Offenbach : Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Yves Abel
There was one significant problem with Bartlett Sher's production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann tonight - it's too dark. Maybe visibility is better in-house (I certainly hope so), but for the cinema, at least three-quarters of the proceedings were steeped in gloom, and only the camera close-ups permitted any kind of view of the principals. Act 1 was a bit brighter generally, and in Act 2 it hardly mattered, because there are only at most five people on stage at any given time, but the Prologue, Epilogue and Act 3 were, frankly, more of a strain on the eyes than anything else. Given that, I sort of gave up on attempting to understand Sher's production in any great depth and just took it all at face value - what I could see of it, that is. Visually, it's a little eccentric, very loosely set between the Wars, with a kind of Weimar-Republic cabaret feel to it much of the time, and that works no better and no worse than many another setting I've seen.
Fortunately, there were many good things going on musically. First of all, chorus and orchestra were on top form, very strong, very clean, very vivid. Yves Abel was pushing the tempi just a little bit too hard, but it kept everything moving along quite successfully, and neither the singing nor the playing were over-taxed because of it. Vittorio Grigolo proved an agreeable surprise in the title role. I expected his voice to sound good, and it certainly did, but the quality of his French, and the unflagging energy he brought to what is a long and arduous part, were distinct bonuses. He's not the most psychologically profound of Hoffmanns - he tends to the naive, more than anything else - but he was as thoroughly invested in the performance as anyone could wish.
Thomas Hampson sang all four "villains", and this was not as felicitous a choice as Grigolo. While his stage presence and his musicality are as strong as ever, the voice was showing marked signs of wear and tear. These four roles are more for bass-baritone than baritone, and Hampson was a bit stretched in the lowest part of his vocal range. Also, Miracle, which is the closest to his natural baritone fach, ended up perilously close to being spoken, rather than sung; a pity as this is the strongest of the roles musically. He did, however, pull off "Scintille, diamant" (the 1908 version) successfully, top note included.
Some day I'd like to see a performance of Hoffmann with one soprano as the three love interests, but it is, admittedly, a tall order for any one singer to encompass the range, both vocal and emotional, required by the three roles. In the absence of that unique presence, and given the revised editions of the score since the 1990s, it's the mezzo role of Nicklausse/The Muse that steps into the spotlight, as a consistent and important figure throughout the piece. In this production, she is presented much of the time as a voluntary accomplice to Hoffmann's nemeses, though for her own reasons, which makes her act often in flat contradiction to her text. Kate Lindsey lent her long profile and smoky timbre to create a disquieting character, a little inhuman, certainly motivated by considerations quite distinct from anyone else.
Erin Morley made Olympia's pyrotechnics sound easy in an impressive vocal display. Hibla Gerzmava has a lovely, lush voice, and sang Antonia passionately, but her diction was uncomfortably thick. Christine Rice was a clear-toned and seductive Giulietta, and it would have been nice to hear a bit more of her, but this production uses pretty much the standard Choudens edition for the Venice act, which doesn't leave Giulietta with a great deal to do. Amongst the myriad secondary roles, Tony Stevenson delivered a very nice, neat and funny rendition of Franz's comic turn from Act 2, and also in Act 2, Olesya Petrova demonstrated splendidly exactly why it's worth casting a good mezzo as Antonia's Mother, instead of some worn-out has-been (as is all too often the case!).
[Next : 5th February]
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