Des McAnuff's Faust opens tonight with Piotr Beczala John Relyea and Marina Poplavskaya. The prodution will conducted by Alain Altinoglu.
For more on the production click on our preview linked here.
For our review of the production click here
Showing posts with label Alain Altinoglu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alain Altinoglu. Show all posts
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Otello Preview 2012-2013
Johan Botha and Renee Fleming reprise their roles in Elijah Moshensky's production of Otello. Jose Cura and Thomas Hampson take on the second run.
The Production
The elegant 1994 production by Elijah Moshinsky returns for its final run. Moshinsky who made his Met debut in 1980 directing Un Ballo in Maschera first mounted this Otello in honor of Placido Domingo's 25th anniversary with the Met. The production was sung by him in the late 90s and then was taken over by other lesser known Otellos who lacked the same vigor that Domingo had. As for the production, it has the same lavish grandeur of a Zeffirelli production. The sets are made up of huge marble pillars, and mythic paintings. There is a huge plaza at the end of the third act and a huge bedroom at the end of the fourth act. It is in all sense the monumental production one expects from Otello. Nevertheless critics have complained about Moshinksy lack of direction and his placement of the chorus, and overwhelming sets. They have also complained about the first scene which they say looks like a construction sight rather than a dock and a castle. Regardless of all the complaints it is a production that presents the action without any superficiality and dumb concepts. It will be the second time this production is recorded and the first live in HD transmission for it.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Faust Preview 2012-2013 Season
Des McAnuff's incomprehensible production returns to the Met starring Piotr Beczala and Marina Poplavskaya.
The Production
Last year the Met unveiled The English National Opera's production of Faust replacing Andrei Serban's visually lavish production of Faust. Gelb's reason for replacing a production that had only been shown 13 times was because he wanted a more theatrical Faust. However what he got was an incomprehensible and confusing production. Rather than pleasing the audience with a dazzling, energetic and colorful take on the simple love story, Gelb bored audiences and critics alike. The production which takes place during World War 2 in Faust's laboratory has interesting and diverting sequences as well as interesting lighting effects. However when McAnuff is forced to work with the heavy material, he runs out of ideas and relies on the singers to engage the audience. As an audience member it did not matter how beautiful the singers were singing because I was confused and uninterested by the action. Critics were also not impressed by the work. They stated that "there was something about an atomic bomb, and Faust being a middle aged man with a mid life crisis who actually DRINKS the poison and then suddenly has a flashback because he returns to that moment where he drank the poison and dies as the final curtain comes down. Confused? So was I. McAnuff mentioned a flashback sequence, but only confusion arises from this: in a flashback, someone goes back to their youth, which Faust promptly does after Mephistopheles gives him the potion. However, Faust does not immediately turn young when he drinks the poison. He remains old, and invokes the devil to make him young again and the story proceeds as it normally does. It could have been interpreted that he flashed back when the devil showed up except McAnuff shoots this interpretation in the foot the moment Faust returns to the moment when he drank the poison the first time at the end of the performance." Critics also questioned many aspects of the production including where Marguerite goes when she dies, Where are those stairs leading her to at the end, Is there a heaven in a universe where Science has presumably become/ destroyed God, and why is the Atomic Bomb concept abandoned after the Walpurgis Night Scene and make no impact on the opera's final scene. The point is the production was unclear and unfocused. Gelb's decision left me never wanting to see another Faust until this production is removed forever from the Met.
The Production
Last year the Met unveiled The English National Opera's production of Faust replacing Andrei Serban's visually lavish production of Faust. Gelb's reason for replacing a production that had only been shown 13 times was because he wanted a more theatrical Faust. However what he got was an incomprehensible and confusing production. Rather than pleasing the audience with a dazzling, energetic and colorful take on the simple love story, Gelb bored audiences and critics alike. The production which takes place during World War 2 in Faust's laboratory has interesting and diverting sequences as well as interesting lighting effects. However when McAnuff is forced to work with the heavy material, he runs out of ideas and relies on the singers to engage the audience. As an audience member it did not matter how beautiful the singers were singing because I was confused and uninterested by the action. Critics were also not impressed by the work. They stated that "there was something about an atomic bomb, and Faust being a middle aged man with a mid life crisis who actually DRINKS the poison and then suddenly has a flashback because he returns to that moment where he drank the poison and dies as the final curtain comes down. Confused? So was I. McAnuff mentioned a flashback sequence, but only confusion arises from this: in a flashback, someone goes back to their youth, which Faust promptly does after Mephistopheles gives him the potion. However, Faust does not immediately turn young when he drinks the poison. He remains old, and invokes the devil to make him young again and the story proceeds as it normally does. It could have been interpreted that he flashed back when the devil showed up except McAnuff shoots this interpretation in the foot the moment Faust returns to the moment when he drank the poison the first time at the end of the performance." Critics also questioned many aspects of the production including where Marguerite goes when she dies, Where are those stairs leading her to at the end, Is there a heaven in a universe where Science has presumably become/ destroyed God, and why is the Atomic Bomb concept abandoned after the Walpurgis Night Scene and make no impact on the opera's final scene. The point is the production was unclear and unfocused. Gelb's decision left me never wanting to see another Faust until this production is removed forever from the Met.
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