Mendelssohn's Orchestra

... the Leipzig Gewandhaus was in Geneva last week.

Just a few lines to mention how uniquely Germanic and old-fashioned this orchestra is. String tone is firmer and warmer while with more darker tones than say the Vienna Philh or more brilliant ensembles from the US. This enables the line to be maintained while bringing out inner voices very naturally. Who said that all orchestras sound the same and that all are mimicking baroque techniques ? Chailly played these works with Italaniesque fire and used an edition of the Reformation Symphony I had not heard before.

As usual, this concert was under-marketed. There were not even a single poster outside of Victoria Hall but Chailly and the Orchestra were perhaps there for the first time since the last 10 years or so. The hall was not full but on the other hand, silence and concentration were there and we all felt that Chailly and the musicians enjoyed the performance.

André Chénier in Geneva and the importance of Subtitles

I was yesterday at the dress rehearsal of André Chénier at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. While it is unfair to make a comment on singers who were marking their roles, J Fiore's conducting was easy and fluid and John Dew staged a lively first part full of ideas with great costumes (there were an integral part of the staging ...) , lightning, ... clear action without sacrificing ideas.

I also surprised myself realising that the work is stronger than I remembered. My last encounter with this work was in 1985 while I was studying in London. The three principals were Domingo, Tomowa-Sintow and Zancanaro ... so singing could not but have been exceptional. But there were no subtitles at this time and this means that appreciating the work had to be limited. Giordano's music is often there to accompany the action and strongly so but one can only appreciate it if one can follow it very tightly.

This should apply to works where words and action are complex. Would the appreciation by modern audiences of say by Janacek be that great if subtitles had not made ease of following librettos far easier ?

Geneva's musical amateurism ...

Thomas Hampson was last week in Geneva.

While he is singing at the Zurich Opera, he is touring with the Wurttenberg Philharmonic in one of these typically frustrating recitals made to accomodate star performers. Program was a typical mix of unrehearsed arias, -this was the first concert in the serie and yes, one could hear it in  more than few places - intertwined with basically "Elevator music" classical style ...

Yet Hampson's artistry is special and his renderings of Posa's death in Don Carlos or Renato's 3rd act aria in Ballo was worth having to cope with the rest ... As an encore, Don Giovanni's serenade was outstanding in phrasing, color, breath control, charm, ...

As it is customary, before presenting the encore, Hampson spoke to the audience and expressed surprise to have sung in so many places including Don Giovanni and Marcello as well as many recitals at the Grand Théâtre but never at Victoria Hall.

He is right. Geneva and in particular Victoria Hall lacks good communication to potential audiences. The web site of the hall is full of sloppy mistakes, ..., a clear sign of managerial amateurism  ...

If you go outside of the hall and look at the posters, you would never have guessed that someone like Hampson was singing there and saw ads for flashy low-level provincial-like events. There is no single place where you can buy tickets for all possible events. (and also, should I say, only the OSR and the Grand Theatre have a serious press department with a relation where Concertonet editors review events. All the others have turned down my requests so I will not do a review of the Hampson concert ...)

Until this is fixed which basically mean taking communication with audience seriously, events like Hampson's recital will never been sold out (as I am sure it is in every "normal" city of the stature of a Geneva ...) and many touring musicians who are not coming to Geneva will never come.

Note for Swiss Wagnerians

I was yesterday at the Dress Rehearsal of Parsifal at the Grand Theatre. The production is classic, beautiful to look (especially in the Flower Maiden scne at act 2) at while being a little short of PersonenRegie.Singing is fairly homogeneous. Dohmen is a much better Gurnemanz than Amfortas at Easter under Abbado, his personal severity being on line with the character, words so clear and notes so solid. I was less impressed by the Kundry of L Braun and the Amfortas of D Roth, both competent singers but somewhat pale and lacking tension. To be fair with them, this is a rehearsal and they could have been marking. Klaus Florian Vogt deserves a few lines: he signs with a disarming naturalness and basically never forces. This works wonderfully until the Act 2 Kundry kiss where he needs to rise and ... become Parsifal. Maybe because this is a dress rehearsal but I was missing sheer drama there. But the voice is something to marvel at.

What was a discovery was the excellence of the conducting of John Fiore. Long-lined legato with a keen sense of characterisation. This is a natural Wagnerian relishing every note of the work. The OSR played well for him with more colour from the strings than usual.

Approved by Beckmesser. Definitely not to be missed.

Lamest Excuse of the week ...

Geneva is very cold these days, Minus 8 when I leave in the morning ... This has not prevented Alexandre Tharaud to visit Victoria Hall as well as Neeme Järvi to remind us the the OSR potential. Meanwhile Lang Lang has cancelled his Sunday appearance. I personnally received the following mail:

"Après le début triomphal de la tournée suisse, le 7 février à Zurich, le récital de Lang Lang initialement prévu le 14 Février 2010 à 17h00 au Victoria Hall de Genève, doit être reporté. Le pianiste de renommée internationale souffre d’une inflammation de l’index de la main droite et est contraint à un repos d’une semaine."

My personal translation: He does too many concerts, had not filled the hall (because of the cold ...) and decided to take a break. Those unhappy can find consolation in the Lang Lang store where scarfs and shoes at the pianist image can be purchased on line ... and this has nothing to do with music.