No print slot this time for this review of a recent Met Live in HD broadcast. It was quite a sociable occasion with a large attendance. The front of house team, under Peter Shanahan at the Odeon Waterford did a good job distributing a synopsis to all and there was even cake in the interval. Prosecco next week please:)
Next in the diary: Puccini's Turandot
Review: The Pearl
Nadir's Aria from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers - Met lIve in HD from Larry Murray on Vimeo.
Fishers Met Live in HD Odeon Waterford ****
The Met production of Les
Pecheurs de Perles broadcast on Saturday drew a larger audience than usual
to the Odeon in Waterford. To date, only Lehar’s Merry Widow has proved to have more pulling power than Bizet’s
exotic potboiler based on a love triangle between rival fishermen and a Hindu
priestess. The opera hasn’t been performed at The Met for a century and its’ ‘rarity’
tag earned it a slot at Wexford in 1971. Beyond one lollipop, would there be enough
to sustain us over an evening?
Curtain up revealed a mesmerizing underwater tableau where
three aerialists simulate diving for pearls, a triumph of modern stage
machinery and the art of video projection. This coup-de-theatre gave way to an
intriguing set - a ramshackle waterside village on stilts crammed with a chorus
in oriental peasant costume. The muted
hues were brightened with twinkling lights set on many levels and depths. The familiar operatic duet, ‘Au fond du temple powerfully sung by the well matched hunky
duo, baritone, Mariusz Kwiecien and tenor, Matthew Polenzani as friends and
rivals, Zurga and Nadir. Leila (Diana Damrau) glides in by boat to take up the
position of village vestal virgin. The stand
out moment was when Nadir, alone on stage reveals that despite an oath, he and
Leila have had a liaison and in je crois
entendre encore, he sings an aria of
rapture and yearning with such tenderness and superb high pianissimos that you could sense the
audience melt.
They resume their romance but are discovered. Leila’s lapse
is blamed for a tempest and both are condemned to death. Zurga relents and contrives to allow their
escape. The Act 3 grimy office looks like the set of a Cold War drama and seems
at odds with the rest of the production.
With a superb cast and stunning visual effects, the tension
was maintained over 2 ½ hours. The Met Orchestra under Noseda gave a convincing
account of Bizet’s score. There are many rare operas that one is glad to see once.
I ‘d like to see this one again and it got a thumbs up from the Waterford audience.
Brief blips in transmission reminded us of the power and fragility of the
technology allowing us to share the thrills of a great house with our
transatlantic counterparts. With a tea-time slot, we were home in time for
MOTD.
Broadcast on RTE
LyricFM on Jan 16th available on www.rte.ie/LyricFM
Next Met LIve in HD
transmission via Classical Arts Ireland Puccini Turandot
Jan 30th
