United Kingdom Jette Parker Artists Summer Performance: Artists of the Jette Parker Programme, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Royal Opera House, London, 20.7.2024. (MM-B)
Conductors – André Callegaro, Edward Reeve, José Salazar
Directors – Eleanor Burke, Harriet Taylor
Sopranos – Isabela Díaz, Sarah Dufresne, Valentina Puskás
Mezzo-sopranos – Veena Akama-Makia, Gabrielė Kupšytė
Tenors – Ryan Vaughan Davies, Michael Gibson
Baritones – Josef Jeongmeen Ahn, Grisha Martirosyan
Bass – Jamie Woollard
Production:
Tosca Set design – Paul Brown
Lighting designer – Jamie Vella
Assistant director – Rosie Kat
It is a tradition that the current artists of the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Programme end the season with a Summer Performance. It is an opportunity for the outgoing artists to celebrate their two years with the programme, perform alongside each other and the artists that still have one more year, and altogether celebrate a season of hard work, learning and camaraderie.
This year’s Summer Performance featured staged scenes from various operas thus giving the artists a wonderful chance to showcase their different accomplishments.
This year the theme of the doomed lovers prevailed with three moments from very different music to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The evening began with Prokofiev’s gorgeous ballet score of Romeo and Juliet, featuring the famous Dance of the Knights. This was orchestra only, giving Venezuelan ballet conductor, José Salazar, the opportunity to demonstrate his skill. He led the orchestra with assurance in a powerful, precise performance of the Dance of the Knights even if the brass were a tad too loud on a couple of occasions—but not really an issue. Salazar’s and the orchestra’s interpretation was engaging, full of sparkle and colour. A smashing start. Personally, I thought it was a missed opportunity not to have some of the youngest joiners to the Royal Ballet or finalists of the Royal Ballet School executing the dance. Salazar’s work with the orchestra was excellent and the music is eloquent in its own right but in my opinion, the performance would have shone brighter still with the dancing on the stage.
The other two musical interpretations of Romeo and Juliet were excerpts from Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, respectively conducted by conductor, pianist, répétiteur, organist Edward Reeve and German-Brazilian conductor, répétiteur André Callegaro. Bellini’s piece was beautifully sung by Gabrielė Kupšytė (Romeo), Sarah Dufresne (Juliet) and Jamie Woollard (Lorenzo). In fact from all the Jette Parker Artists performing, it was mezzo-soprano Kupšytė and soprano Dufresne who impressed me the most. Kupšytė in particular has a powerful, warm tone, with a brilliant coloratura, easy and unfading high notes. She can project her voice to the highest, most remote corners of the auditorium like there is no tomorrow and was convincing as Romeo; her hurt and anguish very real. Dufresne made for a compelling Juliet, displaying splendid coloratura and excellent acting skills. The orchestra, under the effective baton of Edward Reeve performed Bellini’s beautiful music exceptionally well. This scene was directed by Harriet Taylor with a solid hand. I just didn’t understand why Romeo was in a skirt and blouse, looking more like a schoolgirl in uniform than a young man in love. Perhaps he was in disguise to make his escape easier? Or were the two leads supposed to be rehearsing a school play?
Bellini was followed by Bizet’s famous duet from Les pêcheurs de perles between Nadir, sung by Welsh tenor Ryan Vaughan Davies, and Zurga, performed by Korean baritone Josef Jeongmeen Ahn. As all the pieces in the first half of the show, this extract was conducted by Edward Reeve. The previous scene from I Capuleti e I Montecchi was directed by Harriet Taylor but Bizet and the following two excerpts from Donizetti and Strauss, as well as Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, in part two, were directed by Eleanor Burke while Taylor directed two more pieces in the second half. Bizet’s duet was movingly sung by Ahn and Davies; their voices harmonising exquisitely and their display of a sincere friendship rather believable. Again Reeve showed a confident hand with the orchestra and the score. The stage direction was effective with the transition from Bellini to Bizet almost seamlessly both on stage and by the orchestra.
Third came Donizetti’s La fille du régiment with the singing lesson in Act II. Of all the scenes presented, this was to me the weakest link in a manner of speaking. It is a very funny, simultaneously touching scene when properly performed. Marie, sung by Chilean soprano Isabela Díaz, appeared in a ridiculously ornamented, fiddly dress that made her feel uncomfortable – or so it seemed to me. Her singing and acting here were fine but not convincing and she proved later, during Gounod’s piece that she can do considerably better. On the other hand, Armenian baritone Grisha Martirosyan was an exceptionally effective Sulpice. His voice is rather warm. He projects extremely well and demonstrated good comic timing. Cameroonian/Uganda-American mezzo Veena Akama-Makia acquitted herself well as La Marquise de Berkenfeld, using the prop dog effectively even when the rather realistic looking puppet squeaked as a way of barking.
Contrasting with the above pieces, the final extract of the first half was Richard Strauss’s elegant Capriccio. Composer Flamand competes with poet Olivier for the love of the Countess and this is the scene where Flamand demands to know from the Countess what has won her heart—music or words? Capriccio is a conversational opera and to my mind very difficult to perform. Reeve showed that he was equally at home with Strauss as with Bizet or the bel canto repertoire. The orchestra soared, flowing in sinewy waves of beautiful music involving singers and audience in a magical moment. There were one or two instances where Reeve threatened to overwhelm Flamand’s singing but Michael Gibson’s lovely tenor voice managed to hold it till the end. Transylvanian soprano Valentina Puskás, with her rich, slightly husky tone was very convincing as the Countess, really looking the part with a charismatic stage presence and excellent acting skills.
After the interval the Jette Parker Artists returned first with a duet from Bellini’s La straniera. It was sung by mezzo-soprano Veena Akama-Makia as Isoletta and baritone Martirosyan as Valdeburgo. Reeve was replaced on the podium by German-Brazilian André Callegaro. Akama-Makia sang Isoletta with feeling, clearly depicting her heartbreak at the discovery that her fiancé Arturo is having an affair. Her mezzo is slightly dark and her singing is accomplished in the lower and medium registers but I thought she faded a little in the high notes and occasionally struggled to hold them above the sound of the orchestra. Martirosyan proved that he is both at home with comedy and drama. His conflict, loyalties and love exceptionally well depicted in this duet, his voice expressive and almost sensual at times. Callegaro is an outstanding opera conductor. He seems to have a good rapport with the orchestra and is sympathetic to the singers, perhaps more so than his colleague Reeve.
The second piece in part two was the third musical interpretation of the star-crossed lovers with a scene from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with Welsh tenor Ryan Vaughan Davies as Roméo and Chilean soprano Díaz as Juliette. As I mentioned above, Díaz did a much better job as Juliette than as Marie in the singing lesson scene of La fille du régiment, seeming more at home with a tragic role than with a comic one. Her voice was more assured, her performance solid. Her Juliette was moving, sung with more substance and conviction than her Marie. Davies was a credible Roméo and again in fine voice, appearing as comfortable in Bizet as in Gounod.
The final piece of the evening was the Act I finale of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Musically a sublime opera, it is a bit silly in terms of plot but effective as a comedy and the end of Act I is a good scene for an ensemble cast. It is also suitable and a good choice to finish a Summer Performance of the Jette Parker Artists though I am sorry to say it wasn’t as impressive as it could have been. The sense of comedy was present but overall the acting and staging were a bit patchy as if at times the singers were not quite sure what they were supposed to do. Having said that, the singing itself was still excellent, particularly Sarah Dufresne as Despina who stood out from the rest of the cast. Jamie Woollard’s sonorous bass made for an excellent Don Alfonso. Gibson and Ahn were striking as Ferrando and Guglielmo respectively, showing an impeccable sense of comedy as well as engaging performances. Kupšytė as Dorabella was not as impressive as she was as Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi but still demonstrated her considerably compelling and potent mezzo. Puskás was perhaps a little less magnetic than as the Countess in Capriccio but she made for a persuasive Fiordiligi, proving she is equally at home in a comic role.
Summarising, all three conductors were excellent and assured. I enjoyed their readings of the scores and interpretations very much, perhaps with a slight preference to José Salazar who to my mind had the most difficult task of the evening by being the first and conducting a scene from a ballet without dancers. The singers were all incredibly good; some especially so — notably sopranos Sarah Dufresne and Valentina Puskás, mezzo Gabrielė Kupšytė and, among the men tenor Michael Gibson and baritone Grisha Martirosyan. The two directors demonstrated solid stage knowledge, competent directing skills and a first-rate use of the settings — the same staircase going in two directions from Tosca Act I – throughout the different scenes but always exceptionally effective with only the additional help of a handful of props.
Overall, this Summer Performance was a rewarding, pleasant musical evening and the Royal Opera House should be proud of its current Jette Parker Artists. There were some first-class artists in this performance who will undoubtedly make a stellar career. I think we will see and hear many of them in the future. Good luck to all is my sincere wish.
Margarida Mota-Bull