(This is actually the quartet at the end of Act 3) |
My second favorite bit is
Blonde’s Welche wonne, welche lust. She is so excited and happy she keeps getting
in her own way. Each time we think she’s leaving the stage, she comes back with
another thought. It’s clear Pedrillo wants her to get moving. Finally he picks
her up and carries her off stage. Speaking of Pedrillo, poor Norbert
Orth is the only singer not mentioned in
all the blurbs. He comes across as
character tenor; and apparently went on to become a Heldentenor; he seems a little
rough on Mozart, but he makes an impish and fun Pedrillo.
Pedrillo is thinking, "Shut up and go, already!"
“I’m sadder than you are” |
Pasha Selim is noble, but he's not happy about it.
Overall, this is a pretty
fluffy interpretation, taking Mozart’s cues that the show is not supposed to be
too serious. There is no real social
commentary other than Pasha magnanimously forgiving his enemy, though he seems cranky about it, sort of like Tito in some productions of La Clemenza di... The production is representative but not literal. It's nice to look at, and there’s lots
of good music and fine singing, and an opportunity to hear the great Mozart conductor Karl Böhm at the helm. Francisco Araiza, Reri Grist, Martti Tavela, and
Edita Gruberova ably demonstrate their skills as Mozart singers. I highly recommend this for folks who are
seeking a “traditional” Entführung.
Meanwhile, since my Entführung post of a week or so ago, I have had a chance
to view the Herheim M22 (the one with social commentary but no plot) and the Neuenfels Stuttgart (the
one with the double cast that says "Hey! We're all in an opera!") productions. I will be back with more on both of
those soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are very welcome! They won't be moderated; but rude, abusive, and/or radically off-topic posts will be removed.