Newsletter
Summer 20o8
Macbeth
The spring opera, which marked COG’s return to the Queen
Elizabeth Hall was the 1847 version of Verdi’s Macbeth,
on Saturday 29 March, conducted by Brad Cohen, with Nelly Miricioiu
as Lady Macbeth, singing the role for the first time.
The performance, to a packed hall, must rank among COG’s most
successful. “Opera simply does not come much better than this,”
wrote the critic for Seen
and Heard. Sometimes termed the opera senza amore,
Macbeth is an astonishing achievement for the Verdi
of 1847. Raw drama with no love interest: Three main characters,
Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the witches; and perhaps in Lady Macbeth
the earliest Verdian role in which a complete musical development
can be traced along with the dramatic and psychological growth in
character.
Opinion is divided as to whether the 1865 Paris version improves
on the original. Second thoughts are not always best and a lot had
happened to Verdi in the years between. The 1847 version had been
produced for Florence where censorship was not so much in evidence
as elsewhere in Italy. (One is reminded of the problems that Bellini
had had with Maria Stuarda in Naples in 1835).
Verdi produced chilling effects by the juxtaposition of seemingly
trivial music with that of real drama, something he did in later
operas such as Rigoletto or Un ballo in
maschera. This is not the time or place to go into the
differences between the two versions, but there is no doubt that
the new version is a hybrid, with some productions of the 1865 version
rejecting the new ending in favour of the original. Verdi was not
completely satisfied with his revisions. Later when revising Simon
Boccanegra with Boito he used the analogy of repairing
a chair leg. “When you fix one leg, another gets out of balance,
and you’re soon eating off the floor.”
The COG performance was firmly fixed to the floor. “I have
seen several expensively staged productions of this work, but never
have I been as gripped as by the COG performance,” wrote the
Sunday Express. “COG’s realisation gloried in willful
exposure [of] the oftentimes unvarnished orchestral timbres which
are used to conjure with thrilling exactitude the atmospheres that
allow the dark undoing of human ambition to reach fruition…”(Seen
and Heard). “In any case Chelsea came up trumps with its
cast” wrote the Independent
on Sunday, ”with Olafur Sigurdarson throwing an endless
supply of burnished tone at the baritone title role, Andrew Rees
delivering the tenorial goods in an utterly bereft account of Macduff’s
aria, and a noble Banquo in the shape of Paolo Pecchioli. Best of
all… Nelly Miricioiu, who as Lady Macbeth found dramatic meaning
in every note she sang…”.
“The advent of Nelly Miricioiu from the back of the stage
as Lady Macbeth, reading Macbeth’s letter, instantly put the
performance into a different gear, (Musical
Criticism wrote). Nobody else quite brought an air of theatre
to the evening.” The role fitted her like a glove and it is
extraordinary that it was the first time she had sung it.
Mention must also be made of Michael Bracegirdle who “sang
Malcolm with assurance and feeling for the situation”(Seen
and Heard), Daniel Grice [who] “made a strong impression
in three smaller roles and Stephanie Corley [who] was a beautiful
lady-in-waiting” (Musical
Criticism).
The Chorus drew praise especially when singing all together, as
did the orchestra, ”which achieved many fine things thanks
to the firm and stylish conducting of Brad Cohen; the strings were
particularly expressive”(Musical
Criticism).
Cendrillon
The summer opera, on Sunday 1 June at 7.30pm in the Queen Elizabeth
Hall, will be Massenet’s Cendrillon, (Cinderella)
conducted by Dominic Wheeler, with Liora Grodnikaite in the title
role and Emma Selway as the Prince.. Tickets are already on sale.
There will be a pre-opera talk by Christopher Fifield in the auditorium
at 6.15pm, free to ticket holders.
Cendrillon, Massenet’s twenty-fourth opera,
described on the score as a fairytale in 4 acts, is the Cinderella
story. COG has performed three other Massenet operas, Thaïs,
Esclarmonde and Hérodiade.
Only two of his operas, Werther and Manon
have held the international stage, but in recent years Cendrillon
has begun to find favour. In his day Jules Massenet, who died in
1912, was a successful composer and, like so many who are successful
in their lifetime, has drawn slighting criticism. The 1894 Grove
Dictionary said, “if M Massenet will refrain from affectation
and all mere cleverness, and draw his inspiration solely from within,
he will prove an honour to the French school.” The 1927 Grove
confessed somewhat reluctantly ”he succeeded in appealing
to the ‘average sensual man’ without alienating those
who expected opera to be more than a series of pleasant tunes.”
The 1997 edition admits there are several operas awaiting rediscovery,
of which one is Cendrillon.
Cendrillon was first performed in Paris in 1899
at the Opéra-Comique, having a run of 49 performances with
20 the following year. The main roles are female: Cendrillon herself,
her mother-in-law, her step sisters, her fairy godmother, and Prince
Charming. The role of the Prince was set by Massenet for a “falcon
ou soprano de sentiment” a rare voice perhaps best described
by saying that in the Chicago production of 1911, when Maggie Teyte
sang Cendrillon, the Prince was sung by Mary Garden, who sang Mélisande
in the première of Pelléas et Mélisande.
Those who know the opera through the 1978 recording will have heard
it sung by a tenor, which surely misses the point. In Henri Cain’s
libretto, prince and pauper are alter egos, both lonely, both looking
for love. The tessitura of both parts is the same.
Cendrillon should prove an entertaining summer
evening for audience and performers alike, as different styles of
music compete to tell the Cinderella story: formal court music,
pastiche dance numbers, fairy music (with a flavour of Mendelssohn
and Richard Strauss) and heavily perfumed love music.
Salisbury
The next visit will be on Saturday 17 May for a performance in
the Cathedral of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius,
for which the Salisbury Musical Society is combining with the Philharmonischer
Chor from Berlin. There will have been a joint performance in Berlin
the previous week. Elgar with full orchestra and a chorus of 250
should sound splendid and the Cathedral is sold out.
Plans for the 2008/9 season
Plans for the autumn opera are uncertain, as we have been unable
to obtain a date at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. COG will therefore
be back in Cadogan Hall on Saturday 15 November 2008, probably for
a bel canto opera. Beautifully equipped as Cadogan Hall is, its
stage and acoustics are not really suited to large-scale operas.
For the rest of the season we shall be performing in the Queen Elizabeth
Hall. On Sunday 15 February 2009 we shall perform Adriana
Lecouvreur by Cilea, with Nelly Miricioiu as the leading
actress of the 18th century Comédie Française,
and on Sunday 7 June, Guillaume Tell by Rossini
with Majella Cullagh as Mathilde. Booking for both these concerts
has already opened.
Thanks
At the end of another successful season it is the time to thank
all those work behind the scenes to help run the Group. COG has
no paid staff and indeed the ethos of the Group is one of self-help.
Nevertheless it takes hours of work to book venues, assemble players,
chorus and casts, produce programmes and libretti, mail supporters
and carry out all the other tasks that have to be done – especially
on the day of the concert. Offers of help would be most welcome.
We are also very grateful to those who give financial support, as
we are to those who do the work.
Finally we are keen to build up an internet mailing list. I urge
anyone who has not yet sent done so to forward their email address
to Anita de Lotbinière at
, or hand it to us at the COG Information Desk at the Queen Elizabeth
Hall at the next concert.
R.W.Montgomery
Chairman
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