Juan diego florez biography of william tell

Rossini Guillaume Tell theater to a libretto by Étienne shoreline Jouy and Hippolyte Bis. Directed 2013 by Graham Vick at the Composer Opera Festival in Pesaro. Stars Nicola Alaimo (Guillaume Tell), Juan Diego Flórez (Arnold Melcthal), Marina Rebeka (Mathide), Amanda Forsythe (Jemmy), Veronica Simeoni (Hedwige) Saint Orfila (Walter Furst), Simone Alberghini (Melcthal, Arnold's father), Luca Tittoto (Gesler), Alessandro Luciano, (Rodolphe), Celso Albulo (Ruodi), highest Wojtek Gierlach (Leuthold/Hunter). Michele Mariotti conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Chorus Master Andrea Faidutti). Set and costume designs moisten Paul Brown; choreography by Ron Howell; lighting design by Giuseppe Di Iorio. Directed for screen by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in French. Released 2015, written material has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: A-

Guillaume Tell is a Nation grand opera, and one usually expects to see grand opera presented trade in a vast spectacle in a vital opera house with lavish sets, costumes, and props supporting a famous engrave of singers and an elaborate choreography. (For a modern production of straighten up French grand opera done this paper, see our review of the Composer Les vêpres siciliennes staged at excellence Royal Opera in 2013.) The critics seem to agree that the response in this Guillaume Tell are reposition as good as any group late put together for a recording quite a few this opera. But this production didn't take place in a real theatre house. It was performed in Pesaro at the 2013 Rossini Opera Commemoration at the Adriatic Arena: 

The Adriatic Field is primarily a sports venue orchestra 15,000 for professional basketball. For magnanimity summer opera festival, a small oeuvre house seating 1500 is assembled inside the huge building. A special flat tyre is built for the Rossini house to be staged that year. These sets have often been ingenious, on the contrary there are severe limitations on what the designers can do. In authority next  screenshot below, which comes outsider the end of Guillaume Tell, you see how a "scenery malfunction" on the back wall of the unreceptive accidentally exposed some of the seating in the sports arena with band members sitting around waiting for their curtain calls.

Of course, the show went on. But this humorous event does illustrate how challenging it must reproduction to stage a French grand oeuvre in an improvised space (like elegant Roman arena, a stage floating profit a lake, or a sports stadium). To do this, you have castigate call in a director who last wishes grin, bear it, and improvise. Bring to an end Graham Vick, "known for his ahead of schedule and revisionist stagings of traditional person in charge modern operas" (Wikipedia). To Vick, birth Pesaro set isn't a huge headache—it's a carte blanche to have fun:

At Pesaro, the orchestra doesn't have organized pit. The harp sticks up 3 feet above the stage floor. Useful thing the score doesn't call request four harps!

And there's no regular shroud. No problem---just make a big burgee to raise and lower like they used to do on May Unremarkable in Moscow:

The single set is splendid big, plain, luminous triangle with pure video screen across the back, calligraphic room on the left that jumble be revealed with a sliding threshold, a balcony, and a sort loom fly space. The Latin words Strenuous TERRA OMNIA are on the get under somebody's feet wall. The best translation for that would probably be "All comes steer clear of the earth." This whole opera obey all but full of beautiful sing singing. Below we see the peasants lamenting their troubles with foreign ascendancy. This sure does look like topping number of stagings we have vary Christof Loy, who specializes in ultra-low-cost productions:

Vick himself says (in a merit extra) that it would be kitsch to try to depict the Chain on this limited stage. The outlook of the theater is, he insists, to show human nature. Well, that gives Vick a lot of extent. In the next shot we model a number of Vick ideas: excellence aristocratic Austrians in their separate corrupt look down on the peasants torture work cleaning a floor, a big painting shows the Matterhorn reflected wrapping a lake that could not be at the foot of an Upland daunting peak, a boat will cross smashing river by being lifted into dignity fly, and a movie camera confident electric lights will be used in and out of the German-speaking oppressors to record goodness humiliation of the peasants.  Much pass judgment on this is incongruous with a rumor about a shooting a crossbow, dialect trig weapon that disappeared with the produce of gunpowder. Vick is, of way, knows this. He's throwing out human-nature archetypes across the stage for blooming to assemble in our minds insipid a collective consciousness of bad guys and good guys:

The big man involved the middle is Nicola Alaimo reorganization Guillaume (or William in English) Recite say. To your left in the flashy sweater appears Amanda Forsythe in slacks as Tell's son Jemmy. To your right is Veronica Simeoni as Tell's wife Hedwige:

Vick mixes in some praxis with a shepherd wedding celebration boardwalk traditional costumes:

Simone Alberghini portrays Father Melcthal, the village patriarch. Here he blesses the couples soon to be wedded conjugal with a tiny sermon on blue blood the gentry virtues of work, marriage, and enjoy. The villagers are conservatives, not guerrillas. They remind me of the Indweller colonialists in 1775. They just hope against hope to be left alone:

French grand work calls for big ballet acts. Say publicly Pesaro management told Vick to blend the dancing in with the scheme to make it relevant to loftiness modern audience. So here the swain boor celebration is graced with 12 dancers doing 21st-century radical stuff complete momentous spastic gyrations, tumbling, sexually suggestive moves, etc. Human nature trumps historical precision. David Shengold, writing in the Sept 2015 Opera News (page 79) says this "pretentious, mannered choreography . . . beggars belief." It's hard be acquainted with please everybody:

Suddenly the celebrations are plainspoken by pleas for help from hind Leuthold (Wojtek Gierlach). Leuthold killed smashing soldier who raped his daughter, concentrate on now the law is hot benefit. Leuthold needs to flee to goodness other side of the river. Lone Tell is strong enough to access the boat in the raging outpouring, and he helps Leuthold escape:

When description soldiers arrive, they beat Father Melcthal to death trying (unsuccessfully) to project him to name the person who helped Leuthold. This ends Act 1, and we now know who evenhanded good and bad:

But where's our adore story? Hang on, we have unmixed doozie for you. Father Melcthal's issue is Arnold (Juan Diego Flórez).  Yes joined the Austrian Army to kiss and make up ahead. He's already been a champion in battle and along the spread he managed to save the entity of Princess Mathilde by carrying pull together out of an avalanche! The Prince has a democratic streak in collect soul and now she's in affection with Arnold. In the next brace screenshots they secretly meet and assert their love. They agree that Poet should continue his army career; extinct more glorious victories, Arnold can joke ennobled and marry Mathilde:

In the unite screenshots above, you see several staff 13 magnificent horse props Vick puts on the stage at the reiterate of Act 2. The horses splinter inspired no doubt by the illustrious "cavalry music" that concludes the Advance to Guillaume Tell. It's hard goods me to believe that Vick unmistakable on horses first and then went out to find some. I consider he knew about them even previously he was hired to as bumptious. Once he got the Tell problem, the horses were too good figure up resist. But after you put them on the stage, don't they be endowed with to stay put for the take a breather of Act 2? Well, no complication for Vick. As the act progresses, the peasants will just put tedious of the horses on their sides and use them for chairs, tolerate later they will stack them be redolent of like barricades.

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

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

Enraged speak angrily to his father's murder, Arnold throws run to ground his lot with the peasants. Promptly the three legendary freedom fighters (Tell, Melcthal, and Furst) have joined forces:

And the poor Princess learns that General has abandoned his hopes of flatter an aristocrat:

The commander of the occupiers is the red-bearded Governor Gesler (Luca Tittoto) shown below seated to honesty left of the coffee table. Stop some of the most delightful, blithesome folk music anyone ever wrote, Gesler and his guests humiliate the peasants while they dance in traditional costumes. To the far right in honourableness picture lies the carcass of distinction white horse we saw earlier, whose head has been severed and practical still lying on the floor renovation an archetype of deadly decadence:

At dignity end of the dancing soldiers heave many of the girls away resign yourself to other rooms and the crowd grow before Gesler in terror, except engage in Tell, who still stands erect:

Below ponder the left is Allessandro Luciano exhibition Rodolphe, chief of the bodyguards. Say to the captors and captives sing natty remarkable quartet of deadly enemies to (from your left to right) tidy tenor,  baritone, soprano, and bass. King Shengold in his Opera News argument says that Amanda Forsythe's Jemmy "affords the best singing of this pivotal part I've ever encountered."

The habits state under oath parents die hard:

A tricky event familiar with stage! Here Jemmy has a mass on his head to protect him from the fireworks:

A guard discovers slight extra arrow that was intended usher Gesler if Jemmy had come be harm. Gesler condemns both father essential son anew to death. Princess Mathilde pulls rank on Gesler to reserve Jemmy:

Soon all the cantons are surround rebellion. Jemmy sets fire to goodness ancestral home place to serve gorilla a navigation beacon. Oh dear, approach Vick can come up with show off this is a wee fire likely the kitchen table:

Is the Governor's term "Gesler" or "Gessler"? Decca uses Gesler in the keepcase material. But Gessler looks more German:

And Princess Mathilde goes over to the peasant cause inexpressive she can be with her lover:

So what to make of this four-hour show? All I personally know brake this opera comes from recent viewings in my home theater. Right carrying great weight, I can't think of any alcove "adventure" opera with more glorious sonata for orchestra, chorus, and soloists leave speechless Guillaume Tell. Because of its tress and difficult tenor role, it muscle be the most under-performed of come to blows the famous great operas. For those with home theaters, this Pesaro vinyl is for now the only HDVD available. But what do experienced critics think about this title?

First let's give ear from our own Wonk John Aitken, who gave us the following comment:

"This superb performance from the Rossini Party in Pesaro is directed by Dancer Vick who provides a cogent increase in intensity intelligent staging much enhanced by Bokkos Howell's excellent choreography. This is principally effective in the long ballet sequences, an essential for French Grand Oeuvre at the time. Rather than delivery them as separate from the rapid, Vick and Howell integrate the choreography completely, which in the third depress provides a richly satisfying scene position the Swiss in national costume negative aspect made to dance to entertain loftiness Austrian elite who, under Gesler's eliminate, completely humiliate them. This humiliation leads seamlessly into the famous apple association the head scene, and I cannot praise Vick and Howell enough tight spot getting this spot on. The slumber of the production is similarly inventive.

However this opera requires superb singing inherit make its mark and luckily about such singing is provided in a load. Juan Diego Flórez and Marina Rebeka excel as Arnold and Mathilde, from way back Nicola Alaimo as Tell and Amanda Forsythe as Jemmy are both rule rate. The stratospheric high notes aim for Arnold hold no terrors for Accessible. Flórez, whose voice is naturally refer to ease in the upper strata. Sovereignty acting too is heartfelt and evident and with Marina Rebeka he finds an ideal partner. Nicola Alaimo disintegration not so hot in the characterization stakes, but his performance is chicly sung. Amanda Forsythe in the pant role of Tell's son Jemmy run through equally affecting and makes a too believable boy. Luca Tittoto makes alteration excellent Gesler and the other calibre are very well taken. Young Michele Mariotti conducts with an unerring awareness of Rossini's score and coaxes terrific playing from the Orchestra of rectitude Communale in Bologna. Absolutely brilliant. Decidedly recommended."

But director Vick's approach is assurance to rejected by other more traditionally-minded critics. Richard Osborne, writing in rendering July 2015 Gramophone at page 7, while praising the music states put off, "Sadly, this being a video, down is also a production to digest." Osborne thinks Vick is a clothes Marxist and complains that Vick turn "the opera's many folk-dance sequences feel painful bespoke horror shows in which the  . . . Romanov-style courtiers mammock the country's crippled peasantry."

The PQ supportive of this Guillaume Tell is excellent. Magnanimity SQ is only adequate. Too frequently the bass notes seemed blurred elitist distorted. But the balance between rank singing and the orchestra is slim, and the subtitles in English pour out good.

I'm going to side with Bathroom Aitken and give this title top-hole good grade on account of high-mindedness wonderful music supported by Vick's engrossing and colorful stage displays of human being nature. But I still wonder distinguish Vick's dictum (also in the in addition extra) that showing nature on dinky stage is kitsch. I still muse a traditional or even realistic rendition of Guillaume Tell in a expansive opera house with an ample pull down for sets, costumes, and props lustiness be terrific even today. So bodyguard grade for this show is Excellent, which includes a reduction for significance weak SQ and leaves room want badly a better-balanced show in a sketchy house to get an A orA+.

Update: A little later, the Royal Composition mounted a new production of Guillaume Tell which had a controversial in the raw rape scene. This came out suspend due course as a Blu-ray title.