Bregenz Festival 2010: The Passenger you can never forget

The Passenger/Die Passagierin [opera by Mieczyslaw Weinberg], July 31 2010, Festspielhaus Bregenz

Musical director ...... Teodor Currentzis
Director ...... David Pountney
   
Martha, polish woman Prisoner in Auschwitz 19, on the ship 34 years old ...... Elena Kelessidi
Lisa, german woman in Auschwitz 22, on the ship 37 years old ...... Michelle Breedt
Walter, Lisa's husband, diplomat 50 ...... Roberto Saccà

Tadeusz, engaged with Martha Prisoner, 25 years old ...... Artur Rucinski
Katja, russian partisan Prisoner, 21 years old ...... Svetlana Doneva
Krzystina, polish woman Prisoner, 28 years old ...... Angelica Voje
Vlasta, czech woman Prisoner, 20 years old ...... Elzbieta Wróblewska
Hannah, Jew Prisoner, 18 years old ...... Agnieszka Rehlis
Yvette, french woman Prisoner, 15 years old ...... Talia Or
Old woman, Prisoner ...... Helen Field
Bronka older prisoner, 50 years old ...... Liuba Sokolova
1st SS-officer ...... Tobias Hächler
2nd SS-officer ...... Wilfried Staber
3rd SS-officer ...... David Danholt
Steward ...... Richard Angas
Boss ...... Heide Capovilla

   
Wiener Symphoniker, Chorus of the Prag Philharmonic

I'll certainly come back to blogging about Weinberg as I was so deeply moved by his life his struggle, his music and his magnificent opera The Passanger (Die Passagierin), is sung in German and Russian. The orchestral part is extremely eclectic, although it sits very close to Weinberg's friend and collaborator, Dmitri Shostakovich. The symphonic elements are quite remarkable and you have whole musical passages that are of brilliant dramatic tension. Even in concert this opera would never fall flat because it is extremely dynamical: the changes of rhythm are frequent and sudden, the atonal passages are superposed on particularly melodic structure... which is maybe why I was lead to connect it to Prokofiev's music (brass section is very busy!) and a fellow spectator who was sitting next to me recognized an influence by Berg, but we all agree it's as close to Shostakovich as it can possibly get [without reaching the dramatic richness of Shostakovich though!] The orchestra was superb -- it was the last of four shows and you could tell they had the music in the tips of their fingers. One of my fave young conductors, Teodor Currentzis, invested his talent and his passion to make this music take off and fill the beautiful auditorium of the Festspielhaus in Bregenz.

In this collage you see the theater from the outside and inside. I also took a photo of a photo of Pountney and Currentzis taken during a rehearsal. So at the beginning of the show David Pountney came to greet the packed auditorium and to say that Elena Kalessidi was vocally indisposed and there was an other lady who sang the role of Martha (The Passenger), while Elena lip-synched and graciously acted through the show. The thing worked very well. I only feel sorry that I didn't catch the name of the covering soprano, who somebody of you --dear readers-- will maybe recognize in the pics I took during the curtain calls -- attached below. If you do [recognize "Martha"], please let me know.

Right after you enter the building there is a model of the stage design, which helps you understanding the stage design solution - which I thought was really brilliant!

I believe you can discern the upper (white) part of the stage, which is supposed to be the upper deck of the boat on which the action of this opera takes place. In contrast, a darker-lower part evokes the concentration camp in Auschwitz, and the story that happened in the camp15 years before the encounter on the boat. Pountney's collaborator, Johan Engels, had a clever idea to move two little cars on circular tracks around "the boat", which will (1) serve to discern Lisa's cabin from the rest of the boat, and (2) to provide a proper environment to narrate the episodes among the prisoners in the barracks of Auschwitz. If you read the synopsis before entering the theater --which was my case--  you start to doubt it could be possible to put all this on one stage without heavily interrupting the show to change the sets back and forth, to follow the action. It takes an ingenious stage designer to find a simple, and efficient scenic solution that works wonderfully, and that never interrupted the musical or dramatic flow. Really amazing!

Since this is the first ever stage performance of this opera, I'll be a bit more explicit about its synopsis. Libretto for this opera, by Alexander Medvedev,  is based on the novel The Passenger by Zofia Posmysz, Polish writer and Auschwitz survivor. In preparing to direct this opera, David Pountney visited Zofia and they together visited Auschwitz. You can see a short (2 min 30) video of that visit here [you can hear some of Weinberg music in the background].



Zofia was a honorary guest in Bregenz during the whole series of events devoted to Weinberg, and was in the auditorium last Sunday, when I saw the show.

Now about Synopsis as it's written in the program-book [carefully designed, rich with information and photos, impeccably structured, and it costs you 4€ -- compared to 12-15€ in Paris, for example] :

Act-1

The early 1960s, on an ocean liner. Watching over the scene is a chorus who sometimes take part as prisoners, passengers or officers, and sometimes are merely onlookers from another time, as are we.

Scene one: A German diplomat, Walter, and his young wife, Lisa, are on the way to Brazil where he will take up a diplomatic post. Suddenly she sees a fellow passenger who she thinks she recognizes, except that she knows that person to be dead. Under the shock of this encounter, she reveals to her husband for the first time that she was an SS overseer in Auschwitz. The revelation is a crisis for both of them. 

Scene two: In the camp we learn that the "Passenger" is Martha, a Polish prisoner who Lisa Franz, the overseer, has marked out as someone who could help control the other prisoners. 

Scene two: In the camp we learn that the "Passenger" is Martha, a Polish prisoner who Lisa Franz, the overseer, has marked out as someone who could help control the other prisoners.

Scene three: In the female barracks, we meet women from every corner of Europe brought together in this cosmopolitan hell. A suspected Russian partisan, Katya, arrives from a brutal interrogation, and the Kapo finds a note in Polish which may implicate her. Lisa orders Martha to read it, and Martha coolly renders it as a love letter -- as if to her own fiancé, Tadeusz, who she believes is also a prisoner.... Back on the boat, Lisa and Walter try to come to terms with this new background to their relationship. 

Scene three: In the female barracks, we meet women from every corner of Europe brought together in this cosmopolitan hell. A suspected Russian partisan, Katya, arrives from a brutal interrogation, and the Kapo finds a note in Polish which may implicate her. Lisa orders Martha to read it, and Martha coolly renders it as a love letter -- as if to her own fiancé, Tadeusz, who she believes is also a prisoner.... Back on the boat, Lisa and Walter try to come to terms with this new background to their relationship.  

Act-2

Scene four: Under Lisa's supervision the women are sorting belongings looted from the prisoners. An officer arrives demanding a violin. The Governor has ordered a concert at which his favorite waltz should be played by one of the prisoners. Lisa produces a violin, but the officer says he will send the prisoner himself to collect it. The prisoner is Tadeusz. He and Martha have a brief scene of recognition before Lisa interrupts them. She allows them to continue their contact, hoping to capitalize on this "kindness" later.

Scene five:  Lisa confronts Tadeusz in the workshop where he produces silver ornaments to order for the SS Officers. One is a Madonna which Lisa recognizes as Martha. Lisa offers Tadeusz the chance to meet Martha, but Tadeusz refuses. He does not want to be in Lisa's debt.

Scene six: In the female barracks it is Martha's birthday. She sings a song about being in love with death. Lisa interrupts and tries to goad Martha by telling her that Tadeusz turned down a chance to see her, but Martha remains unmoved: if this is what Tadeusz decided, he was right to do so! Yvette tries to teach an old Russian woman Frencg, and Katya sings about Russia. Suddenly guards burst in: it is "selection" time A list of numbers is broadcast, and one by one various prisoners are taken away. Lisa tells Martha that it is not her turn yet: she will arrange for her to witness Tadeusz's concert.

Scene seven: Back on the boat Lisa and Walter have come to a new understanding: even if the "Passenger" is Martha, they are determined to brazen it out, and decide to join the dancin in the Salon. Lisa is however horrified when "The Passenger" approaches the band, apparently to make a request, and they start to play the "Governor's Waltz".

Scene eight: Back in the camp it is time for the concert, and  all the officers and prisoners are assembled. Tadeusz, however, does not play the waltz, but something else. The scene breaks up in auproar as his violin is smashed and he is dragged off to the death cell. In the last scene we are left with Martha and her memories, and her longing that all who suffered should not be forgotten [photos © dpa & AP].

What I found absolutely remarkable is that the music is almost completely without pathos. There is a dramatic tension but it never dives in any lacrimosa-style which you'd expect with this theme. In that respect the music is just totally anti-Puccini: it is very poignant, moving... but never "pathossy/cheap". The staging, as you can see from bits and pieces in the above images, is narrative and perfectly composed. The chorus was scenically very busy in this production, and they embraced the challenge with brio. Bravi!

And the singers... The score is quite tough because it has those abrupt changes in registers and in rhythm, so you don't have those long legato lines (except in the song by Katya).  The woman who sang the role of Martha was excellent and Elena was scenically very convincing. Michelle Breedt had to change her outfit at least 5 times during the show. She was vocally wonderful. Clearly wagnerian breed ;), she has that broad strong voice and impressive breathing technique. Roberto Sacca was good as ever, even if his role is not very long. I was more impressed by Tadeusz sung by a Polish tenor, Artur Rucinski. It is also a short role but that was strong, convincing and with audible desire to give his best.  Among other roles, particularly brilliant were Katya sung by Svetlana Doneva, and Yvette by Talia Or, but all the others deserve props for their wonderful performance.

To make this production so wonderful you obviously need to back the whole project financially. For one opera house this would be clearly impossible to afford, but in a co-production with 3 other theaters it evidently became possible. The production was premiered in Bregenz, and then it will travel to Theater Wielki - Opera Narodowa in Warsaw where a 3 shows series is scheduled for October 2010. The other two co-producers -- Teatro Real in Madrid, and English National Opera in London-- will present this show sometimes in 2012 [by the way, I saw Gerard Mortier in Bregenz -- came to see the show on Sunday too]. Meanwhile we can hope other big theaters will buy this production  and present it in their houses because it is so wonderfully done and it's a brilliant treat both scenically and musically.

And finally The Passenger will be broadcast on the BR-Klassic radio on Monday, August 30 at 20:05 (cet). Another possibility to discover two most known works by Moisey Weinberg will be on the same radio (same link) on  August 26 at 20:05 (cet) when you can listen to his Symphony #6 and Requiem.

Here are several CC pics:

Pountney, Breedt, Curretzis, and "Martha"

Doneva, Or, Rehlis et al

Chorus of the Prague Philharmonic

Artur Rucinski (and his doubler - the violinist)

Roberto Sacca

"Martha" and Michelle Breedt

This pic is not mine -- it's AP's and has been taken after the premiere: Teodor Currentzis, Zofia Posmysz, and David Pountney