We will barock you (5): Alcina at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées

Alcina (in concert),  TCE Paris, November 29 2010

Anja Karteros (Alcina) and Vesselina Kasarova (Ruggero) - photo Herwig Prammer

Marc Minkowski ..... conductor 

Anja Harteros ..... Alcina
Vesselina Kasarova ..... Ruggiero
Verónica Cangemi ..... Morgana
Kristina Hammarström ..... Bradamante
Luca Tittoto ..... Melisso
Benjamin Bruns ..... Oronte
Shintaro Nakajima Oberto .... a young boy

Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble 

A luxurious cast with magnificent orchestra and amazing conductor, in front of the packed Théâtre des Champs-Élysées -- everything was clicking for a special Monday evening. Trouble is that the day started with a sudden change of weather: it got very cold and we woke up with snow outside. With such a change and after a working day you cannot not feel tired and definitely not ready for 4 long hours of baroque with no stage action.

This is the same cast, same conductor and the same orchestra that performed in the first staged Alcina at the Staatsoper in Vienna past November, to a loud acclaim by both fans and critics.

I knew Alcina in concert would be tough to take, but I couldn't resist temptation knowing that Marc Minkowski and Anja Harteros would be performing. Now, when it's all over and they indeed were excellent, I can say that this long evening reminded me of why it took me so long to appreciate this music.

To me a baroque opera works when the stage director does a good job -- when he/she throws in a few clever ideas, adapts it to make the invariably far-fetched stories resonate with us [us - not overly superstitious post-modern folks.]

With short baroque operas in concert, I'm fine! But once the 3 hours barrier is crossed --in spite of the best possible musicians-- a tsunami of boredom is unstoppable, and swallows all the good I've enjoyed before.

Les Musiciens du Louvre must be the best orchestra around in Mozart and in this repertoire. They  were brilliant, played very lively, perfectly focused, and with Marc Minkowski particularly inspired and visibly enjoying himself.

I guess my mistake was to stay for the second part [first part was 2 hours long, and after 20mins of interval, you're in for 100 more minutes.] So to make this entry as positive as possible, I'll focus on that first part that ended wonderfully, by Anja Harteros singing "Ah mio cor!", which was probably the main reason why I felt I should stay for Part-Two. I simply love that woman! After Amelia, Mimi, Elsa, Desdemona, Violetta, it's the 6th role in little over a year that I listen to Anja perform in, and each time it was the best I've ever listened a singer in any of these roles. I give you all your past glories for this mighty --yet very kind and modest-- lady! ;)

Vesselina Kasarova has undeniably a beautiful voice. After her bad Idamante this year at Garnier, I didn't expect much from her Ruggiero. Even if her technical prowess deteriorated as the concert went on, I thought she was overall very good. In any case the crowd was very enthusiastic and loudly applauded after every of her arias. Verónica Cangemi sings beautifully too, although the timbre of her voice is not as pretty as of her costars. The other roles were also very well sung... but at some point you start wishing something to break the flow of invading dolceza, like a crazy diva, or a 'rock star' (if you get what I mean...)

That's baroque in concert for you: soothing sounds with a couple of same patterns being repeated over and over... and over again, with occasional touches of something different but nothing to disturb the overwhelming sclerosis invading your brain.


I believe a few cuts here and there would have been welcome if the result was to squeeze the concert (including intermission) to under 3 hours mark.

There was one great surprise though: a member of The Vienna Boys choir, Shintaro Nakajima Oberto, sang one (long!) aria but with such a disconcerting technique and confidence, that a crowd didn't let the orchestra finish before bursting into a huge applause.

In the end, I guess I learned that long baroque operas with "no theater" do not work for me, no matter how good musicians are. I prefer contemporary music and more 'destabilizing' sounds.
Having said that, I should add that when good theater is set up on stage the miracle can happen and I love baroque opera too. Since we're talking about Alcina, I would like to suggest you to try and see a fascinating production directed by Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito for the Stuttgart Opera released on DVD [ Fr, UK, US/Can, DE] :

It's a 'textbook example' of the force of theater: no opulent decors, and in spite of the far-fetched story, Jossi and Sergio make you love the core/essence of this opera (Isn't that what's Regie all about?!)


OK, let's finish this post on a good note: Here is a YT video of our fave Anja Harteros singing "Ah! mio cor" a few weeks ago in Vienna, with this same orchestra and maestro Minkowski conducting (listen to all of it to admire how the aria is progressing!)