Fidelio 2007-06-18

Type(s): Opera performance

Comment
- Good seats in the fourth row at a Staatsoper that seemed a bit more run down than last time we were here six years ago - or was it just our imagination? I'm still not quite sure what I think of this opera. I'm trying hard to like it, but I found the first act disappointing, and I'm not sure if it was the fault of the production or the work itself. The set was interesting: a sloping white surface with grave-sized rectangular holes from which the prisoners emerged for their chorus. Christiane Libor's expressionless Fidelio irritated me during the first act, but she was completely transformed after throwing off her disguise in the second, and her voice was tremendous. The second act is altogether more satisfying than the first. There is less dialogue (or, at least, there seems to be less) and the music is far more riveting. A nice touch was the way the chorus emerged into various corners of the auditorium for the finale. "Almost like Dolby surround," quoth Sylvia.
Date
- 2007-06-18

Object id: 1200
Item identifier(s):
[file:/apps/ontopia.net/tomcat/ontopia-5.3.0/topicmaps/TapsasConcerts.xtm#id2306]