Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. Orchestra (Seat Y35, $25).
Iolanta
Story. King
Rene’s daughter Iolanta is born blind.
She is betrothed at birth to marry Duke Robert, and her father protects
her by having her live alone with servants and never informing her that she is
blind. By chance Robert and his friend
Count Vaudemont wander in, Robert is love with Matilda, but Vaudemont is taken
by Iolanta’s beauty. When her father
brings in a Moorish doctor, the doctor’s cure only works if Iolanta truly
desires to see again. Even though unwittingly
Vaudemont lets Iolanta know that she is blind, she still doesn’t know what
sight means. The king then threatens to
kill Vaudemont if the doctor fails, knowing this would trigger Iolanta’s desire
that the cure be a success. It works. King Rene then releases Robert’s
responsibility to marry his daughter, and the opera concludes with Iolanta
marrying Vaudemont.
Conductor – Henrik Nanasi. Iolanta – Sonya Yoncheva, King Rene – Vitalij
Kowaljow, Duke Robert – Alexey Markov, Count Vaudemont – Matthew Polenzani.
Bluebeard’s Castle
Story. Judith loves Bludbeard and has come to his
castle to live with him. She knows
little about Bluebeard, and his secrets mesmerizes her. In the castle there are seven locked doors,
which is opened at her insistence one at a time despite Bluebeard’s response of
“love me, and ask no questions.” The
doors reveal rooms that are: a torture chamber, an armory, a treasury, a
garden, Bluebeard’s empire, a sea of tears, and – finally – space beyond life
where Bluebeard’s previous wives dwell.
Judith joins them.
Conductor – Henrik Nanasi. Judith – Angela Denoke, Duke Bluebeard –
Gerald Finley.
This combination of operas was offered by the Met last
season, it was a must-see event as Anna Netrebko was singing the role of
Iolanta. Our schedule was such that we
couldn’t make it. While we didn’t include
this in our subscription due to possible calendar issues, I was planning to see
it if schedule allows. Being able to do
so at Rush Ticket pricing is a great bonus.
The auditorium was reasonably full, but I still managed to move in a
couple of seats (to Y31) for Iolanta, and one row up (X27 or thereabouts) for
Bluebeard. Iolanta lasts about 90
minutes, Bluebeard 60; together they form a nice program.
I am sure Netrebko did well, but Yoncheva does not need
to apologize for her performance. Not
far into the program she sang her first aria, a melodious yet not easy hummable
tune, wondering if there is anything wrong, and why she feels sad. Yes, Iolanta’s story is not that different
from other “girl meets prince” story, but it certainly gripped me by the time Yoncheva
was done with the first aria.
One can gauge the popularity of Iolanta by the number of
times this has been staged at the Met. I
saw the ninth performance, ever. The
opera didn’t sound particularly difficult for a Tchaikovsky, the set (more on
that later) was not that elaborate, and I, for one, won’t mind seeing it again. The other cast members all did well. One voice that didn’t meet my high
expectations – because they were high – was Polenzani’s. He certainly could hold the audience’s
attention with his soft wistful high-register notes, but there was not enough
heft when heft was called for. Given how
good he usually is, I was expecting someone to come out and say he couldn’t
continue because of a cold (not that this is practical with a one-act opera.) From reading the Operawire review, he was not
able to perform in the January 24 concert.
The set is basically a cubic structure that served for
most of the time Iolanta’s bedroom (afterall, there was a bed in the middle of
it.) By rotating the bed people can come
in and exit quietly (but observable from my seat on the side.) For the different acts, the rest of the stage
would be for instance a forest or the courtyard of the house. There are tree trunks that are raised so the
roots would be off the stage; perhaps to show that the room is underground?
The cast of Iolanta with Yoncheva and Polenzani in their wedding attire. The conductor didn't join the cast after this first opera of two.
Although the story isn’t really that important, I do wish
for a less formulaic ending. Everyone is
happy, no one got hurt, and Iolanta and Vaudemont live happily ever after.
Bluebeard’s Castle contrasts with Iolanta in many
ways. First is the story: while Iolanta
is a fairy tale, Bluebeard’s Castle is a psychological treatise (or thriller)
that some interpret as depicting how people are not knowable, or there are
things about others – even those you care about - that you really don’t want to
know. It is superfluous to say Bartok’s
music is very different from that of Tchaikovsky’s, although I can generally
get Bartok’s in that its appeal is direct.
Of course there is some level of surrealism in Bluebeard, especially in
the last scene where things appeared suspended: these former wives of Bluebeard’s
would slowly walk and disappear, and it wasn’t known if they were alive or dead.
Even though the opera is short (not quite an hour), all
the singing is carried by Judith and Bluebeard.
Both singers did well.
Interestingly on occasion amplification was used on Bluebeard’s voice.
The sets used were more elaborate than Iolanta, go figure. In between scenes you have this projection of
a long corridor in the middle of the curtain, and a room where Judith and/or
Bluebeard appear as they sing the “interludes” (“Love me, don’t ask questions.”) The story started with a forest projected
onto the screen, accompanied by a narration that suddenly stopped (the Playbill
says the voice would fade away; wonder if there was a glitch.) As far as I could tell, this was the first
instance of nudity I saw in any Met opera, prior ones were all with body suits.
Denoke and Finley at the conclusion of Bluebeard's Castle. Standing behind them are Bluebeard's former wives. I had to leave early to catch the train, so didn't wait for the conductor.
The one clear commonality in set designs between the two
operas was the use of these tree trunks with exposed roots. For Bluebeard it makes more sense as the
final scene as the surreal scene could well have unfolded below ground, among
the roots of these trees.
The Playbill’s notes and commentary were generally
helpful. I do wonder if the writer of
the synopses had to go as far to say about Iolanta “Will it be forever?” and
about Bluebeard “The circle of her journey closes. Or, perhaps it closed a long time ago, when
she first met Bluebeard?” Those were
certainly not part of the plot.
This Operawire review heaps praise on Bluebeard, but is
negative on Yoncheva. My experience is
not the same; and I certainly don’t see all these connections about how both
operas have abusive male figures. The
New York Times review expresses similar sentiments, but allows that Yoncheva
was good when she sang Iolanta in Paris a few years ago.
I took the train up and had pizza around 72nd
Street before the opera.
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