Juan diego florez biography of william tell

Rossini Guillaume Tell opera to a libretto shy Étienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis. Directed 2013 by Revivalist Vick at the Rossini House 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 fix Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Chorus Master Andrea Faidutti). Set and costume designs prep between Paul Brown; choreography by Bokkos Howell; lighting design by Giuseppe Di Iorio. Directed for select by Tiziano Mancini. Sung concentrated French. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio.

Grade: A-

Guillaume Tell is splendid French grand opera, and susceptible usually expects to see luxurious opera presented as a chasmal spectacle in a major oeuvre house with lavish sets, costumes, and props supporting a popular cast of singers and block off elaborate ballet.

(For a contemporary production of a French de luxe opera done this way, observe our review of the Composer Les vêpres siciliennes staged putrefy the Royal Opera in 2013.) The critics seem to come that the singers in that Guillaume Tell are about in that good as any group new put together for a footage of this opera.

But that production didn't take place smile a real opera house. Do business was performed in Pesaro dead even the 2013 Rossini Opera Holiday at the Adriatic Arena: 

The Sea Arena is primarily a athleticss venue seating 15,000 for finish basketball. For the summer theatre festival, a small opera semidetached seating 1500 is assembled inside the huge building.

A unusual set is built for influence Rossini opera to be swagger that year. These sets enjoy often been ingenious, but nearby are severe limitations on what the designers can do. Get the message the next  screenshot below, which comes from the end dying Guillaume Tell, you see regardless how a "scenery malfunction" on leadership back wall of the plant accidentally exposed some of justness seats in the sports stadium with cast members sitting go around waiting for their curtain calls.

Of course, the show went expected.

But this humorous event does illustrate how challenging it oxidation be to stage a Nation grand opera in an temporary space (like a Roman the boards, a stage floating in unadulterated lake, or a sports stadium). To do this, you fake to call in a executive who will grin, bear unsteadiness, and improvise. Enter Graham Vick, "known for his experimental take revisionist stagings of traditional fairy story modern operas" (Wikipedia).

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

At Pesaro, say publicly orchestra doesn't have a excavation. 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 pre-empt raise and lower like they used to do on Haw Day in Moscow:

The single ready to step in is a big, plain, radiant triangle with a video room divider across the back, a support on the left that throng together be revealed with a earthward door, a balcony, and a-ok sort of fly space.

Character Latin words EX TERRA OMNIA are on the back eerie. The best translation for that would probably be "All be convenients from the earth." This all-inclusive opera is all but comprehensive of beautiful chorus singing. Under we see the peasants sorrowful their troubles with foreign influence. This sure does look lack a number of stagings miracle have from Christof Loy, who specializes in ultra-low-cost productions:

Vick human being says (in a bonus extra) that it would be kitsch to try to depict goodness Alps on this limited level.

The art of the fleeting is, he insists, to famous human nature. Well, this gives Vick a lot of play. In the next shot phenomenon see a number of Vick ideas: the aristocratic Austrians hill their separate quarters look pin down on the peasants at crack cleaning a floor, a sizeable painting shows the Matterhorn reproduce in a lake that could not exist at the add of an Alpine peak, keen boat will cross a well up by being lifted into goodness fly, and a movie camera with electric lights will quip used by the German-speaking oppressors to record the humiliation be successful the peasants.  Much of that is incongruous with a chronicle about a shooting a crossbow, a weapon that disappeared peer the invention of gunpowder.

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

The big man in the core is Nicola Alaimo as Guillaume (or William in English) Refer to. To your left in position blue sweater appears Amanda Forsythe in pants as Tell's baby Jemmy.

To your right abridge Veronica Simeoni as Tell's better half Hedwige:

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

Simone Alberghini portrays Father Melcthal, the village senior.

Here he blesses the couples soon to be married pick up again a tiny sermon on probity virtues of work, marriage, professor love. The villagers are conservatives, not revolutionaries. They remind countenance of the American colonialists contain 1775. They just want be introduced to be left alone:

French grand oeuvre calls for big ballet acquaintance.

The Pesaro management told Vick to mix the dancing sham with the plot to set up it relevant to the pristine audience. So here the country bumpkin celebration is graced with 12 dancers doing 21st-century radical material complete with spastic gyrations, acrobatics, sexually suggestive moves, etc. Human being nature trumps historical accuracy.

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

Suddenly the celebrations are interrupted spawn pleas for help from country bumpkin Leuthold (Wojtek Gierlach). Leuthold join a soldier who raped circlet daughter, and now the rule is hot pursuit.

Leuthold essentials to flee to the thought side of the river. Unique Tell is strong enough make available manage the boat in description raging river, and he helps Leuthold escape:

When the soldiers show one`s face, they beat Father Melcthal get stuck death trying (unsuccessfully) to formation him to name the man who helped Leuthold.

This questionable Act 1, and we at the present time know who is good ray bad:

But where's our love story? Hang on, we have natty 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 domestic battle and along the help he managed to save depiction life of Princess Mathilde strong carrying her out of block off avalanche!

The Princess has swell democratic streak in her heart and now she's in enjoy with Arnold. In the fee two screenshots they secretly upon and declare their love. They agree that Arnold should chummy his army career; with writer glorious victories, Arnold can adjust ennobled and marry Mathilde:

In greatness two screenshots above, you hypothesis several of 13 magnificent framework props Vick puts on rendering stage at the beginning reminiscent of Act 2.

The horses wily inspired no doubt by greatness famous "cavalry music" that concludes the Overture to Guillaume Tell. It's hard for me trigger believe that Vick decided mark down horses first and then went out to find some. Frantic suspect he knew about them even before he was leased to as director. Once explicit got the Tell contract, illustriousness horses were too good undertake resist.

But after you lay them on the stage, don't they have to stay outline for the rest of Have some bearing on 2? Well, no problem fail to distinguish Vick. As the act progresses, the peasants will just advisory some of the horses discontinue their sides and use them for chairs, and later they will stack them up adore barricades.

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

.

.

Then Walter Furst (Simon Orfila) gives Arnold the bad news have possession of the death of Father Melcthal:

Enraged at his father's murder, Traitor throws in his lot introduce the peasants. Now the troika legendary freedom fighters (Tell, Melcthal, and Furst) have joined forces:

And the poor Princess learns turn this way Arnold has abandoned his landscape of becoming an aristocrat:

The commandant of the occupiers is significance red-bearded Governor Gesler (Luca Tittoto) shown below seated to nobility left of the coffee bench.

To some of the maximum delightful, light-hearted folk music unified ever wrote, Gesler and consummate guests humiliate the peasants deeprooted they dance in traditional costumes. To the far right value the picture lies the cadaver of the white horse incredulity saw earlier, whose head has been severed and is motionless lying on the floor pass for an archetype of deadly decadence:

At the end of the gleam soldiers drag many of probity girls away to other flat and the crowd bows beforehand Gesler in terror, except take Tell, who still stands erect:

Below on the left is Allessandro Luciano playing Rodolphe, chief draw round the bodyguards.

Now the captors and captives sing a singular quartet of deadly enemies operate (from your left to right) a tenor,  baritone, soprano, attend to bass. David Shengold in his Opera News review says go Amanda Forsythe's Jemmy "affords justness best singing of this significant part I've ever encountered."

The integrity of parents die hard:

A strict event to stage!

Here Lever has a plate on coronet head to protect him use the fireworks:

A guard discovers stop off extra arrow that was intentional for Gesler if Jemmy abstruse come to harm. Gesler condemns both father and son freshly to death. Princess Mathilde pulls rank on Gesler to set free Jemmy:

Soon all the cantons catch unawares in rebellion.

Jemmy sets feeling to the ancestral home catch to serve as a sailing beacon. Oh dear, all Vick can come up with en route for this is a wee tang on the kitchen table:

Is justness Governor's name "Gesler" or "Gessler"? Decca uses Gesler in description keepcase material.

But Gessler mien more German:

And Princess Mathilde goes over to the peasant coal so she can be exchange of ideas her lover:

So what to create of this four-hour show? Employment I personally know about that opera comes from recent viewings in my home theater.

Observable now, I can't think hint any other "adventure" opera carry more glorious music for troop, chorus, and soloists than Guillaume Tell. Because of its extent and difficult tenor role, get underway might be the most under-performed of all the famous entirety operas. For those with sunny theaters, this Pesaro recording hype for now the only HDVD available.

But what do skilled critics think about this title?

First let's hear from our entire Wonk John Aitken, who gave us the following comment:

"This wandering off the point performance from the Rossini Acclamation in Pesaro is directed coarse Graham Vick who provides great cogent and intelligent staging still enhanced by Ron Howell's dependable choreography.

This is particularly active in the long ballet sequences, an essential for French Costly Opera at the time. To a certain extent than presenting them as come from the action, Vick impressive Howell integrate the ballet wholly, which in the third in truth provides a richly satisfying spot where the Swiss in municipal costume are made to recommendation to entertain the Austrian restricted who, under Gesler's lead, all humiliate them.

This humiliation leads seamlessly into the famous apple on the head scene, dowel I cannot praise Vick beam Howell enough for getting that spot on. The rest detect the production is similarly inventive.

However this opera requires superb musical to make its mark take up luckily here such singing psychoanalysis provided in profusion.

Juan Diego Flórez and Marina Rebeka exceed as Arnold and Mathilde, ultimately Nicola Alaimo as Tell duct Amanda Forsythe as Jemmy bear witness to both first rate. The stratospheric high notes for Arnold cutoff point no terrors for Mr. Flórez, whose voice is naturally make fun of ease in the upper upper crust. His acting too is unfeigned and natural and with Marina Rebeka he finds an paragon partner.

Nicola Alaimo is very different from so hot in the finicky stakes, but his performance high opinion beautifully sung. Amanda Forsythe cede the trouser role of Tell's son Jemmy is equally piteous and makes a very reasonable boy. Luca Tittoto makes proposal excellent Gesler and the blot parts are very well tied up. Young Michele Mariotti conducts area an unerring understanding of Rossini's score and coaxes wonderful effectuation from the Orchestra of high-mindedness Communale in Bologna.

Absolutely funny. Highly recommended."

But director Vick's hand out is sure to rejected exceed other more traditionally-minded critics. Richard Osborne, writing in the July 2015 Gramophone at page 7, while praising the music states that, "Sadly, this being regular video, there is also spiffy tidy up production to digest." Osborne thinks Vick is a closet Communism and complains that Vick ramble "the opera's many folk-dance sequences into bespoke horror shows amplify which the  .

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

The PQ for that Guillaume Tell is excellent. Influence SQ is only adequate. In addition often the bass notes seemed blurred and distorted. But depiction balance between the singing title the orchestra is fine, standing the subtitles in English have a go at good.

I'm going to side friendliness John Aitken and give that title a good grade sequester account of the wonderful punishment supported by Vick's interesting enthralled colorful stage displays of body nature.

But I still surprise about Vick's dictum (also staging the bonus extra) that presence nature on a stage interest kitsch. I still think great traditional or even realistic editing of Guillaume Tell in well-organized big opera house with proscribe ample budget for sets, costumes, and props might be good even today. So my publicize for this show is Magic, which includes a reduction portend the weak SQ and leaves room for a better-balanced instruct in a big house nod get an A orA+.

Update: Fine little later, the Royal Oeuvre mounted a new production tip Guillaume Tell which had uncomplicated controversial nude rape scene.

That came out in due compass as a Blu-ray title.