Madrid, November 23, 2023.
La Damnation of Faust, by Berlioz, is one of the great titles of this season of the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra at the Teatro Monumental, due to the big staff it requires. It is sometimes confused with an opera, and in fact it has been performed as such on numerous occasions. However, Berlioz conceived it to be performed in concert, leaving it somewhere between opera and cantata. It is not a modest undertaking to stage Goethe's Faust, one of the peaks of Western literature, which takes place in many environments. At a time when cinema did not exist, Berlioz rightly felt that a stage would limit the dimension and dynamism he wanted to give to the work, something that is understood in the grand finale, which changes settings very quickly.
In Madrid it is a work that is scheduled from time to time. In recent times, at the Teatro Real it was performed in 2002 and 2009, the latter with Piotr Beczała, Olga Borodina and Ildar Abdrazakov, and at the Monumental itself it has been performed several times, the last in 2011, directed by Michel Plasson. In 2020 it was scheduled but the pandemic prevented it. But historically it was represented even staged, at the beginning of the 20th century there were performances at the Real with Celestina Boninsegna.
The Russian maestro Vassily Sinaisky, former musical director of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, directs the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra. And it can be said that he has left us a version that can be described as memorable, since he has been able to recreate the multiple possibilities of the work, both the most spectacular, the most majestic, and the most intimate, and even chamber-like, in a intimate reading and at the same time majestic when it should be. The strings shone from the first moment, in the brief initial introduction, the cellos and double basses achieved a mysterious, chilling sound in the scene of Mephistopheles' appearance, and the viola in the initial aria of Margarita with a warm sound. It sounded more intimate, like chamber music, in the well-known Hungarian march, as well as the nature scenes. And in the tavern scene the brass was just fantastic. The finale, which moves from the noisy and shocking pandemonium to Margarita's ascension to heaven, was overwhelming, being the orchestra's highlight. The Choir reached the same level as the Orchestra, shining in each and every one of its interventions, especially the male section.
When a great artist is still active on stage after decades of career, it is a true miracle, involving a fascinating career. This is the case of Sir Willard White, aged 77, without a shadow of a doubt. One of Maria Callas' students in her legendary Juillard master classes, this British bass-baritone of Jamaican origin has been on stage for 52 years, impressing with his powerful voice and imposing presence. White has tackled a very extensive repertoire, ranging from the baroque, Wagner and Verdi, to the wide operatic repertoire of the 20th century, as well as black spirituals (being the artistic heir of Paul Robeson in this genre), lied and popular song in the English language, among others. His performance of the main role of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" (which he sang at the premiere of this opera at the Teatro Real in 1998) is considered as referential. In fact, last year he was still singing this opera in the controversial Budapest staging featuring mainly white local singers, he being the only black singer in the cast.White has always been in major, outstanding operatic productions. He was one of the favourite artists of the late and always missed impresario Gerard Mortier, participating in many of his productions. During the latter's tenure as artistical manager at the Teatro Real, White sang at Kurt Weill's Mahagonny staged by La Fura dels Baus, Boesmans' and Monteverdi's version of L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Tchaikovsky's Iolanta and Glück's Alceste, both directed by Krzystof Warlikowski. In addition, he has also been successful as an actor, having made a film of Shakespeare's Otello with the legendary Ian McKellen. For his important career, he was knighted in 2004 by the Queen Elizabeth II. A portrait of him is displayed at the National Gallery in London. In 1999 he sang in in this work, in the legendary Salzburg production of La Fura del Baus, which was filmed on video.
Twenty-four years later, White continues singing Mephistopheles, and it is singing this role that he returns to Madrid after 9 years. And his performance continues to impress because he is in amazing vocal shape for his age. White is a man of strong physical appearance, and enormous presence. His interpretation of the devil Mephistopheles is not only limited to reading the score and singing, but also involves real acting, gestures, expression, interacting with other singers, as if it were an actual performance instead of a concert version. Vocally, he is in shape for his age. Compared to himself two decades ago, it is obvioys that his voice vibrates more with age, and he seems to put more effort into achieving a firm vocal projection. But he still maintains a lot from his prime, since his voice continues to have the same great volume heard through the hall, the tone continues to resemble that of his golden days, with that dark, grave and dramatic sound, in addition to having still good phrasing. An unforgettable performance, which gave this concert its main theatrical contribution.
Faust was sung by tenor Robert Murray. Being the protagonist, I have always thought that a star tenor should sing it, although in reality, character tenors, or more concert than operatic tenors, have sung this role. Murray is more a character tenor than dramatic or lyric one, but despite the fact that the tessitura is for a bigger and more lyrical voice than his, the effort he has made tonight is undeniable. His voice has an acceptable middle register, which sounds good in the most intimate moments of the role, which he defended well in the first act, but if he goes more towards the high pitch it is more difficult for him. In the duets with Margarita, in fact some high notes were compromised, even troubled.
Olesya Petrova was, apart from White, the other major voice in the cast, because of her excellent performance as Margarita. This Russian mezzo-soprano has a voice that is reminiscent of the good old music tradition of her country. Her tone is dark, contralto-like, and she projects her voice firmly, being heard throughout the room, surpassing the other singers and the orchestra. In her two arias she sang exquisitely, and in the second, D'amour l'ardente flamme, she mastered the phrasing and sang some beautiful pianissimi.
Vladislav Buyalskij is a young Ukrainian baritone, who rose to fame last year when, at the beginning days of the Ukraine war, he sang his country's national anthem with the choir of the Metropolitan Opera in New York before a performance of Don Carlo, repeating this a month later at the benefit concert for Ukraine that took place on the same stage. In his brief role in the first part as Brander, he exhibited his beautiful baritone voice, with an excellent low voice, but which lacked volume, especially with White at his side.
There wasn't a big seat occupation in the hall. One of the things that surprised the audience was the absence of any kind of playbill, which had to be downloaded via QR. Without subtitles to follow the action, shortly before starting the second part there were protests from the mezzanine, complaining about this. But even so, the success could not be denied, since it was a musical evening of the highest level, and audience left the theatre delighted, as could be heard from converstions while leaving.
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