ARIADNE AUF NAXOS @ The Met

Tuesday May 10, 2011 - My final opera performance of the season and my all-time favorite opera: I've loved Strauss's ARIADNE AUF NAXOS for as long as I can remember. Although tonight's performance couldn't hold a candle to the Met's previous revival (February 2010), it's still such a gorgeous opera and the Met's production remains wonderfully appealing. Photo: Marty Sohl.

I'm not quite sure why people kvell over Fabio Luisi, the conductor who seems pre-ordained to succeed James Levine as the Met's music director. None of the operas I have experienced with Luisi on the podium (DON CARLO,  BOCCANEGRA, EGYPTIAN HELEN, HANSEL AND GRETEL) have seemed remarkable in any way, and his NOZZE and ELEKTRA both struck me as particularly lacklustre. Perhaps he is affordable, a major consideration at the Met these days. But for ARIADNE he rushed certain passages, failed to develop glowing orchestral textures thru most of the opera, pushed the voices for volume when it was not necessary and made the mistake of striving for a Wagnerian feeling at times when the opera with its 37-musician orchestral component should instead make one think of Mozart. The ensemble for Zerbinetta and her clowns after her big aria descended into chaos under Luisi's baton. What illumination of the music that we were able to enjoy came from the individual players relishing their solo moments. Compared to the previous revival's superb Kirill Petrenko, Luisi offered a neutral and unimaginative reading of the score: not horrible, but far from fascinating.

In an opera where female voices dominate, it was the men in the cast who seemed most impressive tonight.

Robert Dean Smith (above) first came to the Met on short notice to sing a single Tristan in 2008. These ARIADNEs are his first time back at the House since his debut. As in the Wagner, Smith does not display the raw power associated with the heldentenor repertoire but sings rather with a lyrical quality, always clearly audible (except when thoughtless conductors attempt to drown him) and displaying an unusual warmth of tone in music that is sometimes simply belted out. A pleasingly sincere presence onstage, Smith handsomely mustered the vocal stamina to sustain the arduous final duet with some truly beautiful singing. 

Now in his late 60s, Sir Thomas Allen as the Music Master maintains the vocal appeal that has always made his singing particularly appealing to me. A savvy stage creature, Sir Thomas makes the most of every moment onstage while never distracting from his colleagues. His performance was a pinnacle of clarity in tonight's prologue.

Every time I hear Violeta Urmana in a soprano role I regret that she ever switched from mezzo; her first Kundrys at the Met (2001) were simply unforgettable for mellowness of timbre and the expressive colours of her contralto-tinged instrument. Now she's singing the heavy soprano rep (this season alone here and abroad she's singing Tosca. Gioconda, BALLO Amelia and FORZA Leonora, plus Ariadne - arduous assignments all).  She started off tonight in the monolog sounding metallic and with a steady beat to the tone. As she warmed up, things improved considerably and from "Es gibt ein reich" thru to the end of the opera most of her singing was exciting, and she managed to control a couple of top notes that threatened to turn raucous.

Kathleen Kim is the most musically honest Zerbinetta in my experience; she steers clear of the giggly, flouncy fakery that some sopranos use to manouevre around the vocal hurdles. Kim's voice is sweet and lovely and plenty big enough for the big House despite her petite figure. A game actress, she even gets humped by Harlekin at one point. Tonight she was again a very pleasing element of the performance although she tired just a bit vocally near the end of the super-long aria and one or two notes were on the metallic side. But overall this is a very attractive interpretation of a cruelly difficult role.

Joyce Di Donato's Composer holds the stage well and her singing is fine though the sound of her voice is not memorable or highly individualized. Certain mezzos (Troyanos, von Stade, Ludwig, Berganza) have instantly identifiable timbres; Di Donato's sound is more generic: if I heard her without knowing who was singing, I'd never be able to guess who the voice belongs to. That sort of uniqueness sets certain singers apart and Di Donato for all her good qualities didn't really put a personal stamp on the music. Some very nice soft high singing tended to become a mannerism as the prologue progressed, and there were moments when her pitch seemed a trifle vague. Luisi whipped up an orchestral frenzy at the end of the prologue, stretching Di Donato's lyric resources unduly. She looks good and is a passionate actor, yet Sarah Connolly - with more modest vocal gfts than Di Donato can boast - got more keenly to the heart of the matter in the last revival.

Apart from Tony Stevenson's Dancing Master and Tamara Mumford's Dryade the rest of the cast were more serviceable than memorable. Putting the nymphs at the back of the pit for their final reprise of 'Tone, tone' is a serious flaw in this production: all you hear is Ariadne's counter-melody.

The actor playing Pierrot is intriguingly handsome, whomever he might be.

Comments

[Karen]

I agree with you about Kim's musicality. It is a big plus in this opera to hear that music so accurately sung.

And I too do not "get" Fabio Luisi.

Thanks for the posting.

[The Unrepentant Pelleastrian]

Hello Philip:

"I'm not quite sure why people kvell over Fabio Luisi..."

Me neither.

"My final opera performance of the season and my all-time favorite opera..."

Oh no, really?

I still think I'd place 'Mathis The Painter', 'Moses and Aron', 'Falstaff' and 'Pelleas et Melisande' ahead of Ariadne.

Keep up the nice blog!

[Dmitry]

Luisi is such a bore. A man with a large repertoire perhaps, but small imagination, little taste, and no personality. If this is who Gelb has in mind to replace Levine - then the Met's artistic standards will continue to decline. Can the Met survive Gelb? Stay tuned...

Otherwise, I concur with your review completely! Luisi's take on the opera made me want to go home and play Kempe's recording.

[Philip]

Re: Luisi...I am reminded of my favorite film quote, from the movie OUTRAGEOUS:
"Ordinary triumphs again!"