are always shown frolicking on the bed at the start, but not so Sophie and Octavian at the end, as they are here, with the Marschallin looking on. Nor are the figures that plague Ochs in the last act usually naked, as some of them are in this version. Basically it all works well enough, though, and with Semyon Bychkov conducting the matchless Vienna Philharmonic to cement everything together, this is a Rosenkavalier to sit up and take notice of.
The same cannot, unfortunately, be said of a version of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia from the 2007 Bergamo Music Festival. The big draw here should have been Greek diva Dimitra Theodossiou in the title role. She made a huge impression as Queen Elizabeth in the same composer’s Roberto Devereux (Naxos 2110232) but for some reason cannot rise to similar heights here. She isn’t helped by a wooden production reminiscent of the lower depths of routine amateur dramatics.
The ever-youthful Mirella Freni is the star of many an operatic enterprise, from Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s fabulous film of Le Nozze di Figaro to the matchless CDs of Madama Butterfly conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. Now Maria Stocker has come up with an hour-long film in her honor, Mirella Freni: A Life Devoted to Opera.
By and large it’s less then engrossing. There’s interesting archive footage, of course, but the backbone of the enterprise is the present-day Freni teaching singing classes. The result is a product that dedicated Freni fans will certainly want to own, but not many others.
But the film is marketed as part of a boxed set with Freni’s 1988 San Francisco La Boheme, co-starring Luciano Pavarotti, and her 1993 La Scala Fedora (an opera by Umberto Giordano), co-starring Placido Domingo. This alters the value of the product entirely.
This is an absolutely delicious Boheme and if it was the only version you owned you wouldn’t be going far wrong. It’s 100 percent traditional in Francesca Zambello’s production, and even on the small San Francisco Opera stage it works exceptionally well. Pavarotti and Freni are able to fit into this local context while remaining the visiting stars they so clearly are, and together they bring off some beautiful effects. Nicolai Ghiaurov is Colline.
Giordano’s Fedora is far less known, but the 1993 production from La Scala, Milan is sumptuous indeed. Freni sings the Russian princess with Domingo sharing the honors. The conductor is Gianandrea Gavazzeni, a former music director of La Scala and in his 80s at the time. But perhaps the peep inside the world’s most famous opera house is the most attractive feature of this particular DVD.
Of the three DVDs in the set, La Boheme is easily the most attractive, and enthusiasts might want to consider acquiring it on its own. If so it’s available, also from Arthaus, with the catalogue number Arthaus Musik 100047.
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