Angela Gheorghiu at the Royal Festival Hall, last night
(I'm already getting search requests for a review. Patience, folks...!)
Concert sold out, of course. Buzz of anticipation around the foyer, terrace and bars beforehand. A real superstar, appearing, one night only etc etc (apart from three nights in La bohème in June), promoting her new CD of Puccini arias.
Appearing with the Philharmonia, under the baton of Ion Marin. Programme in the extended entry.
It would be very naughty of me to say that the highlights of the evening for me were orchestral pieces. The Tchaikovsky is a piece I have known for very many years, and would have said that I knew well. I'm not sure if I have ever heard it performed live; if I have it was probably twenty or more years ago. I just loved it, feeling transported to another dimension.
I have a troublesome relationship with the Cav intermezzo. God knows how many different versions I have on various formats, in context, out of context, with words. And I never know before I listen whether I am going to love or hate it, and this bears no relationship to which version. Last night, was definitely a 'love' experience.
Now, onto the subject of the post - Diva Worship. Angela came out to tremendous applause, and performed her first number. Delightfully, of course. With perfect timing, as the final note died away, the first (of many) 'brava' was heard, from a box high on the right.
To be honest, I did not think very much of her performance in the first half. There is no doubt that she has a lovely voice, musical and sweet, light but with colour. But I felt that in the first half she was phoning in the performance. I think I'm supposed to mention what she was wearing - a simple black dress. Straight skirt. Spaghetti straps. I think. I'm not very good on remembering clothes.
In the second half she emerged wearing a flowery number with more diamante than a Pearly Queen. Very nice. She's an all hips and no boobs woman, with a prominent bone (between throat and 'cleavage') visible even from Row G of the Rear Stalls without binoculars.
The Salve Regina was, on the whole, very nice, but she seemed to get a bit lost about halfway through. The Un bel di vedremo was probably her best aria, when she displayed her beautiful voice to its maximum and actually seemed to feeling the role. During Chi il bel sogno I remembered how much I had enjoyed her in La Rondine, indeed how much I had enjoyed La Rondine. I may be the only person in the entire world who prefers La Rondine to Madama Butterfly, Turandot and La Boheme, indeed I may be the only person who has La Rondine as their second favourite Puccini Opera (after Tosca but before Fanciulla and Manon Lescaut). So shoot me...
Vissi d'arte was technically excellent, and beautiful, but bizarrely failed to engage me, to the extent that as it was nearing its end, I had a sudden distracting thought about some domestic trivia and even more bizarrely, "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" from Annie flashed through my brain.
Applause and encores followed, always the time for the audience to let its hair down, clapping, cheering, brava-ing, and, of course, all the camera flashes going off. Ms Gheorghiu graciously obliged us with four or five encores. You know I'm rubbish at naming tunes, even songs, even when I know them perfectly well, but they did include Granada. A bad choice, I have to say. It's a tenor's song, and didn't sound right from a soprano, especially one only going through the motions of being involved. Musica was much better, this is a Romanian song, known to many because she sang it at Covent Garden's Gold and Silver Gala in 1996 (available on DVD and occasionally broadcast on Artsworld).
I thought it was very nice that she was obviously aware of that section of the audience in the cheap seats of the choir stalls, who spend the concert watching the backs of all but the conductor, and she graciously performed much of one encore facing the choir stalls, only turning round to the main auditorium at the end to let the money notes ring out and fill the space.
Afterwards she was doing a signing session. I was thinking of hanging around, not to get an autograph, I am not an autograph collector, but maybe to get close to get a photo. Instead, I sat down for a cigarette at the bar, and then wandered round the foyer people-watching. I'm sure she was there, I just didn't get to see her. And I could have been hanging around all night. The queue was enormous - three or four deep across the width of the Festival Hall foyer - and I suspect that many more people were hanging around, waiting to join the queue when it subsided. Some serious Diva Worship going on, possibly more queens on display than a Sunday at the RVT. I'm just so amateur...!
My evening had got off to a rather unfortunate start. I had bought a rather nice soup - Pea and Mint - from Eat and went to sit on the padded bench in the bar area. I am not sure what happened, but I managed to knock over my soup, over myself and over the woman sitting next to me. I was deeply embarrassed, and, of course, offered her my name and address, which she refused. On the off chance that you are reading this, I have to say that I was deeply touched and humbled by your calm, sympathetic, forgiving reaction, something I will not forget in a hurry, and only hope that I may emulate one day.
Roman Carnival - Berlioz (orchestra)
Nel villaggio, from Edgar
O mio babbino caro, from Gianni Schicchi
Nabucco, overture - Verdi (orchestra)
Donde lieta usci', from La Bohème
In quelle trine morbide, from Manon Lescaut
INTERVAL
Romeo and Juliet, overture - Tchaikovsky (orchestra)
Salve Regina
Tu che di gel sei cinto, from Turandot
Un bel dì vedremo, from Madama Butterfly
Cavalleria Rusticana, Intermezzo - Mascagni (orchestra)
Chi il bel sogno, from La Rondine
Vissi d'arte, from Tosca
Encores included Musica and Granada
