greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley) (11/05/84)
I enjoy it greatly when other people share their live performance experiences on the net, so I thought I'd do the same. I saw Richard Strauss' "Elektra" at the San Francisco Opera yesterday afternoon (Sunday matinee, Nov. 4). The S.F. Opera Orchestra was conducted by Jeffrey Tate. Principals were Janis Martin (Elektra) Carol Neblett (Chrysothemis) Viorica Cortez (Klytemnestra) Peter Wimberg (Orestes) and Dennis Bailey (Aegisth). For those unfamiliar with the work, it is a single-act (no break or intermission) approx. 1 1/2 hour tour de force for singers (particularly Elektra herself) and orchestra. The story concerns Elektra's hate for her mother and stepfather and quest for revenge. Prior to the opera, her mother, Klytemnestra and stepfather, Aegisth, had murdered her father, Agemmemnon. Every day Elektra invokes the spirit of Agemmemnon, a blood-curdling monologue, describing with jubilation the bloodshed that will take place when her exiled brother, Orestes returns to wreak vengeance on Klytemnestra and Aegisth. Elektra's sister, Chrysothemis, just wants to get out of there and lead a normal life, but Elektra's persistent threats and hatred have their mother so scared that she won't let either daughter free. Klytemnestra is beset by nightmares and general physical decay, as well as fear that Orestes will return. Elektra pretends to be, for a change, kind to her and acts as though she wants to help her find relief. She does this only long enough to gain Klytemnestra's trust, and then scares the hell out of her with an explicit description of what will happen to her when Orestes returns. At that point, word comes that Orestes has been killed, sending Klytemnestra into fits of laughter and leaving Elektra and Chrysothemis desolate. Elektra works on Chrysothemis to get her to help kill their mother and stepfather, but Chrysothemis retreats in horror. A stranger appears who turns out to be Orestes (the rumors of his death being greatly exaggerated). He duly slaughters Klytemnestra and Aegisth (off-stage shrieks and groans) after which Elektra does a jubilant dance and then, the resolution of her hatred leaving her nothing else to live for, drops dead. The orchestra, under Jeffrey Tate, sounded fabulous. I was very impressed with the overall cohesion of his reading and the clarity of his beat. Power was built up not by brute force but rather through textural clarity and beauty of sound. This was fully realized by the orchestra which was able to play with a unanimity and fullness that led to an overwhelming impact. If it seems strange to discuss the orchestra first in an opera performance, I (although trained as a singer) firmly believe that the orchestra and conductor provide the foundation of a performance. Good, but not great, singers with a great conductor and orchestra can provide, for me at least, a memorable experience that great singers with a mediocre conductor and orchestra cannot. This was the case, as the singers were good but not great. Janis Martin avoided hysteria in the title role, building an interpretation of great intensity and concentration. There were important things she couldn't do as a result of problems with handling her upper register. Strauss calculated many of the climactic moments based on the soprano's ability to hurl out a brilliant high note at the end of a long stretch of powerful singing over the enormous orchestra. Most of the time, these high notes emerged as indeterminately pitched screams which, in the case of the two high C's fell pathetically short of what was intended. Nonetheless, there were long stretches where her cool, clear sound projected great power and lyricism. Her recognition of her brother, her wild dances, and her death scene were done beautifully. Carol Neblett projected Chrysothemis' frustration and horror very well. The role lies very high, and, in contrast to Janis Martin, it was Neblett's top that projected most forcefully as it soared over the orchestra. Other than the top, her voice tends to be wooly and poorly focused, which made it impossible for her to project words clearly. She looked beautiful. Viorica Cortez looked, appropriately, like an old whore and projected decadence, malevolence, and also tremendous fatigue and dread. Her voice projected clearly at the low and high end, but got lost in the orchestra in the middle. Her words were, except for when she was covered by the orchestra, clearly and powerfully projected. The men, considerably smaller parts, were good. Dennis Bailey sang well and did a good job of portraying the character's neuroticism. Peter Wimberg sang and acted Orestes with considerable beauty and nobility. The costumes were wild, all of the women wearing body stockings with painted nipples to make them look bare-breasted. This didn't bother me, but I had several people in the audience commenting that they thought it was rather gross. I thought that the direction, by Regina Resnik (who used to be a wonderful Klytemnestra herself) was excellent - all of the moves made sense and everyone seemed to have a very clear grasp of the characters they were enacting. - Greg Paley
asente@Cascade.ARPA (11/08/84)
> The orchestra, under Jeffrey Tate, sounded fabulous.
This has to be the the strangest music review I have ever read. My
opinion of this particular performance (shared by all I talked with
about it) was that the singers managed to sabotage the stage and music
director's best efforts to ruin the opera by giving excellent
performances and preventing the evening from being a total waste. The
staging was among the worst I've ever seen and believe me, I've seen
some pretty awful staging. What were all those wierd arm movements
Electra kept doing? They looked like calisthenics. And the orchestral
playing was incredibly dull. The expected climaxes never materialized.
Electra is one of the most compelling and emotionally draining
experiences in the musical world. A good production should leave you
almost limp with exhaustion.
I recommend highly the recent film version starring Rysanek; it manages
to capture all the excitement San Francisco's production managed to
leave out.
-paul asente
"That's the end of my aria
And if it's not too much trouble
Would you mind applauding?
<three handclaps>
Thank you." -- Don Octavegreg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley) (11/09/84)
As to my review being "strange" and disagreeing with everyone else Paul Asente talked to, I can only respond that I reported what I heard and saw, as I perceived it. No two people hearing the same performance are going to be looking (or listening) for exactly the same things. I try not to allow my own responses to a performance to be colored by the opinions of the rest of the audience. I admit unhesitantly that my primary concern at the opera is the musical realization and the dramatic expression as realized through the musical interpretation. I've gotten so accustomed to ridiculous stage action that, unless it goes to the point of blocking the musical interpretation (as happens when singers are forced to perform moves that actually inhibit their singing or the musical ensemble), I tend to ignore it. For this reason, I can fully enjoy such things as Verdi's "Nabucco" and "Il Trovatore" despite the absurdity of the plot and stage action. Paul is absolutely correct about the "strange arm movements". These struck me as clearly trying to emulate the classic poses I've seen in filmed performances of (non-operatic) Greek tragedy. Rather than convincing or overwhelming, they seemed obviously "put on" to the performers, rather than arising spontaneously as good stage action should. As to the orchestra, do be sure that we are discussing the same performance. I've since had opportunity to talk with several members of the orchestra who confirmed that there was a definite variance between individual performances and at least one maintained that the pacing and ensemble of the Sunday matinee was superior to earlier performances. I still maintain that the conducting and playing were miles ahead of what I've generally heard at the S.F. Opera. I haven't been able to see the filmed Elektra. Having seen Rysanek in a number of performances over the last 15 years and hearing recordings dating back to the early 50's, I know her to be a singing actress of extraordinary power. I have no doubt that, though her voice is very different from, say, Nilsson at her peak, she would be able to generate an equivalent vocal excitement as well as providing even greater dramatic intensity. BUT she has never, to my knowledge, sung the part on stage and has no intention of doing so. To me, this disqualifies a comparison, just as one cannot compare Teresa Stratas' filmed performance of "Salome" with any stage performance. Rysanek, when at her best (such as the few 1973 performances in which she substituted for Marita Napier in San Francisco) was the best Chrysothemis I've seen. As to mine being the strangest review Paul has read, I realize it was by no means intended as a compliment but I am in a way flattered. I have no desire the mimic the type of criticism I've read in the local journals or hi-fi magazine, nor do I have any interest in mirroring somebody else's opinions. - Greg Paley