BRILLIANT COSI at Theatre des Champs Elysees
Cosi van Tutte at Theatre des Champs Elysees, Paris foto: Danielle Pierre
The Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opera Cosi van Tutte at Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris is first class. The staging director Pierre Constant has managed to get this, – for me some times boring and too long, – Mozart opera lovely, funny, through a god direction in all details, and by having a brilliant casting where all 6 soloists are doing an excellent job, singing, acting, dancing, playing comedy. The soloists were Rachel Nicholls as Fiordiligi. Lina Markeby as Dorabella, her “Come Scoglio” was brilliant. Anne Catherine. Gillet as Despina. Robert Getschell as Ferrando
. Joan Martin Royo as Guglielmo and Nicolas Rivenq as Don Alfonso. A big success.
The Don Giovanni is following up the staging idea, as used in Cosi van Tutte, again with mostly of the roles well taken care off. Donna Anna – Sandrine Pau. Donna Elvira – Véronique Gens. Zerlina – Ingrid Perruche. Leporello – Laurent Naouri, and Masetto – Christian Helmer outstanding. I should have liked to hear Christian Helmer as Don Giovanni, that might be very good. Unfortunately Donát Havár as Don Ottavio was not perfect. He has a good sounding small Mozart voice, but in connection with the outstanding capacities around him as mentioned, this Don Ottavio was too week.
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Don Giovanni - Nicolas Rivenq in the center. Left: Sandrine Piau as a wonderful Donna Anna. Foto: Danièle Pierre
The staging has an idea, directed by Pierre Constant assisted by Grégory Voillemet, that the three dominant male roles shall be like a continuing history, from The Count in Figaros Wedding, Don Alfonso in Cosi and Don Giovanni, all played by Nicolas Rivenq. That idea is good I can follow that. But, as I see it, then they do need an absolutely first class baritone capacity to take care of these demanding roles. They have chosen Nicolas Rivenq to these three roles. He was playing Don Alfonso and Don Giovanni well as an actor. I was not especially satisfied with the singing. It was OK, but nothing extraordinary.
The orchestra La Grande Acurie et la Chambe du Roy was good, conducted by Jean Claude Malgiore, and the orchestra on stage didn´t work out. They need some extra rehearsals, and a closer cooperation with the conductor. It is not only to put four musicians on stage. The choir following up perfect, it became two good Mozart evenings for me at Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris. Unfortunately I didn´t manage to see Figaros Wedding, so I can´t describe if the staging idea of this triologi was as good as hoped.
Jean Claude Malgoire conducting Mozart
The beautiful costumes were designed by Jacques Schmidt and responsible to the production this time is Emmanuel Peduzzi. I especially liked the costumes for Fiordiligi and Dorabella, the idea to have two white costumes, and then add a colorful overdress, was a very good way of changing one dress to another type, and then go back again to the original white. Very talented. And beautiful colours, too for the boys in Cosi. In Don Giovanni I too enjoyed the costumes and the scenography. The end of Don Giovanni it became a bit strange. That scene which has all possibilities to be a spectacular scene, which can be much better made with the Commandants arriving. Which we never attended, only his good voice – Sung by Francois Lis. Don Giovanni final scene was not good, until he was like flying up to disappear in the curtains. At last it was a good ending, but before that It was like they have lost the inspiration, gone tired.
As critic I want to report from a performance, in the best possible way, to be serious to the artists and to the audience. It doesn’t help to offer very bad places, where the sound not can be perfect, where only the stage partly can be seen. The critic needs, as everybody else, good working possibilities to do a good job. This was not offered this time, as I and other international colleges among the critic deeply regret.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Figaros wedding, Cosi van Tutte, Don Giovanni at Theatre des Champs Elysees, Paris. Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte. June 2010. Produced by the Atellier Lyrique at Tourcoing.
Malgoire, Foto: Danielle_Pierre
Regi: Pierre Constant. Scenography: Roberto Platé. Costumes: Jacques Schmidt and Emmanuel Peduzzi. Light: Jacques Rouveyrollis. Conducted by Jean Claude Malgoire.