Puccini pair trumps Bangkok

       On September 9 and 11, the Ekaterinburg Opera Theatre offered two contrasting approaches to Puccini's two wellknown operas - Tosca and Madame Butterfly - as part of Bangkok's 11th International Festival of Dance and Music. On September 9, conductor Fabio Mastrangelo chose to have the orchestra pit raised to better project the orchestra's sound. From the first opening chord, he offered a brisk,bombastic and relentlessly driven reading of the score. The audience was given a rollercoaster ride through maelstroms of emotions and narratives - intrigue, love, jealousy, rage, an escaped political prisoner, secret agents, torture, sex and murder where as conductor Mikhail Granovsky paced Madame Butterfly more deliberately, offering poignant, controlled emotional outbursts and dignity; not so dramatic, but equally effective and moving. The Ekaterinburg Opera Theatre orchestra was up to the challenge set by the two conductors, playing both adelicate, ethereal accompaniment during the humming chorus in Madame Butterfly and the thunderous opening chords of Tosca .They may have run out of steam at a few points during the second act of Tosca , as it was not humanely possible to scale such climatic heights asked by the conductor.
       After such an intense opening to Tosca , one could only have hoped for three singers powerful enough to carry out the conductor's vision. Tenor Mikhail Vishniak seemed to have unlimited power despite his rather curious vocal production. His voice seemed to be all chest voice with very little head resonance even in his upper register. His pronunciation was composed mostly of vowels with very few consonant sounds. As a result, he had a soft-edged, rounded tone and it was next to impossible to understand what he sang. His inability to communicate through clear diction distracted much from his otherwise good performance. Baritone Petr Tolstenko as Baron Scarpia, had a strong, penetrating voice that cut through the dense orchestra and chorus during his Te Duem scene with ease. His portrayal was full of insinuation, aggression and menace. He had no difficulty coping with the high tessitura of the role.
       His singing with soprano Ekaterina Neyzhmak in the second act of Tosca will surely prove to be one of the highlights of the Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music in recent years. Ms Neyzhmak possesses a sizeable rich, ample soprano voice that remains smooth and steady throughout her entire vocal range. Her histrionic in the second act was powerful but never excessive and she valiantly coped with the loud orchestra admirably. Best of all, despite having a large powerful voice, she was not afraid to sing softly and used it to good effect throughout the evening.She spun out exquisite pianissimo phrases at the beginning of her aria,Vissi D'arte , with a beautiful and heartbreaking tone that is unrivalled by any other Tosca performance I have ever heard, live or recorded. I hope that she will have a chance to return to Thailand to perform again.
       Following an emotionally charged performance of Tosca ,Madame Butterfly was certainly no let-down.Tenor Vladimir Cheberyak as Pinkerton, had a lyric tenor voice that was clear and secure. He sang ardently in his love duet and his farewell aria was moving. Baritone Alexey Mironov was a sympathetic Sharpless and mezzo soprano Nadezda Babintseva as a rich,warm tone Susuki. Cio Cio San is one of those roles that is difficult to cast properly. Vocally, the singer must have an illusion of youth, her entrance aria has an ethereal quality and her first act duet is full of lyrical passion, charm and innocence. Her second and third act is full of quiet yearning, dramatic outbursts and extreme vocal intensity.Soprano Elena Dementieva met all these challenges. She scaled down her voice appropriately during the first act. Her voice swelled and reached its climax at the end of Un bel di ,during Che tua madre and at the sighting of Pinkerton's ship with such fiery passion, always remaining musical and under complete control.
       Generally, I feel that there are still plenty of operas that the Festival should explore rather than recycle the four or five most popular operas over and over again. There are plenty of other easily accessible, household name standards in the opera repertory that are yet to be presented here Verdi's Don Carlo Otello and Un Ballo In Maschera ; Mozart's Don Giovanni,le Nozze di Figaro , Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor , Rossini's Barber of Seville , Gounod's Faust , to name a few. However, when the festival can assemble such a strong cast for a particular opera, it does not matter,as a great performance of a frequently seen opera is better than a mediocre new opera.
       Tomorrow is the world premiere of 'Punarnava' by Kathak Kendra, India,presented by Indian embassy. Tickets are 1,500,1,200,1,000,800 and 400 baht, available from Thai Ticket Major;call 02-262-3456 or visit www.thaiticketmajor.com.