I went! It was a triumph. I heard people say Five Stars. I will do a more detailed review after I have been again. I love the opera anyway, I really like the production, even though there are a few minor details that irritate me slightly in their poor logic. The orchestra was fine, perhaps more under-stated than I would like, but subtle and tuneful. Piotr Beczala was fine as Lensky. Not enough to erase memories of Rolando from my mind (look at me, harking back to the Golden Age of 2006!) but definitely worthy. Hibla Gerzmava making her Covent Garden debut, as Tatyana was wonderful. I was chatting afterwards with a Russian woman who commented that Hibla's acting was a bit a vulgar, but agreed that she sang marvellously, although not as good as Marina Poplavskaya. Gorgeous voice, and moved naturally around stage, if not necessarily brimming over with charisma.
And Gerald Finley was just fabulous. What a masterful performance, moving from haughty in the first act to arrogant in the second to demented in the third. And always, vocally, so elegant. I asked the Russian woman how Gerald's pronunciation was and she said it was very good - and she wasn't just being polite because she mentioned that a couple of the smaller roles didn't have good Russian pronunciation.
I am so glad I booked to see this twice, because I thought I liked it before, and now I just adore it.
And hello to Janet and Janet's Mum who were sitting just in front of me - Janet runs A site dedicated to Gerald Finley.
