Gala Concert: 50th Anniversary of the Reopening of the Vienna State Opera
2008; Routledge; Volume: 64; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2769-4046
Autores Tópico(s)Musicology and Musical Analysis
ResumoGala Concert: 50th Anniversary of the Reopening of the Vienna State Opera. Edita Gruberova, Violeta Urmana, Deborah Polaski, Soile Isokoski, Ildiko Raimondi, Genia Kuhmeier, Ricarda Merbeth, sopranos; Angelika Kirschlager, Agnes Baltsa, mezzo sopranos; Placido Domingo, Johan Botha, Michael Schade, tenors; Thomas Hampson, Franz Grundheber, Falk Struckmann, baritones; Bryn Terfel, Feruccio Furlanetto, Walter Fink, basses. Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Seiji Ozawa, Daniele Gatti, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Franz Welser-Most, conductors. (EuroArts 2054928; 3:08:00) Mozart: Madamina, il catalogo e questo, Non mi dir, Finch'han dal vino, Batti, batti, o bel Masetto, Presto, presto, pria ch'ei venga, Riposate, vezzose ragazze (Don Giovanni). Beethoven: Leonora Overture No. 3, Heil sei dem Tag, Des besten Konigs Wink und Wille, Wer ein holdes Weib errungen (Fidelio). Verdi: Qui Radames verra, Ciel! Mio padre! Pur ti riveggo, Fuggiam gli ardori inospiti, Amonasro! Tu! Il Re? (Aida). Wagner: Act One Prelude, Was duftet doch der Flieder, Wach auf, es nahet gen den Tag (Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg). Richard Strauss: Marie Theres'! 1st ein Traum, kann nicht wirklich (Der Rosenkavaliet). Mir anvertraut, Trifft mich sein Leben nicht, Nun will ich jubeln, Vater, dir drohet nichts (Die Frau ohne Schatten). Any laudatory review of an opera gala needs to be placed in the proper context, for there is so much that can go wrong with such events. Some gala concerts are exciting but artistically untidy events in which an array of artists presents a sort of crazy quilt of repertoire lacking any sense of cohesiveness. Other gala programs might be more tightly scripted and more musically tethered, but to the point where caution weighs down what should be the celebratory spirit of the occasion. Whether a given gala is at one end of that particular spectrum or the other, there is almost always an element of risk with such ventures; typically, rehearsal time is seriously limited and die artists on hand often must call upon every fiber of their experience and instincts to skirt the potential pitfalls of high pressure performance in underprepared circumstances. Also, there is the unfortunate reality that audiences for high profile galas often are filled with people who seem remarkably unmoved by the performances and appear to be there out of some sense of civic duty or perhaps to serve as glittering props rather than as genuine lovers of music. It is difficult to think of anything more dispiriting than to watch such a concert and see the camera panning across row upon row of dazzlingly dressed yet drearily disinterested audience members. In light of all the annoying shortfalls mat often taint these sorts of events, it is truly remarkable when a gala defies all odds and serves up only splendor. Such a concert occurred in November of 2005 at the Vienna State Opera in celebration of an exquisitely bitter-sweet occasion: the fiftieth anniversary of the reopening of the opera house after it was largely destroyed (accidentally) in an Allied air assault in the waning days of World War Two. Ten years ensued before reconstruction of the opera house finally was completed in the spring of 1955. A performance of Beethoven's Fidelio starring the beloved Martha Modl inaugurated that special season as the Staatsoper at last sprang again to life; seven operas dear to the hearts of Viennese were performed with the finest casts that the era had to offer. Fifty years later, that celebratory season was commemorated in a glittering gala concert featuring excerpts from six of those seven operas. On hand were five different conductors leading a host of superlative singers with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra providing some of the most miraculous magic of the night. Opera fans everywhere are fortunate that cameras were on hand to capture this historic event, and that this video (like the original European telecast) presents nearly every moment of the evening's festivities, including the delirious applause of a capacity crowd which at times seems to shake the very foundation of the hall. …
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