I went to see this this evening and it was brilliant.
I suppose I chose to book this because Gerald Finley is in the cast - am I the only tenor nut who chooses to go to a tenor's opera for the baritone?
I don't know a note from the opera and am not familiar with Korngold. I did think that maybe I would swot up on it before going, but I'm rubbish at doing my homework, so I didn't.
I wasn't particularly looking forward to it in the end, thinking that maybe I would have to endure a long evening of unfamiliar music. Indeed, as I walked from The Strand to the Piazza, I actually did think that I might just turn in my ticket at the Box Office.
But you know, it was really really amazing. I just loved it. It was a fabulous production - Willy Decker is a genius. The cast was superb. Gerald was his usual adorable excellent self, although in a small-ish part - one of those small parts that requires a superb singer. I liked Torsten Kerl a lot. He has a beautiful voice, a real steely sound to it, and although there is a lot of wobble, I actually don't mind. I know a lot of people don't like Nadja Michael, but having seen her in Salome last year and now in this, I really like her, a lot. Not just vocally, either. I love the way she moves around stage; indeed I can't think of anyone who moves better (I understand that she 'trained as a dancer' whatever that means).
And the music is just sumptuously gorgeous. I have seen it described as Strauss-Lite, but I don't think there is anything 'Lite' about it. Some really extraordinary orchestration - there was a bit after the interval where the strings gave way to the flutes and then Nadja (as Marietta) took up the line.
A couple of overheard conversations - one was 'I know you took a dislike to Pelleas because of the way the voices float over the music, but this doesn't do that, does it' and another 'some hints of Wagner coming through'. Although I did hear one party as I was leaving agreeing on 'Never Again'. Their loss.
I am so glad I am going back again.
