Opera Reviews
29 March 2024
Untitled Document

An extravagant cocktail



by Moore Parker
Offenbach: Les contes d'Hoffmann
Theater an der Wien
25 March 2012

Photo: Werner KmetitschOn paper this Hoffmann promises an exotic mix: the combination of a relatively intimate setting, a Hollywood film director, a Cirque du Soleil and Disney stage designer, and an atypical choice for the title role.

William Friedkin (The Exorcist, Cruising) appears to have thrown the elements of an extravagant cocktail into a shaker and produced a a long drink - indeed, an exceedingly long mix lasting three-and-a-half hours with one interval. Considering the line-up, the result is surprisingly modest.

Two rather flimsy-looking stairways form the foundation for all Acts - perhaps the most visually effective being the tavern scene, in which the male chorus excels in boisterous activity, filling the stage with colour and movement. The period is contemporary (costumes by Herbert Murauer) with Hoffmann's foils (Lindorf, Coppelius, Dr. Miracle and Dapertutto) acting as a kind of alter ego, often mimicking the poet's deportment and gesture in an yin-yang battle between good and evil.

Surreal characters add colour at times - Kleinzack makes a cameo appearance as a string puppet. Olympia is doubled by a huge model doll which Coppelius dismembers to end the scene, and Antonia's mummified mother is revealed between the sheets as her daughter expires on a huge double bed.

Perhaps least effective is Act IV in which the Barcarolle goes for nothing (due to a weak staging in which Nicklausse parades downstage while Giulietta disembarks almost fortuitously stage rear from her gondola) and where, throughout, there seems to be a general lack of dramatic guidance for the leading protagonists. Neither the writhing naked members of the Lagoon Swinger Club nor Giulietta's slinky grace can really save the day.

Several members of the vocal leads are familiar to the house and in repertoire to which they are more aptly suited. Kurt Streit might have seemed an interesting choice for Hoffmann, considering his psyche and artistic abilities, but the vocal demands of the role are simply beyond his scope, resulting in a general sense of effort with resulting interpretative limitations. His Nicklausse, Roxanna Constantinescu, sailed confidently through the part with her pleasing soft-grained mezzo and easy stage manner - seeming equally at home in a suit and tie as in the frock and stilettos in which she opens and closes her contribution.

Mari Eriksmoen was a delightful Olympia, even voiced, accurate (with added abbellimenti), and ample in tone within this framework. Angel Blue nicely captured Giulietta's seductive powers with an air of cool nonchalance and an appealing timbre. The vocal demands of Antonia are not to be underestimated, and - while delightful in looks and deportment - Juanita Lascarro was at times taxed to capacity by Offenbach's unrelenting tessitura and the sheer tonal weight required to carry over the orchestra.

Perhaps the most significant achievement of the evening belongs to Aris Argiriswho maintained an impressive mix of vocal and dramatic stamina in all his guises throughout the evening. Andreas Conrad was a delightful Frantz, complete with walking aids which fly to the wind during his enthusiastic little cavort. Magdalena Anna Hofmann (Stella), Pavel Kudinov (Luther/Crespel), Oliver Ringelhahn (Spalanzani), Martijn Cornet (Schlemil/Hermann), Julien Behr (Nathanael), Maciej Idziorek (Wilhelm), and Ann-Beth Solvang (Antonia's Mother) were all impressive in their contributions.

The Schoenberg Choir (invariably a dependable asset to Theater an der Wien productions) sang and acted with verve, while The Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Frizza rarely rose beyond lackluster on this occasion.

Text © Moore Parker
Photo © Werner Kmetitsch
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