Above: Tomasz Konieczny as The Dutchman; a Ken Howard/Met Opera photo
Author: Oberon
Saturday June 10th, 2023 matinee - My final opera performance of the Met's 2022-2023 season; overall, it has been a very fine season, with some of the Met's most satisfying performances in recent years. I found today's Fliegende Holländer thoroughly engaging and often very moving. On other sites, this season's cast and conductor came in for a lot of criticism; their voices may not be to all tastes, but for me the power and mystery of Wagner's opera came through, quite thrillingly.
My afternoon began 45 minutes before curtain time. I always love sitting in the big hall, watching it slowly fill; and today, the delightful sound of a clarinetist having a nice, long warm-up fell pleasingly on the ear. Despite Norman Lebrecht's hand-wringing over the Met's under-sold houses, today's Holländer (and the two previous matinees of Don Giovanni and Zauberflöte) looked nearly full from my vantage point in a balcony box near the proscenium: one of the few spots from which you can accurately gauge the size of the audience.
The young conductor, Thomas Guggeis, took over these Holländer performances from the originally-announced Jaap van Zweden. As the latter ends his brief, mostly disappointing tenure at the New York Philharmonic, I think the change was probably beneficial overall today. For me, Mr. Guggeis paced the score most persuasively, with a fine forward momentum contrasting with the more pensive, brooding passages. He did, however, sometimes succumb to the current trend among Met conductors of casually drowning the voices. (Exceptions have been Manfred Honeck for Idomeneo and Nathalie Stutzmann's magical Flute and Don Giovanni).
The orchestra sounded marvelous today, as did the chorus; the choristers did some stylized gesture patterns and dance steps which seem to be a common element in M. Girard's Met Wagner productions. Overall, the afternoon's sonic tapestry was rich and darkly hued.
Above: Eric Curter as Erik with Elza van den Heever as Senta; photo by Ken Howard/Met Opera
Top vocal honors today must go to tenor Eric Cutler, in the role of Erik. In the years since he came onto the scene as a Met Young Artist, Eric has had many successes in the bel canto repertoire; in recent seasons he has been shifting to such demanding German roles as Bacchus, Lohengrin, and Siegmund. Tackling this difficult repertoire has not affected the inherent tonal beauty of Eric's voice, and so today in the music of Erik, we heard a combination of lyricism and passion that made a perfect impression.
From his hair-raising opening line, so clear and sustained, on through his two big arias - which are so rooted in the bel canto style - Eric showed the advantage of coming to these roles from on high rather than as a pushed-up baritone. As the point where a rising line can cause helden-ish tenors to tighten up, the Cutler voice blooms. Especially beautiful was the third act cavatina where Eric's singing blended ideally with the pliant sound of the oboe. Earlier, in telling Senta of his terrifying dream, Mr. Cutler made the story come to vivid life. There was a big, warm salute for the tenor at his curtain calls.
Eve Gigliotti, as Senta's nurse, Mary, seemed unsure of how to deal with her visionary young charge. Eve sang warmly, with her usual verbal acuity. As the Steersman, Richard Trey Smagur displayed an interesting timbre, with an appealing middle range and powerful, rather gritty top notes. He could become an interesting Siegmund in time.
Dmitry Belosselskiy was a huge-voiced Daland, very effective in both his singing and stage presence. His jovial aria (excellently supported by the orchestra) as he introduces the Dutchman to Senta was a vocal highlight of the afternoon, as was the trio after his daughter's pledge to be faithful onto death. The basso, who in the past has seemed just a good, routine singer, has become both more nuanced and more plush-toned of late. I look forward to hearing him again next season.
As Senta, Elza van den Heever carried off the long mime sequence of the overture convincingly. Her singing of the role was uneven; she has taken on some of opera's most demanding roles (Senta is one of them) and her voice is showing some wear and tear in places. Sustained notes tend to fluctuate, and while her ballad was excellently expressed from a musico-dramatic standpoint, the sound of the voice was less appealing than in the past. Most of the arduous music of the Senta/Dutchman duet was skillfully - even impressively - handled, but her voice faltered on the highest phrase at the end of the duet's andante section.
The soprano pulled herself together, finishing the duet and ensuing trio on fine form, and singing quite thrillingly in the opera's final moments. Her sense of commitment to the music never wavered, but she might think of moving to some less strenuous roles: Countess Almaviva? The Marschallin? Desdemona? For now, though, she seems headed for Salome.
Above: Elza van den Heever as Senta and Tomasz Konieczny as the Dutchman; Ken Howard/MetOpera photo
The Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny first thrilled me as Jochanaan in a concert performance of Salome a Carnegie Hall in 2014, and then again in 2019 in his Met debut role as Alberich in the Ring Cycle. Although Mr. Konieczny's voice is unlikely to be described as "beautiful", it can be strangely alluring. He has both a personal and a vocal charisma which are hard to describe but which make his performances so captivating.
The subtle start of the great monologue is underscored by a chilling tension. Mr. Konieczny's reserves of vocal strength - the sound seems to expand as he goes higher - soon had me entranced, and the audience could not resist bursting into applause after "Ew'ge Vernichtung, nimm mich auf!" ("Eternal destruction, take me!"). Mssrs. Konieczny and Belosselskiy were grand in the duet which concludes Act I.
The Dutchman rises magically from the floor of Daland's house, causing Senta to cry out. After Daland has left them, their great duet - the heart of the opera - begins with Mr. Konieczny singing so softly as to draw us deeply in; here, Maestro Guggeis kept the orchestra under subtle control. With rising passion, the singing becomes thrilling, with the bass-baritone - a hypnotic presence to watch - pouring out the music with palpable power. After Senta has made her pledge, Mr. Konieczny fell to the floor, overcome with relief and gratitude. The act's concluding trio was strongly sung, with a cut sparing the soprano from some very arduous phrases.
In the final act, the Dutchman is present - hunkered down on the rocky shore - during the meeting of Senta and Erik. He hears it all, and rejects Senta's pleas of innocence. Mr. Konieczny rose majestically to the demands of the scene wherein he reveals his identity, capping his brilliant success.
After an enthusiastic ovation, I went down to the stage door to say hello to Eric, who I had not seen for many years. Back in the days when he was a Met Young Artist and I was working at Tower Records, we became friends; thereafter, his career kept him mostly in Europe. I had last heard him live in 2011, in a concert performance of Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon at Carnegie Hall.
It was really nice today to find that the voice remains as beautiful and expressive as ever, and that he's still the same friendly guy I remember.
~ Oberon