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By Juan Antonio Muñoz H.
EL MERCURIO |
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Giordano: Andrea Chenier, Bayerische Staatsoper, 18. März 2017 |
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JONAS KAUFMANN´S HISTORICAL ANDREA CHÉNIER
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Resorting more than once to the aesthetics of the grand-guignol, Philipp
Stölz was responsible for sealing the horror and deception of everything
that was betrayed in the French Revolution. He did it by emphasizing the
contrasts between noblemen and the populace; building up figures of rebels
who end up being liars and murderers; and by showing how the fury for revolt
turned to enjoying others’ deaths. He imagined for his motley staging —as in
“Cavalleria Rusticana” in Salzburg— simultaneous scenes, so that powdered
gavottes may coexist with the subterraneous surge of the poor, the jail with
the courts, the lyrical love of the protagonists with the squalid sex
resulting from hunger and fear. Probably this profuse theatrical activity
distracted some from the essential point and at times affected the voices,
but the dramatic result was able to describe the impotence against
brutality, the terror, the resigned surrender of the innocent, the
stubbornness of the judges, the felony of the “incredibles” and the
“non-spontaneous corruption” of the “marvelous”. Yes, a controversial
staging, but a lively one, for which one is grateful.
Stölz had a
great ally in this historical-interpretative scenario, as Omer Meier
Wellber’s baton was very theatrical; he sought the sound impact from the
pit, but without disregarding the voices. He was elegant and charming in the
first act, which he conducted perhaps a bit faster than necessary, but then
his sound became menacing and furious, ending with a last act of refined
expressiveness. His was a fine verism, even in its disarray.
The
protagonists were the crown of this magnificent spectacle. Jonas Kaufmann is
an artist of historical stature and, as in his London debut in this role,
was overwhelming in his understanding of the poetical sense of his singing,
irrigating each phrase with emotion and sense. In “Un dì all'azzurro spazio”
he was a model, but watch out!the social annoyance of his Chénier gradually
gained vigor until the possibilities of a character who moves first by
arrogance and later on by love and heroic virtues were fully open. In
Kaufmann, strength and vocal impact are only part of a myriad nuances that
serve him to express desire, doubt, fear, courage. Virile and vulnerable at
the same time, he was defiant in “Si fui soldato” and captivating in
“Eravate possente”. His “Come un bel dì di Maggio”, sung without any
veristic emphasis, left the public breathless. Only Kaufmann is able to
hardly mumble the famous phrase that anticipates death: “Ella vien col
sole”.
Anja Harteros was another great winner. Her crystalline and
radiant instrument was perfectly suited to Maddalena di Coigny. The first
act, through her voice and physical presence, became a sort of romantic
exhalation, and “La mamma morta”, taken at a very slow tempo, was a
crescendo of expressive tension. She was splendid in the final duet and in
the scene with Gérard, a role which seems to be custom-made for baritone
Luca Salsi, who exhibits the role and his powerful voice with sybaritic
pleasure, confidence and clearness. This lavishness was also extended to the
secondary characters: Doris Soffel was the Countess; J’Nai Bridges, a
remarkable Bersi, and the “vecchia Madelon”, the incombustible Elena Zilio.
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