Kozena and Rattle: Pelléas et Mélisande
Originally Published at Operanews.com
On April 10, Berlin's two most distinguished conductors swapped orchestras for an evening to conduct works derived from Maurice Maeterlinck's symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande. Daniel Barenboim, conductor of the Berlin Staatskapelle (the resident orchestra of the Staatsoper unter den Linden) led the Berliner Philharmoniker in a program that included Schoenberg's tone poem of Pelléas. At precisely the same hour, Simon Rattle, chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, was making his Staatsoper debut conducting Debussy's more famous operatic setting.
To make matters more intriguing, the evening's Mélisande was the maestro's partner, Czech mezzo Magdalena Kožená. Kožená, who was visibly pregnant, appeared opposite American tenor William Burden. Both singers were extraordinary, together and apart: each brought simple yet enigmatic matter-of-factness to this impossible love story. Kožená sang in a remarkably textured voice, by turns rough and lulling. There was something urgent yet defeatist about her soft murmurings and fluent declamations. Burden's youthful-sounding performance was marked by agility and controlled lyricism. His gentle restraint was a worthy compliment to Kožena's overt, aching desire.
Hanno Müller-Brachmann was a simple yet powerful Golaud. His richly fluid baritone expressed tenderness, pathos and violence. The fierce bass Robert Lloyd was somewhere between menacing and sympathetic as King Arkel. His sinister Act IV confrontation with Mélisande brimmed with repressed sexuality. Yniold, the child who unwittingly exposes the lovers to Golaud, was honey-voiced Andreas Mörwald, soloist of the Tölz Boys Choir.
The work was presented in Ruth Berghaus's 1991 production, an Expressionist rendering that seemed equal parts Dr. Caligari and Dr. Seuss. Berghaus, who died in 1996, was best-known for her interpretations of Brecht. Her vision for Pelléas was a stage concept as abstract yet strangely affecting as the Debussy score. It featured a rotating metallic set, a sleek cave-like structure with jarring confrontations of curves and angles. Aside from providing a suitable visual complement to the music, the metallic sets resonated the onstage voices beautifully. Even Yniold rang out with a fullness and immediacy generally achieved only on recordings.
Rattle guided his singers gently through the tangled Impressionistic forest of the score. He highlighted the bass lines in the horns and contrabasses during the frequent orchestral interludes and took every opportunity to let loose at full force with the strings. The music remained wonderfully subdued, but Rattle frequently made it pulsate with drama and urgency. With expert singing, arresting visuals and a truly moving orchestral contribution, this was a Pélleas that never leaned too far in the direction of either sentimentality or cold abstraction.
A. J. GOLDMANN
On April 10, Berlin's two most distinguished conductors swapped orchestras for an evening to conduct works derived from Maurice Maeterlinck's symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande. Daniel Barenboim, conductor of the Berlin Staatskapelle (the resident orchestra of the Staatsoper unter den Linden) led the Berliner Philharmoniker in a program that included Schoenberg's tone poem of Pelléas. At precisely the same hour, Simon Rattle, chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, was making his Staatsoper debut conducting Debussy's more famous operatic setting.
To make matters more intriguing, the evening's Mélisande was the maestro's partner, Czech mezzo Magdalena Kožená. Kožená, who was visibly pregnant, appeared opposite American tenor William Burden. Both singers were extraordinary, together and apart: each brought simple yet enigmatic matter-of-factness to this impossible love story. Kožená sang in a remarkably textured voice, by turns rough and lulling. There was something urgent yet defeatist about her soft murmurings and fluent declamations. Burden's youthful-sounding performance was marked by agility and controlled lyricism. His gentle restraint was a worthy compliment to Kožena's overt, aching desire.
Hanno Müller-Brachmann was a simple yet powerful Golaud. His richly fluid baritone expressed tenderness, pathos and violence. The fierce bass Robert Lloyd was somewhere between menacing and sympathetic as King Arkel. His sinister Act IV confrontation with Mélisande brimmed with repressed sexuality. Yniold, the child who unwittingly exposes the lovers to Golaud, was honey-voiced Andreas Mörwald, soloist of the Tölz Boys Choir.
The work was presented in Ruth Berghaus's 1991 production, an Expressionist rendering that seemed equal parts Dr. Caligari and Dr. Seuss. Berghaus, who died in 1996, was best-known for her interpretations of Brecht. Her vision for Pelléas was a stage concept as abstract yet strangely affecting as the Debussy score. It featured a rotating metallic set, a sleek cave-like structure with jarring confrontations of curves and angles. Aside from providing a suitable visual complement to the music, the metallic sets resonated the onstage voices beautifully. Even Yniold rang out with a fullness and immediacy generally achieved only on recordings.
Rattle guided his singers gently through the tangled Impressionistic forest of the score. He highlighted the bass lines in the horns and contrabasses during the frequent orchestral interludes and took every opportunity to let loose at full force with the strings. The music remained wonderfully subdued, but Rattle frequently made it pulsate with drama and urgency. With expert singing, arresting visuals and a truly moving orchestral contribution, this was a Pélleas that never leaned too far in the direction of either sentimentality or cold abstraction.
A. J. GOLDMANN
