Controversy at the Festival? No!!!
Kirill Serebrennikov's staging of the Marriage of Figaro by Komische Oper Berlin at this year's Festival ruffled some feathers. ArtWork's Maxwell Macleod sought legal counsel from two well known Edinburgh lawyers.
For the defence: Jadie Metcalf
Prosecuting: Kenneth Cameron.
THIS YEAR'S Festival's Marriage of Figaro was for me, a mostly retired horn player of Mozart concerti, spendidly performed by the orchestra (beautifully done horn playing!), and a fine cast of gifted opera singers.
The split level modern staging of the comedy was extremely creative and effective. Mozart being a comedian at heart would have enjoyed the show and applauded loudly the antics of Cherubino, the gymnast double playing court jester and mimicking his famous aria of love, while it was being sung by the soprano.
Sometimes dressed scantily like an Olympic track star, his miming made it appear as if he himself was singing as a soprano the famous love song for Cherobino. The aria calls for a soprano dressed like a boy, and the split into two persons came off well. Sussanah also sang well and accurately.
Figaro was carried by a very strong baritone, playing the clever boy role well, and the count was strong and convincingly licentious. The finest voice on stage was the countess. Her remarkable flexible, velvety voice was both charming and convincing as a woman in distress, still deeply in love with her arrogant playboy.
The Count's valet acted in comic relief his obsequious role, literally licking the count's boot, moving documents for the count by putting them between his teeth like a puppy dog, squirming around the stage in a truly subservient, amusing fashion.
Not only was there musical perfection but the opera was a clever rendering of comic relief true to Mozart's love of joking with musicians from time to time. He enjoyed musical pranks, even as the genius he was. His work was served well in Festival Theater Sunday.
I also attended Edinburgh's Marriage of Figaro in 1976 (or was it 1977?), then seeing the traditional staging and costumes of the 18th century. Most memorable musically, but the humour and comedy then was not so compelling as is possible with the modern staging, now so common throughout the European opera world.
WHERE TO BEGIN? From a musical point of view the orchestra and conductor were excellent, and the singers were of a uniformly high standard. No complaints there.
However, one cannot say the same for the production. There was a two level stage; below, a shabby changing area for servants; above, the Count's modern drawing room. The presence (downstairs) of a non singing elderly female servant, who was continually ironing added nothing but irritation.
For some time now,arrogant, self centred 'entitled' directors who, in their eyes know far better than the composers, have interfered greatly, and often, by 'deconstructing' the staging and/or the libretto, and/or even the parts – or all three, but have hitherto refrained from touching the music. Last night that Rubicon was crossed.
We had a rendition of Soave sia il vento from Cosi fan tutte. Later, in what should be one of the most heart-rending moments in the Opera, where the countess forgives the count, we were treated to the dissonance quartet by Mozart. Dissonance indeed reigned thereafter.
A non-singing non speaking male actor played young Cherubino, (a part usually played by a female soprano) but we also had an invented part, a Cherubina who sang the arias.
The male actor stripped off and ran nude across the stage and leapt out of the window. Unlike Tosca, the character unfortunately survived and returned for more ghastly contortions, and semi nudity.
It seems that the director did not want any singer to receive the full undivided attention of the audience and therefore multiple distractions and noises were de rigeur. Sleep deprivation uses this technique, I gather.
The Countess, who is the heroine and is or should be beyond reproach, here decided that she would punish her husband and sleep with one of the female servants. A statement indicated the directors views on capitalism. A large neon lit sign was displayed for an extended part of the opera ('capitalism kills love'). I'd suggest "'directors can and frequently do ruin opera”
This is arguably the greatest musical achievement of Mozart, and indeed amongst the greatest operas ever conceived. Figaro gets happily married, the Count rediscovers that he loves his neglected wife, and the long lost parents of Figaro are united with their boy. All in four sublime Acts. Aside from the very good singing and conducting, the high point for me was a brave audience member shouting "'Booh! An outrage!”
Were W.A. Mozart and L. Da Ponte to come back from the dead, I'd gladly hold their frock coats, and allow them to run the director through for traducing their achievemewnt. Or at least give him a piece of their vastly more imaginative and charitable minds. La vendetta, oh la vendetta.
