Opera Review: China National Opera - Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro
Sep 7, 2021, Shenzhen, Longgang Cultural Center Grand Theater 深圳龙岗文化中心大剧院
China National Opera 中央歌剧院 - Yang Yang, 杨洋 conductor
Figaro: Wang Yi Qing 王艺清; Susanna: Li Jing Jing 李晶晶
Count: Jin Chuan 金川; Countess: Zhang Jin Ge 张金鸽
Cherubino: Niu Sha Sha 牛莎莎
Bartolo: Chen Ye 陈野; Marzellina: Jin Jiu Jie 金久湝; Basilio: Li Xiang 李想
Unlike the Turandot last Friday, this is is billed as a Concert Version. I was surprised when I entered and found a reshaped, simply yet boldly adorned stage that collapsed the stage rear corners towards the center. The floor and back were laden with blown up scores, and the down-sized orchestra was fanned out on the right (see pic below). The Props, mostly a chair and 2 screens that were moved around, were a model of economy (much like Peking Opera) but proved well deployed. The pit was covered and the actions were further up front. Singers were dressed in mostly black and white (and off-white) and blended in with the stage.
From the first downbeat, I was pleasantly surprised by the nice sound of the orchestra. Strings were sweet and articulate and the woodwinds and horns played with excellent ensemble and verve, clearly energized. Conductor Yang Yang was proficient and perhaps a little more yielding than Yuan Ding on Friday. It was not quite the most idiomatic Mozart playing around - transitional passages occasionally sounded like sight-reading, but it was on a high and enjoyable level even for this veteran (I have watched this opera many times, including in English at the much lamented New York City Opera). Compared with Friday, one can conclude that the pit was highly detrimental to the sound. Of course it usually is, but an experienced conductor can counter this to some extent. It is also possible the reshaped stage basically constituted a horn that was beneficial to the transmission of sound. The orchestra actually played every night between Friday and Tuesday. In between were a concert of opera excerpts and some celebratory concerts for the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. Perhaps they were finally warmed up too.
Suffice to say, the semi-staging was more than satisfactory (better than a poor full staging). Kudos to the people who worked on the set and direction. The limited color palette and blown up pages reminded me of productions that ranged from a Queen of Spades (with blown-up poker cards) and Hans-Jurgen Syberberg's cinematic masterpiece, Parsifal (scores blowing around).
TWO big twists! The recitatives were delivered in Chinese (Mandarin vernacular)! And well done they were, as good as native drama actors. As you may not know, Chinese singers are severely disadvantaged by their mother tongue that is not a western language (same for Koreans and Japanese and whatever). With little foreign language in the usual curriculum, Asians have to work crazy hard to sing opera. Second, Mozart, in the form of an actor (see pics), appeared occasionally, sometimes during a lull, and gave brief synopsis of the highly confused proceedings. The audience lapped it up, and that is important. More, there were some arguably "cheap tricks", like the Count carrying an LV bag to woo Susanna, and Marzellina gifted Figaro the deed for an apartment 房产证！when she found out he was her son. My opinion is, this is an implausible comedy that can accommodate elements iconic (for the wrong reasons) in our current lives. The audience was certainly tickled.
Now to the singing. Just like the orchestral playing, it was not the ultimate, but it was on a high level. Diction was fair, no easy thing. The male singers of whatever register sounded more alike than different, which means that Figaro and the Count were not so far apart (it happens to even the legendary Fischer-Diskeau, who being very light for a baritone excelled nonetheless because of his non-pareil diction and characterization). Susanna and Countess were competent and more differentiated, and Marzellina was downright husky (not that I like that). My greatest disappointment had to be the trouser-role, Cherubino, who must stand out in this opera, just as Octavian must in Rosenkavalier. The singer was like a glob of vowels and I could not make out syllables - I value enunciation (which is why I am emphatically neither a fan of Joan Sutherland nor Kiri Te-Kanawa). My Italian may be rudimentary (basta!), but I know what the cadence should sound like.
There is another observation. The ensembles, and this is a meticulously composed ensemble opera, were tight, and highly enjoyable, not that much different from a night in the better of the West. When it came to the individual moments, be it the (what should be) time-arresting moments, like Porgi Amor, things fell a little short. Not expressive enough, but still moving. And so the ensemble effort eclipsed the individual, but that is not a bad thing. Again, I am positive the Chinese western opera scene has a very bright future ahead. In terms of offering western opera in foreign tongues to the Chinese population, I think this is a very good effort. In fact, I think it is a sterling effort. I'd be happy to see and hear more of this kind in the coming years. Kudos.
Onto my feelings now towards this opera. Masterpiece though it is, it is a set piece designed to a formula. After years of listening, it has become too predictable. For me, there is less excitement in it now than before. I have never been a comedy fan, and imho opera moves too slowly to be a good vehicle. Better the heavier operas with their more cosmic pretensions and heaven-storming angst. As always, I listen to the music (singers and, even more importantly, the orchestra) more than follow the plot.
There are numerous very good recordings of this opera. On LP I have the classic set conducted by Erich Kleiber, (Decca) perfect singing and playing, and sonically excellent to boot. Still one of the best.
China National Opera 中央歌剧院 - Yang Yang, 杨洋 conductor
Figaro: Wang Yi Qing 王艺清; Susanna: Li Jing Jing 李晶晶
Count: Jin Chuan 金川; Countess: Zhang Jin Ge 张金鸽
Cherubino: Niu Sha Sha 牛莎莎
Bartolo: Chen Ye 陈野; Marzellina: Jin Jiu Jie 金久湝; Basilio: Li Xiang 李想
Unlike the Turandot last Friday, this is is billed as a Concert Version. I was surprised when I entered and found a reshaped, simply yet boldly adorned stage that collapsed the stage rear corners towards the center. The floor and back were laden with blown up scores, and the down-sized orchestra was fanned out on the right (see pic below). The Props, mostly a chair and 2 screens that were moved around, were a model of economy (much like Peking Opera) but proved well deployed. The pit was covered and the actions were further up front. Singers were dressed in mostly black and white (and off-white) and blended in with the stage.
From the first downbeat, I was pleasantly surprised by the nice sound of the orchestra. Strings were sweet and articulate and the woodwinds and horns played with excellent ensemble and verve, clearly energized. Conductor Yang Yang was proficient and perhaps a little more yielding than Yuan Ding on Friday. It was not quite the most idiomatic Mozart playing around - transitional passages occasionally sounded like sight-reading, but it was on a high and enjoyable level even for this veteran (I have watched this opera many times, including in English at the much lamented New York City Opera). Compared with Friday, one can conclude that the pit was highly detrimental to the sound. Of course it usually is, but an experienced conductor can counter this to some extent. It is also possible the reshaped stage basically constituted a horn that was beneficial to the transmission of sound. The orchestra actually played every night between Friday and Tuesday. In between were a concert of opera excerpts and some celebratory concerts for the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. Perhaps they were finally warmed up too.
Suffice to say, the semi-staging was more than satisfactory (better than a poor full staging). Kudos to the people who worked on the set and direction. The limited color palette and blown up pages reminded me of productions that ranged from a Queen of Spades (with blown-up poker cards) and Hans-Jurgen Syberberg's cinematic masterpiece, Parsifal (scores blowing around).
TWO big twists! The recitatives were delivered in Chinese (Mandarin vernacular)! And well done they were, as good as native drama actors. As you may not know, Chinese singers are severely disadvantaged by their mother tongue that is not a western language (same for Koreans and Japanese and whatever). With little foreign language in the usual curriculum, Asians have to work crazy hard to sing opera. Second, Mozart, in the form of an actor (see pics), appeared occasionally, sometimes during a lull, and gave brief synopsis of the highly confused proceedings. The audience lapped it up, and that is important. More, there were some arguably "cheap tricks", like the Count carrying an LV bag to woo Susanna, and Marzellina gifted Figaro the deed for an apartment 房产证！when she found out he was her son. My opinion is, this is an implausible comedy that can accommodate elements iconic (for the wrong reasons) in our current lives. The audience was certainly tickled.
Now to the singing. Just like the orchestral playing, it was not the ultimate, but it was on a high level. Diction was fair, no easy thing. The male singers of whatever register sounded more alike than different, which means that Figaro and the Count were not so far apart (it happens to even the legendary Fischer-Diskeau, who being very light for a baritone excelled nonetheless because of his non-pareil diction and characterization). Susanna and Countess were competent and more differentiated, and Marzellina was downright husky (not that I like that). My greatest disappointment had to be the trouser-role, Cherubino, who must stand out in this opera, just as Octavian must in Rosenkavalier. The singer was like a glob of vowels and I could not make out syllables - I value enunciation (which is why I am emphatically neither a fan of Joan Sutherland nor Kiri Te-Kanawa). My Italian may be rudimentary (basta!), but I know what the cadence should sound like.
There is another observation. The ensembles, and this is a meticulously composed ensemble opera, were tight, and highly enjoyable, not that much different from a night in the better of the West. When it came to the individual moments, be it the (what should be) time-arresting moments, like Porgi Amor, things fell a little short. Not expressive enough, but still moving. And so the ensemble effort eclipsed the individual, but that is not a bad thing. Again, I am positive the Chinese western opera scene has a very bright future ahead. In terms of offering western opera in foreign tongues to the Chinese population, I think this is a very good effort. In fact, I think it is a sterling effort. I'd be happy to see and hear more of this kind in the coming years. Kudos.
Onto my feelings now towards this opera. Masterpiece though it is, it is a set piece designed to a formula. After years of listening, it has become too predictable. For me, there is less excitement in it now than before. I have never been a comedy fan, and imho opera moves too slowly to be a good vehicle. Better the heavier operas with their more cosmic pretensions and heaven-storming angst. As always, I listen to the music (singers and, even more importantly, the orchestra) more than follow the plot.
There are numerous very good recordings of this opera. On LP I have the classic set conducted by Erich Kleiber, (Decca) perfect singing and playing, and sonically excellent to boot. Still one of the best.
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