Now we can see for ourselves what all that kerfuffle was about at La Scala. (If you want to cut to the chase, Intermezzo posted part of the curtain call, where Mr.Beczala got three—count 'em, three—boos; the rest were reserved for the Regisseur, Mr. Tcherniakov.)
For those of us who want to find out why they were booing the director, we have about three weeks to see the entire opera at Arte Liveweb. So go see and listen for yourself.
Did Piotr Beczala deserve boos ? I think not, and though it's hard to take rejection, I hope he puts it all aside and moves on. Did Dmitri Tcherniakov deserve boos? Maybe, but probably not. But the loggionisti do so love to hear themselves go "Booooooo!"
Meanwhile, I think Diana Damrau is a divine Violetta. What do you think about the performance?
The text above was written about 12 hours ago. Since I wrote that, I've watched the first two acts, and I am not at all convinced by Tcherniakov's concept. Ms. Damrau is a hyper Ginger Rogers in Act 1 and Act 2, Scene 1 (That kind of works, but she should fire her hair and wardrobe person). She and Mr. Beczala are doing their best, and I kind of like their version of domestic bliss; but they don't seem totally convinced either. All in all, I’d like to see them in a more focused production, becuase they sure sound great!
And Tcherniakov either simply doesn't know what to do with a chorus, or he can't decide. Their movement is neither natural nor stylized. They're not quite all standing around in a semi-circle (well, actually they are, a lot of the time) but they're not quite milling about naturally, either. Meanwhile, I'm hoping Act 3 (tomorrow afternoon probably) will tie it all together. (But I’m less hopeful than I was when I watched the separate clips.)
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I wonder whether it;s that DT doesn't know what to do with a chorus or that the La Scala chorus are a useless bunch of lazy skivers who can't act and can only sing in Italian, maybe. Watch them on the La Scala DVD of Peter Grimes. Quite possibly the worst chorus ever to sing the work.
ReplyDeleteThat may be the case -- they they are not very directable.But given the state of the rest of this production, I am inclined to think that DT is simply NOT an opera director. Meanwhile, I am getting ready to post my wrap-up rant...I mean review of the entire production.
DeleteJust the terms La Scala and Peter Grimes in the same sentence sounds strange! :)