I’m not generally a fan of opera in translation: change the language and you fundamentally alter the character of the work, which can lead to some unfortunate effects: early Verdi in English sounds uncomfortably like Gilbert and Sullivan.
Why Janacek should suffer less than other composers by being sung in a language other than his original Czech has always intrigued me. After all, one of his major achievements was to closely reflect Czech speech rhythms in his music. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that his characters tend to express themselves directly without resorting to lyric poetry or flowery sentiment? In a translation as lucid as Norman Tucker’s, used in this Opera North revival, the story seemed actually to gain from being sung in English.
And very powerfully it was sung, too, by a cast without a single weak link. The story, lifted from an infrequently revived play by Ostrovsky (‘The Storm’) may not be especially original but Janacek, working as his own librettist, managed to make it involving. Katya lives with her husband Tichon and her foster-sister Varvara in the home of her cold and austere mother-in-law, Kabanicha. Tichon is a pathetic, mother-dominated gamma male, frequently away on business, and Kabanicha’s attitude to her daughter-in-law is one of unswerving contempt. In this emotionally sterile environment, adultery becomes a very real temptation and when Boris, son of the equally monstrous neighbouring merchant Dikoy shows an interest, Katya doesn’t require much persuasion. But when Tichon returns home unexpectedly, Boris proves a man of straw and Katya has no option but to drown herself rather than face small-town opprobrium. Throughout, the apparently carefree relationship of Varvara and the local man, Kudryash is used as a foil to point up the bleakness of Katya’s story.
As Katya, Stephanie Corley sang powerfully and plangently but, more importantly, acted the role with the required conviction (a pretty voice alone doesn’t equip you to sing Janacek). She was effectively matched by Heather Shipp’s properly dour Kabanicha, a very real monster rather than a pantomime villainess and Stephen Richardson as the boorish Dikoy. The two tenor roles - Tichon and Boris - may be comparatively thankless ones but both received attractive portrayals from Andrew Kennedy and Harold Weers respectively. Alexander Sprague and Katie Bray provided similarly convincing portrays of the ‘other couple’, as Kudryash and Vavara.
Tim Albery is a director with a signature style and his preference for bare uncluttered stages proved a good fit here: as the action frequently alternates between interiors and a variety of outside scenes, the use of semi-expressionist designs on moveable flats was an effective and rapid way to handle the scene changes. Peter Mumford provided suitably sombre lighting for Hidegarde Bechtler’s austere designs, which referenced the period of the opera’s composition (1921) rather than the source play’s historical setting. Like most of Janacek’s operas, this is an ensemble piece despite the presence of a nominal ‘lead’ character and this Opera North company cohered beautifully: the chorus made its brief role in Act 3 into a telling moment.
But perhaps the production’s greatest strength was the conducting of Sian Edwards, whom I have long felt to be an undervalued musician. This is far from being an easy or straightforward score and Janacek’s unusual harmonies and odd chromatic shifts can be difficult to grapple with: some conductors attempt to smooth them over, others turn in uncomfortably jerky performances that sound unidiomatic but it was clear from the first note that Edwards had the measure of Katya Kabanova.
Reviewer - Richard Ely
on - 7/3/19
No comments:
Post a Comment