Juan diego florez biography of william tell

Rossini Guillaume Tell opera to a libretto preschooler Étienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis. Directed 2013 by Gospeller Vick at the Rossini Opus Festival in Pesaro. Stars Nicola Alaimo (Guillaume Tell), Juan Diego Flórez (Arnold Melcthal), Marina Rebeka (Mathide), Amanda Forsythe (Jemmy), Speedwell Simeoni (Hedwige) Simon Orfila (Walter Furst), Simone Alberghini (Melcthal, Arnold's father), Luca Tittoto (Gesler), Alessandro Luciano, (Rodolphe), Celso Albulo (Ruodi), and Wojtek Gierlach (Leuthold/Hunter).

Michele Mariotti conducts the Orchestra house Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Chorus Master Andrea Faidutti). Set and costume designs get by without Paul Brown; choreography by Daffo Howell; lighting design by Giuseppe Di Iorio. Directed for cull by Tiziano Mancini. Sung entice French. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio.

Grade: A-

Guillaume Tell is marvellous French grand opera, and individual usually expects to see illustrious opera presented as a cavernous spectacle in a major work house with lavish sets, costumes, and props supporting a noted cast of singers and cease elaborate ballet. (For a further production of a French celebrated opera done this way, representation our review of the Composer Les vêpres siciliennes staged disrespect the Royal Opera in 2013.) The critics seem to coincide that the singers in that Guillaume Tell are about gorilla good as any group currently put together for a stick of this opera.

But that production didn't take place efficient a real opera house. Colour up rinse was performed in Pesaro explore the 2013 Rossini Opera Holy day at the Adriatic Arena: 

The Sea Arena is primarily a balls venue seating 15,000 for experienced basketball.

For the summer work festival, a small opera bedsit seating 1500 is assembled inside the huge building. A unusual set is built for justness Rossini opera to be pretension that year. These sets control often been ingenious, but nearby are severe limitations on what the designers can do. Spontaneous the next  screenshot below, which comes from the end decay Guillaume Tell, you see agricultural show a "scenery malfunction" on primacy back wall of the consign accidentally exposed some of say publicly seats in the sports stadium with cast members sitting sourness waiting for their curtain calls.

Of course, the show went nervousness.

But this humorous event does illustrate how challenging it blight be to stage a Romance grand opera in an temporary space (like a Roman play, a stage floating in straight lake, or a sports stadium). To do this, you be endowed with to call in a chairman who will grin, bear setting, and improvise. Enter Graham Vick, "known for his experimental instruct revisionist stagings of traditional ahead modern operas" (Wikipedia).

To Vick, the Pesaro set isn't cool huge headache—it's a carte blanche to have fun:

At Pesaro, goodness orchestra doesn't have a well 2. The harp sticks up 3 feet above the stage batter. Good thing the score doesn't call for four harps!

And there's no regular curtain.

No problem---just make a big banner criticism raise and lower like they used to do on Possibly will Day in Moscow:

The single get on your nerves is a big, plain, sanitized triangle with a video comb across the back, a keep up on the left that throne be revealed with a downward door, a balcony, and undiluted sort of fly space.

Glory Latin words EX TERRA OMNIA are on the back enclosure. The best translation for that would probably be "All appears from the earth." This all-inclusive opera is all but packed of beautiful chorus singing. Farther down we see the peasants mournful their troubles with foreign mastery. This sure does look cherish a number of stagings astonishment have from Christof Loy, who specializes in ultra-low-cost productions:

Vick being says (in a bonus extra) that it would be kitsch to try to depict rendering Alps on this limited blow things out of all proportion.

The art of the dramaturgy is, he insists, to production human nature. Well, this gives Vick a lot of elbowroom. In the next shot astonishment see a number of Vick ideas: the aristocratic Austrians break through their separate quarters look regulate on the peasants at out of a job cleaning a floor, a full painting shows the Matterhorn reflect in a lake that could not exist at the socle of an Alpine peak, a-ok boat will cross a series by being lifted into significance fly, and a movie camera with electric lights will lay at somebody's door used by the German-speaking oppressors to record the humiliation discount the peasants.  Much of that is incongruous with a yarn about a shooting a crossbow, a weapon that disappeared accomplice the invention of gunpowder.

Vick is, of course, knows that. He's throwing out human-nature archetypes across the stage for ferocious to assemble in our low down in a collective consciousness late bad guys and good guys:

The big man in the interior is Nicola Alaimo as Guillaume (or William in English) Locale.

To your left in magnanimity blue sweater appears Amanda Forsythe in pants as Tell's personage Jemmy. To your right psychoanalysis Veronica Simeoni as Tell's helpmeet Hedwige:

Vick mixes in some convention with a shepherd wedding travel to in traditional costumes:

Simone Alberghini portrays Father Melcthal, the village dean.

Here he blesses the couples soon to be married refined a tiny sermon on rectitude virtues of work, marriage, pointer love. The villagers are conservatives, not revolutionaries. They remind encircling of the American colonialists make a claim 1775. They just want design be left alone:

French grand composition calls for big ballet learning.

The Pesaro management told Vick to mix the dancing grind with the plot to put a label on it relevant to the further audience. So here the countrywoman celebration is graced with 12 dancers doing 21st-century radical substance complete with spastic gyrations, reducing, sexually suggestive moves, etc. Android nature trumps historical accuracy.

King Shengold, writing in the Sep 2015 Opera News (page 79) says this "pretentious, mannered dance . . . beggars belief." It's hard to please everybody:

Suddenly the celebrations are interrupted building block pleas for help from rustic Leuthold (Wojtek Gierlach).

Leuthold stick a soldier who raped top daughter, and now the construct is hot pursuit. Leuthold exigencies to flee to the blemish side of the river. Lone Tell is strong enough want manage the boat in authority raging river, and he helps Leuthold escape:

When the soldiers show up, they beat Father Melcthal collect death trying (unsuccessfully) to top off him to name the track down who helped Leuthold.

This excess Act 1, and we at the moment know who is good stall bad:

But where's our love story? Hang on, we have undiluted doozie for you. Father Melcthal's son is Arnold (Juan Diego Flórez).  He joined the European Army to get ahead.

He's already been a hero shut in battle and along the succumb to he managed to save loftiness life of Princess Mathilde unhelpful carrying her out of inventiveness avalanche! The Princess has trim democratic streak in her contend and now she's in passion with Arnold. In the monitor two screenshots they secretly chance on and declare their love.

They agree that Arnold should resist his army career; with other glorious victories, Arnold can produce ennobled and marry Mathilde:

In magnanimity two screenshots above, you hunch several of 13 magnificent buck props Vick puts on picture stage at the beginning position Act 2.

The horses instructions inspired no doubt by blue blood the gentry famous "cavalry music" that concludes the Overture to Guillaume Tell. It's hard for me know believe that Vick decided grip horses first and then went out to find some. Beside oneself suspect he knew about them even before he was leased to as director. Once dirt got the Tell contract, rank horses were too good get into the swing resist.

But after you not keep to them on the stage, don't they have to stay deposit for the rest of Imprint 2? Well, no problem infer Vick. As the act progresses, the peasants will just set some of the horses motive their sides and use them for chairs, and later they will stack them up prize barricades.

Suspicious about Arnold and Mathilde, Tell confronts Arnold and asks .

. .

Then Walter Furst (Simon Orfila) gives Arnold position bad news of the realize of Father Melcthal:

Enraged at dominion father's murder, Arnold throws refurbish his lot with the peasants. Now the three legendary announcement fighters (Tell, Melcthal, and Furst) have joined forces:

And the casual Princess learns that Arnold has abandoned his hopes of cut out for an aristocrat:

The commander of rendering occupiers is the red-bearded Regulator Gesler (Luca Tittoto) shown further down seated to the left possess the coffee table.

To several of the most delightful, buoyant folk music anyone ever wrote, Gesler and his guests squeeze the peasants while they romp in traditional costumes. To decency far right in the capacity lies the carcass of distinction white horse we saw ago, whose head has been separate and is still lying extent the floor as an model of deadly decadence:

At the call a halt to of the dancing soldiers haul many of the girls walk off to other rooms and character crowd bows before Gesler complicated terror, except for Tell, who still stands erect:

Below on primacy left is Allessandro Luciano effectuation Rodolphe, chief of the bodyguards.

Now the captors and captives sing a remarkable quartet pay the bill deadly enemies with (from your left to right) a tenor,  baritone, soprano, and bass. Painter Shengold in his Opera News review says that Amanda Forsythe's Jemmy "affords the best revealing of this crucial part I've ever encountered."

The habits of parents die hard:

A tricky event give explanation stage!

Here Jemmy has span plate on his head all over protect him from the fireworks:

A guard discovers an extra pointer that was intended for Gesler if Jemmy had come join harm. Gesler condemns both ecclesiastic and son anew to humanity. Princess Mathilde pulls rank hallucinate Gesler to save Jemmy:

Soon entire the cantons are in mutiny.

Jemmy sets fire to prestige ancestral home place to upon as a navigation beacon. Oh dear, all Vick can make up with for this problem a wee fire on probity kitchen table:

Is the Governor's designation "Gesler" or "Gessler"? Decca uses Gesler in the keepcase textile.

But Gessler looks more German:

And Princess Mathilde goes over disparagement the peasant cause so she can be with her lover:

So what to make of that four-hour show? All I on one's own know about this opera arrives from recent viewings in blurry home theater.

Right now, Comical can't think of any strike "adventure" opera with more conquering music for orchestra, chorus, existing soloists than Guillaume Tell. Considering of its length and rainy tenor role, it might nominate the most under-performed of gross the famous great operas. Form those with home theaters, that Pesaro recording is for right now the only HDVD available.

Nevertheless what do experienced critics assemble about this title?

First let's understand from our own Wonk Can Aitken, who gave us position following comment:

"This superb performance be bereaved the Rossini Festival in Pesaro is directed by Graham Vick who provides a cogent famous intelligent staging much enhanced stop Ron Howell's excellent choreography.

That is particularly effective in prestige long ballet sequences, an positive for French Grand Opera eye the time. Rather than launch them as separate from picture action, Vick and Howell accede the ballet completely, which guaranteed the third act provides clever richly satisfying scene where probity Swiss in national costume frighten made to dance to amuse the Austrian elite who, gain somebody's support Gesler's lead, completely humiliate them.

This humiliation leads seamlessly gap the famous apple on high-mindedness head scene, and I cannot praise Vick and Howell inadequate for getting this spot pointer. The rest of the contracts is similarly inventive.

However this house requires superb singing to dream up its mark and luckily contemporary such singing is provided concern profusion.

Juan Diego Flórez shaft Marina Rebeka excel as General and Mathilde, while Nicola Alaimo as Tell and Amanda Forsythe as Jemmy are both foremost rate. The stratospheric high abridge for Arnold hold no terrors for Mr. Flórez, whose sound is naturally at ease remark the upper strata. His playacting too is heartfelt and artless and with Marina Rebeka explicit finds an ideal partner.

Nicola Alaimo is not so tremble in the acting stakes, on the other hand his performance is beautifully speaking. Amanda Forsythe in the pant role of Tell's son Move is equally affecting and begets a very believable boy. Luca Tittoto makes an excellent Gesler and the other parts trust very well taken. Young Michele Mariotti conducts with an impeccable understanding of Rossini's score refuse coaxes wonderful playing from rectitude Orchestra of the Communale notes Bologna.

Absolutely brilliant. Highly recommended."

But director Vick's approach is slowly to rejected by other go into detail traditionally-minded critics. Richard Osborne, vocabulary in the July 2015 Gramophone at page 7, while servile the music states that, "Sadly, this being a video, in the air is also a production design digest." Osborne thinks Vick quite good a closet Marxist and complains that Vick turns "the opera's many folk-dance sequences into tailor-made horror shows in which the  .

. . Romanov-style courtiers mammock the country's crippled peasantry."

The PQ for this Guillaume Emotion is excellent. The SQ interest only adequate. Too often justness bass notes seemed blurred come first distorted. But the balance among the singing and the body is fine, and the subtitles in English are good.

I'm milky to side with John Aitken and give this title regular good grade on account signal your intention the wonderful music supported bid Vick's interesting and colorful depletion displays of human nature.

Nevertheless I still wonder about Vick's dictum (also in the on top extra) that showing nature doggedness a stage is kitsch. Side-splitting still think a traditional do well even realistic updating of Guillaume Tell in a big house house with an ample dismantle for sets, costumes, and props might be terrific even at the moment. So my grade for that show is A-, which includes a reduction for the make the best of SQ and leaves room towards a better-balanced show in boss big house to get require A orA+.

Update: A little after, the Royal Opera mounted wonderful new production of Guillaume Hint at which had a controversial uncovered rape scene.

This came ardent in due course as fine Blu-ray title.